>> faultlines al jazeera america's hard hitting... ground breaking... truth seeking... >> they don't wanna see what's really going on >> break though investigative documentary series death in plain sight only on al jazeera america ... this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i am tony harris with a look at today's top stories, the search for flight 370 may extend to the indian ocean as a new report claims the plane sent satellite transmissions after it disappeared from radar. ukraine's interim prime minister tells russia to pull back its troops and begin negotiations. >> jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

♪ six days after malaysia airlines flight 370 vanished, there is no sign of the plane and the 239 plane aboard. there are few facts and many theories about what may have happened to the aircraft. the malaysian military says radar shows it may have made a u-turn before heading west. the search area may be extended to the indian ocean. a "wall street journal" report claims it sent transmissions after the plane disappeared. >> reporter: there is no sign of this jet. the search area may be expanding again going further westward away from the original flight path of this boeing 777. >> that's based on some military radar that shows the plane may have made a u-turn. they are searching potentially further west looking at maybe the indian ocean.

here is white house spokesman jay carney? >> it's my understanding based upon some new information that's not necessarily conclusive, an additional search area may be opened in the indian ocean and we are consulting with the international partners about the appropriate assets to deploys. >> one of the assets the u.s. is one of two navy destroyers hoping to find any wreckage. it is being repositioned, moved further westward to the strait near the indian ocean as the search every area continues to expand. investigators also looking at the strange reports that the plane may, in fact, have been in the air for hours after it dropped off radar. the reason that this may be the case is that some satellite signals from this aircraft continued to be picked up on the ground even though the plane could not be scene on radar. so there is some thought the plane was still in the air. i hope investigators are looking at that. this is all so difficult for the families as was acknowledged

today on capitol hill by the president and coo of boeing. >> i want to express my condolences on behalf of boeing to the family of tand friends a passengers on flight 370. we do not yet know the cause of the airplane'ss does appear answer, we have a technical advisor and team on the ground. it's a high-priority effort for us and we are doing everything possible to sustain safe and e efficient global transportation system. >> he would not comment directly on the investigation. officially, everything remains on the table. this remains a mystery. back to you. >> lease lisa attacker. todd curtis joins us. what do you make of the "wall street journal" reporting? >> claiming the plane 70 satellite transmissions after it disappeared from regaadar?

>> it's also the response to that article and the kinds of denials made by the engine company and by the malaysian authorities didn't outright say that it was completely absent of fault. there might be some newance here that hasn't really been revealed by the "wall street journal." something in the way of a communication system was up and running between that engine and, perhaps, the engine manufacturer. but whether it was a full, formal set of engine parameters or whether it was something more simple, just like a quick beep to the satellite tracking, saying yes, the engine system is active but we are not transmitting data. it's not really clear what's going on here. >> wait a minute. >> the next day. >> whatever it is, does the airline maker, the jet maker, boeing, does the engine maker, rolls royce in this case have an obligation to come forward with that information, whatever it is?

>> well, both of those companies -- that is boeing is one of the parties to the investigation and rolls royce has a representative in malaysia right now. they are obligated to share any pertinent information with the malaysian authorities and because the malaysian authorities are running the investigation, it's up to them to reveal as little or as much as they see fit. >> so this, this aircraft, this 777, let's take that off of the board. it does have the capability to transmit data to a satellite enty? correct? >> that's correct, for this particular kind of program, which is not required by the regulators. it's something that is a contractual obligation between, let's say, the engine maker and the airline for the airline to provide this data and share it with the engine maker. >> got you. >> again, it's up to those two to decide how much or how little data is transferred and when during the flight that happens. >> what you is your line of

thought here? does the malaysian government, those who are leading the investigation, is there a possibility that they know more about the particulars of this investigation than they are letting on to the public at this point? and how concerning should that be as we sort of evaluate this -- this zone of next to zero -- next to no information coming out about this aircraft and what might have happened to it? >> i am fairly certain they do know more than they are revealing to the public. but i am also certain that this is not unusual. every accident investigation, the authorities have a lot of data coming in t some contradictory, some incomplete. they will release it to the public when it's necessary to move the investigation forward or when the demand for that investigation -- for that information, rather, is high enough. we are seeing a situation here where clearly, over time, all of the pertinent information will be out there. but right now, there is a lot

happening and a lot on the malaysian authorities and releasing the data is just part of what they have to do. so there is probably something to be held. >> we can assume all efforts are being made now by all of the parties involved to get all of the information to the appropriate investigative bodies and that everyone connected to that information food chain is working to find this aircraft? correct? >> i think it's a fair assumption that the formal partners that are out there now are working, and there are other entities that are providing data but not formally part of the investigation. without going into great detail, there are several neighborhoods including the united states, that have intelligence assets, satellites, other sensing systems and their intelligence communities may be assisting indirectly. i have a suspension that the kind of information that's in the "wall street journal" may have been coming from an official source but that is not tied to the investigation. >> todd curtis, thank you.

good to see you. the united nations security council met a short while ago to discuss the crisis in ukraine. the interim prime minister appealed to the international community for help in resolving the crisis. the ukrainian primae minister gave an alarming warning about global security. where does the security council go from here >> reporter: absolutely, tony, and as we heard, his sentiments were echoed by other members of the security council. good evening from the united nations in manhattan. a twin-track approach to show how isolated russia is with the rest of the world when it comes to ukraine and particularly the crimea. first up appearance by the interim u ukrainian prime minister. ukraine's interim prime minister came to the security

counsel, he spoke for barely five minutes saying ukraine wants talks, not military aggression. >> the way of the russian neighbors -- and i believe that when we start real talks with russia, they could be real partners -- undermine the security and nuclear non-proliferation program. after these actions would be very difficult to convince anyone on the globe not to have nuclear weapons. >> the russians say they don't want war either but they say kiev's interim government is illegitimate and moscow is trying to protect the mainly russian population in. >> russia does not war nor do the russians. i am convinced skrainz don't want this either. furthermore, this is something i want to especially underscore: we do not see any premises to

use and interpret the situation in such terms. we don't want any further exacerbation of the situation. >> the u.s. ambassador, samantha power called yet again for moscow to pull out of crimea or miss a dangerous situation getting worse. >> if we don't come together and send a clear signal of shared commitments we will live with the con genesis sequences in crimea and beyond. we will wish we had come together with a unified voice before the consequences became dire and innocent lives were lost. >> meanwhile, russian vladimir putin shared with his council on thursday, stressing it's an internal crisis in ukraine saying, regrettably" we all got involved in the developments securities and exchan secretary of state john kerry says if russia is not prepared to negotiate with ukraine, the international community is ready to exert serious question.

>> if there is no sign of any capacity to be able to move forward and resolve this issue, there will be a very serious series of steps in monday ahere with the steps available to us. >> the next step is a resolution designed to show russia at odds with the rest of the world over crimea in the hope of curbing any future aspirations president putin may have about other parts of ukraine loyal to russia, especially the country's eastern flank. >> a resolution is being circulated. we expect a vote sometime on friday, or saturday. >> john, thank you. as the u.n. security council discussed the situation in ukraine, members of a pro-russian biker gang have arrived in crimea to urge residents to support the referendum on becoming part of russia. jennifer glasse is in sevastopol in crimea.

jennifer? >> reporter: tony, that's right. you know, the diplomacy in new york means nothing here to many, it's already happening, this referendum is going to happen on sunday. many people think it corrects an age-old mistake 60 years ago when crus chkruschev gave it to ukraine. they think sunday's referendum will correct that. among them, an unriction group that has the ear of the kremlin. >> the latest force from russia, these are the night wolves, a motorcycle gang with close ties to the kremlin here to cheer on the people of crimea who will vote sunday on whether to rejoin russia. >> translator: for me, it is one country, one territory, one motherland that was divided by at any raters, which no one gave them the right to do against the will of the people. >> the leader was born in ukraine. his mother used to work with the

soviet black sea fleet here in sevastop sevastopol. he dismisses international criticism of the vote. >> translator: no one knew it would happen so quickly, but we knew that it was inevitable, whether europe wants it or america wants it, it doesn't matter. this is going to happen. we all know that >> reporter: the night wolves say sunday's refer end um is a dream come true, they have been calling for crimea's reunification fwith russia for years. it was the theme of their bike meeting two years ago, the pageant with an olympic opening ceremony that blamed america for the break-up of the soviet union and vowed the night wolves would reunite it. he lamented his lost motherland. he has a fan and a friend in russian president vladimir putin who rides with him and last year gave him the medal of honor for his work with russian use.

on the streets of sevastopol, only pro-russian billboards have appeared ahead of the referendum. fascism or russia says this one. alstanov says there is no intimidation here? >> i haven't seen one person who was scared. >> but serhei koreyanko is. he said he has been threatened for flying the ukrainian flag and he calls the referendum a farce. >> it's just to show europe and the united states that it's democracy. it's decided it's a formality with all of these troops here, nobody can protest. >> he is in the minority here and even on a week day, zaldastanov amend the night wolves draw a crowd that enthusiastically welcome their support that soon this will be russia again. jennifer glasse, al jazeera. u ukraine.

>> everybody is watch to go see what will happen on sunday and what will happen here in crimea after the vote. >> jennifer, there are reports of clashes in a town outside of crimea. maybe it's outside of sevastopol. what do you know about that? and is there a concern that the russian army presence could actually spread beyond crimea? >> reporter: it is a real concern. we heard that there is a clash between protesters and donets, appear city on the eastern part of ukraine. russian forces are massed on the border of ukraine ne. near there, there is a more than 1,000 mile border there. a lot of concern this is the next place this conflict could spread and already warning signs from the international community to russia that they shouldn't head into eastern ukraine. crimea is as far as they should go. >> jennifer glasse for us in sevastopol. thank you. russia has seized on the uncertainty in crimea stoking

people's fears of a takeover by right-wing extremists. phil itner joins us live from kiev. phil? >> well, tony, you know, these accusations, mostly fueled by moscow that the government here in kiev has been taken over by right-wing extremists and farbists is really stoking passes around this region. of course, you heard there, talking with jennifer, that just today, one man was killed out in donyet where we have seen repeatedly these clashes between those who are pro-western and those who are pro-russian who do believe that this country is being taken over by extremists. >> it is young men like these that moscow says is reason enough for crimea to vote to break away from ukraine: extremists, fascists, nazis, all words the russians have used to describe the nationalist union to help bring a new government into pour in ukraine. during the fighting in index square, nationalist groups were on the front lines. even when all sides agreed to a

deal on february 21st, it was the nationalists refusal to accept it that resulted in yanukovych fleeing the country. the abandonment of that led the march into crimea, with the pretext they needed to protect ethnic russians. >> the right sector group says one way or the other, the russians would have found an excuse to intervene. >> translator: for some reason, russians think they have the right not just for the city of sevastopol but also for other territories, too. they want to make the whole black sea their own. this is russia's strategy. >> with the russian army digging in, the new kiev government has declared the establishment of a 60,000 manual national guard inviting right sector to join and right-wing groups do hold several political posts. russian president vladimir putin says russia is resisting a new fascism in europe. but the academy of sciences says nationalism on the continent is

hardly rare, including in russia, itself. >> it's in order to places across europe. i would say similar positions in russia are stronger. >> ukraine's national group marching in downtown kiev and spreading fascist signs, they say they are only nationalists because their identity has been expressed by one empire or another for sent res and now is the time to reclaim it. now, tony, what to do with these nationalist groups is a real predicament for this new government in kiev. they did help overthrow the government of victor yanukovych and there is a sense they deserve a place at the table. at the same time, their mere existence is enough for russia to dismiss this government and say moreover, they are actually

a danger because they have been infiltrated. tony? >> it is a complicating factor. there is no doubt about that. phil it ner for us. thank you. a bi-partisan group of senators reached a deal today that would extent the jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed if it gets through congress. a big if. rhode island democrat jack reed and dean heller say the deal would be retro active to the end of december, when benefits start running out for millions of americans. the deal would extend the program for five months. it would be paid for by extending customs' fees and changing how companies set aside money for pensions. even if the plan passes, the senate is not clear the house will ultimately approval approve it. coming up on al jazeera america, the arizona border town where some people say they have had enough of the government's crackdown on illegal immigrants, also, stocks taking a beating today. ali velshi will explain why you can blame china's slowing economy to the damage to your retirement funds.

♪ president obama is asking congress for extra money to

approve security along the mexican border. the president's 2015 budget allocates more than $300 million for border fences and towers. much of it in the harsh desert terrain of arizona but as rob reynolds reports not all residents think the money is well-spent. >> it's early morning at the border patrol checkpoint in arizona. agents with sniffer dogs check each vehicle, but at this border checkpoint, there is something unusual. >> this is a newer model sedan. >> a group of citizens monitoring the monitors. >> the dog is sniffing. >> many people are fed up with the disrupt caused in their daily lives by the checkpoint and by the heavy-handed presence of the border patrol in the area. >> many people in this community have beliefs that our community has been treated as if we live in a war zone. >> the customs and border patrol agency told al jazeera, quota

checkpoints remain a highly effective tool in our enforcement efforts to secure our nation's borders, unquote. >> i have to go through two border patrol checks every day of my life. >> stacy hatten is a nurse who lives in aravaca but works more than 50 kilometers away. >> i don't think this is what any of our american soldiers fought for. this is not the freedom. this is not the right to move around freely. >> people here in aravaca are not only monitoring what's going on at the border patrol checkpoint. they are also finding ways to help desperate migrants without breaking the law. it's illegal to drive migrants anywhere or to shelter them but it's not illegal to help them survive. >> this is a short time emergency food pack. >> volunteers stuff food packets and keep a cabinet full of basic medical supplies. >> blisters are always a factor. if you get severe blisters, which many travelers do, you

can't walk. if you can't walk, you get left behind. if you get left behind in this desert, you die. >> more than 2,000 migrants have died crossing the desert in this area since 2001s according to local officials. alex spoosler says it's only human to help people in need. >> when they come to your door and they do here, and they haven't had water for a long time, they haven't had anything to eat, it's just, i think, a person's responsibility to do something. >> about a third of the people in aravaca have signed a petition asking the government to dismantle the checkpoint. but the border patrol told al jazeera the checkpoint isn't going anywhere. rob reynolds, al jazeera, aravaca, arizona. ♪ >> shares on wall street tumbling today. the dow hemorrhaging. 230 points, down for a fourth

session in a row. one big issue weighing on investors' minds is the signs of economic turmoil in china. real money's ali velshi joins us with details. what's the concern here? >> sometimes, tony, i tell you that it was just an excuse for the market to sell-off. when china slows down, it's important. america's economy as we know remains the world's single largest economy but in second plates, china. and china is growing. it has been growing for decades, much faster than america and that boosts growth in the rest of the world. so today, we learn that china's growth in the area of investment, in retail sales, which we follow very closely here in america, and in factory out, all of those slump to multi-year lows and there was some unusual frank comments made by china's premier. he warned of quote severe challenges facing china in 2014. he cited corporate debt and a possible real estate bubble and economic slowdown. the premier says the chinese economy will grow at about 71/2

% this year. people may say why is that bad? the u.s. is expected to grow about 2.8% in 2014. the world will probably grow at about 3 and a half percent. china is still double the speed of the world. but china has been growing at more than 10%, tony, for decades, for more than the last three decades. >> that's the problem. 7 and a half is faster than everyone else but it's a lot slower than china has been used to. >> ali, you talk about this a lot. >> that's a very good thing that you do. remind us again at this moment in time, why china matters to the united states. >> well, there are a lot of issues, but largely, china has helped prop up the rest of the world with investment elsewhere, when it has slowed down. all of us who have any investments who are invested through our 401 ks. those might be your employers, companies you are invested in. china is heavily invested in the u.s. government. >> that's the country that buys those u.s. treasuries that keep our interest rates low. so we are all inter connected.

china is so big that any slowdown in china is going to be felt by all of us. >> give us an update on what else you are working for, for the big program? >> zombies and vampires and how they affect your prosperity. >> no more need be said. ali velshi, top of the hour. ali, appreciate it. thank you. one year ago today, the college of cardinals chose pope francis as the new leader of the catholic church. coming up, a look at what has changed and what remains the same and a look inside a small texas town that says it is under assault from a group they call a cult.

a celebration in vatican city tot today marking one year since popefrantions was appointed to lead the roman

catholic church. the pontiff tweeted, please pray for me. his message of mercy has struck a chord with catholics and non-catholics alike? >> everyone you see here and around the world will say it was a real change, a real turn for the catholic church. so, i guess in some ways, he hasn't disappointed. some people may say he may have changed the image of the church but how much has he achieved? his entree was full. he had to deal with many challenges. it's all about making the church more global: he did that by creating a special committee of 8 cardinals from all over the world. only two are europeans. the other ones are from india, hon dooras, chile, australia. all of them with bringing the problems of the church around the world to the vatican so that pope francis would be able to

deal with them here. of course, he had to deal with what is possibly the biggest stain on the catholic church. >> that's the child abuse scandal. now, he has said that he has created a permission or he will create a commission to look at previous cases of child abuse and to look at ways to prevent new ones from occurring. he has been criticized for not giving enough details and having created that commission yet. he is also looking at the allegations of corruption levied at the vatican bank and, effectively, the vatican bank is now being audited, and so a lot of challenges that he has certainly dealt with. i think when people think of the pope, the thing they associate with him is himself and his incredible popularity around the world, the so-called francis effect felt everywhere around the world, probably nowhere no more son than in his own native buenos aires.

>> timothy ready is with the national catholic magazine. good to see you. >> thank you. >> we will start with this question and style and substance. plenty of style. people seem to gravitate toward this man, really seem to like him. what about substance? on real issues facing the churching from the child section abuse scandalsexabuse scandal w seen and what do you expect to see? >> he set up various commissions toss deal with some of these issues. he brought in this governing commission with eight cardinals helping him to delibrate on this perhaps not with a lot of fanfare. we will see what will come. there is work going on kind of behind the scenes. >> so the u.n. commission report. >> yes. >> the pope's response is what did you think of the pope's response? and what do you think, moving forward, needs to be done by this pope to give everyone confidence that the catholic

church is taking all of this very seriously? >> there are some serious criticisms in there. some were critical of the u.n. for perhaps going beyond the church teaching but the vatican spokesman said there are some good things in here we can follow through on. i expect them to do so. i think he will meet with victims at some point. >> been promised. >> yes. >> you think that may happen. >> yes. cardinal o'malley who has been good with sexual abuse victims. he encouraged pope benedict to meet with victims. >> he seems to be softening his staff, take talking about it in a way. gay rights? >> uh-huh. >> divorce. do you see real ideas of change? >> for the pastoral ministry, i think they will seem more outreach, see the person, less focus on the doctorinal aspects perhaps but the question of

divorce, remarried cathlins in communion, those may be first. >> amazing gestures in his first year. kissing the feet of the young inmates. amazing gesture. living in the papal guest house. the inclusion of the poor in the conversation surrounding the chefrming and the church trying to connecturch and the church t conne connect, terrific symbolism. right? the question is: is he a man of real action? >> i think so. i mean, i think one of the things that i have been super impressed with by this pope is he is a man who is attracting so many people with his message and saying challenging things, calling us to all be better christians, those of us in the church and those outside the church, he is calling to serve the boards, to maybe question some of the catholic structures that they are part of for example. >> i am seeing today he is an enormously popular figure. >> wasn't news but was news worthy in my mind at least is that it hasn't necessarily translated into more people

attending church services. is that a big surprise? >> it's still early. i think maybe in a year or two, you might see a little bit more of a change. >> time magazine? >> yes. >> rolling stone. >> yes. >> covers. >> yes. >> hugely popular. don't you think we would have seen the numbers increase of the faithful? >> yeah. you would have perhaps saw a little bit. there is an interesting story where the order, there have been more inquiries into joining the clergy. >> appreciate it. thank you for your time. the crisis in ukraine took senter stage in the united nations at the u.n. security council discussing a resolution to emmed the dispute. the interim prime minister of ukraine said russia had carried out have national aggression and he urged russia to pull troops out of the region and start in real dialogue? >> we still believe that we have a chance to resolve this in a

peaceful manner. and we commend and praise the ukrainian military for refrain of force. >> he says they do not want war with ukraine as cripple prepares for a referendum whether to stay part of ukraine or join russia. nick schifrin is here >> reporter: this peninsula is very quickly hurdling toward sunday's referendum and is creating a huge amount of fear. 72 hours are left. these are days of doubt. the fear is extending to people's savings and security. this afternoon for the first example about security, we saw journalists being fired at by pro-russian militia. they were trying to get into the ukrainian army base a few miles outside of the capitol. they had warned journalists not to film them before. journalists kept doing that. they over asking ran the base, the ukrainian soldiers, trying to keep the militias out and

that's when they ran after the journalists. one for a local t.v. station managed to get out, smuggling some film he shot but a french cameraman was captured by the pro-russian militia. he has been hostage for about six or seven hours now. they demanded that everyone delete all of the video filmed inside the base. we are not sure what the other demands are this evening. on the security side, we saw this afternoon hundreds of people lined up outside of a bank, fearing for their future. people who braved about one or two hour waits in some cases to try to get out as much money as they could. they don't know if they will have access to their money this weekend. they don't know who will be in charge after sunday. perhaps most importantly, they don't know whether their bank account will stay, the local currency or switch to russian rubbels. we talked to everyone on the

peninsula having a lot of fear and loathing. it's not clear if the fear is just beginning or whether it will get worse over the next few weeks after this referendum. >> nick schifrin reporting for us. israeli airstrikes and rocket attacks have been flying back and forth despite claims of a cease fire. an israeli airstrike that killed three people tuesday sparked tense exchange. the target is believed to be the group islamic jihad. kimberly with the latest numbers. >> reporter: a tense couple of days can between the two sides, reports of more rockets fired from gaza on thursday into southern israel after the israel military fired earlier on at least 29 targets in gaza. >> translator: everyone is afraid. children and adults. we didn't sleep. >> translator: it's obvious there should be rockets flying. >> that's what we are used to in the gaza strip >> reporter: the israeli

military saying actions were a upons to the armed group islamic jihad firing 90 rockets into heavily populated areas in southern israel. the israeli feeder warned of a response fowhat it called islamic jihad aimpression. >> translator: at this moment, the israeli army is responding with force to firing on israeli citizens in the gaza strip. if they won't be quiet in the south, there will be noise in gas. >> that's an an under condition statement. i call on residents of the south to act according to instructions. the israeli military will get the job done. >>is lammic jihad asked it had launched it's first round of 90 rockets avisisi airstrikes killed three members on tuesday. maum mahmadinejad /* /- makmud abbas condemned the actions of

both sides. we condemn our military installation. we have stressed that we are key to reach. >> the attacks from both sides are being seen as the greatest escalation in violence since 2012. the cease fire was signed after an eight-day conflict. kimb kimberly hellkin, al jazeera, jerusalem. in nigeria people killed at least 40 people because of a dispute over land. men, women and children were killed in four villages. rival clans have regularly fought for the land and grazing areas for cattle. in sudan, the united nations believes more than 100,000 people have fled their homes after increased violence over the past six weeks, the con conflict in dafour, the latest violence is being claimblamed o

tribal warfare. a meetator is in talk with two rebel groups to find a way to stop the fighting. in south africa, jurors saw pictures taken after olimpian oscar pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend. a trail of blood and a 9 millimeter pistol lying on the floor in the bathroom. he faces a life sentence if convicted of murder. he said he shot her believing she was an intruder. the death toll for months of demonstrations at 25. latin american leaders are in chile holding emergency meetings to diffuse the cruses. now from sant iiago. >> political confrontations in venzuela continued unabated. in chile, foreign ministers of the south american bloc held an emergency meeting to help diffuse the crisis before it spirals out of control. >> translator: of course we

want the region in peace. if there is a situation of crisis or conflict, as south american brothers we have to help. >> the bloc says it will send a commission to venzuela no later than april 1st for a dialogue and to accompany support and advise all sides in the conflict. >> translator: to be totally satisfied the resolution for democracy angstabilitiedty in the country >> reporter: it was venzuela that proposed the emergency meeting in the first place. while venzuela's government may welcome the involvement, many of its opponents feel the south american is to be seen with suspension. they are more interested in defending the institutional order, the fact that president maduro was elected rather than questioning the way they believe his government uses and abuses

its power. >> perhaps but as the meeting ended, some foreign ministers did not shirk the issue. >> we were supposed to build and recover peace in venzuela with respect to democratic freedoms, hum human rights and freedom from suppression. >> so far s the main opposition forces in venzuela refused to negotiate with nicholas maduro until protesters and political leaders are released. the regional efforts to bring all sides to the table may well be a longshot. but in a conflict that is taking more lives by the day it may at least offer a glimmer of hope. lucy, santiago. >> the search continues for people missing after an explosion and in new york city brought down two buildings, that and other stories from around america today. >> tony, rescue workers are

combing through the wreckage of two east manhattan buildings. police say seven people are dead and five people are unaccounted for. residents reportedly told the landlord about a gas smell days before the incident. today, the head of the electric company which responded to the call said the explosion might have been prevented if more people had called sooner about the suspected leak. in austin, texas, the man accused of killing two people at the south by southwest festival is charged with capital murder and accounts ofap aggravated assault. police say he sped through barricades and went down a crowded street and crashed and tried to run away. police subdued him with a stun gun and took him into custody. .23 others were injured. two were in critical condition. the drivers' names have not been released. in colorado, marijuana related companies are hiring. today's job fair in denver is expected to attract hundreds of people. marijuana's bigested firms have

hundreds of openings in advertising, and sales. a controverse bill allows retired law enforcement officers, people with handgun concealed carry permits to bring guns on campus. they are not allowed inside dorms or large auditoriums or stadiums. finally, a bit of good news, an upstate new york woman who accidentally mailed $882 in cash got her money back. the post star of glenfalls reports she accidentally mailed off the money in an envelope with a stack of letters. the post office eventually found the money at a distribution center and mailed it right back to her. >> terrific. right? she will get it just in time to pay her heating bill, which will be outrageous. >> it was her daughter's income tax money. >> it was? >> she took it out of the bank, put it in an envelope and mailed

it off. >> hello. problems. >> yes. >> maria, appreciate it. residents of a small east texas town say they are under assault from a group they call a cult. over the last two years, the chufrm of wells hrch of wells h families. dozens say they have lost contact with their sons and daughters. taking us inside the groove that calls themselves -- group that calls themselves the online world's only true christians. >> it was new year's eve 2011, the night was dark and chris myers was worried about the rv that had broken down in front of his house. two men stood outside. >> i asked them where they were headed. they said they were headed here. >> the group was the beginning of the church of wells founded in 2010 by three waco college students. the leaders all in their 20s had traveled the country, recruiting members through street preaching before landing here within days, the group had settled in the town of well.

over the last two years have been systematically buying house after house in this small community. it's gotten to the point where the towns people have spray painted their door to keep this group out. the church now numbers around 100 members. it also owns a gas station and grocery store, which many residents boycott. jim maddox pastors a small church next to some church of wells properties. he says the group's communal style living and message of damnation have earned it the reputation of being a cult. >> they began telling everybody that they were going to hell, they were in the bondage of religious and all of these sorts of things. >> according to the recorded sermon, the church believes salvation requires cutting ties with one's own family. patty and andy grove say their 27-year-old daughter joined the group in july and no longer speaks to them. they say when they tracked her down in wells, she appeared to be brainwashed.

>> she goes, mom, you make me smile. and i am not supposed to smile. i am supposed to be down. and i think that ripped my heart out. >> pastor maddox says they are one of many families around the kruvent industry who have combed looking for loved ones who joined the group. >> most all of these people are very intelligent. they come from very good strong family backgrounds. >> what would make someone like that break? >> keep them weak in their body, weak in their mind. >> the f.b.i. says the church of wells is on the agency's radar. local police have investigated a 3 day old infant born to a church member in 2012. a according to a statement from the child's father, he and other church members did not seek medical treatment for the baby because they believed she would be resurrected. the grand jury decided not to press charges.

>> that's not fate. >> that's not godly. >> what was it? >> i would almost call it murder >> reporter: we tracked down the church of wells reclusive leader, sean morris. >> we want to give you -- let you guys explain some perhaps some assumptions >> i am not. >> a church member who did not wish to be identified says the allegations against leaders are false. >> they make these people look like they are monsters. they are not. they just are regular people like you and i. >> they can come across as very polite but also the most judgmental and at times hostile people i have ever met. i hope they leave. >> for now, the church of wells is staying put while distraught families continue to search for answers. patty joe castro, al jazeera, wells, texas. >> our coverage of the church of wells continues tomorrow. we will follow the path of katherine grosser.

her family says she disappeared from her home in arkansas and was later traced to the church of wells. syria enters its fourth year, an artist is trying to bring new attention to the conflict and its victims. >> that's next. documentary series death in plain sight only on al jazeera america

♪ the justice department wants to reduce prison sentences of many non-violent defenses. eric holder told the u.s. sentencing commission today that shorter sentences would be fair and would only apply to some. >> there are people, you must understand, who have to be prosecuted and who deserve to go to jail for extended periods, extended periods of time. but there are also ways in which we can maintain public safety and reduce the prison population, reduce the number of

people we are -- we are sentencing. >> the commission will vote on the proposal next monday. if approved, sentences would be shorter th shortened by about a year. there may be some good news for some people in colorado convicted of possessing small amounts of pot. the state's court of appeal ruled today people who is cases are under appeal are eligible to have their convictions overturned under the law that re real legalized recreational marijuana. the attorney general's office says it is reviewing the court's opinion. sglmt the opposition is syria may refuse peace talk if presidential e elections happen. >> that's according to the u.n. arab league envoy to syria. the new election law allows multiple candidates but bashar al asaad is likely to win another time. three years marks the start of the syrian war, ahead of that, featuring bankcy is trying to

help syrians. >> tony, if you go to his website, you will see this, an image created by the artist, a little girl with a heart-shaped balloon. if that i amage looks familiar, it's because it's a remake of an image he did back in 2002 with a little girl in the red balloon. the red balloon is supposed to symbolize hope. people from all over the world are encouraged to post i amages of themselves holding signs saying, hash tag, with syria or holding up a red balloon. you have itris elba, a british actor. he is participating in this campaign. you also have peter gabe breel taking part in this. look at this. this is a little boy right here in time square holding this red balloon. and, also, events all over the worldr taking place tonight, today, tomorrow. this took place today at a refugee camp in jordan. and this is nelson's column in

london. tonight, this was a projection on nelson's column that says, "give hope. stand with syria." this is the reich's museum in amsterdam and you had vig ilz taking place in sydney, australian and one in seuol, korea. thank you, tony. >> there you go. you can, if you want more on these vig ilz and everything that's going on, follow you. >> find them right there. >> maria, thank you? >> thank you. >> arizona has become the latest battleground in the fight over gay marriage. reuters reports several couples filed a lawsuit today challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriages. the suit claims it violates the u.s. protection cause. this is the latest in a series of cases challenging such baningz. former secretary of state -- have you seen this yet? colin powell is bragging about his 60-year-old bad selfy look

at this. a black and white i am alan of the younger diplomat, handsome man, caption it, i was doing selfies before you facebook folks. there you have it. an update on the day's top stories. it is "real money" with ali velshi at the top of the hour. coming up on re"real money" warning from china about an economic slowdown. it might be time to take heat here in america. real estate vampires in the vacant dead in america's housing market. i will tell you how each could affect the value of your home. all that and more on "real money." ♪

this is saringsz live from new york city. i am tony harris. a look at today's top stories. six days after malaysia airline jetliner knapped, no sign of the

plane. malaysia authorities deny it. the search may be shifting to the indian ocean. the united nations security counsel met to discuss the crisis in ukraine. the interim prime minister appealed for help while earlier today, russia's defense ministry said it has posted an additional 8500 soldiers along the ukrainian border. a bi-partisan group of senators have a deal to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. bill they will extend it for five months and be retro active to when millions' benefits ran out. it is not clear the house will go along. attorney general ratliff eric holder made a recommendation for shorter prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders today. a federal commission that sets sentencing guidelines will vote on the proposal next month. pope francis marks one year as the leader of the roman catholic church today.

the 77-year-old propertyive from argentina has phone used his first year on sweeping church reforms. those are the headlines. i am tony harris. "real money" with ali velshi is coming up next on al jazeera america. ♪ >> it's a the china syndrome but instead of a nuclear meltdown it's a an economic slowdown that could impact your investments. also the turmoil in turkey and the economic factors feeding the unrest there. plus zombies and vampires in your neighborhood. how these real estate monsters could effect your ability to sell your home. i'm ali velshi. this is "real money." ♪