for mud. >> and going with the flow. from a country known for its dikes, dams and innovative design, what we could learn about living on and in the water. >> do you ever get dizzy, when the water goes like this? does that make you feel seasick? >> not really, no, not at all. >> an good evening, thanks for being with us, i'm joie chen. we begin with the crisis in ukraine. a day of diplomacy in paris where u.s. secretary of state john kerry met with his counterpart russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. the european union has come up with an aid package, $15 billion in support, after the united states offered $one billion in loan guarantees. this money is crucial because ukraine's finance ministry says there's nothing left in the country's coffers. it's all been stolen. that part is pretty clear. the question that remains, is there something being lost in translation in the talks between the united states and russia? >> russia made a choice. and we have clearly stated that we believe it is the wrong cois, thachoice, that is the choice to move troops into crimea. >> meantime, the russian foreign minister, sergey lavrov, says the troops that have seized crimea aren't russian, therefore they have no control over them. to pledge allegiance to the republic of crimea. in sevastopol, jennifer glasse has been talking to the ukrainian forces there. jen. >> joie, i have to tell you about a dramatic confrontation in simferopol. just an hour's drive from here. robert serrey was here trying to assess the situation, he came out of a naval facility and was surrounded buy crowd of armed men. they surrounded his car, they were very aggressive, he went into a nearby cafe to try to assess the situation, calm things down, they told him he had to leave crimea so he went to the airport and 37th region. concerns about mob rule here, what we have seen across crimea in the last couple of days is russian troops besieging ukrainian military bases and naval stations here and including one just ten minutes away. alexander yesen is the chief of staff at the naval base in crimea. they have got positions overlooking the base. did you ever think the russians would be here, two weeks ago the russians would be in crimea? >> two weeks ago they stay in crimea since our independence, the military base, you know that the russians have been staying here. but it was very good relations. we had a lot of exercises, multinational exercises. we personally and my friends, we have friends in russian marines, other military bases. it was good relations, really really good friend relations. and what i can see right now, it's unexplainable. if can i say like this. couple months ago, we meant to get together, have some fun, talking about fog. and now, you -- about nothing. and now can you see the same face but with a helmet, weapons, and he came here, not to invite you to nearest pub. or not with the congratulations. but with the weapons. it's very strange. >> with former friends now potential enemies, no one wants to start anything. but no one has a solution. either the russians come in or they leave. or how do you fix it? how do you resolve it? >> i don't know. it's -- i think that their -- the russian commander understands it's not his decision. i know they're the same as we are. they're military. they follow orders. and i think even i think that even they are, don't want to stay here. because it's very strange to be in another country. to hear the same language, but they are military therefore orders and the final result should come from the political decisions. >> and so joie, a tense situation here to the home to the ukrainian and the russian naval black sea fleets. but they know they are out manned, outgunned. they couldn't stand up against the military if they had to. >> jen, i know you have seen a lot of the tensions rising, what do you see at this point, how is the mood now? >> you know joie, this is a naval town. it's so much about the sea here. and you have ukrainian sailors stuck on naval ships, three major naval ships just here. they can't get off the ships. the russians, there's been a lot of intimidation. you've got russian war ships in the entrance of this bay blocking the entrance to the bay, some neighbors are getting threatening phone calls saying you need to change your allegiance, we know where your family lives, where your children lives, there will be no place for you because this will soon be russia. very tense situation in a town where russians and ukrainians lived and worked side by side, there are ethnic russians and ethnic ukrainians. they are pitted against people they have known for years. >> jennifer glasse, in sevastopol. kurt volker, is there in europe here a really unified view of who's in the wrong and who's in the right? >> well i think to a large extent yes there is. there's a view that russia has violated borders, it's in breach of its 1994 budapest memorandum it signed. at the same time there's a concern in europe about stepping up to be in a conflict directly with russia and there's a bit of skepticism that the ukrainians aren't ready for conflict and do they want that responsibility? so i think there's a little bit of bhaim to be cast on russia, there's a lot of caution on european reaction. >> sanctions against russia, there is sort of a perception in the u.s. that of course europe, it's the neighbor of the situation, surely they should be ready to supply very strong sanctions. why not? >> they bite both ways. europe is dependent on russia for natural gas. and investments, there's a strong hesitation coming out of the business community in europe as well. see, if we go down the sanctions road how is it going to bite us? >> now the loan guarantees, the step-up on that front but what about that, is that a risk for europeans? >> well, it's a loan guarantee. as ukraine stabilizes it's able to pay back the hone. you're not taking that much risk, it is not out-right aid. but to leverage larger assistance from the imf when you have a stable government in the ukraine able to handle it. >> there has not been shooting yet, so has the diplomatic effort been effective? >> i think just the opposite, no one willing to step up to oppose that. a de facto russian occupation if not annexation, they may not call that illegally, but it doesn't seem to be going back to ukrainian control any time soon, and a play book of putin, mul ma and all the rest of it. >> you saw all of that develop when you were the ambassador. >> yes indeed. >> appreciate your being with us, kurt volker, former ambassador. sounds like it might be a copout but storms drought and just plain cold brought a frosty chill to the economic outlook of the united states. adam sandler reports. >> ed's worry is mud plain old mud. >> there is no insurance coverage for mud, nothing. >> he boarded up the back of hi california house, preparing for the very worst. after the colby fire last january the earth was left bare. >> who guys called into air strikes, 100 air strikes occurred right here. >> the drought that is big california left the land dry, dusty and highly susceptible to mudslides. >> the national weather service has extended the warning for heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms. >> reporter: last week's heavy rains brought the high lands right into his home. >> others are going, going down the hill. >> with mudslides in glendora. >> you are talking about $200,000 worth of work. >> that's just one home. the economic effect of extreme weather this year is busting through the budget of cities and states across the country, including drought-stricken california. >> look at that plant there, it's dead. >> neil is a fifth generation farmer. the same rain that ruined highlands house, was more than seen all year but amounted to barely a drop in the par muche d water table. drought relief and food and housing assistance for farm workers. unlike california, the winter weather is rg the opposite effect on -- having the opposite effect of the rest of the nation. too much precipitation, too much snow. >> a 70% increase over last year. it went through twice as much salt, close to half a million tons and they may need more. in washington, d.c, the government is just starting back, after another closure due to inclement weather. >> today you couldn't find taxi, couldn't find anything. everything is closed. >> reporter: the economics don't hit as much as the shutdown, but it still slows down the government's productivity. and a new report from the federal reserve says an unusual number of ice storms hitting the south slowed economic growth. just this week highways near dallas froze sending trucks out of control. >> i had four wheel drive and it's still like you're ice skating. >> and the texas electrical grid was stretched to the limit. sending wholesale power prices soaring. exceeding a march 2002 record, and in some cases electricity simply failed. >> no electricity it makes it hard but we do our job either way. >> transportation across the country has been hit as well. >> my flight was cancelled yesterday so i'm flying out today instead. >> this winter over 80,000 cancelled flights. cost the airline industry close to $6 billion and shipping on the great lakes is halted. some lakes more than 90% frozen for the first time in more than a decade. detroit, already in bankruptcy, had the snowiest january on record. michigan 75 days below freezing has taken a toll on the state highways. lawmakers are considering a $215 million fund just to clear and fill the state's potholes. the sun is still hiding behind a few clouds in california. as ed assesses the mud damage he's left with and the financial implications. >> you can worry about it or you can work on it. we're working it at every stage. >> what the rest of the 61 has determined, remains to be seen. that new report from the federal reserve also points out declines in the economic activity in the feast and slow growth in the midwest. it blames the severe winter wealth. auto sales weakened in most parts of the country, january into february. there was one bright spot, housing sales, not affected by the weather, in fact it was boosted joie because of shopping now. >> cozy shopping this weather. adam may, thanks very much. it is not the bad weather but air causing concern in china. the premier declared war on smog. have no choice but to suck it up and stay put. rob mcbride with more. >> china's cities especially in the north having experienced their worst smog of the winter, turning sky lines from this to this, the question is whether the country can afford to reduce pollution, can it afford not to? beijing resident has developed her own arsenal of weapons to deal with the smog. from face masks to lamps. >> it is called crystal lamp. >> air pure fire and even a uv lamp. even with that, on the worst days she stays away from work. >> if no one went to work it would cost the country money and then the government would have to do something. >> there are no doubts about the environmental benefits of replacing older polluting industries. the challenge authorities face is finding enough businesses to offer alternative jobs, especially in a society where maintaining social stability is important. one year into his farming venture, he is seeing the fruit of his labor. organic strawberries in this greenhouse. he was encouraged by government incentives to shift into a greener business. he is planning other fruit and vegetable crops on his farm in herbe province outside beijing. a few kilometers away the now abandoned iron works he used to own. compared to the 200 workers he used to employ making iron, he has only 15 workers now. it. >> it was quicker in the iron business, and starting up took a lot of investment. but we have to look to the longer horizon and this is a better chance for the future. >> determining how much wealth should be used creating the mess, used in creating it. >> when we return, breaking the digital bank, the mysterious world of bitcoin. is it the digital version of the old scam? later on "america tonight," at the elbow of the president and ex-conhow the mighty fell. former police commissioner bernie kerik tells all, including his experience with solitary confinement. >> it breaks down the mental psyche, it's inhumane in many ways. >> it was for you? >> it was difficult. >> my interview with new york's former top cop on how prison changed his views of crime and punishment. >> so maybe you've heard of bitcoin. maybe you're still not sure what it is. the short answer of all this is that it's a digitally currency rapidly developing among international markets. but bitcoin has been dealt some very big setbacks, one of its sites went offline. now the first bitcoin bank as gone dark as well. surprisingly all this knew has not burst the bitcoin bubble quite yet. "america tonight"'s correspondent sarah h hoy has te story. >> the bitcoin largest exchange where hackers made off with currency valued add $360 billion, mountgox has since filed for bankruptcy. it's ceo appeared before japanese media. bouginbow many for several minu. >> looks the like that's disappeared. >> colin burgess traveled 6,000 miles to tokyo to find out where his money was. >> i'm annoyed. it seems like i've lost all my money. i'm annoyed that the company has beebeen stringing people along r so long claiming everything is okay. >> a bitcoin bank went belly up. stealing 900 bitcoins, worth $6 $600,000. >> for the currency curious, bitcoins are are digital currency traded online and are free of regulation. bitcoins are lines of heavily encrypted computer code. with a fixed number of bitcoins available, their value fluctuate. put your value at your own risk. >> this is disruptive technology. there is a lot of possibilities with it, a lot of challenges and a lot of things that are to be learned about it yet. >> you buy bitcoins with real money. usually through an exchange. then you can use the vis virtual money. for things legal or illegal. >> are these legitimate or stuff fallen off the truck? >> these are legitimate, i've had very good luck with them. >> there's always the danger of exchanges like mount gax or bitcoins exchanges collapsing. despite the risk, he is still betting on bitcoin. >> bitcoin is doing fine doing its job and there are developers doing their job. >> on a recent weeknight, duane led a class about buoyant. it hasn't scared him away just yet. using a small loan from his parents. >> i feel like as society moves a more digital focus it's going to be an easier greener twi wayo do changes. >> are you financially independent? in yes i am. i told my mother september of last year my mom would pay for my metro fees, my lunch. i said mom, cut that out, i'm investing my own money. >> as for the controversial cash the high schooler says it's here to stay. >> "america tonight" sarah hoy back with us. everybody asks is this real or funny money? >> it is real funny money. for a group of people, this money is here to stay, you can't see it you can't touch it, bitcoins are real and bitcoins are being used. >> 17-year-olds are making big money on this? >> it is being used. like stock they go up in value, they go down in value. you don't have to buy one, you can buy parts of bitcoins. it's not going away. >> "americ"america tonight" sar. thanks very much. when we come back. the long road for bernie kerik. how prison changed his view of how america delivers justice. >> now, a snapshot of stories making headlines on "america tonight." trial of al jazeera joirnts, petejournalists,peter greste, bd mohamed fahmy, trial has been adjourned to march 24th. venezuelans paused to celebrate the death of their great leader, hugo chavez. state of washington officially goes to pot. following colorado's lead, the first of more than 300 retail licenses were wished on wednesday. the first pot shop will open this summer. as communities coast to coast look to open pot shots, the top cop remains opposed to pot. but bernard kerik's views did not change while in prison. how to nab and lock up criminals until he became one. now the ever outspoken kerik sat down with me, in times square. and what's wrong with america's system of crime and punishment. >> i was a foot cop on 42nd street, i walked foot post up here, right here in the heart of the square. >> you were a real beat cop? >> very much a beat cop. >> from the streets of new york city to the bid for the highest security job in the country, bernie kerik has been there. blunt. >> they're mor morons. >> and nobody has a resume like his. >> i'm the former police commissioner of new york. i have been a cop, i've been a surrogate on national security for the president of the united states. i ran reic rie ryker's island. i was nominated for one o of the highest positions of security in the united states. i've also been to prison. >> the son of two addicts, his mother a murdered pursuit, kerik could have gone down a dark path. good my mother was murdered when i was nine, i was a high school dropout and one day i am standing in the oval office of the president of the united states. >> he's asking you for a if you would like a job. >> and insane from where i came from but this is america and that's what happens in america. >> but kerik knows it's the last two turns in his story that may forever overshadow all the others. >> everybody has skeletons in your closet. what happens when you become the target of the political arena in a circumstance like this, it can be quite devastating. >> devastating is something kerik knows well. on september 11th, he was new york's top cop. he helped then-mayor rudy giuliani lead police and firefighters out of the rubble. after helping iraq set up security pours by 2006 kerik's glowing reputation put him high on the radar of the national republican establishment. george w. bush hand picked him for homeland security chief, a cabinet level post. >> bebernie kerik is one of the most accomplished members of law enforcement in america. >> the president wanted you. >> i believe rightfully so. i think i could have done a great job. i know i could have done a great job. my background and history speaks for itself. >> kerik demeasured on demurredt the lure was too much. >> thank you mr. president. >> if you think of someone who is superqualified, superqualified to serve their country at the top levels what would you advise them? >> don't do it. >> almost as quickly as he was anointed, kerik saw his star slammed to earth, hard. nailed on allegations he had hired a nanny who carried phony documents and tarred with allegations of connections to shady individuals, he was tarred and feathered. >> you understand the scrutiny. you focus on the scrutiny, you focus on getting through it and you have a job to do. >> but the high flyer's icarus moment didn't stop there. eight felony charges including lying to the white house. he was sentenced to a nonsecurity federal prison in cumberland, mld. >> you might call it a country club. but go live there. >> folks who go there are convicted of crimes including you. >> don't tell me it's some luxurious country club. it's not. it's prison. whether it's a minimum security camp or super-max. the only difference is the rocks and the restriction, that's the difference. >> after 36 months in prison, kerik's view changed. he's convinced that the wrong people are getting sent to prison. >> i think we put way too many people in prison for things they don't necessarily need prison for. when you put someone in prison because he was a commercial fisherman and caught too many fish, or because someone enhanced their income in a mortgage application, to buy their first home -- >> you met all those people? >> i met those people. i also met young black men, and hispanic men out of urban america that were sentenced to ten years and 15 and 20 years, for first-time nonviolent drug offenses. ten years for a kid that sells, or buys, or possesses, five grams of cocaine? five grams is the weight of three sugar packets from dunn cin doughnuts. -- dunkin doughnuts. 30 years from now probably 75% of every black man in this country is going to be incarcerated. is that what we want? the system is broken. the system has to be fixed. i tell you in the federal system you get caught smoking a cigarette outside the facility, you could wind up in solitary for 90 days. 90 days? >> is that productive? >> no, it's not productive. solitaire is a mental torture and the longer you're there the worst it gets. i've been in solitary confinement. i know, it's not a good thing. >> kerik admits he was in solitary for a short time during transfer. >> because it is? >> it is mentally abusive. you hallucinate, you talk to yourself. it breaks down the mental psyche. it's inhumane in many ways. >> it was for you? >> it was difficult. >> kerik says he's grown frustrated with those who equate law and order with just lock 'em up and throw away the key. >> the american people believe, or as i have, and as i always did, that we pay tax dollars to punish, incarcerate and rehabilitate those that we punish. the reality is we warehouse people. >> but none of this changes kerik's view of law enforcement. police officers he says need tools like new york's controversial stop and frisk policy. >> i think stop and frisk is an excellent tool for the police department to address crime, violent crime. but it can't be abused. it's got to be monitored. it has to be tracked. it has to be transparent. i'm different in the way i see the criminal justice and prison system. but i still believe that the law and order should stand. i believe in all that stuff. >> in the city where he made his mark, salvaging good in the face of evil, bernie kerik says he doesn't like to look back. he hasn't even been to the freedom tower site, rising from the rubble where world trade center once stood. kerik walks through the bustle of his old beat and looks at how much the world has changed. good it looks like disney. it is a different atmosphere, people are having fun. i love it, the thing i love the most is that i was the part of the renaissance. i was part of that change. >> kerik has changed too. 80 pounds lighter, the trademark push broom mustache is gone, to talk about the overhaul the system needs but now he's not sure anyone wants to listen. >> what's bernie kerik's next act? >> today i'm a convicted felon. there's not much in second chances for convicted felons. i can't say, i don't know. >> bernie kerik says he has been looking hard for a job, so far hasn't had any luck so he's focused on his next book. >> the netherlands is one of the most densely populated place on earth. tonight on "america tonight," find out how they are putting homes on water. >> we brought you the story about housing wars in san francisco and the fights between the haves and the have nots there. in the netherlands the dutch has a housing crisis of their own as "america tonight"'s lori jane gliha discovered, the best solutions comes from thinking outside the box. in this is the heaviest object in the house, made out of stone, i don't know exactly how heavy but it's very heavy. >> alexandria says, her house was build around her bathtub. all it takes is one peek out of the bathroom window to understand why the weighty fixture makes her house tilt a little to one side. alexandria's house floats on water. >> they said that would shake not like this but sometimes it will do this because it cannot move further. so yes, sometimes it can be funny. this is the kitchen. we spend a lot of time here, obviously. >> and do you ever get dizzy. i see the water going like this. does that make you feel seasick? >> no, no, i like the water. and this is the dining room. and here we got with the family in the evening. most of the time. in the summer we open the windows and we barbecue and always the ducks are always around and we just need them. >> the home is one of 75 similar structures built along a series of artificial islands just outside the center of the netherlands capitol city. it's like a floating village that might be a, 60 piles of canals, also packed with people. netherlands is one of the most densely populated places in the world. about 60% of the population lives bhoa sea level. -- below sea level. space has always been scarce. so more than ten years ago a group of architects and engineers began brainstorming the way to use the water that surrounds them. that's when it came up with this. >> this was a very big challenge at all. i was curious how we could do this. >> marlise romer is the architect who designed a community of floa floating structures. start at 450,000 and go up to 780,000. pouring a concrete block at the base of each structure to lower the home's center of gravity. since a tugboat would ultimately transport the homes to their place. >> they go one at one time through the lock. this is the last tiny little bit when they go to the side and the lock is seven peters wide. and the widest house is six meter 50. >> once the individual homes made it through the canal lock, construction crews connected some of them in groups to increase their stability in the water. now they're loosely anchored in shallow water to a pair of poles driven deep into the ground. >> these rings which you can see there they can go up and down, so it can work 60 sent peters in this case. >> as the weather -- centimeters in this case. >> as the water rises and falls with rain, the houses rise as well. an inspiration to other countries including the united states. but making a neighborhood like this one work requires creative thinking. >> you have to think where you park the cars, you don't have streets, for example. where do you make you oz storage? in holland we have bikes. so you see people putting their bike on the jetties. it is also an urban question so you have to make a good urban plan. >> so this is the top floor of your house. is this the place you get the most light? >> this is -- well, this is also a little bit warmer than the rest of the house. >> so how many floors total is this? >> it's three floors. >> and on the bottom floor is? >> and the bedrooms, and the bathroom. >> one of the challenges of a floating house: child-proofing. alexandria has a two-year-old daughter. >> she cannot sing yet, she's too small. only thing that worries me every time she goes outside. cannot avoid that. i have to have my hand, be very careful. she cannot go outside herself. >> her partner leo says it feels like a vacation home year round. >> first of all you're living on the water and it's very nice like in the summer you can swim here. the other thing away i really love with houses like all the windows, it's glass on both sides, like a great view and even when it's not nice weather everything still looks spectacular. >> another potential down side. if too many people are in the house it starts to sink. leo remembers a party when more than 80 people were at his house. >> we had to tell people like stay on this side, stay on that site. >> you -- stay on that side. >> you had to be conscious. you could see -- >> people could see it was a deep lower than usual a little more shaky than usual. >> alexandria and lee oaz are excited to grow their family and leo are excited to grow their faim family. excited as to how many he other people are going to jump on board. heikko cornelison, you are thinking about how to bring it to new york city. >> yes, that would be -- definitely be great. yeah, one of the reasons why we showed with some perspectives on how we could use the water area in new york city is that we really want to show the tradition of the netherlands and all the innovations that have happened over centuries of experience. how those can be used in new york city. >> but you know is this really possible? new york is a very different place from amsterdam. what are some of the hurdles you would have to overcome to make this work in new york? >> well, first of all, technically, yes, we can directly import them from the netherlands if you like. and use them in new york city. architectly, you may want -- be architecturally you may want to -- they pay not fly in new york city. >> things that we as americans get used to, the idea that report began with the bathtub being the heaviest thing in that lady's home. in america we have big expectations, big appliances and a lot of things that are quite different. >> definitely so but those can be sof solved through the architecture and engineering. importing these to new york city and also in general to the united states, are the legal issues. first of all, one issue is that until haas year, float -- until last year, floating homes fell under maritime law. >> so they are technically considered in the sea as it were? >> technically they were considered boats. but the supreme court last year said they're not boats. they should be considered houses. and therefore they should not fall under maritime law but they should fall under state law. but the state has not regulated these homes or these floating homes as homes. and therefore, there is no regulations that regulate these homes. so simple issues such as, can i own a piece of water like i own a piece of land? those issues, those basic issues have not been solved yet. >> not been resolved. in america too we also like to worry about this notion of who's going to block whose views, of the waterfront as well. i would imagine there are people who would want to have very waterfront property. the expenses, in the netherlands are fairly high but in new york city would you have any idea how much this would cost? >> very hard to say. but one of the advantages of the water, they are mobile they are modular so they can be produced elsewhere and can be moved, and elsewhere means in factories. and all in large numbers. and that drives the cost of these homes down. you can just float them down the hudson, for example. >> well, i'm sure everybody wants affordable waterfront property. thanks very much. architect heiko cornelson. thank you very much. to the five diamonds of aspen slopes. >> tafficked labor on the front lines? >> they're things...they're commodities... >> we go undercover... >> it isn't easy to talk at this base... >> what's happining on u.s. bases... >> the taxpayer directly pays the human trafficker. >> fault lines... al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> they're locking the doors... >> groung breaking... >> they killed evan dead. >> truth seeking... >> they don't wanna show what's really going on... >> breakthough investigative documentary series america's war workers only on al jazeera america >> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news. >> and finally from us this hour, a story about exceeding expectations and doing the unexpected. sometimes that means taking on a challenge that no one in your community, even imagination exists. al jazeera's tamera banks uncorks the story from aspen, colorado. this 29-year-old isn't your typical ski bum. when he's out on the slopes -- >> this isn't my typical slee -i slopes. >> ssosommelier. forbes included him the top 30 under 30 in the food category. >> i feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have had -- blessed to have and foresight to take advantage of it. >> it's a long way from washington, d.c.'s southeast neighborhood where he grew up. >> just the mentality and the hive style as well. it's a tough place riddled with crime and poverty. i was robbed at gunpoint twice before i was 15 years old. >> his grandmother was his life raft. in the middle of that sea of chaos. >> my mom passed away when i was two years old. i was pretty much left with my grandmother, my dad was addicted to drugs, he was never around, it was my grandmother or foster home. my grandmother was the one who saved me from all this. >> carlton's grandmother taught him to cook, and his ability to poach eggs, with the help of mentors along the way, he became interested in the art of wine. today he works as a master som. at a dominant establishment in aspen. never could a guy like him live and work in a place like this. >> you never have to worry about being robbed. i don't lock my door, but it's a lifestyle. everything i do is pretty much surrounded by wine, wine making, studying wine. talking about wine. >> volume of knowledge flow out like a fine wine. >> it's like remembering your child's name you never forget it, it mediums that much to you. right? it's like my brady bunch in here. >> the passion for wine is contagious. he's generous, training inspiring soms. >> what i think we need to work on, it's something we need to work on is being a little bit more instinc instinctual. we have to follow the grid. you got to be selfless and take yourself out of the situation. work harder than you think you possibly can. >> and that's how he reached the mountain top. >> chablis, it is the purist approach and it is a very soulful wine. good choosing a wine, choosing the right path in life. >> there was a point in my hive i would have gone another way. i might have been dead. but i paid the right decision, let everything else, fate take over if you will. >> fate helped along with hard work and a gift only a handful of people in the world are breast bless -- blessed with, plus a determination not to be defined by where he came from. >> it's a great person, but every time a black person does this, you break down another barrier. >> al jazeera, colorado. >> please remember. if you want to comment on any stories you read here, log onto our website, aljazeera.com/americatonight. you can join us at twitter or our facebook page. we'll have more of "america tonight" coming up tomorrow. >> whom to al jazeera america i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are the top stories. a trip to crimea, cut short four days after, being forced to board a plane and go out of the country. in paris, secretary of state john kerry met with sergey lavrov to discuss the ukraine crisis. lavrov sat down with kerry and other leaders, but did not meet with his ukrainian counterpart. three al jazeera journalists trials, peter greste, and mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed, trials were, essay is optional, will be optional and there will be test prep on line. several obscure vocabulary words are being cut. that's the top stories. "consider this" with antonio mora is next. i'll see you back here at 11:00. >> ukraine takes a turn for the worse, as a u.n. special envoy is forced to leave crimea. a turf war, turns ugly and goes public. plus a teen sues her parents. what is she entitled to or is she just entitled? if you think your sibling rivalry is bad, you have nothing on snow owls. i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this." here is more on what's