the opening ceremonies getting under way in sochi this

he's live in sochi. nick, we just heard here in "the situation room" from congressman peter king, the chairman of the house homeland security subcommittee on intelligence and counterterrorism, that he wouldn't necessarily be ready to go to sochi, wouldn't want his family members to go to sochi. he thinks it's dangerous where you are right now. and i know athletes and fans and spectators are arriving even as we speak. are they ready in sochi for the start of these games? >> security-wise, from what we've seen since being here, there's no real threat obvious to you. there is a significant military and police presence here. in fact, some observers say it's even more discreet than they necessarily expected. we haven't felt under threat here at all, but we are of course obviously aware of the issues across southern russia. we've just come back from dagestan, the hotbed of the insurgency. that's the real question, not so much whether this nugget of land behind me on the coast is going to be well protected but

of the conditions in sochi. some other cnn staffers, other folks, journalists and others, they're saying the accommodations remain appalling if, if they can get a room at awe. listen to this. >> my hotel room, as a matter of fact, the window fell out on my head and i couldn't get it back in and had to sleep the first night in about 35 to 40 degree temperatures with the window sort of half open. as the days went by and more came in and the rest of our team came to come to the same hotel, the rooms weren't ready. and it got more and more chaotic. >> we've just landed from moscow about an hour ago now. we arrived at our hotel. and we've been told our rooms aren't ready. we've been sitting here for the last hour or so, there have been representatives of other media who have been going up to the deck saying their rooms haven't been cleaned for a week, the raid yarts aren't working, there's no loo paper. >> we didn't have light bulbs in our lamp. but you use it and the bathtub isn't really there. it will probably fall

sochi winter -- 2014 sochi winter olympics fast facts. seven countries submit bids for the 2014 olympics. the ioc selects the final three and 2006. sochi, salisbury, and p yeongchang. theioc chooses sochi as 2014 host during 2007. they raise $1.2 billion in sponsorships and on june 30, 2013, the russian anti-gay propaganda law, which passed overwhelmingly and is signed by the publicutin, bans discussion of gay rights and relationships anywhere children might hear or see it. those found in breach of it can be fined and, if they are foreign, deported. july, 2013, global protests. allows nsa leaker edward snowden to remain in his country and if you continue ,upporting bashar al-assad lindsey graham suggests a boycott of the olympics. in august 20 13, president obama rejects calls to boycott the 2014 winter olympics unless the law is repealed, saying it would who haveican athletes trained and sacrificed to make it to the lyrics. if russia does not have gay or lesbian athletes, that would probably make their team weaker. also, russia's interio

they will probably try not to attack sochi but rather attack outside sochi perhaps in moscow perhaps in vogue perhaps in rest of the loop and my guess is they're basically for possible types of attack one would be suicide bombings perhaps using ethnic russian suicide bombers which is august anisa specialized in recently. however the russian security forces and dogs nonny security forces recently killed one of the leading ethnic russian jihad it's in douglas done so that might have taken that weapon away somewhat the other is sort of vehicle borne attacks without the use of a suicide bomber and also there was a recent threat to use chemical weapons made by the group that carried out the suicide bombings in volgograd you just raised. the specter of the terrorist using chemical weapons possibly those smuggled from the rebels in syria but in order to suggest such a scenario you have to first contemplate the possibility of the syrian rebels actually having access to chemical weapons which is something that the u.s. government and some other western governments flatly rule out how do you r

they will probably try not to attack sochi but rather attack outside sochi perhaps in moscow perhaps in vogue perhaps in rest of the loop and my guess is they're basically for possible types of attack one would be suicide bombings perhaps using ethnic russian suicide bombers which is august anisa specialized in recently however the russian security forces and dogs nonny security forces recently killed one of the leading ethnic russian jihad it's . just done so that might have taken that weapon away somewhat the other is sort of vehicle borne attacks without the use of a suicide bomber and also there was a recent threat to use chemical weapons made by the group that carried out the suicide bombings in volgograd you jeff. it raised. the specter of the terrorist using chemical weapons possibly those smuggled from the rebels in syria but in order to suggest such a scenario you have to first contemplate the possibility of the syrian rebels actually having access to chemical weapons which is something that the us government and some other western governments flatly rule out how do you reco

i mean, the average spectator is going to sochi. frankly, the russian government is not reading everything they're doing. but if people are there for business or senior officials, things like that, there's a good chance that those electronic communications will be revealed by the russians. in that sense, people should be very careful what they say, what they log on to, and certainly standard good cyber practice, not clicking on e-mails or atashmeatas attachments that are coming from people they don't know. >> your successor matt olson was on the hot seat yesterday at the worldwide threat. >> better him than me. >> exactly. and mike thompson was asking him about threats at sochi. let's watch. >> do you know of any specific threats targeting the olympics? >> there are a number of specific threats of varying degrees of credibility that we're tracking. this is what we expected. it's what we saw in the run-up to prior olympic games like these. >> is it safe for americans to travel to sochi? >> i would say that americans should follow the

and share some of his impressions with me in our sochi studio. we've got behind this the olympic flame you can see but it's not just the flame that's on fire the whole olympic park is on fire it's like being in the carnival in rio it was just incredible even i was surprised the volunteers there doing limbo when the big flags were all screaming shouting saying everybody all the volunteers speak english we've got back in the stands we've got russian down saying we've got stages with. traditional russian songs of course this is from the various countries around the world you know cherishing and loving listening to traditional worship music and dancing and it's all brightly colored brilliant and so if you can if you don't have tickets to a specific event but you go into the park there's plenty to do. but you need tickets for an event you can go into the park just as a spectator and so what are some of the things that you've seen here. well like i said you got bounced around with traditional singing is it's not just traditional songs are you've got yo

in the case of sochi, it is not done. games -- nothing happened yet, hopefully nothing will happen until the end. that measuressure which were undertaken by the russian government are within the legal field and the security is not becoming abused or misuse of personal rights. who areection of those protected is another question. thank you. [applause] >> thank you again, peter. we are going to our next speaker. he spoke at our evidence before. well, again. >> thank you. i keep asking dr. alexander, why did you keep ticking me to come back? >> i will tell you. first of all, loyalty to the academic work. indicatertantly, to that the university really sponsors areas of interest to the society. when we talk about sports, we have to deal with security as well. not only on that list but also the audience and participants. it is all yours. >> i am always honored to come back. after hearing all the speakers prior to may, i have this sense of fear to come up here and share with you that our students go to the olympics every year an

i think they will probably try not to attack sochi but rather attack outside sochi perhaps in moscow perhaps in vogue perhaps in rest of the loop and my guess is they're basically for possible types of attack one would be suicide bombings perhaps using ethnic russian suicide bombers which is august anisa specialized in recently however the russian security forces and dogs nonny security forces recently killed one of the leading ethnic russian jihad ists in douglas done so that might have taken that weapon away somewhat the other is sort of vehicle borne attacks without the use of a suicide bomber and also there was a recent threat to use chemical weapons made by the group that carried out the suicide bombings in volgograd you just raised. the specter of the terrorist using chemical weapons possibly those smuggled from the rebels in syria but in order to suggest such a scenario you have to first contemplate the possibility of the syrian rebels actually having access to chemical weapons which is something that the year is government and some other western governments flatly rule out ho

i think they will probably try not to attack sochi but rather attack outside sochi perhaps in moscow perhaps in vogue perhaps in rest of the loop and my guess is they're basically for possible types of attack one would be suicide bombings perhaps using ethnic russian suicide bombers which is august anisa specialized in recently however the russian security forces and dogs nonny security forces recently killed one of the leading ethnic russian jihad ists. so that might have taken that weapon away somewhat the other is sort of vehicle borne attacks without the use of a suicide bomber and also there was a recent threat to use chemical weapons made by the group that carried out the suicide bombings in volgograd you just raised. the specter of a terrorist using chemical weapons possibly those smuggled from the rebels in syria but in order to suggest such a scenario you have to first contemplate the possibility of the syrian rebels actually having access to chemical weapons which is something that the u.s. government and some other western governments flatly rule out how do you reconcile t

>>> dogs dying in the streets of sochi. is the russian government trying to rid the city of stray animals ahead of the winter olympics by poisoning these dogs? well, that is the accusation from activists. we've got the details, up next. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. ♪ honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by

news out of sochi. shaun white's stunning fans with dpraui drawing from one competition. >>> good morning. thank you for joining us. i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. news out of sochi. hours before he was supposed to compete in the first ever slope style snowboarding event, shaun white pulling out of the competition. olympian did not cite injury, he did fall and jam his wrist during a practice run yesterday. this is a statement he gave nbc this morning, quote, after much deliberation with my team, i have made the decision to focus solely on trying to bring home the third straight gold medal in half pipe for team usa. white defending gold medalist in the half pipe, defending his third straight medal in that event, starting tuesday. medal plaza inside olympic park where all of the athletes in sochi hope to be. now, we take you up to the mountains where crews have been pumping out the snow preparations for the games. using snow cannons, machines, snow trucked in by the truckloads. those that h

says there are no gays in sochi. where am i going to find the gays? is that true? >> next question please. >> they're gay. >> buddy cole, nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you too. >> it's funny because my grinder said you were 300 yards away. oh well, we're trying to seek out the gay propaganda threat here in russia. have you seen it anywhere? the gay propaganda. so there's no gay propaganda threat in sochi. >> no, no. >> so no gays on main street. i thinkinged they must all be at putin's free speech protest. >> have you heard about these protest zones, where would i find these protest zones. >> protest, what is protest. >> protests where people go no, no, i don't like that, down with something i don't understand. >> which way to the gay protest zone? >>. >> apparently the official free speech protest zone was conveniently located just outside of sochi. just down the highway. past this, through this tunnel, and through the mountains. 9 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. it's around here somewhere. the

it's now a make heaven island and the last of these teams for sochi twenty four take. on. the upcoming independence referendum will be a very high stakes gamble for scotland as london has announced a yes to sovereignty would automatically mean a no to a shared currency george osborne chancellor of the exchequer says edinburgh would have to leave the pound if it leaves the u.k. archy's laura smith has more. what chancellor george osborne is saying is if scotland walks away from the u.k. it also walks away from the pound he's very clear about that he said that there are four things that are necessary to have a currency really and say for scotland to share the pound and then proceeded to demolish the possibility of those conditions being met the first thing he talked about was a banking union scotland of course has a huge financial sector is worth about twelve times its g.d.p. alone there's no way that scotland would be able to bail out its own bags you've only got to look at the huge world bank of scotland for that the u.k. has only just managed to extricate itself from an o

and it's now a make heaven and the last of these teams for sochi twenty four take. on. so all the news now the upcoming independence referendum will be a very high stakes gamble for scotland as london has announced a gas to sovereign sea would automatically mean a no shared currency george osborne the chancellor of the exchequer says edinburgh or the have to leave the pound if it leaves the u.k. artie's or smith has the details what chance the georgia has been a saying is if scotland walks away from the u.k. it also walks away from the pound he's very clear about that he said that there are four things that are necessary to have a currency union so for scotland to share the pound and then proceeded to demolish the possibility of those conditions being met the first thing he talked about was a banking union scotland of course has a huge financial sector is worth about twelve times its g.d.p. alone there's no way that scotland would be able to bail out its own balance you've only got to look at the huge world bank of scotland so that the u.k. has only just managed to extr

and our guest today is not only the home of mayor of sochi of the. limpid capital live from sochi this i think i hope this is the home of winter sport fans from all over the world are tuning again each other why they should just drop everything to hop on the next flight to sochi. because she's in amazing and beautiful resort but you know many people who are skeptical about having winter olympics in a subtropical city but i believe that they're wrong and that our games are going to be just wonderful you know we worked really hard and sought you change to ridicule you over the last five years people say miracles don't happen but this is a real miracle as we manage to do everything as planned for the city became a very beautiful and comfortable place were resolved a lot of long standing problems with infrastructure in a logistics we build new roads bridges and tunnels. and have snow on the ground for right now what is it all melts or the rain washed it away after all so she's in a sub tropics and you have pound trees all over where will you get the snow

region that door to door of around sochi which is a little further along the coast. which is where the coastal cluster race with all the indoor ice events where that taking place and of course up in the mountains across napolitano so these live sites. all around the region wait in the water in sochi by the pool it's on no show if you can you can make it out it is just beginning to wrap up to the atmosphere has been pretty spectacular throughout the course of the evening there's a giant screen west spectators gather to watch all the sporting events and also the medal ceremony which take place every evening at eight fourteen pm of course that's twenty fourteen to represent the spectators are gathered together to watch the medal ceremony there's also a stage which is now closed there's nobody on its. various musical acts all throughout the evening and as i say this isn't the only one in the region so the atmosphere is pretty pretty good a pretty special in and around sochi on the region at the moment and every single evening as well i have to say there's a fireworks dis

love on the slopes of sochi valentine's day and olympians and spectators alike paused why are the darlings of the two thousand and fourteen winter games interesting selection topping the chart. three years on tear gas but tongues and torture fail to halt bahraini pearl from active as they stand defiant we take a look at what the future holds for the country. migration concerns afflicting several countries knocking on norway's door the country increasingly worried about how to control the influx without infuriating brussels. eleven pm in moscow i am at present good to have you with us day seven of the twenty second winter olympics now and our special coverage begins again from the host city of sochi kevin owen standing by in our studios in the heart of the city. yeah hi again old nice to see again welcome back to sochi kevin oh you joy this high above the park is of course the main seaside spalding but you can see over my shoulder there the limping flame burning bright into the night as you say we know we can into the games now what a journey it's been so far the celebration the upsets and

spectacle in sochi. a grand kickoff to the olympic games with thousands of performers. ♪ and proud athletes representing the nations of the world. the olympic spirit in full display, and even with one technical glitch, the sights and sounds of the opening ceremony, a wonder to behold. this morning the competition is fully underway. >> woody allen, his daughter from more than two decades ago. >> moving on up. >> i'm going to be missing your tv at 12:37. the battle for late night ratings and my fierce rival with ferguson and the veggie commercial. >> an emotional and humorous farewell to late might, and now he is setting his sights an hour earlier getting ready for his takeover of "the tonight show." today is saturday, february 8th, 2014. >>> from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today" at the olympic winter games with lester holt, live from olympic park in sochi, russia, and erica hill live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> good morning. welcome to a very special edition of "today" on this

janelle wang is in sochi. she'll have the latest coming up next. >> another exciting thing, really, the rain that is coming to the bay area. christina's got a look at that as we take a live look outside. it's friday, february 7th, this is "today in the bay." >>> good morning everyone. happy friday to you. as we see the live shot of san jose here. rain is returning. >> it certainly is. this is they say the calm before the next storm. meteorologist christina loren is tracking the weather for us. we're going to get a report from her coming up in about five minutes. >> well, the world anxiously awaiting the opening ceremonies. >> while the kickoff to the winter games is tonight competition is under way and team usa dominated on the slopes but failed on the ice. >> janelle wang live at olympic park with more. good morning. >> reporter: good afternoon, laura and scott. it is 5:00 in the afternoon here, opening ceremonies set to begin in just a few hours. you can see the park not very busy but it will get busy soon.

the choice for sochi in the first place. that of course is the unrest a reason there was negative reasons about the russian human rights record why do you think there's been such a reaction from certain parts of the media well i think it's it's a bold choice especially seven years ago when there was really nothing here and you know you're looking at a competition of cities that are much more developed if you look at something like vancouver who hosted and spent about seven billion dollars to prepare for the games and you look associates and fifty one billion. that's a big difference and you know if i had been on the selection committee i don't know if so she would have made sense then but now it's a different it's a completely different city than it was that it's it will host of your games david thank you much for your time david. a travel writer and blogger joining us here have a nice. well for seven a long year as russia has been working in fact to make this sporting festival come alive in two thousand and seven the countr

skating team claims the host nation's first gold as the second day of the winter games wraps up in sochi but aside from the celebration of winter olympic sports. the threat of something happening in sochi the western media dishes out an avalanche of criticism raising questions about whether the concerns and panic are justified plus in the weeks other headlines. u.s. assistant secretary of state has apparently been caught on tape trying to direct ukraine's political future. and you know. at the same time what's believed to be victoria nuland comments have also caused outrage in you with the german chancellor calling them unacceptable. and to switzerland votes narrowly in favor of a controversial plan to put a limit on immigration in a nationwide referendum. and broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow recapping the week's top stories this is our to international with the weekly. now the second day of the two thousand and fourteen winter olympics has brought to the first gold to the host nation in team figure skating russian athletes are delivered impressive performances in othe

issue prior to the sochi twenty four olympics the controversy connected with the ban on gay propaganda to minors which of course came into force in russia last year cause huge roar among communities worldwide and much hype in the foreign media it's still going on sometimes the indignation pretty exotic foods bartender spilling vocal you may recall the street some celebrities loving it to lambaste the law politicians and. russian authorities. calling for a boycott of lympics wasn't the most successful call there was a no i.o.c. officials repeatedly stated that russell's mom banning gay propaganda to minors does not violate the olympic charter as anti discrimination laws and that they are fully satisfied with president president putin's worth everyone not withstanding religion nationality or sexual orientation are welcome to sochi twenty four teams. one of three openly gay athletes in the u.s. she says she doesn't think you can pick fruit from the software. i'll be representing then you know that states have pride as an openly gay citizen so while that may lead to a bit of controversy i

we see him visiting the venues in sochi. inspecting the area. we see him skating with president belarus and former nhl stars. he's in the heart of the action. these are his games. we see this in a positive light because this is his project. it is time to show the world that russia is a strong nation. it is a modern one. that it can win on the international stage as well as at the rink and on the slopes. [ speaking foreign language ] >> for moscow, for president putin and for the russian people, it represents amongst other things, the opportunity to show what the country has achieved in recent years. to demonstrate, once again, russia's influence is growing. >> it would be good to ask the residents of sochi what they make of it all but you're hardly likely to find coverage of that. the reaction has been unambiguous. for them, to call it natural disaster would be too much but they see it as something like that. especially the people who are evicted from their homes and who, if they were paid any compensation, it was almost nothing. >> complaints o

nick paton walsh, cnn, sochi. >>> rachel nichols is joining us from sochi right now. you were there at the opening ceremonies. how did it go? what were some of the highlights? >> there was a slight glitch near the beginning, an electronic snowflake that was supposed to turn into an olympic ring didn't quite make it there. but really after that, it was a very polished affair. nods to russia's history, its contributions to literature, art, even a nod to the soviet era and in the end a fireworks display that honestly made the super bowl halftime show feel like a kid's birthday party it was so grandiose. some of the sweetest moments were the little ones, the moment when iran and israel walked into the stadium, their delegations just feet apart from each other really symbolizing the olympic spirit of peace even in difficult times. then with the americans, skier heidi close kloser, i don't kno you have have been following her story. she tweeted out a picture of her with ice on her knee. she was on the practice for the downhill and tore up her acl, just during practice, the

if he thought the concern for safety at the sochi olympics had been overhyped. i mean i think you can never be too careful i think there's close to seventy thousand security personnel and so it's see between the different branches of police officers face best pets not in office but snacks and international folks are also there you know there are also different. intelligence branches and law enforcement branches from all over the world there so i think search is going to be quite safe but then again there is no such thing as you know one hundred percent guarantee of you know absolute safety anywhere in the world wherever you go but i think it's going to be one of the safest places around and i think that the president of the russian federation is doing an amazing job to make sure it's safe for everyone for the last few years you've been working with law enforcement in arizona on curbing illegal immigration what do you think the obama administration should be doing to really address that issue. in terms of here i think for me the key is to be able to do proper bac

and shared his impressions with me here in our sochi studio. we've got behind this the olympic flame you can see but it's not just the flame that's on fire the whole olympic park is on fire it's like being in the carnival in rio it was just incredible even i was surprised the volunteers they're doing limbo and the big flags they're all screaming shouting. everybody all the volunteers speak english we've got back in the stands we've got russian dancing we've got stages with. it all singing traditional russian songs of course this is from of the various countries around the world you know cherishing and loving listening to traditional worship music and dancing and it's all brightly colored brilliant and so if you can if you don't have tickets to a specific event but you go into the park there's plenty to do. but you need tickets for an event you can go into the park just as a spectator and so what are some of the things that you've seen here well like i said you've got bounced around with traditional singing is it's not just traditional songs are

. >> welcome to sochi! >> reporter: after the metal detectors and bag checks a daily ritual, it took those today attending this evening's opening ceremony just a few minutes to get to the stadium. >> i don't want to be late. >> reporter: security ever present, sometimes even friendly. inside, a spectacle about a proud people. many u.s. athletes celebrated with selfies. after six olympics it never gets old. todd lodwick chosen to carry the flag. >> i think it's going to be an eye-opening moment, almost like winning the medal itself. >> reporter: just one noticeable glitch. one of the olympic rings failed to materialize. among those who carried the torch of the olympic torch, rumored to be linked to the russian president putin, though the relationship has never been confirmed. she handed it off to one of the most decorated figure skaters in russia, a national hero who has drawn international criticism for a doctored photo she tweeted of president obama last year that many considered racist. but for those in a

sochi, if anyone, depend on where you are in sochi is 10, 15 kilometers away from the region of georgia which the russian federation acknowledges independent after the august 2008 war. another pretty unique aspect about these games. never before in my lifetime my lifetime, i was born february 13, 1959, be clear about this never before in my lifetime has olympic games been so politically controversial and so identified with the leader of the host country. that, of course being vladimir putin. so no, we're not going to talk today about -- well let me just say one more thing. because we are in washington, d.c. i don't think ever before has a sports icon from washington, d.c. been so close is associated with the foreign host, the leader of the country vladimir putin of these games are obviously i'm talking about alexander ovechkin, the russian hockey team and is a friend of putin. very close friend i believe. so an interesting aspect of the washington, d.c. angle. so i've already said too much because we have a really terrific set of panelists. in which i will give brief introduction for al

just like lake tahoe, sochi has a mild winter. crews using snow cannons, machines, brought in by the truck loads. competitors tested the runs saying powder is insane. lack of snow concerns may be over but now there's a new concern about safety on the slope style course. american shawn white has dropped out of the event. he fell and jammed his wrist yesterday. the top norwegian snowboarder crashed, breaking his collarbone. the man-made jumps are packed too high, too steep. caring it to dropping out of the sky or jumping out of a building. russian officials say, they'll address the concerns and could make changes to the course if necessary. >>> 23-year-old monterey native is america's best hope of meddling in the short track speedskating. many called j.r. the next apolo ono. he was accepted to cal berkeley but postponed studies to focus on his sport. he was raised in washington state, but says he never forgets where he's from. >> i have been back and forth a couple of times. actually took a road trip up there, went camping with my g

the boss over the olympic podium in sochi is in full swing with no way to leading the race so far we're closely watching this for six try gonzo from our season very own studio in the heart of the winter games it's maybe a celebration of sport but. the threat of something happening in sochi western media found their alarm bells ringing over the olympics are raising eyebrows as well as question as to whether they've done it and criticism our chance to buy that bluff in the week's headlines when. you know. that reportedly comes from the mouth of the u.s. assistant secretary of state victoria nuland ashura views washington's plans for crisis rank ukraine and the league's foreign call. on this way some deciding on whether to keep foreigners out as they come true votes on a controversial bill introducing him and wonder why was it. hello and welcome to our senior national twenty four hour news of live from moscow . thanks for joining us they competition's hazing up their winter games in sochi with eight sets of medals up for grabs on sunday all season he says now he's keeping abreast of all th

not all the competitors here in sochi were expecting to compete for gold and oakum practice here in sochi needed a photo finish to determine their final position in the standings. for some athletes sochi twenty fourteen was simply about taking part take for example indian illusia shiva can shave in his commitment to his sports highlighted by his training regime winding his way down dusty tracks by passing go sonorities along the way. my wife's insight yes he may have come thirty seven thousand and thirty nine but the him there was more at stake following accusations of corruption the indian and limpid committee were suspended by the i.o.c. in two thousand and twelve but ban was lifted during these games meaning cache vun could finally compete under his nation's fly unfortunately there's a lot of politics played with the flag of india which i'm sure many people back home are not happy with but now that's over think that's a lesson learned for everybody and lot of things to look ahead to one of the more colorful characters of these games was prince who purchase of hohenlohe in london the fi

the battle for the olympic podium into full swing in sochi with norway leading the race so far work keeping an eye on the sports extravaganza from our own studio in the heart of the winter games. it may be a celebration of sport at something bad happening in such media setting alarm bells ringing over the olympics raising eyebrows as well as questions of whether the panic and the criticism all are justified in the weeks ahead lie. and you know. reportedly coming from the u.s. assistant secretary of state as she reveals washington's plans for crisis rock ukraine in a leaked phone call. swiss deciding whether to keep foreigners out of the country of voting on a controversial bill introducing immigrant quotas. it's nine am in moscow i'm mad trezeguet taking a look back at the week's news and giving you all the latest on the latest a lympics information competition the heating up at the winter games with eight sets of medals up for grabs on sunday let's go live to our own annie sonali now standing by in our sochi studios with all the latest developments from the host city and isa. morning to yo

games remain huge. >> apparently athletic ability isn't enough to win a gold medal in sochi. we have more on the technology that is behind the olympics. >> reporter: the blood, sweat and tears joining me now is jenny, editor of popular science to give us the inside scoop on technology. on preparation of the winter games the u.s. team worked with engineers, scientists to develop the ultimate technology. now the u.s. has to do that to be competitive with other countries. >> they do. the olympics have become somewhat of an arms race of scientists working with engineers to make the very best. the winter games are reliant onn equipment. >> the high wind tunnel. what does that do. >> ski jumpers are in air for only a few seconds. they can go in a wind tunnel to practice their form and see which parts of their form is creating the most drag and adjust their bodies. they found a wind tunnel near their home base in utah, and retrofit it to practice in it. they nailed ski bindings over the floor and created the wind drag to practice all they want and take what they learned to the ski j

we see him visiting the venues in sochi. inspecting the area. we see him skating with president belarus and former nhl stars. he's in the heart of the action. these are his games. we see this in a positive light because this is his project. it is time to show the world that russia is a strong nation. it is a modern one. that it can win on the international stage as well as at the rink and on the slopes. [ speaking foreign language ] >> for moscow, for president putin and for the russian people, it represents amongst other things, the opportunity to show what the country has achieved in recent years. to demonstrate, once again, russia's influence is growing. >> it would be good to ask the residents of sochi what they hardly likely to find coverage of that. the reaction has been unambiguous. for them, to call it natural disaster would be too much but they see it as something like that. especially the people who are evicted from their homes and who, if they were paid any compensation, it was almost nothing. >> complaints over olympic grade construc

i was in sochi. i saw the ring of steel, although one of the black widows did penetrate it, it's very heavily fortified with 100,000 security officials including russian military. so it would be very difficult to get in. but they can score just as easy of a victory by hitting a softer target outside the ring of steel. what's an important point to make is that the eyes of the world will be on these olympic games. they've been fighting this war with the russians for over 100 years. and this is in their eyes their moment to make a very visible public statement. and that's why i think the percentage and probability's very high that something could happen at the games. but i would argue that most likely would happen outside the olympic village and outside the games. >> yeah, that's what i've been told repeatedly over these past few days as well. and one concern that u.s. intelligence has, and you know a lot more about this than i do, is that if there is some sort of soft target hit outside of the main ven

but aside from the celebration of winter olympic sports the threat of something happening in sochi the western media dishes out an avalanche of criticism raising questions about whether the concerns and panic are justified plus in the week's other headlines. the u.s. assistant secretary of state has apparently been caught on tape trying to direct ukraine's political future and you know. at the same time what's a believed to be victoria nuland comments have also caused outrage in the e.u. with the german chancellor calling them unacceptable. and in switzerland votes narrowly in favor of a controversial plan to put a limit on immigration and a nationwide referendum. and broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow recapping the week's top stories with our weekly program this is our t.v. guide have you with us. now the second day of the two thousand and fourteen winter olympics has brought the first gold to the host nation in team figure skating russian athletes delivered impressive performances and other events as well winning silver and bronze medals as a result russia is now tie

yes there's an air of disappointment in and around sochi right now off to give. one of the poster boys of sochi twenty fourteen was forced to pull out of the figure skating individual men's men's event through injury. in the warm up aggravating and ongoing back problem now it was a huge disappointment to him on the fans inside the iceberg skating palace he was looking to become the most decorated figure skater in winter olympics history that whites will have to go on of course up until now the figure skating is an event that russia has so far dominated with two golds on a silver to their name however there was one medal for russian fans to celebrate. day with. securing the bronze in the biathlon twenty k. pursuit of course the sport that combines cross-country skiing and shooting. and paul as for hockey you were in the stands you saw the game what was it like there. yes well russia run out five two winners in the bolshoi which you can probably make out in the distance behind me but despite the school line it was. the school would suggest they were made to work. w

sochi, if anyone, depend on where you are in sochi, is 10, 15 kilometers away from the region of georgia which the russian federation acknowledges independent after the august 2008 war. another pretty unique aspect about these games. never before in my lifetime, my lifetime, i was born february 13, 1959, be clear about this, never before in my lifetime has olympic games been so politically controversial, and so identified with the leader of the host country. that, of course, being vladimir putin. so no, we're not going to talk today about -- well, let me just say one more thing. because we are in washington, d.c. i don't think ever before has a sports icon from washington, d.c. been so close is associated with the foreign host, the leader of the country, vladimir putin, of these games are obviously i'm talking about alexander ovechkin, the russian hockey team and is a friend of putin. very close friend i believe. so an interesting aspect of the washington, d.c. angle. i've already said too much because we have a really terrific set of panelists in which i will give brief introductions fo

all eyes are on sochi as the twenty second winter olympic games are well underway the top athletes from around the world compete for gold silver and bronze it will both of the winners and losers straight ahead meanwhile the western media coverage of russia as a so-called gay propaganda laws appears to have overshadowed the opening ceremonies from the olympics coming up next we'll take a closer look at that law and similar ones that exist right here in the united states and he's best known as a hollywood action film star but steven seagal has many more traits and accolades listed on his resume straight ahead an exclusive look at his political future and the religion that helped shape his world. it's monday february tenth four pm in washington d.c. at the neck and lopez and you are watching r t america well i don't know about you but i was glued to my television all weekend watching the world's top athletes compete at sochi at the winter olympic games the massive ceremony showcased twenty eight hundred athletes from eighty eight countries were competing in ninety eight events and right af

back in sochi and ready to compete. ladies' figure skating, take the ice at 7:00 tonight, that's an hour from now. the americans, teammates, include ashley wagner and gracie gold. polina edmunds is the youngest, age 15. sophomore in san jose plans to skate the sam program she did at u.s. schchampionships in boston which landed her i silver meddle and spot on the olympic team. at her young age, polina is a virtual unknown to judges and some say she should have waited for the next winter games to compete but the confident teen strongly disagrees. she's been training for this moment her entire life. >> i don't want to be four years older and not as good as i was four years back and have been held back for that. i'm really happy they gave me my shot, and i can't wait to prove myself at olympic games. >> reporter: 30 ladies take the ice today. here's team usa. polina edmunds will skate 12th, current u.s. national champion, gracie gold skate 22nd. and ashley wagner will skate 27th. biggest competition is reigning olympic gold

sochi story begins. or will we will be no windows. call me i was on was almost normal life and a huge proponent. northern rock. what do you see a woman who worked for. tune in this edition. i know. i think that i thought that the plug on its own. you only get better ethel. a joking comment on what the bomb. with ch ch the four twenty am. i work with it. what going on. i sat at the fire. he took up the pot. it's a little thinking. tom thumb china has been concentrating on only one thing this week. it's achieved else and fourteen winter looks games in sochi russia. she decided to cover everything related to this global event. and today is the first day. it's not my first time covering dylan base because else's it to use accounting to london sunderland pics and i had to prepare like month in advance preparing with the skittles but the ethics profiles and her delivery the program with in a statement that the west it's always a great pleasure and great times because he also gives me a chance to look at it on a broader perspective and eleve

praying at the sochi olympics as he forgets check the facts in their hunt for faults of the games. and growing tension in the u.k. as trade unions voice they are outraged over new jobs and salary cuts are two reports on the stand off between the workers and westminster. in the russian capital you're watching r t international with me where even josh the optimism that a crisis deal reached in ukraine would help quell the i'm dressed has been short lived crowds in independence square booed the agreement that initiated the snap presidential election some promising armed action is a country whose head doesn't step down on saturday morning the entire center of kiev is now reportedly controlled by radical protestors are days ago it has been obvious following the developments in the ukrainian capital. it appears as now one of the complete control of the opposition police have completely left the city center but nevertheless we're still hearing calls by some of the leaders of the right wing radicals who are calling for war armed action. and if the president doesn't resign by ten am we'll g

well it was a wolf except not in sochi but in a b.b.c. studio in los angeles in a specially constructed for the replica of the athletes' dorm hallway in sochi turns out there is no wealth of sochi we were all duped but that's not the point this fit with the whole the whole paradigm they have created about oh russia is so scary it's so crazy it's pandemonium people running around their heads on fire and so this fit in there and so they loved it they gave it up and it shows how there is a very small thought paradigm that's allowed on most of our media and the things that paradigm or perfect you think you rugby you do a great job ok i love to do this again would you consider bringing a live bear to the closing ceremonies. yeah let me see right in this kind of right of course going on here it might have as well be bear the media would still bite jimmy kimmel's prank like nothing else has called out the u.s. media on their obsession with finding faults with the sochi olympics. in washington i'm going to shut down arkie the closing ceremony wil

if you cross the media coverage of sochi i'm joined by my guest martin andrews he is our correspondent in sochi right now in london we have john good body he is a journalist for the sunday times who has been covering the olympics since one thousand nine hundred sixty eight and in washington we crossed to we can he is a comedian and an author a journalist cross-talk rules in effect and you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it martin you're in sochi right now you've been there since the start here i'm going to ask you a very simple question what's it like and i know you are aware of what was being said about the games weeks and months before they opened up so please compared to me what you read in western media and what you've experienced to date in sochi go ahead well as you can see we've got the olympic park behind us at the moment just behind you think it's in vision you can see the olympic flame you can see them but the entire park is on fire such is on fire at the moment the atmosphere is just incredible and take my word for every single person i've asked from a

with the eyes of the world on sochi, the sarcastic ends are calling on the world to recognize the sochi games as genocide. folklore evening in the caucasus and russia, the master of ceremonies is battling against forgetfulness. he said most russians no longer know about how the czars conquered his forebears. the olympics could have been an opportunity to take an honest look at the past. >> these olympic games are being held in a place that is very significant and tragic for our people. to have these games in sochi without speaking about these things is just not right. >> only about 700,000 circassian s still live in russia today. the russian army brutally subjugated circassia. not far from where the winter games will be held, thousands died in the last stand against the russian army. most of those who survived were driven away across the black sea into turkey. a circassian who lives in sochi today has called on russia to acknowledge that the conquest was genocide. that's why the authorities have summoned him several times for preventive talks, as they have many who think like that. >> w