. welcome to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. here are the stories we are following for you right now. former prime minister ariel sharon is dead at the age of 85. we look at the life and legacy of the controversial leader. no water for hundreds of thousands in west virginia after thursday's toxic chemical spill. 50 years ago, the historic announcement that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. . word came early this morning that the former prime minister

offitsis, ariel sharon has died. the deck rated ex general and leader has left an indelible mark on the mid east, he passed away in a tel aviv hospital. he was 85 years old. in 1984 at the tender age of 13, he joined the underground para military force where he fought in the battle for jerusalem during israel's war for independence. in 1967 he was in battle again, commanding a division during the 6-day war. during the yon space kippur war, they surrounded the egyptian third army which turned the tide of the army. he was appointed defense minister in 1981 just in time for israel to invade lebanon in 1982. a commission indirectly found the defense force responsible for a massacre of palestinian simpleians, eventually leading to shareon's reluctant resignation. he stays a political -- staged a comeback in 2001, winning a

victory to become israel's 11th prime minister. the he ordered the withdraw of the military along with settlers from the gaza strip as part of a disengagement plan. then, on january 4th, 2006, he suffered a massive stroke, forcing a medically induced coma, 1 he was in until his passing today. president obama reacting to shareon's death ream acted commisment to strive for lasting peace. he has expressed sympathy saying michelle and i send our deepestco condolences to his family and to the people of israel on the loss of a leader who dedicated his life to the state of israel. we continue to strive for lasting peace and security for the people of israel, including through our commitment to the goal of two states living side-by-side in peace and security. huunited nations secretary ban ke moon renewed commitment

to working towards peace in the middle east. he says ariel sharon was a hero to his people, first as a soldier and then as a statesman. he will be remembered for his political courage and det-emergency room nation. the secretary general is calling on israel to build on the late prime minister's legacy of pragmatism to work toward a long overdue achievement of a viable palestinian state next to a secure israel. al jazeera nick schifrin is in jerusalem. he joins us life. nick, he was a loved and hated man. few people are ambivalent about ariel sharon. what can we expect in the upcoming days? >> reporter: good evening, morgan. what we will see tomorrow is that sharon's body will lie in state in the kinnesset. >> that's the parliament. on moonlit, you will see a funeral. we are either going to get a military funeral in jerusalem or what his family wants, which is for him to be buried by his

wife, lily on the farm, one of the largest farms in israel. >> that's in southern israel. really, as you suggested, not only in the statement, but also the history, there is no one who doesn't feel passionately about sharon, good and bad. some people called him king erik. that was his first name originally. others called him the bulldozer. definitely not meaning that in a abo good way. >> passion comes out of the fact that he was a massive figure, a huge figure, not only for israel but for the entire region and not only for the last few years but for the last half century. it was a moment that defined everything he stood for. in 2000 in jerusalem, ariel sharon walked through the alaxa mosque. 'prove indication was what it was, his visit triggered outrage and the second palestinian

uprising but the violence it helped spark propelled him to election as prime minister. it proved once again that the brash, bull-headed sharon did what he wanted, seized land he desired, and nobody dared stop him. as much as anyone in the last 50 years, he helped define the israeli state. many loved him for it. mary others despised him. first, he was an audacious and successful sold soldier /* soldier. in 1967, he won one est most sensational battles in the 6-day war. israel suddenly doubled in size. as a battle fooled general, he ensur. until 1982 as defense minister, he led the invasion of lebanon. after the victory, he ordered 40ss to stand as the lebanese

fighters he was supporting slaughtered hundreds if not thousands of palestinian refugees. it should have been the end of his career. he had to resign, and annitsis commission found him indirectly responsible. but sharon survived and eventually returned to power as a right-wing politician. >> he helped create the political party that currently leads israel. he masterminded the modern settler movement, a legal and con troversial, he saw settlement in the palestinian west bank as bull works against arab neighbors he never trusted. >> all of those communities that you built in judea, samaria, gaza district, the golan heights, they are not obstacles of peace. they are obvious stack cal did to war. >> for sharon, there was no greater obstacle and long time nemesis yasar arafat. for decades, he targeted the

leader. when arafat was palestinian president, sharon laid siege. he was a prisoner inside his home and, in the end, left without ever seeing the palestinian state that sharon fought so hard against. >> arafat, one must understand we speak about a murderer. he is a murderer, a pathological liar. >> sharon always promised israel security and also took the long-term view. in 2001, during a wave of suicide bomb attacks, sharon chose separation. he ordered the construction of a massive wall. it ghettoized some of the west bank. it took land and redefined israel's borders. >> the most important thing is to bring security for the cities. >> when he decided that security

meant removing settlers from the gaza strip, the father of the settlement movement with stood heavy resistance. once again, he did what he wanted with landisis seized. he was on his way to being re-elected prime minister but in 2006, he suffered a massive stroke. he was brought by ambulance to this hospital and never woke up. always polarizing many saw him as strength. others saw the symbol of israeli cruelty. as one writer put it, his story became israel's story and today israel is sharon's israel. >> to give you a sense of how polarizing sharon is en in death, more recent statements in the last few minutes, shimon peres, the president of israel said he is one of israel's great protectors and important architects and hamas, an organization that nowruns the gaza strip that sharon fought tooth and nail calls him a

criminal whose hands were smeared with the blood of our people. so clearly, a lot of polarizing and the fact is that everybody feels passionately. >> polarizing and contro versial but sharon once said, i can talk and look in the eyes of the citizens of israel and convince them to make painful compromises. what were some of those painful compromises? >> it's kind of like a nixon to china moment. here is a man who was believed to be so strong and so aggressive and so militarily capable that when he said, look, i am pulling out of the gaza strip, look, you have to listen to me, i created the settlement movement. now, i am taking it away from you. people listened, people accepted that he would be able to do it whereas a liberal politician here would never be able to do that kind of thing. as we saw, he pulled out of the

gaza strip and the northern west bank at the same time right before his stroke. >> was the main message right at the end of his life that he wanted to take unilateral movements because he simply did the current situation in israel. even if it was a unilateral move, that's what he thought was the best way to make peace. >> live from jerusalem. nick thanks for being with us this afternoon. as nick said, ariel sharon was a very polarizing figure. to further discuss the former israel leader in the arab world is hussein abish at the america task force on palestine. he joins us now live from washington, d.c. thank you for being with us this morning. >> thanks, morgan. >> for many in israel, he was a great leader. a great leader has passed. you have written for most arabs, mo no israeli is more synonymous with violence. why is that? >> because of israel's history in being involved in some of the more extreme actions. it's not just his leadership

during, you know, on the battlefield in the conventional wars. it's his participation in unit 101 with the first special operations in the early 50s on which 56 palestinians were killed, most of them women and children, and, of course, the massacre in which hundreds if not thousands of palestinians were killed under his watchful eye and israel found him to be personally responsible, found the israel military indirectly but him to bear responsibility for that. those images of the bodies piled on top of each other defined his legacy, i think, for many arabs. but i do actually think that his real legacy is more complicated than that. >> there also came a point when sheron realized the conflict clearly had no military solution. and then he endorsed the sfwlus roadmap for peace in 2003. why the sudden change? >> well, i don't think it was

sudden. i think it was gradual. you have seep it. so many israel politicians began supportive of the occupation start to have their doubt. there are 4.5 palestinians living under israel occupation in east jerusalem in the gaza strip. israel can't make them citizenship. they can't kill them. they can't throw them out. what are they going to do? sharon's answer wassun reca unilateralism. he called it a unilateral deployment and he started the construction of the wall and that sort of stuff we just heard about from nick. but, in addition to that, i think it's very important to note that what he proved was that settlement can, in fact, be dismantled. so people always sort of take for granted, especially those who doubt that a two-state solution is possiblible, they hook at the number of settlers and settlement and say it can't be done. >> assumes israel can't

dismantle settlement. sharon proved they could. on the other hand, he acted unilaterally and we have seen the effects offun l unilaterali which have been generally negative. contrast that with the impact of agreements with egypt, with jordan or the armestist. all of which have had a willing partner who has been affected. israel can dismantle aspects of the occupied when it wants to and this business, the idea that the settler movement is just too powerful to allow that is wrong. sharon proved that. at the same time, i think sharon's legacy proves that the limitations and, indeed the dangers offun recall at recallism. his final legacy shows us the way forward. an agreement that is based that includes, you know, withdrawal of settlement but not through unilaterilism. >> senior fellow with the task

force joining us live. >> thanks. appreciate it. >> earlier, i spoke to hamis hamish aleb. he told us about sharon's ptolemic leg? >> he was a man of extremes. he didn't play by the rules. the only rules he did play by were his own rules. he defied convention. he was a very courageous manual, but i think there was also a streak of cruelty. without taking into account other people's opinions. the rate in the 1950s as a young paratropp. r by itself without any -- despite people who thought it was is he sment. the own deep personal imprint, and action of course, the last

crowning event, disengagement that turned things around and made him a villain to the right who diefied him and a hero to the left who hated him. even if they hated him, they will come to realize he may be one of the last of the giants of a country, the founding fathers of the country who has passed away, probably with the exception of the president, shimon peres, and i think there will be a sense of loss. >> when we return, a fire at a historic tourist attraction in an ancient tibetan town. we will have details. and. >> jonathan martin, the water crisis in west virginia continues as a chemical spill. we will tell you how people are getting clean water and have the latest on the federal investigation coming up.

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? >> fema is sending more than 2 and a half millions of clean water to west virginia in the weight of a toxic chemical spill. a state of e mergency in west virginia after a chemical used to clean coal leaked into the elk river in charleston. people in nine counties have been told not to drink, bathe or wash their clothes in tap water. a federal investigation has been launched. jonathan martin is at the scene. jonathan, what's being done in terms of getting people the relief that they need? >> reporter: fema has helped, they brought in water. the truck behind me. that was one of the trucks full of bottled water. he's gone. so many people have been coming by here, getting the bottled water they need and there is also behind me, you can see, a lot of people to bring canisters and fill those up to take home. a lot of people bringing some big canisters because they just

don't know how long this water crisis will last. so, again, some 300,000 people told, do not drink this water. do not bathe in it. really, only they are being told that they can their toilet, the system. so at this point, that's what they are told they can do now. this all started on thursday, thursday morning, when this company freedom industries, an industrial company here in the city notified authorities that a chemical was leaking into the elk river. it's so close to the water treatment facility, so, morgan, it got into the water leip and people started reporting that they smelled a sweet smell that was like licorice and officials determined it was that chemical that you mentioned that is used to clean coal, mchm. they tell us it can caused vomiting, eye irritation, diarrhea. until they can get it flushed out of the system, dpap, the word is do not drink it. really, do not use it at all. morgan? >> jonathan, as we mentioned earlier, a federal investigation has been launched. is it clear yet who exactly is responsible? i know you mentioned freedom

industries. but what more do we know? >> reporter: the president of freedom industries gave a brief news conference and he did apologize to everyone. he wasn't able to answer questions as to how or why this leak happened. he wasn't also -- >> we lost jonathan martin, live from charleston, west virginia. today is the 50th anniversary of the surgeon general's first ever report of smoking and health risks. >> shed new light on the dangers of snowing in 1964 and since, changed american culture forever. the number of adults who smoke has been cut in half. our let'sa barnard is live in davis, california, the first county in the u.s. to ban out door smoking in 1975. tell us about this agreement where tobacco companies put out corrective statements about their history of lying when it comes to smoking.

>> if the agreement is approved, tobacco companies would have to take out full-page ads as well as online ads or t.v. spots in prime time on the three major networks issuing so-called corrective statements in which they discussed a history over the past 50 years of basically misleading and misinforming the public about the dangers of smoking. >> lisa, you are in davis california. they made a pretty progressive move in 1975. why davis? why was davis significant? >> the leaders here took 10 years after that warning to put into place an out door ban on smoking. that was unprecedented at the time

time. no one had smoking bans out doors' in parts like this -- parks like this. it took about 20 more years for other counties and states to put in out door smoking bans. there are many states that still don't have such a ban in place they were progressive here. >> thank you for being with us this afternoon. coming up on al jazeera america, a unique new program that is helping people with cerebral palsy.

crisis? >> i think it's going to

>> welcome back to al jazeera america america. here is today's headlines. condolences are coming in for formeritsis prime minister eaarl shar owen. he died in a hospital where he had been in a coma for eight years following a stroke. president obama and the u.n.

secretary general are calling for renewed efforts to work for mid east peace. . >> the state of emergency in west virginia is still in effect after a toxic chemical spill on thursday tainted the public water supply. fema is distributing more than 2 and a half million gallons of clean water. 300,000 people have been told not to use tab water for any reason whatsoever. it's the 50th anniversary of the famous surgeon general report on smoking and health. a report linked cigarettes to lung cancer and heart disease changing smoking culture in the united states. karate isn't something usually associated with people in wheelchairs but a program right here in new york city is teaching people despite their disabilities how to perform karate. roxanne a savara reports >> reporter: >> guys, lees bow. >> carey has been teaching karate for 25 years.

he began a class unlike he or anyone he knows have ever taught. >> they don't depend upon the use of their legs. >> the students have cerebral palsy. some are also deaf or have learning disability did. all have limited body movement. 27-year-old angel navarro has been in a wheelchair since he was an infant. he focuses on moving his arms. >> these students learn many of the same moves as other students of martial arts . the difference is they stay seated. they gain upper body strength. >> here, it's less about self defense and more about learning to focus and manage stress and for students like kenny and his girlfriend, it's providing a boost to their confidence. >> when it comes to energy if she in trouble, i will fight. i will fight to the death. >> all the way down. >> karate is making students

like angel stronger. >> see control he has. before, just dropped. you can hear the weight bang. right? >> yeah. >> reporter: at home in the bronx, angel lives with his parents in public housing. >> don't take big bites. his mom helps him with life's most basic activity did though she has noticed karate has made him for flexible. >> what are your hopes. >> he being independent and he better get married. >> that's it. you want to get married. >> most people with cerebral palsy will never be completely independent. right now, there is no cure, but carey said karate is giving these students a sense of inner strength. >> if you can turn inward and think about what you have achieved, i think that's, you know, certainly a tremendous boost for your self confidence. >> for people who have spent lives feeling different, he says, this realization is empowering. roxanna, al jazeera, new york.

>> for a peek at the national forecast, our meet roth stephanie. >> morgan, it's definitely soggy for the start of saturday. temperatures aren't really all that bad. we have some milder air in place. >> that's the rain we are seeing up and down the eastern seaboard but we are also dealing with the threat of severe weather. we now have a severe weather thunderstorm watch in south georgia and northern georgia. we still do have our severe thunderstorm watch into parts of the carolinas. >> that's our attorney watch no longer including atlanta. >> will be in effect until 3:00 p.m. here is a closer view of the line of storms watching. across georgia, it's been right along the northern edge of the line where it's been boeing out. it really is indicating stronger wind gusts as the storm races off to the east. the whole line moving around 50 miles per hour, moving very quickly. as we go through, we are watching a cold front, eastward as well. it advances that front where the

air is very warm, moist and we have the i hope stability. >> that's where we are expecting to see severe weather until virginia. meanwhile, as we get through the rest of our weekend, cold front pushes off of the east coast as we head into the day on sunday. a little bit of a cool down. temperatures on the mild side and with all of this rain in the northeast, flooding will remain a concern over many areas from maine through new york. morgan back to you? >> thanks, ebony. 2500 residents of a town in the shangrala result have returned home after a fire swept through many ancient tibetan buildings. it destroyed more than 200 houses and shopdz. most were made of wood which allowed the fire to splat quickly. damage is estimated at around $16 million. the city of popular tourist destination was first built more than a thousand years ago. thanks so much for watching al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. techknow is up next.

for more, head on over to aljazeera.com. >> hello and welcome, i'm phil torres, talking about innovations that can save live. we'll do it in a unique way. this is a show about scientists. let's check out the team. kyle hill is an engineer. he's on the trail of something decimating bee population. >> crystal dilworth is a molecular neuroscientist. she shows us california's hi tech grapes - how science can achieve perfection in a glass. i'm phil torres. i'm an