in >> a blow to organised labour workers in the plant at tennessee rejecting word from the union. >> president obama travels to palm springs to talk with the jordanian king >> banking on pot - banks get the green light to open accounts for marijuana sellers. >> hello to you. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live in new york city. tennessee auto workers say no to unionizing, the defeat out of the volkswagen out of tennessee.

>> the defeat is seen as a major blow to unions trying to work their way into southern states. as recently as a few days ago it seemed as if it would pass. jonathan martin has been n covering the story from the beginning and spoke to us by phone. >> the uaw is disappointed and surprised. all we are we spoke with uaw officials. they felt confident, they had a solid majority of workers. the totals tonight do in the reflect that. it was close. 53%. workers voted against union representation there in chattanooga. the uaw in recent years lost influence and numbers. they were hoping to finally get a foothold at a foreign-owned automakers after years of being unsuccessful. they had a good shot.

they had an unlikely ally, volkswagen, allowing them to come into the plant, talk to the workers and volkswagen was not opposing this. the feeling by many is if the uaw could not win with the support and the backing of volkswagen, it will be unlikely that they do it elsewhere any time soon. >> that was jonathan martin. >> president obama meeting and king abdullah in jordan. the two discussing the war in syria. jordan has taken in more than half a million refugees since the war began. as the white house correspondent explains, they talked about prospects for the middle east peace agreement. >> president obama meeting with king abdullah of jordan in the palm springs area. they are having a working dinner. the fall out crisis the fall out from the war. 600 syrians streamed into

jordan, costing it $900 million a year. the president and the king will talk about us aid. the president spoke after the dinner, and here is what he said the united states can do to help. >> we've been working aggressively at the united states level and the regional level to provide basic humanitarian assistance and access to people suffering tremendously as a consequence of the war inside of syria. >> already $660 million a year in aid to jordan has been given. whenever the president meets with the king of jordan, the middle east peace process. john kerry back and forth several times, trying to work on the two-state solution. many accusing him of taking the eye off the ball of other problems - namely syria, iraq, afghanistan. john kerry trying against all odds to bring the palestinians

and the israelis together. it's on the agenda. the president, after the meeting, will stay on there in southern california, in the palms spring area, will have three days of r&r. >> another meeting to be held in a few short hours, hoping to scratch out a political solution an syria. the prospects do not look good. the only agreement is to allow civilians to leave the besieged city of homs. thousands have died since sir yap opposition leaders and government reinitials began talks weeks ago. >> president obama addressed the draught that hit california hard and is pledging $140 million for assistance for livestock owners. >> california is our biggest economy, our biggest agricultural producer. what happens here matters to every working american right down to the cost of food that

you put on your table. >> the drought is called california's worst in 100 years. president obama saying the drought is part of the impact of climate change. farmers are among thoses most at risk. >> diane friend inspects the wheat field on her 600 acre farm, passed down by her father. the worst drought in her memory has her worried. it grabs her from down deep - you are making me cry. when you see the soil and touch it, you know that it may not be here for the next generation of family. that is big. >> she says she had hoped to plant pistachio trees, but without water she'll postpone the plans. >> this was an orchard that was aband onward. >> friend is a director of our country farm bureau and spent

many afternoons assessing the drought. >> it will be dry like in this year. >> she takes her to stoneland farms. >> we are not spending the money on growing the crop, because we don't have the water to grow it. everyone down the line is affected. >> the farm is taking on half the number of workers it hires at this time of the year. a smaller harvest means fewer migrant workers in the field. and higher unemployment in a depressed region. >> if they don't have water, they don't have jobs. the water is important. the people's work in the fields, working because no water, no jobs. >> to properly understand the brought's impact, it's important to know that the central valley had dry conditions for a few years now. the drought turned a bad situation worse. >> we met dan short as he

unloaded food at a distribution center. his organization expected to give away millions of pounds of food. california is unable to feed itself. >> it's heart-breaking. i'm feeding the guys that grow the food, you know. >> according to the california coalition the central valley could lose $2.2 million. some will go bankrupt. >> a farmer said to me the other day "what will i do, what will i become?" >> the people here tell us farming is not a job. it doesn't end. it's a lifestyle, a culture. if it disappears, you are left with nothing. >> well, as we begin the weekend we are looking at better weather

along the eastern sea board. it will not last long. we have an alberta clipper making its way across the ohio river valley. from new york it means we may be seeing one to two inches of snow. from main to massachusetts, it will be windy. from logan airport we'll see problems saturday afternoon and sunday morning. to the north-west it's been the rain, especially for oregon, where we are looking at a lot of problems with flooding. mudslides and land slides have been a problem. i know we have been looking for drought relief, but it's too much rain and too little time. let's look at the forecast. the rain extending to the bay area. it's not falling too hard. it will allow some of that rain to refill the reservoirs. for the highs, 47 degrees. for seattle, unfortunately, look

at the 5-day forecast. we are looking at the rain. the sun comes out, temperatures staying within the mid 40s there. >> down towards southern california, we'll stay drive. san francisco, you will see a rain shower or two. los angeles, 77 for you in your forecast. that is consistent all the way through. maybe next wednesday dipping down to 68 degrees. and for most of texas, we are going to see the temperatures looking nice for the weekend. if you're going to the river walk - san antonio a high of 76. >> earthquakes rattle residents of south carolina, and georgia. the quake was centered near edge field south carolina, 40 miles north of augusta georgea. homes were shaking up to 60 miles a way and so far no reports of serious damage or

injuries. >> france is sending 400 additional troops to its former colony to help stop the violence. tens of thousands of muslims fled as christian militias set up attacks. it's been described as ethnic cleansing. the newly-elected president rejects that, calling the violence a security issue. >> a below to gun control ad advocates, is ruling. >> a big step for marijuana settlers. the government gives banks guidelines or dealing with pot proceeds.

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>> the pennsylvania turn pike reopened after being shut down for hours on friday. slick highway conditions caused a series of accidents involving more than 100 cars and trucks. 30 were injured.

traffic was backed up for miles while crews worked to clear it. >> the obama administration administration is giving banks the go ahead to work with marijuana clinics. >> i'm in a marijuana shop in downtown den vever. you can see the grow resume. the bureau of treasury, financial crimes network, eagerly received by the industry are hoping that shops like this can do business with banks. let's hear and an industry rep said earlier today? >> it's a huge development for the industry. up until this point the businesses were forced to operate in an entirely cash-only environment. that is not just for sales, it's paying their employees, paying their taxes, licensing and utility.

all of these had to be done in stacks of cash in the past. >> a different response from the banks. once the banks had a chance to look at the guidelines, we spoke with the head of the colorado bankers association. they are saying, "not so fast. ". >> we started at the five yard line. the department of justice and treasury wanted to move the ball down a ways. we have gone a fraction of the distance we need to go for banks to feel comfortable for providing the service >> banks are waiting to hear from the federal reserve. they are the ones that set the guidelines for what banks can and cannot do. a lot of frustration from retail shop owners. don anderson, what is your reaction to the news? >> consciously optimistic. we are going in the right direction. the banking industry is one of the big problems. we had to deal with a loft of

car, pay taxes with cash and provide security for our staff and family members. we'd like to see banking so we can write checks and carry on business. on open checking account, you can write checks, pay your bills, you can't do any of that now. >> you can't do it through the conventional sources. there's private funding out there, venture capitalists. we need a checking account and a savings account. >> thank you. don earlier told me the banks want a piece of the business. they'll hold off until they get clear guidance. cautiously optimistic, but a long way to go. >> that's paul brennan reporting from denver. >> there has been a lot of discussion about the gap between the country's rich and poor. some of the rich say they are unfairly targeted. randall pinkston explains why. >> tom perkins spent most of his

adult life building a fortune. he's not quite a billionaire, but he is close. he's unabashedly enjoying his wealth and becoming a self-declared defender of the richest americans. he says they are being vilified. >> frustrations have been building for a long time about what i see as demonisation of the rich. >> that frustration prompted perkins to write a letter to "the wall street journal." he made is a controversial comparison, likening occupy wall street demonstrators who criticise the wealthiest 1% of the population to the jews in germany. >> they made the point in germany 1% of the population is jewish and the mad fiendish dictator used incredible political skills to focus at

hatred on the 1% and use it as a stepping stop to power. i saw a parallel between our 1% and that 1%. >> he quickly apologised. >> it was terrible words chosen. >> now another controversial comment. perkins says the right to vote should be tide to how much you pay in taxes. if you pay $1 million in taxes, you should get a million votes. >> perkins says he was trying to be outrageous, but he has supporters defending his staunch opposition to higher taxes and redistribution of wealth. >> i have sympathy with that perspective. the problem now is you have people voting to take money away from other people. you are talking about legalized theft through the balance system. it's not the way it's supposed to be. >> perkins critics say there's nowhere perspective, one shared by many americans. >> we saw a recovery from lows

of the 2008 recession. on the other hand we have not seen wages increase for average middle class and lower to middle class americans, and i think that's really at the heart of a lot of economic disputes here. >> that was al jazeera's randall pinkston reporting. >> although many polls have shown that most americans believe that there's too much money in politics. >> a victory for gun owners. self-defence ruled a good enough reason to possess a gun in public. the court overturned a decision requiring residents to show good cause to carry a firearm. >> the world's largest thermal plant is open for business. california's plant is located in the mohave desert near the nevada boarder and it has more than 300,000 mirrors designed to

have enough energy to power california. >> they are claiming to be the first city in the country to eliminate chronic homelessness. the city healed the arizona stand-down event, designed to help homeless vets regain a sense of independence. >> this is the largest stand down in the country. we are expecting more than 1500 veterans, who are homeless or at risk to come through the doors. take a look at the line. i can sense how big the need is. that's the line for a meal. this is really a one-stop shop where veterans can come in, get services it needs. they have showers, beds where they can rest comfortably, and desks set up so you can talk to experts about sucial security, medical benefits. it's getting so much attention.

the city has become the first city in the country to eliminate chronic homelessness among all veterans. the federal government, the city, all local and nonprofit groups have worked partners to get everyone of the 222 homeless veterans off the street scrks they have done it through a unique approach, called housing first. getting the veterans in homes before they are treated for mental illness and substance abuse. a lot of other cities look to this area. they have seen the success. folks and organizers tell me as of today very have 222 of those chronically homeless veterans placed in permanent housing. >> that's al jazeera's reporter in phoenix. >> nature's inferno. indonesia reeling from a second

volcano eruption in a week. >> the giant structure in the middle of silicon valley. google's plan for a structure so big it has a weather system.

>> it was a bizarre day all around with news off the field for current and former n.f.l. players. the latest being the news that former n.f.l. safety released on bail after being charged with raping and drugging two women. he's being investigated for the raping and drugging of five women in different states. prosecutors sha sharper met the -- say sharper met the women, lured them to a hotel and gave them a shot of alcohol laced with a drug. one woke up in the middle of the act. sharper, who retired in

2010 after 13 years in the n.f.l. could face 30 years in prison. elsewhere the details of the ted wells report investigating the bullying scandal. wells report also said another player and assistant trainer for the dolphins were harassed by three starters. the report also shows that offensive line coach jim turner not only new martin's situation, but when it became public he forced his young lineman to clear his name and questioned martin's character and telling him he's a grown man and needed to make it right. dolphins beat him and turner should be sent packing. >> it doesn't look good. i'm not sure that jim turner is going to keep his job after this. this is something that, you know, it started with the

players. richie cogneato was theling leader. others it was thought went along. the buck has to start with the process. jim had suicidal thoughts. the head coach knew that. to me they should have kept closer tabs on jonathan martin, asked him how he was doing. it's not a torn hamstring or injured knee. this is somebody's life. the culpability goes to the head coach. most lies with the players, and their immature behaviour and insensitivity towards jonathan martin. but the coaches have to share responsibility. >> no doubt this story is far from over. i'm jessica taff and that is a look at support. >> a volcanic reaction has killed 3,000 an ash and debris spewed from mt kelud, forcing

hundreds of thousands to flee their home. >> for the 200,000 people living close to mt kelud, there was no choice. gravel and ash fell around. people scrambled to get out. many panicked. >> translation: we are going to a camp. we need to be evacuated. >> 1.5 hours after authorities raised the alert level, mt kelud erupted, and volcanic material was spewed as far as 17km away. people have been told to leave their homes, some couldn't get out in time and were admitted to hospitals, after being hit by volcanic debris. volcanic ash darkened the sky. three international airports were closed, causing disruptions for millions of travellers. >> mt kelud erupted in 1990, killing 34, and back in 1999,

more than 5,000 were killed. there were no deaths in 2007, because authorities ordered a successful evacuation. another major eruption, another volcano. indonesia is taking the brunt of natural disasters, warning that systems had improved and authorities better prepared. the lives of hundreds of thousands affected again. >> hackers have broken into the black market website known as silk road. the website administrator posted that nearly $3 million in bitcoins was stolen from the site and users. silk road operates as a middle man between buyers and sellers. none of the anti-hacking measures could have prevented the instance. >> tech giant google is taking over an iconic landmark. it's a restoration projected that is larger than life.

science and technology correspondent jacob ward explains. >> federal officials have chosen google to restore a former military airstrip in silicon valley. they get a small building as part of the deal. sorry, wait a minute, did i say small building. i meant one of the largest free standing structures in the world. hangar one was built to house blimps. it's 1300 feet long, 300 feet wide, 200 feet tall, that's the inside. it's so enormous, on a stormy day you can close the doors and keep eight full acres of land dry. it's so big it has its own weather system. the ceiling known to collect fog on the right kind of day. what does one do with a 350,000 square foot playground. ? you have been have a

football -- you can have a football game. invite 220,000 people for dinner. you could have a nascar race. everyone could be in shorts. you could have dinosaur fights. google likes to do things in secret. this is the perfect place to close the doors and build what they can think of away from the prying eyes and cameras. >> a 19th century stamp may become the most valuable. the stamp from 1856 broke auction house records three times. they are putting the post age stamp up for sale in june when it's expected to command anywhere between 10-20 million. it's the only stamp with value, not in the british royal family's private oz. believers in the -- auctions. it's the 23rd annual u.f.o.

conference. the 5-day schedule feesures researchers. the out of this world ech runs through sunday. thank you for watching al jazeera america, i'm morgan radford from new york city. "the stream", is up next. hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you're in "the stream." cross-cultural couples talk about the victories, hurdles and big surprises of mixed racial relations. our digital producer is here bringing in all of our live feedback. we asked the viewers, put them to