>> good afternoon and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. here are the stories we're following for you right now. toxic mess, residents in west virginia say the water is safe but it still smells. chris christie, another mayor accuses him of political pay back. protestors defy a ban. >> i'm rory challenge in london, this one, the lord isn't invited.

>> after ten days without water, west virginia residents can finally drink their tap water again. but even though the ban was lifted a day ago, many are still complaining about the bad smell. our robert ray is on the scene in charleston. robert if residents don't trust what's coming out of their taps what exactly are they doing as an alternative? >> reporter: using a lot of bottled water. as a matter of fact, the restaurant that i'm in right now you can see a lot of people having brunch here on this sunday morning, early afternoon. this restaurant is not using the tap water to give to its customers they're using bottled water. that's sort of the mantra here as most of the people in charleston west virginia are going about here. the smell in some parts of the city are is like a licorice or a cough drop.

the government here is sending out messages to the media, saying they're doing testing on the plant and the elk river and that the water is safe. yet if that is the case, what is the odor, why are some homes still having the odor, and some people reporting discoloration of the water. when we were driving to the restaurant this morning there were two major tanker trucks out there that are flushing the system in the hospital ten days after the chemical spill. let me talk quickly to an advocate mia, in west virginia. what is your advocacy group what are you about? >> the group is people concerned about chemical safety. we are concerned because our community is the only place in the world that the chemical mic was called, that was stored in five times the amount of what caused that disaster until just a few years ago. so we are -- i he am from the

community i was born and raised here and i have ties with the chemical industry and we have just been fighting for stronger chemical safety laws. this stuff happens all the time. it impacts our community not 300,000 people. >> you were at the protest yesterday, you guys are trying to get answers what were you told? >> we were told the water was safe and then backtracking saying no we found spikes, there is a ban on the water system so we don't know who to trust or who to go to to get the answers. people are not trusting, elderly people are afraid to flush their systems and others have been placed into asthmatic atax because of the situation. >> morgan. >> my family is a few blocks from where you are in institute.

i want to know, what about the bankruptcy filing? they are saying the company responsible filed for bankruptcy, which puts the lawsuits on hold. they are saying it's a copout, is it shirking responsibility? >> our anchor, saying is the company filing for bankruptcy a copout to to get away from responsibility? >> absolutely, we've seen it time and time again with multiple companies. >> what do you do about that in west virginia? you guys are used to a lot of environmental issues because of the coal industry and other chemicals. what's the plan of action for your group going forward? >> well our group is to be effective. we don't want this to happen to our community again. i'm going to be working with legislators at a state and national level because this can't happen again to our community or any other community. so that's the action that i'm going to take right now immediately. and we've had recommendations from the united states chemical safety board that have not been

implemented for the last five years. so that's -- >> thank you, i appreciate it. morgan we have reached out numerous times to the water company here. we're reaching out today. we hope to get answers as to what the smell is that's being reported but as of right now most of the city here, they're not drinking the water out of the tap. it's all bottled at this point until more information comes. we don't know the safety of this chemical. doctors done have definitive answers and i'm guessing that the water company their code of silence that we have from them i'm not sure we have great answers right now morgan. >> and i know robert you said because of the lack of answer he, al jazeera launched an independent investigation to find out what's going on. robert ray, thanks so much for being with us this afternoon. more allegations against nfnlg governor chris christie. the latest from dawn zimmer.

she says christie's organization withheld hurricane sandy relief money. >> after chris christie visited the sunshine state trying to shore up support from republican donors, another dark cloud was over his administration. ing dawn zimmer is accusing christie of withholding hurricane sandy relief money because she didn't get behind a billion dollar project. his administration said, this wouldn't happen. >> if you tell anybody i'll deny it he said. >> showed that the project is represented by the law firm of david samson a top christie political supporter. one of 20 subpoenaed in a

separate scandal tied to the christie administration, related to the shutting of traffic lanes ton george washington bridge. christie has denied any knowledge of the scandal and instead blamed his aides. >> i'm embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. >> reporter: now the governor's office is denying the most recent allegations saying it's very clear partisan politics are at play here. as democratic mayors with a political ax to grind come out of the woodwork. from storm sandy caused $whun million of private property damages not to mention damage to public property. >> i am stunned that he would hold those sandy funds over my head when you consider away what happened to hoboken. we were devastated.

>> now, legislative leaders in the state say they may expand their probe to include zimmer's allegations. something that could swamp christie's chances for a 2016 presidential run. earlier this morning i talked to jeanniezano. she offered her point. >> the mayor had refused to endorse and that's why christie's top senior aides took that action. others said this had more to do with redevelopment. there is a $1 billioning project in hoboken. more to do with development and money than it did endorsement. so it really creates an enormous problem for chris christie. dawn zimmer says now, the number one thing he has made his name on storm sandy he has been using

that to hold her hostage in terms of a development deal with one of his top aids who is david samson who has been a top aide and gotten a subpoena for the bridge scandal. it is very incestuous. affecting everybody but chris christie at this point. meanwhile, government protestors are back on the street in the ukraine. are speaking out against injustices. jennifer glasse in kiev b. >> police are throwing stun gren easdz, pepper spray at thousands of protestors. on kiev's independence square. a few of those broke away and tried to head towards parliament. police are blocking that road.

police are restrained in contrast to clashes that happened in early december when police attacked protestors. the protestors have been very aggressive here, they were throwing some fireworks and clashed with the police. we actually have video of them kidnapping at least one policeman separating him from those police lines and taking him away and the clashes continue the go on about in their -- -- continue to go on about two hours ago they started and we can still see flash grenades. protestors have set buses on fire. there is a heavy police presence around the capitol as these demonstrations go into their third month here. you can hear the demonstrations behind me remain peaceful but serious clashes going on with a few thousand protestors just a few hundred thousand yards away. >> jennifer many you say the protesprotestors are aggressive.

is there any notion that the government will give them what they are demanding? >> the court published a ruling that it had made earlier this month, that this demonstration is illegal because it blocks a public record. and on friday, president viktor yanukovych signed into law measures that ban freedom of assembly. the government has been very defiant and a lot of those measures seem actually in contrast, directly against this protest here, making setting up tents in a public place is illegal, telling protestors that they can't wear helmets or masks. a lot of concern over what will happen next. >> still ahead. the face of human slavery right in america's backyard. we take you to the ns -- to

utah where the nsa just built a brand-new facility.

>> every sunday night join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... >> parkinson's forced his wife to type his novels. >> not only was i typing badly, but i was hallucinating... >> now, a revolutionary proceedure is giving is giving this best selling author a second chance >> it was a wondrerful moment... >> after the implant, they turned the juice on, and... >> emily & martin cruz smith on talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. for months we have been covering the u.s. surveillance program. before the snowden leaks, public scrutiny. al jazeera rob reynolds takes us straight to the data center in utah. >> reporter: if you've ever wondered where the national security agency stores all that data it collects, well, you're looking at it. this is the utah data center in bluffdale, a 92,000 square meter complex completed last september, at a cost of $1.5 billion. writer james banford has studied the nsa for decades. >> it's designed to hold a tremendous amount of nsa's intercepted information.

the phone calls, the e-mail, the metadata, everything it collects it needs a place to store it and that's what bluffdale is for. you could sort of think of it as nsa's external hard drive. >> reporter: the nsa declined a request for an interview but in bluffdale, population about 8,000, most people don't have any qualms about their neighbor, the spy agency. >> it's an important mission. they get information from around the world. and my understanding, that they study it here. >> if you can't trust your government to do the proper thing, what can you trust? >> reporter: but in the wake of former nsa contractor edward snowden's revelations, a nationwide movement is building to rein in the nsa, using constitutional powers vested in the states. connor boyak is president of the laveris institute, a think tank.

>> states and communities are not at all required to help the federal government in its mandates. if we want to we could oppose what they're doing. >> reporter: the nsa foes think they've found the nsa's weakness. a perfectly legal plan to cripple the data center. they want the state of utah to turn off the tap on the nsa's water supply. to keep its equipment from overheating, the center needs nearly 6.5 thousand cubic meters of water every day to cool off its system. literally, the government could turn off the flow. >> it could not operate its servers, therefore they wouldn't be able to mine and store and sift through all of that data. >> caiflts plan to put a no

cooperation with the nsa bill before the legislature in the future. similar bills are proposed in the states of california and washington. rob reynolds, dges had, utah. slaves today are generally kidnapped deceived into working against their will and without pay. al jazeera's lisa bernard looks at a photographer. >> these are the face he of slaves, modern day slaves forced to work without pay, no power to walk away. they labor in gold mines in ga ghana, this child, kofi, worked at as a slave in a fish village in ghana, he was told solid as a slave and made to work hauling

heavy fish nets. a claimed humanitarian photographer lisa documents their stories. >> entire families cloaked in a blanket of dust. are forced to stack bricks on their head. each brick weighing more than four pound. and then made to walk hundreds of yards to a truck to place them on the back of the truck. >> reporter: according the free the slaves a nonprofit agency, 23 million people are trapped in slavery around the world today. traffickers earn about $32 billion each year. many everyday products are made by slaves. such as cars, computers, chocolates, cell phones and clothing. >> they do it because they have been lied to and then exploited. >> india has the largest slave population, 14 million but it's also here in our own backyard,

60,000 are enslaved in the u.s. according to the agency, "free the slaves." we went along with the san francisco police sergeant who tries to determine about employees are working against their will. >> i just want to make sure everything is okay. >> everything is okay. >> all right, okay. >> in san francisco, one young woman says she was brain washed and forced to work in strip clubs for nearly eight years, shared her story with us. she asked to remain anonymous. she says she's still afraid of the man wh methodically handed r over to the man who wanted her to dance. >> he told me almost every day that he would kill me if i left him that i was his property. >> she says after a manager from the club let her sleep at the club to recover from intense

fatigue instead of dancing, she was able to get the strength orun away. >> i went to trauma therapy and started to heal. >> do you have a message for other young women? >> there are people that care about you even though you mite feel like you're ostracized by society there is helped help. >> in california landmark legislation requires posting of signs offering phone numbers and support to victims of slavery and human trafficking. some successful efforts abroad, too. kofi has been freed and reunited with his parents. >> but the dye is toxic. >> lisa christine has taken photos of some of the millions who are still enslaved. she had them hold a candle in the picture to shine a light on their stories. rare academic trip. in miami for a semester at

miami-dade college marking the very first time the college will provide classes for why students still living in cuba. christina pui reports. >> it was an historic moment as these students gathered to meet their are professors. victor saying this ask now a reality. it is the first time in 55 years such a large group of cuban students have come to study here in the u.s. they are here to study computers, business, psychology and english. the 16 students ranging in age 18 to 37, in conjunction with the college they were visibly nervous and kept at arm's length. one student expresses the

gladness he feels. >> the obama administration allows u.s. citizens to travel and study in cuba. however rarely did cuban students travel to the u.s. theetion students will receive a certificate of completion from miami-dade college. this group includes musicians artists and attorneys. at least four of them are related to dissident leaders. activism against the castro regime. >> this is not what the cuban government wanted to do. let's be clear. the government was obligated to release pressure, the cuban opposition and the european union asking for the regime to make changes. >> luis is a dissident who recently fled cuba to push for reforms on the island. he's cautiousl cautiously optim.

>> translator: let's hoe the regime doesn't close the door as they tend to do. they say these students or anyone else cannot leave the island. >> reporter: the cuban activist says he also hopes this face of way to future generations of cube answer who will make it the free cuba they have longed for. christina pueg, al jazeera, miami. >> god isn't invited, how atheists are getting together.

battered. she says she was beaten, burns

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford and here is our top story. antigovernment demonstrators are back often the streets in the ukraine where thousands of people are clark with police, where their aim is stamping out this protests. more and more are identify at

atheist. but what about coming together? rory is live in london. >> this is a movement gaining momentum. many are coming to a godless service, some from a very long way. >> i've come from australia, the sense of community is wonderful and i'm looking forward to the service. >> i was brought here by kate and it just sounds really fun and really exciting and i love like the whole thing that the church will give you. so i'm not religion. >> reporter: for anyone who has been to the christian church service there's much that is familiar, it's just that god has not been invited. what that shows is despite

the crit sthaisms hav criticismn wage ertd against it, people from no particular religion come together to celebrate. >> it's spreading fast. co-found erdz jones thinks this is the perfect answer to the movement's critics. >> there are 28 sunday services all over the world. there are going to be another 100 in september. and it's not just the service. it's the book clups. it's the volunteering, it's people's lives being chairnd. iforts amazing when you get people who want to integrate life, people will move mountains. >> sam nightingale is a young neuroscience invited to speak. he feels the movement has a lot of catching up to do.

>> the church, any religion, christian faith in church that's had a lot of times obuild up these wonderful buildings, amazing ceremonies. this has been going for a year. >> the appeal doesn't seem to have spread too much beyond an affluent urban, white base. that is something the movement will have to address if it's to have an enduring mass appeal. but they're spreading the word and enjoying the opportunity. rory talens al jazeera, london. >> let's turn to our meteorologist gee gleel jelila r more. >> ridge of high pressure that's in control across the southwest,

exceptional levels of drought, ended 2013 as the dryest year on record not a crowd in sight. unfortunately this pattern not expected to change for a very long time. this is a look at mouth shasta. typically, the surrounding area just blanketed with snow. there's the closer look for you. the snow at the highest ridges of the plt. across the road we are looking at exceptional drought, even across portions of brazil and eastern europe and sudan. we are looking at the highest levels of drought across north and western portions of brazil in 30 years. there's a fir from brazil, this is the picture of sudan, united nations mission in darfur are indicating that the farmers won't have enough water to make it through the dry season. thank you morgan. >> thank you for watching al jazeera america.

i'm morgan radford. "the stream" is up next. a >> you are in the stream. your government is pieing on you and the reporting is exposing how. now the president readies the reforms nor thensa. all we had to do is tell the community that glen was coming on the show and twitter is exploding. >> yes, exploding with a lot of a cynicism and skeptism about the reforms for the nsa. nation