is... this is sashingz. i am jonathan betz live in new york. secretary of state john kerry delays his trip home to meet with russia about ukraine. >> the scar on the mountain will never heal. the frantic search to remember the victims of the washington state mud slide. a second taliban attack in afghan stan in as many days one week before presidential e elections. why mental illness, homelessness and incarceration have become a troubling cycle of despair.

♪ new talks are set from hours now over the crisis in ukraine. while russia says it has no intention of invading eastern ukraine, the u.s. wants russia to follow troops from the border. president obama is not that message to president vladimir putin. >> john kerry made a detour on his way home from the middle east. he rerouted his plane to paris to meet his russian counterpart tomorrow for talks on ukraine. in crimea, residents have changed their clocks to sink up with moscow. people took to the street to celebrate that change. it's a symbolic move by russia to show it's in control of crimea. >> candidates are putting themselves forward. shevchenko is hoping to return to power. she will be facing peroshinko.

a breakdown on the presidential candidates >> reporter: interesting development in ukraine's presidential election process. the former heavy weight boxer who was the frontrunner for presidential elections to be held may 25th dropped out of the race. he threw his weight behind poroshenko. he is an oligarch famous for running a chocolate country in ukraine. he is backing the other candidate. he then will be the presidential candidate, porshenco saying this is a time for unity in ukraine. what they are trying to do is try to make sure there is not a run-off election on may 21st. they would like to see a president elected outright. he is saying the locker this political process goes on, the more ukraine's sovereignty is threatened. he is referring to russian

troops along the eastern border and that may 25th election, one of his main, the former prime minister, she, too, aftshe is saying she will fight to get crimea back, crimea taken over by russia in the past few weeks. it will be a very interesting election race, an election to be held may 25th. those are elections for president as well as for the mayor of kiev here right now, engine careen needs political leadership and stability and really battles economic challenges and political challenges domestically and internationally. >> jennifer glasse in kiev today. in washington, a pause to remember mudslide victims. >> please join us in a moment of silence for the victims of the mud slide. >> it's been a week since disaster struck the small town. seventeen people have been killed.

90 more remain missing. live from derington washington with the latest on this. tanya? >> reporter: jonathan, rescuers have been working around the clock looking for those victims. they are dealing with quite a few obvious stack eldz. for one, the weather and it's raining out here. they have yet to call this a recovery mission, there is likely no more survivors. >> at 10:37 a.m., a moment of silence. >> this time, one week before, when part of oso, washington, was flattened by a catastrophic mud slide. at the scene soaked by rain and mud are the rescue workers trudging through heaps and mounds of dirt and debris determined to find survivors even though they haven't recovered anyone since the day the slide happened. >> like director pennington and chief potts before me, we want to hold out hope but i think at some point we have to expect the worsts. >> diana daily has come to the

worst. her youngest son will not come home? >> the knowledge was very immediate. >> rescuers have not recovered alan's body, mainly is certain her son, his fiance, delaney webb along with delaney's grandparents are missing? >> i picture them as being in the kitchen, having breakfast, going, what's that noise? and it being over. >> alan and delaney were planning a wedding along the river. mable says they were eager to start let. alan wrote a facebook post about his fiancee. >> his last text was about 45 minutes before the incident to delaney. and it said, "ten things i need to make me happy, and it was all you. there are many stories like that

in oso, entire families wiped out. mable understands the possibility that rescuers are working around the clock, alan's body may never be found. >> it's only their shell. they died together. they are together now. and i picture them together. >> that's only their shell. i still picture them together >> reporter: he and crews are working around the clock as we told you. on friday, they recovered several bodies, but those are not among the counted that are dead. they are waiting for dental records to positively identify them, and then they will let next of kin know. there are five survivors. at this point, we are told they are in serious or stable condition. back to you. >> tanya, thank you. turning to the middle east, three lebanese soldiers were killed in a suicide attack today. a car bomb went off at an army

checkpoint at the syrian border. a sunni group claimed responsibility after forces loyal to syrian bash arrest al-assad attacked forces across the poureder. they accused lebanon group if you have favoring it hezbolltho fighting alongside them in syria. >> han attack outside election headquarters in kabul today. afghan officials say security forces killed four armed men in kabul's fourth attack in eight days as that country prepares to choose a new president. charles stratford has more. >> under a week until presidential e elections, the taliban attacks again. this time, the headquarters for the independent election commission in kabul. four fighters were disguised as women as they entered the house close to the let's go commission

building. afghan special forces and police reinforcements took their positions. >> i had three guards, two outside and one inside, but i don't know what's happening right now. >> the witness told al jazeera the taliban fighters were armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. this was the second attack in the afghan capitol in 24 hours, the fourth in just over a week. the distances between the targets show how the taliban can still seemingly strike where it likes in the capitol. on march the 20th, taliban gunmen shot nine civilians dead including two girls in the hotel. on march 25th, the official of the election commission palace was attacked. two police officers and five taliban were killed at the gun battle. .3 days later, fighters target a building used by an american aid group. a girl was killed by the suicide bomber. security forces killeda girl wae

bomber. security forces killed the four gunmen. saturday's attack was on the election commission in chu used to the highway east of the ciea of the city. the taliban seems to be doing all it can to scare voters away from the polling stations in next week's presidential vote. >> translator: when we get close to the afghan lesions which is very important politically to afghanistan, we do believe and understand there are enemies who would launch attacks like we have in the past few days. but it was not deter our comm commitment. >> during the four hour battle, we were told they fired rocket propelled grenades at the compound. in his final address to parliament on march 15th, president karzai said u.s. soldiers must leave afghanistan at the end of the year. he said afghan forces are ready to protect the whole country on their own. he said afghanistan doesn't need u.s. military trainers to remain

after american troops go home. regardless of whether that's true, the latest surge in attacks shows the taliban is determined to disrupt the april 5th presidential vote. charles stratford, al jazeera. >> egypt is blaming the muslim brotherhood for the death of a journalist and four others. a gunman says protesters started shooting randomly into the crowd. dozens of marchers were taken into custody. al jazeera journalists are being held by the egyptian government .91 days and counting. the three are accused of spreading false news and belonging to a terrorist group. al jazeera rejects the charges against the staff and continues to call for their release. earlier this week, their trial was adjourned. it will pick back up on monday. joining us to talk about the political climate in egypt is charles sennet, a vice president and editor at large for t"the

foreign post." and charles thank you for being with us today. let's first talk about maybe soon to be president general sisi. >> you may as well call it. >> what do you think this is going to mean for egypt? >> i think that, you know, it's so hard to really say something like that. what does it mean for egypt because the truth is we know it's an inevability. but at the same time, you have to try to cling to some hope. you have to say, okay. so you had big events in 2011 where the people go to tahrir square. there is the sound of democracy in the square. they topple hose any mubarak. and you have this amazing election of morsi and you hear the same sounds in the streets again last summer where they then topple morsi. the question i have for general al-sisi, soon to be president sisi, is: do you hear the sounds in the street? it's the same sound, i would argue, in 2011, calling for

democracy, the same sound last summer when they toppled morsi, the democratically elected president. it's the sound of people saying, we want democracy. we want a new egypt. i am not sure general asisi hear them. >> are you sure it is the sound from e zipt. a lot of people say is we want the economy to improve and for stability and that they may not be so concerned with democratic reforms. >> i think that's a great point. i think you are right, that within those calls for democracy is a demand for a better egypt. people are saying: we want stability. we want security. we want business to thrive again. we want tourism back. 10% of the economy at least. so, i think, yes, you are right. it's about business, but i do think there is something going on egypt and it's writhing right now. it's hard to predict. we have to try to hope that general al sisi will actually here those calls, whether it's for business, for stability, for

democracy. if we just have another autocracy, another military junta, seeing this crackdown on the press, these violations of human rights -- bbc had a powerful story today on egyptian prisons. if we go back to the dark dates of a police state, unrest, i believe, will return. >> do you get the impression based upon sisi's history if he might be willing once he comes into office to consider some sort of democratic reform? >> i think he will because i think et cetera a practical leader. i think he is a smart leader. we can't forget he is a popular leader despite all of these violations of civil rights and human rights, he continues to hold great popularity in egypt. and the military continues to be the most respected institution in egypt. >> why is that, by the way, considering the violence we have seen here? >> jonathan, that is a great question. i just spent the day with a lot of young journalists, three egyptian journalists and i were discussing that exact point just a few minutes ago. i asked them that.

they said, you know, the point is tahrir was never about all of egypt, and we forget that sometimes when we are so focused on tahrir square. if you go into sahad, delta, the deeper regions of egypt, the farmlands of egypt, you are dealing with a people who really were not very excited about the events of tahrir square. it's a very traditional society and one that i think sees egypt's history as sort of out of it. he jipingsdz are very proud of their country. they didn't like this messy turmoil. i think that's why the military is so respected. >> when you look at the journalists and the journalism, including our own who have been detained for 90-plus days, how much has it changed the atmosphere? >> yeah. >> of reporting in egypt especially since you have reported for so many years. would you feel comfortable reporting there today? >> that's a fair question. the ants is, i think all of us are concerned. all of us are concerned about the three al jazeera journalists who remain detained. there have been calls around the

world for them to have been released that are very just. i think it is a perilous time to be a journalist. i am shocked. i have worked there 20 years. i never felt like i have to worry about going there. right now, yes, i think all of us are worried about what could happen? wou could there be some trumped up charge? could they see that getting both sides of the story is seen as conspirtorial? i think it is a time of great uncertainty in egypt. i am sad to see a country i have learned to love going through this turmoil, this uncertainty. i think in the end of the day, i think i shared a feeling i have heard, the predominant feeling in egypt which is, egypt deserves better than an autocracy. it deserves better than a military junta and better than a they arecratic awe authoritarian government. i don't know when it's going to get there. the jungyoung egyptian journali

was talking with said in the short-te short-term, it's going to be very problematic. in the long-term, that cry for democracy is inevitable and it's going to happen. >> there is a lot of hope for egypt. thank you for your time? >> thanks, jonathan. iraq is gearing up for elections next month. leading up to that, the government is cracking down on an armed group it says has instability in iraq and neighboring syria. here is that story. the government in iraq has declared war on the islamic state of iraq and it's being fought on two fronts. one, militarily and one through the media. these t.v. spots paid for by the government and created by state television single out the group isil as an enemy of the state and highlighting the operations against them. it's not just television. huge billboards also dot the streets of baghdad. it's been done before during the

height of iraq's violence between 2006 and 2008, when a similar campaign singled out al-qaeda. so it's telling that the isil should be singled out now. in doing so are the iraqi authorities criticizing the group with too much power. >> we are not giving them power. but some media organizations are focusing solely on them. we have been fighting a war ontor since 2003. we fought al-qaeda, and now we are fighting their offspring. we are using all means at our disposal. and this campaign is one of them. >> given iraq's many problems, is this campaign distracting from other issues? >> campaign seems to have divided public opinion. there are those who say it's a distraction, that the government should be concentrating on more pressing issues like he'll electricity shortages, a crumbling infrastructure and poverty. others have welcomed the

initiative. >> translator: it's a waste of time and doesn't help us at all. it does add a positive message that the government is at least doing something. >> by singling out the isil as an enemy of the state. iraqi government hopes to turn any support the group may have amongst the iraqis against them. by doing that, the government thinks it can defeat the group and get rid of these all-too-familiar checkpoints, baghdad. >> still ahead on al jazeera, aftershocks are hitting the los angeles area following last night's earthquake. we will have a live report next.

dozens of aftershocks have been shaking southern california. one hit a short while ago. they are following last night's 5.1 magnitude earthquake southeast of los angeles. stephanie joins us live from fullerton, about three miles from the epicenter of the quake. stephanie, i understand you just recently felt that most recent aftershock there?

>> >> reporter: i jumped and screamed. we felt that shake at 2:32 p.m. the usgs confirmed it was, in fact, a 4.1 aftershock. it was senterred around three miles from where i am standing, about five miles deep. check out what's going on behind me because i am standing in front of a home that the fullerton fire department has cordoned off. this is one of 26 homes in the city of fullerton that have been red-tagged, meaning they are uninhabitable. if you take a closer look, you will see some of the damage from the quake that hit yesterday. you can see a huge crack in the foundation, and that runs all the way to the front door. now, the 5.1 quake struck last night at 9:09 p.m. it was senterred in nearby la jays habra, in orange county about 20 miles southeast of downto

downtown los angeles. it was felt in ventura county to the north and san diego to the south. look at some video taken at the moment this quake struck last night. this video is from bria, a rent a and diners were shaken out of their seats by the quake. some of the other things that happened in braa. the people in the car sustainedmine injuries. there was a water main break here in the city of fullerton. cruise have been working to repair that. it caused street flooding. more than 100 aftershocks have hit so far sense this quake happened. those magnitudes ranging from two to 3.6. >> this is very normal, with you the normal includes a very wide range of rates of aftershocks. so this is on the higher side of the average, nothing at all abnormal about it because we see very large variations and there have been plenty of sequences

with even more aftershocks than this one but it's definitely a good healthy aftershock sequence. >> about 2000 residents were without power last night here in southern california when that quake struck. as for this house, again, the owners, we are told, were out of town when the quake struck. we are told that they are on their way back home. but what happens now is city inspectors have to get in there, and they have to deem the house safe before these residents can be allowed back in. unreal. stephanie, we heard experts say this is normal, but this is the second quake in two weeks. then you have a strong aftershock just within the past hour or two. people who track these things, are they alarmed? >> reporter: yeah. it is certainly alarming any time we have earthquakes here in california. according to size moth did, the last 15 to 20 years have been an unusually quiet period. so perhaps here in california,

we got a little complacent, got used to not having any seismic activity. seismologists say that it doesn't mean that this is necessarily the new normal, although it's getting back to normal conditions. they say that they would need to study data for about a year to determine if, in fact, we are entering a new phase of seismic activity. >> let's hope not. okay. stephanie, live for us in ful r fullerton tonight, thank you. u.s. secretary of defense says the pentagon is planning tostrum the cyber security staff. more than 6 people will be hired by the year 2016. he says the goal is to protect against internet attacks that threaten national security. >> america has always adapted to new threats. but today, the network world, the world in which oceans are crossed at the speed of light presents challenges to american security that our nation has never before confronted. >> hang he will promised more

transparency see and made it clear the government isn't trying to quote mil tarrize cyberspace. this week, president obama proposed changes in how the nsa collects phone data. what the nsa collects hardly compares to what you willingli give up when you use a smartphone or log onto a computer. we look at how private your information is and how much is being collected by business and by the government. in jerusalem, six palestinians were arrested as israeli police scuffled with protesters. police there used stun grenades and rubber bullets to break up the demonstration. palestinians were marching through the city on the eve of land day. four journalists and a boy were also hurt. this week on "talk to al jazeera" david shuster speaks with acclaimed maestro for life of the israel philharmonic orchestra. he asked david about the israeli

settlement? >> i am opposed to the settlement. i don't want to make a big discussion out of it. i think settlements to the future of palestine and israel are counterproductive. this is for not only this government of israel but the people who are pushing them from outside to negotiate as soon as possible. >> you have said the palestinians bear some responsibility in terms of because there have been attacks not on the settlements but on israel proper. >> well, there are fanatics on both sides. both are -- i would not say a majority at all. there is a minority in israel and the other side, too, that is going to continue. those people have to be convinced or just not paid attention to and people who are negotiating should just go on in a positive direction. >> you can watch that full interview on "talk to

al jazeera" tonight at 7:30 eastern, 4:30 pacific. ships in the indian ocean begin to recover pieces of debris in the search for flight 370. but there is no confirmation the items actually came from the missing airliner. an inside look at the race for president of ukraine, how two the top candidates teaming up may affect that election.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. rescue crews paused this morning to remember the victims of the mud slide of washington state. a moment of silence occurred at 10:37 a.m., exactly a week after that disaster began. seventeen are confirmed dead. more than 90 remain missing. afghan officials say security forces killed 4 taliban fighters today. >> as they struck the country's election headquarters. it was the second attack in kabul in go 4 hours and the fourth in over a week.

the violence comes ahead of the presidential e elections set for this week >> u.s. is pressuring morning on you to remove troops from the ukrainian border. secretary of state john kerry is due to meet his russian counterpart for further talks on that crisis. now to the politics in ukraine. candidates are putting their names forward for presidential elections set for may 25th. the boxer turned politician has dropped out of the race. he has put his support behind billionaire poreshenko. that could be a setback for the former prime minister who is hoping to return to power. nick speicer explains. the two frontrunners have joined forces. former heavy weight boxer forfeited the presidential match to his political partner, poreschenko, one of the most respected figures in ukrainian politics. it takes place in a country both described under russian occupation and in a climate of did i have vision and distrust.

many are convinced by russian t.v. reporting that kiev politicians are stooges of the west and fascists. >> there are people who may be fearful of this election because of interventions by moscow. what message do you address to them? >> if you read our program. there are special messages for the east and south ukraine. first message is security. second message is the real defending of all of their rights, including language rights, reledgeous rights, minority rights, everything. >> the. >> they want closer ties with europe and who are furious about the annexation of crimea. however, there will be another candidate from that camp, the former prime minister julia shevchenko. she was nominated for her party and is promising a cleaner more responsive politics but her

typical firebrand style to stand up to russia. >> if the people will trust me with the presidency, i will never let them take our land without a fight. my aim is to demand a cessation of occupying crimea. i do not accept any of the evidence that crimea has lost ukraine. i must tell you i will never accept that. crimea is ukraine, and we will have it back and free from aggression. >> poroscheko says he hopes tioschenko may george foisz with him. the mistakes are more than choosing president and they determine if and how the country can stay together. nick speicer reporting there. for the first time sips malaysia flight 370 disappeared, search teams have their hands on

something tangible. crews on two ships have finished objects out of the ocean. they are determining if they are related to the plane. they both spotted more debris in a new search area, roughly a thousand miles off of the coast of perth. the u.s. navy is sending equipment that can detect picks from the black boxes. the time to find them is running out. randall pinkston explains. >> teams are racing across the clock to find the black box with the vital information on the missing airliner. the transmitter will only work another seven to 10 days before the battery dies. one day after the search moved 700 miles north in the indian ocean, crews from two ships, one from china, the other from australia, pulled debris from the water. despite satellite i willages of hundreds of objects spotted over the last several days, it's the first time anything has been retrieved. so far, the objects do not match the missing malaysian airliner.

on saturday, eight planes scanned a 97,000 square mile area. australian maritime safety officials who are coordinating the search say two of the planes spotted several objects which ships will now try to locate. four ships are in the area now with five more from the multi-national task force expected to reach the search zone on sunday. flight mh 370 has been missing sips march 8th with 239 makes and crew on board triggering a search that at one point covered a point from central asia to the southern indian ocean. today, more than 20 nations are involved in the effort at huge expense. >> every country is bearing its own costs. they are flying their aircraft and planes. australia is flying our craft. we are running our planes. we are just doing what needs to be done to try to get to the bottom of this mystery.

and that will go on >> reporter: a pent gob spokesman says the department of defense has spent 2 and a half million of $4 million set aside to help find the missing plane. >> should last until early april, but that does not mean that the u.s. will stop then if the plane has not been found? >> secretary hage he will made it clear we are going to stay with this as long as the malaysians need our help. >> the u.s. his also providing law enforcement safetiaps to malaysian authorities investigating the plane's disappearance as a possible criminal act. randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington. malaysia defense minister has been criticized. david gallo who helped find fans 447 said the scrutiny is not helping. >> i never lost hope. the team, we never lost hope, and we were confident that given the support of the governments

involved and the families and loved ones of the passengers that we would, in fact, find that aircraft and recover those black boxes. we weren't positive there would be information left on them. thank god, there was. there are times when the public criticism comes down on you, and it's difficult. it's hurtful, and it doesn't help. i understand it completely, but it's sad to see the minister in malaysia being put under this kind of pressure, too, because again, whether he deserves it or not, it's not helpful. >> weather permitting in the indian ocean, the several should continue within the in connection couple of hours. >> storms brought winds up you to 49 miles per hour. lightning strikes, started fires and downed trees. there are reports of large hail and tornado warnings for areas including tampa and orlando[delete]. >> storm front could head to the carolinas next. >> is some scary looking pictures, almost looked like a hurricane. >> it did. talking about 40 mile per hour

gusts, they got even stronger as the storm or the line of storms. we are showing it live. it started to track down across orlando and wind gusts were being reported 50 to 60 miles per hour. there could have been strong he ones but the primary reports were coming in as gusts and heavy rain causing flash flooding. see the intense rainfall over miami now. so, a we look at our storm report, we saw the video as it moved near panama city across the panhandle of florida. you can see from the wind reports and the flash flooding, that's the primarily issue we are getting with these storms. so severe thunderstorm watch will continue for parts of the southern tip of florida. right around miami down toward key west but not quite. something to keep in mind as you have cooler air behind this front. rip currents have really picked up from anywhere near biloxi, mississippi across mobile and into pensacola. otherwise, as we go over toward mississippi, you can see without flooding issues there as well. so rainfall totals, pretty

impress forgive that line of storms. over three inches for memphis. you can see over an inch and a half in new orleans. we will see those coming in. talking about rainfall, here is one for you, all-time record wettest march for the airport, seattle, washington. you look at this amount of rain, it's pretty impressive. consider, twlooef good days of march to go. we have hit over eight and a half inches of rainfall this year. normally, we would barely have four inches. so arlington, washington, a city that's closer to the mud slide that occurred further to the north. as of march 26th, a couple of days after, before they got all of this heavy rain, they had their second wettest march on record. >> that's over seven and almost seven and three-quarters of an inch of rainfall. you have glacial soil with the rocks and the soil. it just doesn't bond together. a lot of hill slides.

so we are going to see some issues probably in southwest washington on the southern-facing parts of the olympic mountains here as you look out to the west, you can see plenty of rain showers moving in. earlier today, we had very heavy showers. now, we are getting the heavy rain around san francisco and working its way in to the east side. so the rainfall just in the last 24 hours, incidentally, jonathan, portland had dail rainfall yesterday. we will talk about how much more rain is on the way for this week. >> thanks, rebecca. mental illness and incarceration all too often go hand-in-hand. in the united states, an estimated 450,000 mentally-ill people are behind bars. one sheriff says he is essentially running the largest mental institution in the country. rob rental has more >> reporter: he says his name is ethan. he wanders the streets of los angeles, barefoot, dissheveld

and bleeding. he says he doesn't take anti-psychologistic medications? >> i don't receive the treatment i need out here. >> ethan is one of tens of thousands of mentally-ill homeless people. he has been arrested more times than he can remember, he says, and locked up here in the lacounty jail. >> we have prisons and county jails that serve as de facto mental hospitals. >> author steve lopez has extensively researched the criminalization of mental illness. >> the county jail has more than 3,000 inmates with a mental illness. so we prosecute rather than do the medicine that's necessary. we are more apt to punish than to -- than to provide the necessary treatment. >> until the 1960s and '70s, most mentally-ill pens were confined in state-run mental hospitals. advances in medication and

concern over abuses in those hospitals led to many patients being released and the asylums were shut down but federal and state funding for a network of planned community care centers never materialized leaving thousands of former patients homeless, untreated, and often in trouble. jails were never meant to be treatment centers >> reporter: >> most people who work in the jail system don't -- not only do they not understand mental illness. they don't know symptoms. they don't know behaviors. they have no clue as to how to deescalate, nor were they designed that they should. advocates say what the mentally-ill and homeless need is a place to live where they can get treatment. >>, of course, would require taxpayers' money. but according to the national alliance on mental illness, since 2009, funding for mental health by the states has

actually been cut by more than $4,000,000,000. rob reynolds, al jazeera, los angeles. >> still ahead on al jazeera america, political turmoil in turkey has voters worried about elections. we take a closer look at how a series of scandals is shaping campaign. while form ter wnba star was facing opponents on the court, she was facing demons off of it. her story ahead in sports.

>> i mean, i don't know who's illegal, who's not illegal... al jazeera america presents a breakthrough television event. borderland a first hand look at the crisis on the border... >> i'm already afraid just being here >> six strangers, with different points of view take a closer look at the ongoing conflict. gary, a farmer, who hires many migrent workers... >> people say immigrants are stealing our jobs, it's not true... >> and allison, a born again christian, republican... >> let's just send them back to

mexico and let their goverment handle it. >> they re-live the fatal quest of a young boy named omar... >> do you think that omar was way too young to make that trip accross the dessert? >> you just can't keep being strong... >> where will this path lead them? >> just because they make it to the u.s., doesn't mean good things are gonna happen to them. >> experience illegal immigration... up close, and personal. >> the only way to find out, is to see it yourselves. on... borderland only on al jazeera america ♪ an important election takes place in turkey tomorrow. voters in 81 provinces will choose mayors and counsellors but they are more than local politics. a report from istanbul. they are being seen as a vote on the prime minister

>> reporter: election and all parties are in force. slogans and banners are everywhere. so are the promises made by the candida candidates. turkey is in political turmoil. it's making people a bit nervous. >> translator: there is also tension before elections but recent developments against the government has made the situation more tense. it made each side more polarized. government will. what makes these elections significant is that they are being held while the government faces rising political tensions, power struggles and allegations of mass corruption. many people, these are really more of a referendum and the prime minister and his policies. widespread anti-government protests broke last summer.

police were accused of using excessive force. the government blamed western countries for supporting those demonstrators and the economic damage that they caused. in december, a skrupings scandal forced three ministers to res n resign. allegations were made against the prime primary. he accused his former allies in the golan movement after smear campaign aimed at bringing down his government. >> a political scientist who calls these local elections crucial: >> we used to take the proofvincial e laeksz a measure of the popularity of the government. it was sort of a poll of polls where all of these issues from economic policies to foreign policy of various local issues,

corruption issues, building permits, et cetera, all of those will be -- praying some role in the decision that people will make. >> prime minister erdiwine remains de, relying on the support he and his party have had for the last 12 years. he is calling on supporters to back him once again. al jazeera,istanbul. >> gay couples can now legally mary in most of the united kingdom. same-sex couples have been allowed to form civil partnerships but as of today, they can and are tying the knot. >> it's a wonderful feeling. it was much more e motimotional i thought it was going to be. i feel happy. it's a new step forward. it's a new beginning. it's all about love. >> gay marriage is still not legal in northern ireland and scotland but that is expected to soon change in scotland. a hectic sign-up season winding

up for the healthcare law. monday is the last day to enroll. more than 6 million people have signed up. >> that's a million short of the goal. the white house has extended the dead lien to mid april for applications that have stalled on the website. for an in-depth look at the affordable care act, what it does and does not do. watch the week ahead. >> that's obamacare tomorrow at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific. march madness is winding down. we are kind of getting to the final here. >> the final 4 for the men and women and the former college star is with her battle in the depression. she could do it all. she was the best women's basketball player on planet earth, bar none. she was star of the wmba but with her suggestions on the court, off of the court, she was suffering in pain, which led her to the unthinkable, an attempt at suicide. jessica taft has her story >> reporter: to understand ideal at the height of her career, she tried to take her own life, you have to understand where it all began.

she was born in queens, new york, to young parents, 19-year-old benita holsklaw and 22-year-old willie johnson. in the beginning, life was good but it changed when both parents began drinking. >> it was a lot of ups and downs. when your mom stays home all night and when she does come home she is not all there because she is drunk, it was really tough. >> this went on for years until social services moved holsclaw and her brother in with their grandmother. by then, the 11-year-old was already dealing with anger and depression issues, but there was one place where she was at ease: the basketball court. >> it was love at first sight. it was also like a stress reliever, and that was the one place where i could find peace sflfrn for her, the next al baggage translated into basketball goals. after winning championships, it was no surprise when she was the number 1 draft pick in the wmba in 1999. >> tell me about that day when

you were drafted number 1 overall. >> i just remember talking to my grandmother and just, like, crying. you could see how far i had come. >> she played for the washington mistics and during her first season was named rookie of the year. she was riding high professio l professionally while behind close doors she was wrestling with depression. in 2002, she received the devastating news: her grandmother was gone. what was it like then when she did pass away? >> that was probably the toughest period in my life because that was my support system. you know, that was the person that was there for me through the difficult times in my life. when she left, you know, i felt so empty. >> with her support system gone, she had nowhere to turn. in the 2004, she simply said, time out. she missed six straight games and finally, decided not to

return for the season. it was during that time when she discovered she was clinically depressed. hoping a change in scenery would help, she requested a trade to labut her downward spiral ended in a attempted suicide in 2006 with. >> when you were there, what was going through your head at that moment? >> man, like, i -- what have i done? am i going to be okay? and i remember the doctor coming in when i got to the hospital and talking, you know, to my friend that was in the room. she said she is going to experience a really bad night because that overdose on brain medication. i just didn't feel like being anymore. i wanted to be with my grandmother. but i am just very thankful that god, you know, gave me a second chance. >> she knew that was her lowest point and worked hard to pick up the pieces. it was also during this time that she was diagnosed with b

bipolar 2, a mood disorder that involves swings from highs to lows? >> being diagnosed, it was a blessing for me to finally, understand, but, also, i was angry because i wish i would have known this years and years ago. now 36 years old, she says she is in the best place of her life. she is on the right medication and on good terms with her mother. she has stopped keeping her struggles a secret? >> i am not ashamed. i am not ashamed of anything that i have been through. i am sure i am going to look back one day and be like, wow i have a pretty interesting story. there is this story that, you know, a lot of girls, you know, with the ups and downs of life, being persistent and fighting through this, life isn't easy but it's also beautiful. >> according to the nation nationalstitute of mental health 1 in 4 americans experience

mental illness and athletes are not immune. many suffer in silence because they don't want to appear vulnerable but a story like hers will hopeful help others. >> why did she decide to speak about it? >> she decide truck driver could help others. >> that's one of the things where she does public speaking and wants to help young athletes, whether it's young girls or boys seek help right away >> big message there. thanks, rots. it might not feel like spring in some parts of the sdmrus but in japan, one of the pretty jeftiest signs of the season is in full bloom t cherry blossoms. they started flowering this week. millions of people turn out to see the colorful spectacle. beautiful. tennessee is known for its whiskey home to brands like jack daniels." there is a question about what defines tennessee whiskey. lawmakers are being urged to weigh in. ays's jonathan martin has more from nashville. >> whiskey making has been a tennessee tradition. so much is produced here,

tennessee whiskey is considered it's sflfrmths own. burbon. jack daniels, the state's largest producer put linkburg on the map and ships more than 10 million products every year. geoff arnette is the master difficult i willer. he has been away from his usual job and atti tennessee's capito where he lobbies to uphold a new law that defines the process for making tennessee whiskey. >> we hoped we could debate what is great whiskey and make it because i think the state has been known for great whiskey for a long time. >> to be marketed as tennessee whiskey, products have had to be made and bottled in the state but last year prompted by jack daniels, the state added tighter requirements. now, all tennessee whiskey may undergo a char:filtering process and be aged in new oak barrels but others protest. they say old barrels are cheaper and can be just as good. arnette said it's about maintaining a standard of quality similar to france's requirement for calling a

product champagne. >> we don't have to use colorings or flavorings because all of those things naturally come from the barrel. the wood sugars, colors, the first time the barrel is used are readily available. >> pritchard runs appear small difficult i willery where heships about 30,000 cases of whiskey every year. he says consumers, not lawmakers, should define quality. what's more, he says the requirements to use new barrels can cost $100 more and hurt smaller companies like his? >> we are seeing a tremendous shortage of those barrels. it's not going to be long before we see the price of barrels go up and up. >> pritchard and several other whiskey makers, most notably george nicol are pushing the state to rewrite the law. some lawmakers admit the legit late temperature may have over stepped bounds. >> if we man date tennessee whiskey, another big manufacturer, seagrams or something will say we want to

define tennessee vodka and somebody else says we want to define 10p tennessee tequila. >> we are violating interstate commerce laws. >> the state decided this week to table the issue for now, frustrating both sides. now, the decision on what constitutes tennessee whiskney your glass may not be decided at the bar but in court. jonathan martin, al jazeera, nashville. that does it for us this hour. thank you so much for joining us on this saturday afternoon. i am jonathan betts. we will be back with another hour of news at 5:00 p.m. pacific. a few stories after this very short break on al jazeera america.

you are watching al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz with tonight's top stories. john kerry will hold talks with his russian counterpart tomorrow on the ukraine crisis. kerry will meet in paris. the secretary of state took a

dew tour to ranarrange for that meeting. afghan execute forces say taliban fighters attacked the country's election headquarters. in just days before the presidential election. >> three reflexes soldiers were killed in a suicide car bombing today at an army checkpoint near the syrian border. a sunni group has claimed responsibility. for the first time since malaysia flight airline 370 disappeared, search teams have their hands on something tangible. crews on twoships have finished a number of object out of the indian ocean. authorities are working to confirm if they are related to the missing jetliner. crews paused for a moment of silence this morning to honor victims of the washington mud slide. the disaster truck one week ago today. 17 people are now confirmed dead. more than 90 remain missing. the earthquake that shook the los angeles area has triggered more than 100 aftershocks, the magnitude 5.1 quake triggered rockslides and power outages

yesterday but there is minor str structural daniel. no injuries have been reported. those are the headlines on this saturday. techknow eyes in the sky is next. for updates all day long, go to aljazeera.com. >> this is "techknow." a show about invocation invocatn innovations that can save lives. we're going to celebrate the intersection of hardware and humanity and doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out our team of hard core nerds. lindsay moran is a starting for every move captured by a camera tracking her from above. >> she's acting a little bit suspicion. >> see the crime fighting tech that's creating controversy. dr. crystal dilworth is a molecular neuro