i'm ray suarez. bloc >> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters, these are the stories we're following for you. >> this industrial accident affected our school system and envieded our homes. >> congress is demanding answer in the chemical leak in west virginia. there is a new report out that claims that the afghan president has been in secret talks with the taliban. and cutting the number of collisions on the road, the

technology that has u.s. transportation officials and cars talking. ♪ for five full days, 300,000 people in west virginia went without water after that toxic chemical spill. now congress wants to know just how that managed to happen, and the senate has called all parties to washington. robert ray is where it all started. what is the latest? >> reporter: the latest is big meeting on capitol hill this morning that started at 10:00. we are about two hours in. it's the senate committee on environment and public works, they have got a lot of questions that they have for west virginia officials and scientists. but let's get right to some sound. we have the secretary of state natalie tenant who said this about an hour ago.

>> one day we're hold that the water is safe, the next day we hear that pregnant women should not drink it. it doesn't add up. quite frankly people are fed up, they are angry, and thigh are scared. i have families telling me that they are melting snow just to be able to give their children baths. >> reporter: also senator from maryland said this to start off the committee mitting at 10:00 a.m. >> yes, the reckless conduct of a private company, freedom industries was responsible for the spill and the failure to report properly, but our system needs to be adequate to protect against all contingencies, and it was not in this instance, so i think we need to look at how we can strengthen our laws to make sure that the public, indeed has safe drinking water. >> reporter: center rockefeller

also said that regulation is soft in west virginia, that he is angry, upset and embarrassed at the situation. >> what is the current situation with regard to the water there? is it safe to drink? >> well, officials say it is safe to drink, but the people are not doing that, in in fact they are not even bathing in it. last night at the state capitol in the house chamber, about 50 residents and activists were given the chance to give their opinions and thoughts on the situation over the past almost four weeks to the group of delegates there, and about half of the delegates showed up and some trickled out early, and people were not happy about that. we talked to one of the women who -- who was there with her two daughters last night who was talking to the delegates. she has said that she is leaving the state.

she and her husband have started looking for homes outside of the state. they feel like they just can't afford to raise their children in an environment where they don't know whether the water is safe to drink or bathe in. that this is a state that continues to roll its eyes as hazardous situations, and they done are done. del. >> one person said they are boiling the snow rather than drink the water out of the tap? >> reporter: well, exactly. the secretary of state natalie tenant said that earlier today in the meeting on the hill, but believe it or not, richelle beckner also said that to us. about two weeks ago they decided we're running out of bottled water, we're going to outside, get the snow, boil it, put it in our humidifier and use that for bathing water. so when you consider that, you

almost can't blame people for even considering perhaps leaving the state during these times. del? >> robert thank you very much. there is a old warning finding new legs in california. in california a slow and steady drought is showing no signs of relief, and now a coastal community is working towards a solution. jennifer london, how big of a problem is the drought in california this year? >> reporter: del, the numbers really tell the story, 2013 was the driest year on record and since july, california has seen less than an inch of rain, but we have the pacific ocean right at our doorstep, so perhaps it is not surprising that plans are underway to tap into that. we live in a world of water, oceans control the weather, give us food, and a place to play. but the irony is, the sea can't

give us what we need most these days, fresh water. that's where the promise of desalination comes in in, a way to quench the population's growing thirst by taking the salt out of salt water. >> we have the world's largest reservoir at our doorstep. >> in california, hope for a fresh watery future lies in the construction of the largest diesel nation plant in the western hemisphere. it will provide 300,000 san diego residents with fresh drinking water. >> there's this disconnect between supply and demand. >> reporter: a cost of a billion dollars to build the plant and around an 8% rake hike. the san diego water authority which has agreed to buy the water says it is worth it. >> without doing desalination,

and having another source of supply, we would clearly have shortages of water. >> reporter: large plants a are already available in the east, but twhes has been slow and even reluctant to begin the process delve a little deeper and there are a number of unresolve issues that must be addressed. >> we would consider it an option of last resort when you have exhausted all of the he ferable alternatives. marine life mortality, degradation of marine habitat, that enormous energy demand, and it's so expense if it crowds out other alternatives. recycling wastewater. >> basically we're looking at an

investment in insurance policy. it is worth a little bit more. few would argue that not only is california running out of water, it's running out of time. a plant was built in santa barbara to the north on a much smaller scale in the early '90s when the state was experiencing another drought, but the rains became before that plant was finished and it was ultimately moth balled. they are talking about restarting that plant, but it would take at least two years to get it up and running. california has been in a drought now for quite sometime. they have got to wonder whether there is any weather in sight? >> yeah, they got about a .01 inch of rain, but that was not

enough. the snow will melt typically around april 1st and go into the reservoirs and they are about 10% of what they normally see at this time of year. the numbers are not getting any better. the radar plus the clouds show no storms really now, but just starting to see a little rain on the radar. this weather pattern is changing a little bit, the middle to end of the week we'll start to see snow, and the snow will melt typically around april 1st. we're starting to see more storms come into the west coast, so that a good news, but we need a lot more to help the situation. there's a new report out that claims afghan president has now been in secret talk the taliban.

the "new york times" saying karzai is trying to negotiate a peace deal that would leave the u.s. out of the picture all together. jane ferguson has our story from kabul. >> reporter: the war in afghanistan increasingly feels like a battle between kabul and washington. relations between the two supposed allies are in crisis. the taliban is undefeated and the u.s. military's mandate runs out in 11 months. if a security pact isn't signed, all troops will leave. on tuesday the u.s.'s top commander will remind president obama that his work is not done. but afghan president still refuses to sign the agreement. speaking last month he was defiant that the u.s. must bring peace first. >> translator: in return for

signing the agreement, we want peace and security for the people of afghanistan. without that, it is better they leaf and after afghanistan determines its own future. >> reporter: but the obama administration still hopes the private securities litigation reform act will be signed. >> with the afghan forces in the lead for their own security, our troops have moved to a support role. together with oural lyes we'll come a pleat our mission by the end of this year. >> reporter: continued financial support is also at stake. 350,000 soldiers and police officers are largely paid by foreign donations. and its economy is propped up by aid. the u.s. congress recently cut development aid in half, a move seen as further incentive to sign the agreement. >> i don't believe in aid. i have never believed in this it. my colleagues know that. i have never asked any foreign

country for assistance in my meetings. never. i don't think afghanistan will ever be made with foreign money. i think afghanistan can only be made with the hard work of its own people. >> reporter: but it's those people who continue to suffer. taliban suicide bombs regularly rip through targets in the capitol. a buss full of afghan soldiers was attacked last week, killing several. as diplomatic differences continue, the taliban will keep up its fight against both sides. u.s. military investigators now looking into allegations that hundreds of army national guard recruiters took kickbacks while signing up recruits. more than a thousand people suspected of collecting the payouts. john terrett is in washington. john, how severe

seriously. [ technical difficulties ] >> reporter: tens of millions of dollars. now claire mckas kel is hopping mad about this. in the past few minutes she has said this whole scandal involving the army is discouraging and depressing. take a look. >> even one case of fraud would have been too many. instead we now know that thousands of service members, their families and friends may have participated in schemes to defraud the government they

served, and the taxpayers. >> reporter: well the scheme actually ended in in 2005, but as you can see there's a lot of anger in that room as a result of what is coming to light. >> john, do we know why the program was needed in the first place? >> well, 2005 was the heart of the iraq and afghanistan war. it's very difficult to recruit people to the army, much less so than the navy and air force, i think for obvious reasons. you are actually on the ground, there is very, very high risk of being killed or badly injured, and i think that is the reason why this scheme got off of the ground, and they were trying to get as many people as they could into the services, because they were in danger of sending bat italians into these places at 80 or 70% strength. a commander was asked was it

really necessary to pay other people in order to get recites, and he said yes, it was. take a look. >> we have to have those incentives to bring young men and women into the military, so we need to have those tools to be able to able to man the force. >> reporter: and you know, del, i should say it's not so much the idea behind trying to recruit more americans to serve, it's the way it was carried out, the execution, and the way this money was misappropriated. ron johnson a republican from wisconsin, he said now that this has ended, he is very glad they took action quickly. >> i think i am heartened by the fact, and i think you would agree with this , that the army once they became aware of this,

they immediately suspended the program. i think the allegations are serious. there are criminal charges being filed and pursued and i think that needs to be the case. >> john, thank you very much. elsewhere target's chief financial officer john mulligan is appearing before the senate judiciary committee. the personal information of about 70 million shoppers was stolen by hackers. it is the second day of a hearing where they are talking about developing a system to alert the public. >> target has invested capital and resources into technology, personnel and processes, we had in place multiple layers of protection, but the unfortunate reality is that we suffered a

breach. all businesses and their customers are facing increasingly sophisticated threats from cyber criminals. news reports have indicated that several other companies have been subjected to similar attacks. >> today's hear willing also address a in proposal for a federal law that will protect all credit and debit card twr s twrans -- transactions. the number of people being set after being falsely convicted of crimes reached an all-time high last year. 87 people had their convictions overturned. almost half of those investigations were conducted by police with their cooperation. coming up next, the wild ride on wall street continues. the latest on the market today is straight ahead. plus 20 years after that genocide in rwanda that left

800,000 people dead, the first trial of an aledged accomplice begins in france, al jazeera america will be right back.

al jazeera america. we open up your world. >> here on america tonight, an opportunity for all of america to be heard. >> our shows explore the issues that shape our lives. >> new questions are raised about the american intervention. >> from unexpected viewpoints to live changing innovations, dollars and cents to powerful storytelling. >> we are at a tipping point in america's history! >> al jazeera america. there's more to it. so many money stories sound complicated.

but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down the confusing financial speak and make it real. welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm del walters in new york. there has been a new round of violence in the central african r republic. hundreds have been killed about a million people have been displaced since the fighting began last march. after 20 years the trial of a former intelligence chief suspected in rwanda's bloody genocide began today. he is facing charges of crimes against humanity. the massacre killed more than 800,000 people. we should warn you some of the

images in this story are disturbing. >> reporter: for many watching the start of this trial, this case has been a long time coming. just before it began, we were allowed inside court number 3 where once the cameras had stopped rolling, the suspect saturday behind a glass screen. some had given up hope that those suspected of involvement in the rwandan genocide would ever come to trial in france, but not this woman who lost part of her family. >> translator: we're waiting for justice to be made. we have been waiting for justice for so long, and we're hoping that here it is going to start doing its work. >> reporter: it's almost 20 years since rwanda descended into chaos, 800,000 people killed in just 100 days. the genocide was sparked after the president was killed when his plane was shot down. what followed was unimaginable.

ethnic tensions between the two main groups in rwanda, the tutsis and hutus, had existed for years, but a systemic campaign began. this man has been accused of complicity and genocide. he has denied all of the charges against him. >> translator: we'll do what we have done from the start, meet for a not guilty verdict. >> reporter: he has been in french custody for more than four years after being discovered on a overseas territory. in the courtroom he identify himself as pascal safari, ament combination of his real name and an eye lee us he uses. many hope this case could set a precedent.

rwanda has tried to extradite suspects in the past from france, but none have been successful. before the war, france was one of the country's main backers. paris accused of providing the hutu dominated government military training. what happens in this courthouse could throw some light on how one of the worst atrocities was ever allowed to happen. under french law any rwandan suspected of being involved in a genocide can be tried in france. ♪ what a difference a day makes. quite a change on wall street from yesterday. the dow up at this hour, 86 points, a day after the blue chips had a more than 300-point

drop. the official at microsoft is official. bill gates is giving up his role and chairman and taking the title of technology advisor, john thompson is going to be replacing gates. a new report finding the affordable care act will cost 2.3 million jobs by 2021. the cbo says the law's impact on jobs will be felt mostly after 2016. the federal government wants your car to start talking, insisting this new technology will save lyes.

stun gran neighborhoods to disperse

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. that west virginia chemical spill prompting hearings on

capitol hill. there is a new report out that claims the afghan president has been in secret talks with the taliban trying to negotiate a peace deal that doesn't involve the us. the white house is urging carsy to sign the agreement to allow troops to allow in afghanistan through 2014. now to the weather, the situation only getting worse. a storm yesterday, a storm tomorrow. >> and we won't get into the weekend yet -- >> oh, good. i can't take anymore. >> yes, first off we have to show what is happening. this storm cleared out from yesterday, and now we're looking at this, snow and ice across the southern plains. that will be the big problem along with this next storm. it will continue to push to the northeast, temperatures are down below freezing here.

more ice expected. it will clear out by about 7:00 or 8:00 tonight. timing looks like it will be tomorrow morning for the rush hour where we see ice in baltimore through boston. there is the ice we're expecting along with heavy snow throughout the day. not since my mother the car has there been much talk about a car that talks. in this case the buzz is about cars that talk to each other. >> reporter: u.s. transportation firm -- officials are calls it their moon shot. >> the prospect of being able to cut perhaps 70 to 80% of the collisions and accidents happening around the country, that's a huge advance in safety. it's one that i don't think can be overstated. >> it's a moon shot where we're already halfway there in terms of the technology.

>> reporter: a u.s. government study will take talking cars from the realm of fiction to reality. to date transportation safety has been focused on helping drivers survive accidents, but a new program aims to prevent accidents by equipping cars with mandatory precrash warning technology by 2017. >> the potential is enormous. >> reporter: under the study 3,000 drivers in an arbor, michigan had wireless devices installed in their cars warning of sudden unexpected movements. this would require all new weeks to be able to talk to each other by 2017. and we are following breaking news coming out of new york. there are reports of a suspicious package being investigated at laguardia

international airport. we'll bring you more as information becomes available. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. the stream is next. and check us out 24 hours a day on aljazeera.com. ♪