you. dan hill. >> absolutely, thank you so much. >> the show may be over but the conversation continues at aljazeera.com/consider this or on our facebook or google plus pages, or on twitter. we'll see you next time p.m. wao >> good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. >> close call - dramatic images as a u.s. airways jet heading to florida avoids take off, makes a landing in philadelphia. mystery of flight 370 takes more surprising turns with officials saying the jet was in the air hours after it lost contact with ground control. >> new allegations against general motors, facing a new

recall, now linked to hundreds of deaths with airbag failures. >> and investigation of a church buying up a small town in texas - some say it's a cult. >> plus, warp speed - star trek fans creating their own shows, and this web-based series is creating rave reviews and a following. we'll talk to the cast. i >> we will have the latest on the mystery of the flight 370. first, an emergency landing of a passenger jet in philadelphia. this is cell phone video taken moments after u.s. airways flight returned to the airport. it had taken off when it blue a

tire. the pilot turned around, landed with the knows gear collapsing. you can see people running from the jet. fortunately no one was injured, the cause is under investigation. >> now to the search for malaysia airlines flight 370. tomorrow marks a week since the boeing 777 disappeared. new developments are telling us more about what may have happened after contact was lost. lisa stark reports. >> we are six days in and no sight of the aircraft. concerns about whether it could have been a deliberate act. there's so many strange things going on with the aircraft. first the transponder stopped working - why was that. did someone turn that off deliberately. it sends information back about the plane's location and altitude. after it dropped off radar, it appears that were signals,

possibly from devices monitoring the electronics and the engines. they were picked up by at least two satellites. if they were coming from the plane, it indicated that the engines were turning, the aircraft in the air after it dropped off the satellite, after it dropped off the radar. that's why the search is expanding out to the indian ocean. u.s. investigators looked at the pinging data from the satellites and says it appears that the plane may have gone out west towards the indian ocean, the u.s. navy using a destroy in the area. the uss "kidd" into that region to look for wreckage, it's a huge area, but a big mystery, and a lot more questions than answers. >> lisa stark reporting. and from mexico, alan diehl, an m.t.s. p and federal aviation

administration investigator. welcome. we're glad to have him back. >> thanks. so after the revelations today, what is your assessment of the situation right now? >> well, obviously the mystery is growing. it's been said we are looking for a needle in a haystack, now we are looking for a needle in a hay field, with the scenario that the aircraft flew for four hours, that means the malaysians, i hope are talking to the pentagon about having more assets in the ocean. we have the equipment to do that, they don't. i hope they'll request our assistance. this is certainly obviously a big issue, and there's unsaid things that are playing here, such as the fact that this 777 is a very reliable airplane. i know that boeing is bringing

out a new model and we need to find out if there's a problem with the series that we don't know about now. >> there's a lot of questions. i want to go to the engines that we have heard about, and the monitors on the engines. how long would they work. what sort of information, and when would they send it back? >> my understanding of the monitors, they are rolls-royce engines and maintenance monitors. they are not safety devices. they tend - they should work while the engines are running and the idea is to let people know at the control room that the engine is running too hot, maybe there's a comment that needs to be changed after you land. it's vital information as far as the accident investigation goes. if they descended for four hour, the theory that the plane may have exploded and entered the water doesn't seem to be

plausible now. >> so we don't know which direction, if that were the case. it doesn't provide any information about where the plane is? that's correct. and, john, i know one of the things that is going to come up again is so-called streaming black boxes, and that technology many believe is close at hand. if we had that we'd know altitude and as much as 100 or more channels of what is going on in the aircraft. that's not what the engine data tells us, and that technology was not aboard the aircraft that went in. >> but did the monitors on the engines - that technology was an the air-france flight that went down, right. did that help investigators find - eventually find the wreckage? >> as a matter of fact, a comprehensive data link that sent information - i don't think it helped them to find the

wreckage, this is not the pingers on the black boxes. the pingers only work if it enters the water. these devices work all the time. they are a data link and a maintenance function, and the ones aboard air-france provided more comprehensive data. they were the first clue that something went wrong with the air speed indicators. >> given what we know and a lot of what we don't know, where will investigators begin to look tomorrow? >> it sounds like obviously the big issue is finding the craft. if i was a malaysian official, i would have chuck hagel's phone number on the speed dial and acting him for a couple of squad rons of p 3 patrol airplanes to fan out over the indian ocean. they are antisubmarine war craft and can stay aloft for 20 hours.

they drop what they call sonar boys. they are very effective. we have a couple of destroys, i understand, and they have helicopters with sonar detection devices. the fixed-wing aircraft are basically air-liner like aircraft, flying vast distances and staying up a long while. if i was the malaysians, i would ask the pentagon for that support. maybe they'll get a break on this in the next couple of days. >> now to our other big story. general motors facing now allegations about defective cars. the "new york times" is reporting that 303 people died after air bags failed to deploy on two of the models recalled for ignition issues. this week general motors said it was aware of the ignition switch problem years earlier than previously acknowledged. gm says the times report is

based on raw data. lauren joins us from buffalo to talk about this. she is the founder and owner of the automotive aspects. it's good to have you on the program. tell us about this recall? >> this is interesting. first off, we know that the recall was backdated to 2001. now we have raw data. the center for autosafety, a private watchdog group found there was 303 airbags that did not deploy. this is obviously when a car is in the off position, on the side of the role, if another vehicle were to hit it. an air bag would deploy. it's true on any car that's on the road. so when this ignition switch goes to the accessory or off

mode, they no longer has the features. this is why they are aquating the 303 deaths - they are not about to release the details, but the center for automotive safety - including ralph nato are trying to find out why there's 6.6 million vehicles, that have problems with the ignition switch, why did it get this far. consumers will want to no why they didn't hear about this sooner. >> during preproduction, the development of the car. someone in the engineering team realised that there was a problem with the pass-lock system, where the key goes in the ignition, has to do with the weight of the key. they contacted the manufacture of the ignition switch, owned by general motors, which was later

under control of the government, and they asked for another piece. they came up with another one fix, but it was not really a great answer and they didn't replace it until 2006. what that means, from 2001 to 2006, all the vehicles produced. 1.6 million worldwide have ignition switch problems. some are in scrap yards some on the road, and we had 13 deaths. that's 303 that we have to add to that. >> the investigation is getting started. thank you very much tonight. we appreciate it. >> mary and leo join us from philadelphia. their daughter kelly died in a car accident in 2010. she was driving a 2005 chevy cobalt, one of the models that has been since recalled by general motors.

i'm so sorry for your loss. tell us what you think of this recall and what it means to you. >> if you are talking about the latest developments, it's so hard to keep track. at the beginning of the week it was they knew since 2004. now it's since 2001. >> leo, do you believe this caused your daughter's death? >> yes, i do. there were so many issues with this vehicle. when we first bought the vehicle, my wife had driven it. the vehicle would be baulking on her. >> do you want me to tell? >> yes, your experience. >> i had taken the car from a

restaurant where myself, my husband and another couple had been, and i took the woman who was part of the other couple in the car to stop at my house for something - i don't remember what now. on the way it was bucking and it was just hesitating and acting very strange. i was not familiar with the car, because i had just got it, and it was used. so i took it to the gas station, and they said maybe i needed to put a better grade of gas in it. it still was acting just strange. it seemed almost like it was - like the wheels were on skates. that's the only word i could use to describe it. we took it to our mechanic. they said, as many other

mechanics throughout the country, that there was nothing wrong with it. it was obviously something that was undetectable, until it went into, you know, whatever accident mode when the person was driving it. >> what do you want gm to do? >> right now we are we requested to get the back box off of them. they sent an engineer in from detroit went the accident happened. >> three people. >> yes, we had contacted them. they let us to believe they'd give us the information right away. then they wouldn't release it. we have a family friend, an attorney, who has been assisting us. we contacted gm about it.

they sent some correspondence concerned it, but basically it didn't give any information concerning any problems with the vehicle. as he said, what they are saying here is if you people feel there is something wrong, you prove it, because they had all these conditions on releasing the information to us, to cover themselves. >> i know this has been very difficult for both of you. we hope you get some clarification. we appreciate your time, thank you leo and mary for joining us. >> thank you for having us. >> coming up, levelled. the deadly gas explosion in new york. the ntsb is investigating, looking at our dangerous infrastructure are. and a cult. a small texas town where a

controversial religious group is taking hold. you

>> firefighters recovered an ath body. four people are missing. rescue workers are using dogs or thermal detection gear to search through the rubble. federal safety authorities released a report. new york's mayor it said would take days to get into the basement to pinpoint a cause. diana lind, executive editor of "next city", a magazine that focuses on infrastructure issues. welcome. >> thanks for having me. >> you say that gas lines are not the biggest problem in the country. what is? >> well, there are a host of different infrastructure problems that the u.s. is facing right now. certainly gas lines are a big issue. but there's a tonne of

infrastructure that is hidden in cities like new york. the sub way system is 100 years old. in cities like new york, there are a lot of old water sewer infrastructure issues that are, again - this is infrastructure built over 100 years old. while the gas leak is a symbol and a sign that we have ageing infrastructure, it's not the only problem for a lot of cities. >> what would it cost to fix it? >> the obama administration has put a price tag at around $300 billion to fix infrastructure needs in the country and bring us into the 21st century. i have seen obama put out a price tag for the most urgent issues. that means crumbling issues, things that are structurally

defishent. it's a billion. >> would $40 billion do anything to help the problem? >> i think it would. i think it's necessary to take that fix it first approach. there's a lot of critical infrastructure that are not getting funded. $40 million, it's a lot of money, it would do a lot to help cities that deal with that kind of infrastructure. >> who is responsible for this - the city, the state, the federal government. >> i think everyone has a role to play. certainly there are cities taking the lead on infrastructure issues. there's a city like chicago, infrastructure and taking

leadership there to cobble together money through the public and private sector. in philadelphia, where i live, we see innovative departments like the water department taking control over the city's sewer issue and taking a lead there. certainly the government is able to invest larger sums through programs. we have seen with transportation infrastructure, they have invested millions into city's transportation needs. it's incredible. >> you mentioned... >> everyone has a role to play. >> you mentioned bridges, can you talk about the extend of the bridge problem in the country. >> there are estimated tens of thousands deficient bridges, and

we have seen outside of minnesota where the highway collapsed, a lot of attention was brought to the issue of road maintenance. not a lot has been done. it's an example of the infrastructure that affects everyone, whether you live in a city world area. those bridges are showing sign of wear. >> what can be done about the ageing gas lines? >> i think the ageing gas lines in the cities is a tough issue, the reports showed that, you know, conned and the authorities have been doing due diligence and regulation of ensuring the area was safe beforehand. with this issue, it's a tough question. in fact. and i think that what has to be done is making sure that

properties are properly regulated. home owners, landowners, landlords are in compliance. that's the first step. also with an example of highway collapse, we see these kinds of warnings, and people need to take heed at that point, not ignore the warning signs when they arriving. >> thank you for shedding light on the problem. appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> now to an intriguing and disturbing story. it's about a reclusive group building a small empire in a town in texas. many consider them a cult. we have a report on the church of wells. >> it was new year's eve 2011 and chris myers was worried about the rv that had broken down in front of his house. i asked where they were headed. they said here. they were the beginning of the

church of wells founded in 2010 by three waco college students. the leaders, in their 20s, travelled the country recruiting members through street preaching before landing here. the group had setted in wells within days and have systematically been buying house after house in this small community. it's gotten to the point where the towns people spray-painted their doors to keep the group out. >> the church numbers around 100 members, and it owns a gas station and grocery story residents boycott. jim maddox pastors o small church next to his church pt the group's communal style living earns it a reputation of being a cult. they tell everyone that they were going to hell, they were in the bondage of religion. >> according to the record said

ser moun, the church believes cutting ties with one family. patty and andy grove say their 27-year-old daughter joined the group in july and no longer speaks to them. when they tracked her down in wells, she appeared to be brainwashed. >> she said, "mum, you make me smile, and i'm not supposed to smile. i'm supposed to be down." and i think that ripped my heart out. pastor maddox says the groves are one of many families who have come looking for loved ones that joined the group. >> most all of these people are very intelligent. coming from good, strong family backgrounds. >> what makes someone like that break? >> weaken the body. weaken the mind. >> the federal bureau of investigation says the church of wells is on the agency's radar. local police investigated the

death of a 3-day old infant born in 2012. >> according to a statement from the child's father, he and others did not seek treatment because they believed she would be resurrected. a grand jury decided not to press charges. >> that's not faith or godly. >> what was it? >> i would almost call it murder. >> we tracked down the reclusive leader sean morris. >> we want to let you guys explain some of the false assumptions about you guys. >> i don't want to do that, thank you. >> a church member who did not want to be identified says the allegations against leaders are false. >> they make thee people look like monsters, they are not. they are regular people. >> they can come across as very polite, but the most judgmental and at times hostile people we

get. i hope this leave. >> for now the church of wales is staying put while distraught families continue to search for answers. >> and tomorrow, more on the groves family efforts to convince their 26-year-old daughter to leave the church of wells. >> coming up, the search for flight 370, the latest on what may have happened. a former ntsb official joins us. >> the u.s. warns of serious action if russia fails to pull back from ukraine's crimea region.

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>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. we have a lot to cover this half hour. building pressure with crimea just two days away to decide whether to leave ukraine. a look at what could happen

next. russian troops increase their presence near the ukraine border, waiting the outcome of that referendum. the brand new voyages of the star trek enterprise. the original star trek series continues, but it's online is this time and could change your the television business. first richelle carey with the headlines. >> general motors is facing multiple investigations over a safety defect that lead to a massive recall. this week gm knew of a faulty ignition switch. 31 accident in 13 deaths are blamed on this problem. 303 people died after air bags failed to deploy in two models deployed last month. a close call at the philadelphia national airport.

it had taken off when it blew a tire. the pilot took off and the nose gear collapses. everyone got off. >> al jazeera confirmed a report by the "wall street journal" that said the plane sent electronic transmissions after disappearing from radar. malaysian authorities deny that report, and that it flew for four hours after it disappeared. >> the story continues. alan diehl joins us from albuquerque, an ntsb and federal aviation administration investigator. >> from the beginning there were questions as to whethers it was mechanical failure or someone intentionally did something or foul play was involved. what is your sense based on the

information right now? >> my sense is that we don't know enough, and i'm not trying to pump this away. but information is coming out quickly. i'm surprised that the malaysians are denying this. we know the wall street. i know that reporter, he is usually spot on. if his sources were lying to him, perhaps the malaysians are right. i can tell you in a civilian crash, when the military is running the investigation, they are trained in secrecy. i'm a little surprise. i have worked a number of military crashes, and investigated crashes for the u.s. air force. i remember one conducted by the military some time back, not our military, the south african military, and there were a lot of problems. i think i'd tend to go with the "wall street journal" account

until further evidence indicates they are wrong. >> i just want to give our viewers a little guidance that we get from lisa stark, who covered the industry for some period of time, and she talked to a couple of government officials are extensive investigative experience. and the tone that we are getting tonight suggests that they are investigating actively whether or not this was a deliberate act. that said, we don't know, and we still don't know what happened. the transponder, though, and these monitors, seem to be at the core of what we are talking about here. why would anyone turn off the transponder and the engines still run, is there any way to answer that question? >> we know that's what the hijackers did in 9/11. i'm not suggesting this was a

high jacking, but there sunday seem to be a rational reason why the crew would do that unless they had a cockpit firethat they thought may emminate. there's transponders aboard the aircraft, as you know, and the other thing that was shut down is a data monitoring system called the acars, shut after the transponder or transponders went off. again, possibly it could have been an unusual failure that crimped some lines. it's not inconceivable with mechanical failure or human error. that suggests that someone did it and we know that reportedly... >> i'm sear. before you get to the next point i want to finish the thought that we were talking about. what we do know is the last bit of data was sent out at 1:07am.

that's according it the defence minister. no data was received after that, which meant, i believe, someone could have disabled or partially turned off the system. is that what you might believe, or not? >> well i'm not totally familiar with the 777 acar system. but these are not things easily turned off. it sounds like a mechanical/electrical failure or somebody involved with a criminal enterprise. >> the transponder - sorry. >> one of the things that scarce me are stories about the first officer allowing passengers up in the flight deck. that is, of course, a dangerous practice. if there was - i'm saying if there was an emergency like

smoke in the cockpit or a decompression, the passengers are not going to use the oxygen mask because they are different to the ones in the back that we have used orange plastic cups. the pilots are different. if you had civilians panicking that could be distracting and lead to other problems. a third problem is in the past the flight deck has been used by fed ex, disgruntled pilot attacked three fellow pilots with an axe. that's why civilians are not allowed. we don't know that they were there on the flight. it's a disturbing piece of information. and the malaysian airline authorities knew about it. >> alan diehl, good to talk with you tonight. thanks for helping us try to

understand it. we appreciate it. >> now to the crisis in ukraine. it's escalating, time is running out. secretary of state john kerry john kerry meets his russian counterpart in london. earlier he warned moscow that failure to pull back from crimea would mean consequences. >> if there is no sign of any capacity to move forward and resolve the issue, there'll be a serious series of steps on monday in europe and here with report to the options that are available to us. >> crimea votes on sunday whether to breakaway is join russia. ukraine says it's illegal. the issue was taken to the united nations security council. the seize use amounts to unanticipatable aggression, questioning moscow's intentions. >> we are wondering what is the

final destination of russian military. is it crimea, is it kiev. is it another? >> russian ambassador told another country they do not want war over crimea. russia is in control. as crimeans prepare to head to the polls to decide whether to break off from ukraine, forwards for the future loom large. >> the russian presence is increasing, the pressure is increasing and the grip that it has i can't say all crimea is increasing every day. that is creating is a huge amount of anxiety across the peninsula, and that goes for everyone. >> on a peninsula hurtling towards referendum, a cameraman runs at a fear for his life. down the road crimeans run a

bank out of fear for the future. no matter which side they are on, these are the days of doubts. in 72 hours, they'll decide whether to join russia. this afternoon a cameraman from a tv channel filmed violent tension in a place where there's supposed to be order. on a military base, outside the crimean capital, those are pro-russian militia on the far side. inside ukrainian soldiers. at first, both sides use wooden weapons. but then that's a revolt around the side. militia members threatened the cameraman. the cameraman takes off. for weeks pro-russians targeted, harassed and kidnapped journalists for the russian

population. the cameraman escapes and 44-year-old zera emirsuin describes the incident as they drive away. but the militia captured a french camera many that didn't make it over the wall. zera emirsuin calls what she does crimea's dangerous procession. >> translation: journalists that write or tell the truth about what is going on in the peninsula, and the terrible things that are happening. >> hundreds of people tried to withdraw their money after hearing a rumour that all crimean banks might be nationalized. >> translation: there's a limit of $50. >> the banks imposed limits, struggling to keep enough cash on hand to keep up with demand. customers are seizing what little time is left. >> translation: people are

worrying. "i don't want to wait until tomorrow", >> after half an hour the journalists' appearance is no longer welcome. despite the risks zera emirsuin vows to do her job. now, for her it's more than a job, it's a national duty. >>. >> translation: i never thought because of these conditions i would love ukraine more. it's my country and mother land. >> no one knows if the fear and loathing would end soon or whether it's begun. >> over the next few days we expect to see rival rallies, a lot of get out and vote efforts. for those pr ukrainians, there'll be a rally on friday afternoon, that will be it for their public presence, many calling for a boycott.

many believe it's a foregone conclusion. >> as sunday's referendum approaches, the russian government stepped up its troop presence. rochelle is back to tell us more. >> russia launched a fresh round of military exercises in several cities. russians defense military confirmed 8500 troops were taking part in a series of drills. they were seen firing rifles, machine-guns and rocket propelled grenades. a statement confirmed the exercises, but did not detail how long they were expected to last. exercises raised concerns in ukraine and western political powers. they warned of catastrophe unless russia pulse back. we spoke with professor thom at nicholls, an expert to explain the strategic importance of

russia's presence along the border. >> it's problem the military exercises are a pretext for an invasion. it may be a matter of flexing muscle or symbolic show of force. i think vladimir putin is so unpredictable that it's impossible to say at this point. >> the ukrainian government has every reason to be worried. they have been invaded. i think more than simply a territorial dispute. vladimir putin's government intends to redraw post cold war borders. >> earlier this month vladimir putin asserted russia's right to protect russians inside ukraine. russian troops seized control of the ukrainian military bases. meanwhile pro-russia defense units joined in arms today. these men took an oath to the pro-russia crimea regional

government in simferepol. >> this has been moving fast and will move quickly in the the vote occurs. >> the justice department wants to reduce prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. the attorney-general eric holter said shorter sentences would be fair and apply to some crimes. >> there are people, we must understand, who have to be prosecuted and who deserve to go to gaol for extended periods of times. there are ways in which we can maintain public safety and reduce the prison population, reduce the number of people we are sentencing. >> the commission will vote and if approved sentences will be shortened by about a year. >> a voice millions of fans know well has been silenced. >> this summer check your

weapons, take your seat. and say your prayers. >> that is the voice of hall douglas, dying at the age of 89. he is best known for his work in movie trailers, quor "connaire", "speed", and "lethal weapon", he leant his voice to television, documentaries and broadcast networks. coming up, the picture of the day and a new frontier for star trek, kurt, spok and the rest. tomorrow on al jazeera america morning news, it's part of the new york city that few see - the secret side of new york, clubs and restaurants so invisible that people who live d there for a long time don't know they exist. . >> they are illegal suburbs. you have to know someone in order to find it. >> tomorrow on morning news at

seven.

>> we are looking at better weather across the north-east in terms of precipitation where the snow moved out. unfortunately the temperatures have taken a nose dive from many places across the area. let's show you what we have seen. the snow that passed through, past new hamp sire, we saw 24-26 inches and some of the higher elevations. the snow is gone, but the

temperatures will be low. look at the temperatures we expect to see on friday. we'll start action lower than that. mondayrial below freezing. as we go towards the weekend things are getting better. we'll see more sun coming into the forecast. saturday for washington, 63. we expect the temperatures to take a dive as we go to the beginning of the week and see a bit of snow. a high of 35. many places in the region are going to get low. we have freeze warnings. that is going to be a major problem there. that is a look at the weather and news coming up after this.

. >> happy birthday, scotty. >> is it your birthday?

>> it may as well be. >> the lighting is the same. >> so is the set. it looks like the real thing. it's not. that is the click from star trek continues. a web series generating a trekky following all on its own. it's part of a trend known as fan fiction. people that crew up watching their favourite tv shows are creating their own episode. they are leading the pack. >> joining us is the cast of the web series. victor yarmer, playing captain kirk. lieutenant sulu, chris who is scotty, and kress stinger, and michelle speck, dr mckenna. welcome to you all. great to have you on the program. >> thank you for having us. >> a big hit. you asked fans to help you get started. and you raised money on kick

starter. how much did you raise? >> we requested $100,000 to cover three episodes. we figured the first episode that we shot, we privately funded was about $35,000. so we decided we could do three more episodes for $100,000, and we asked for $100, and fans were gracious, blowing us away and we raised about $104,000. >> did you expect this response? >> i thought we were asking for too much. >> when we talked about it it was like "what shall we ask for?" it was let's try to make three more. the response is so overwhelming that we were blown away by the response and enthusiasm. >> it's exciting.

let me talk to grant for a second. you are featured on a program on discovery called myth busters. how did you make the switch from that to this. on myth busters, it's nonfiction reality. it's essentially i, myself. but with star trek continues, it's like a hobby for me. to bet able to step outside of being myself, and step into the shoes of an actor. >> web six. yes, sir. >> he was kind enough to give me a chance to play a favourite character of all time, sulu, it's a dream come true. >> hello, i'm montgomery scott. chief engineer. >> chris, this is personnel. your father played scotty, and you are stepping into his shoes. what is that like?

>> it's amazing. i was talking about the first time i stepped out of the elevators, on to the bridge. we were doing a scope, and i walk out and realised that this is exactly what my father was looking at, and what he was doing way back then. i forgot my lines. i said, "i need a moment to collect myself." and i did, but it - it's an amazing experience. i'm grateful for victor asking me to do it. >> i am sure that all of you who played the roles of original characters have a connection to them. how has the original lieutenant inspired you. >> i'm connecting the bypass circuit now. it should take another half

hour. >> speed is engs. >> mr spoke, i haven't done anything like this in years. >> she was not playing a maid, or anyone's mother. she was hot. she was sexy and powerful and is still today. and this role helped me - helped to organise a meeting. who plays the original. and she accidented the premier. she's a big supporter. meeting her was amazing. i got thank her. you're the only character to fill the shoes. you have an original character. >> honestly, i try not to think about it. there's a lot of pressure there. it's a beloved and well-established universe. so i wanted to approach it with

great care, that the character that i portray, a ship counsellor on board a star fleet ship, a foys that is worthwhile. central trek universe, that's my goal. or her to be a wonderful addition. >> there are plenty of people who would suggest that these are the tv shows of the future, that we'll leave cable and broadcast tv behind and programs like yours will be the form going forward. >> do you have a relationship between the people that click and put you on. a lot of social networking tools. facebook, twitter, "star trek

continues.com", it's born out of a passion. it's not born out of a desire to make a lot of money. or a desire to be famous. it's born out of a childhood, an incident passion, something that met so much to you when you were young. >> you can see how much fun and care we were having, and how much care we put into the production. every person on it... >> absolutely. >>..loves the genre and story. i think it resonates with the fans. >> it's a special program. you made a connection with trekky fans and that that may never have seen star trek. it's great to have you on the program. good luck to you, and we'll live long and prosper. >> and to you. >> give us all you've got lady. >> now to the story of an old

tortoise. a bbc report says jonathan the giant tortoise is 182 years old. that put his birth date around 1832 when andrew jackson was president and abe lincoln in his early 20s. this is jan than now. look at him in his younger days around the 1900s. before ford rolled out the first model t. now to the picture of the day. the emergency landing. passengers had to evacuate a flight after the pile was forced to abort land off. a tire's front landing gear blew out. 149 passengers and crews not injured and got off the plane just fine. headlines just after this.

>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm richelle carey. here are the top stories. six days after malaysia airlines flight 307 vanished there are no signs of the plane. al jazeera confirmed a report by

the "wall street journal" that says the plane sent electronic transmissions after disappearing from radar. malaysian authorities deny that, as well as a report that it may have kept flying after it disappeared. on friday a round of diplomacy aimed at diffusing the crisis in ukraine. the secretary of state is set to meet its counterpart a day after moscow started drills near the ukrainian boarder. another in control of crimea. they are gearing up for a controversial vote on sunday on whether to leave ukraine for russia. the u.s. and the e.u. says it violates international law. attorney general eric holder voiced support for a proposal shortening prison sentences for nonviolent sentences. the change will produce costs and create a balanced criminal justice system. the proposal will be voted on

next month. >> "america tonight" is next, and you can get the latest on our website aljazeera.com. people. >> also tonight, just when the mystery can't get any stranger, new twists and confusing suggestions about what might have happened to malaysia airline flight 270. >> bundling up, how a few layers of warmth and compassion make all the difference. >> give you a big hug! >> like a big bear on you.