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tv   News  Al Jazeera  April 4, 2014 4:00pm-5:01pm EDT

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willing and able to exploit the country's poor, this trade in human beings looks set to continue.
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>> we're expecting a news conference for the latest on the shooting at fort hood. we'll bring that to you when it happens. right now the recovery process goes on wher with people woundet fort hood. four people are still hospitalized. five have been discharged and another person should go home today. texas governor rick perry visited fort hood today, and he urged americans to pray for those affected. >> there aren't any easy answers for what occurred here. there is no way to stop the suffering that is occurring for those who have been caught in
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this senseless act of violence. >> reporter: heidi zhou castro. tell us more about what we've learned about the gunman? >> we're getting a better history of the man. he was known as a quiet man and a family man with three childr children. lopez's mother passed away of a sudden heart attack. hhe said that lopez was able to go to his mother's funeral but he was upset because the army gave him a 48-hour leave. in december his grandfather passed away as well. fast forward to february of this year. that's when lopez was transfe
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transferred to fort hood in killeen, texas. in march lopez bought his murder weapon and guns galore in killeen. we know mis know that to his nee seemed like a happy guy. he was happy to start the relocation for his family. they were shocked to learn that lopez was identified as the man who open fired on his fellow soldiers on base killing three, wounding 16 before turning the gun on himself. today, rick perry, governor of texas, and senator ted cruz were on base and in the hospitals meeting with the survives, and discussed base security. >> it's a good question, and at
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this point today there will be point to address the public policy issues but today we need to be focusing on the victims, praying for their recovery and helping this community to come back together. there will be plenty of time to have discussions about public policies going forward. >> we're just now getting more information about the victims. one of the soldiers killed is sergeant timothy owens of illinois. his father describes him as a great person a loving person, and of course he's mourning the loss of his son. also new information about lopez coming from the father of another of his victims that was sergeant jonathan westbrook of mississippi. his father saying that lopez, according to his son who he spoke with on the phone, that lopez came in asking for leave papers. minding november was when lopez tried to have a longer leave to
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attend his mother's funeral, and he was frustrated that he was only given two days. according to the father of this injured soldier that lopez was told that he would not get those leave papers, that he would have to return. at that point is when he came back with guns fully loaded and charged at the soldiers. the investigators are looking at that along with all other evidence at this very moment. >> we did hear them talk about that altercation yesterday. the gunman's family spoke out for the first time as well. lopez's father struggle to go comprehend how his son could have open fired on fellow soldiers. he also called for prayers for those killed and counseled in the attack. we're starting to learn more about the three people killed in wednesday's shooting. daniel ferguson's fiancé told a tampa tv station that he held a
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door shut. timothy owen's mother told nbc news she never imagined her son would die on american soil. and carls la ven carlos lavene o retire next year. a reminder, we're waiting for a news conference live from fort hood. we'll bring that to you as it happens. now to afghanistan where people are getting ready to choose a democratically elected leader for the first time in history, getting voters to ballots has been difficult. bernard smith reports. >> reporter: a last-minute rush to register in saturday's
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presidential election. these people are involved in a process that will end with the first democratic transfer of power in this country's 5,000 year history. despite the security threats there is clearly widespread enthusiasm to vote. these people have been cueing to register since before dawn. the pressure is on the election commission to stop the widespread fraud. then ballot box stuffing was widespread. this time it won't. >> the timeline legislative and other provisions and also the delivery of ballot papers with sensitive and non-sensitive material with the 6,000 odd centers. >> reporter: in kabul security has rarely been tighter. there are check points every few hundred meters.
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the taliban cast a long shadow over this election. the capital has enjoyed a series of attacks as the group carries out it's promise, and there will pockets where there will be no voting because of the taliban threat. >> does the threat of the attack put you off? >> i'm enthusiastic to vote. it does not put me off. you cannot let the taliban dictate. if it's up to them, no elections at all. well, we want the elections. we want someone to deal with the taliban, resolve that issue, and you have to come out and vote. >> turn out and a relatively corruption-free vote are what will help give this election legitimacy in the eyes of afghans. whoever wins will need to have plenty of that if they'll have any chance of face challenging issues in afghanistan.
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>> a reporter was killed while covering elections. she was killed instantly when the taliban fired on the car that she was in. her photographer is reportedly in stable condition. last month a journalist was killed along with eight others when the taliban attacked a luxury hotel in kabul. the obama administration is reevaluating it's middle east initiative. there is a limit of how much the u.s. is willing to devote to this effort. nick schifrin joins us live from jerusalem. when we go back a little bit, it seems that the u.s. was very optimistic about this peace process, but today secretary kerry gave the impression that his involvement may soon be coming to an end. where did this go wrong so quickly?
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>> nine months ago there was a promise of complete peace. now they're simply trying to save the talks. they're blaming both sides, the israelis for not releasing prisoners that the israelis promised to release. the palestinians for joining u.s. treaties that it promised not to join. the talks are not dead but at best they are an impasse and both sides are hardening the position. they arrive defiance, demanding the release of palestinian prisoners. but almost immediately israelis were unwilling to give them any space. physically and politically the palestinians believed they have seized momentum. the israelis are pushing back. as speakers blaired for four hours they blast back. tear gas came close and created
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a plume of noxious smoke designed to disperse the crowd. you can really feel the attention hear heavy immediately you get tear gas and a cat and mouse game. the palestinians are been trying to get to the gate. every time they move forward the israelis fire back. >> reporter: for some this protest is personal. his brother was supposed to be released last weekend. that's when we first met him delivering furniture. >> we interrupt to go to a fort hood news briefing. this is lieutenant general mark addressing the report. >> i appreciate your flexibility. i would like to give a short update on the incident, the investigation that happened last
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wednesday, and at the end allow the opportunity to ask a few questions. i had an opportunity this morning to visit some of the wounded again, and i just want all of you and all of the community to know that we are all keeping them in our thoughts and prayers both the fallen and the wounded and their families as they go through this grieving process, and this difficult time and that fort hood and all of that leadership will be there with them throughout. we have completed a next of kin notification on the three fallen soldiers, and i can now give publicly their identifies. two of the soldiers from the 49th transportation battalion, and one of the killed victims is from the first medical brigade. sergeant first glass dan yes, ma'am ferguson age 39 from
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florida, entered active service in 1993 as transportation management coordinator. he was assigned to the 49th transportation battalion of the brigade of the 13th sustainment command. he was a transportation supervisor. his deployment include kuwait, iraq, and afghanistan. staff sergeant carlos rodriguez 38 from puerto rico. entered active duty service in february 1995 as an unit supply specialist. he was assigned to the 21st support hospital of the first medical brigade in february 2012, where he served as an unit supply sergeant. he deployed to kuwait and also to iraq.
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sergeant timothy wayne owens, 37, of illinois, entered active duty service in july 2004 as a motor transport operator. he was assigned to the 49th transportation battalion, 13th sustainment command where he served as a heavy vehicle driver. he deployed to iraq and to kuwait. their releasable service records will be available to you at the fort hood press center.com later on this evening. we will memorialize all three of these fallen soldiers next wednesday, and hour public affairs office will give details available to all of you. later this evening we're putting together a map and diagram of the incident site to include a
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basic sequence of events as we understand them now. they will be very basic not to the level of debail of an investigation that is still intelligentlidon't know going. in regards to the injured soldiers that we visited this morning we've had the opportunity both yesterday and today to visit all the injured soldiers, and currently we still have three remaining soldiers and three here at fort hood. they are all strong. each of them is resilient. their families are resilient and we've had an opportunity to meet with some of their families. they're dealing very well with a difficult situation, and we all look forward and pray for their full recovery. the original 16 have been released from hospital and to current duty. and i as a commander, soldierer
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i'm impressed by the medical profession of white, darnell and the entire response of the fort hood emergency responders and the community at large. as you know there is a lot more details beyond what i have given you in the last couple of days. and there is much of those details that are not releasable to the public at this time because we do have an ongoing investigation. however, i do want to clarify two points specific to lopez's medical condition. first, we're digging into his combat experience in iraq. so far we have not discovered any specific traumatic event, wounds received in action, contact with the enemy or anything else specific that he may have been exposed to while deployed. but we are continuing to examine this line of inquiry. secondly, his underlying medical
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conditions we do not believe are the direct factor to the incident. we believe that the immediate precipitating factor is an? in the unit area, but we're still contacted that conductingt investigation. we do know that the investigation team is robust, and it's multi agency. right now we have almost 80 fbi agents working with us in forensic specialists. over 20 texas rangers are contributing to the investigation, and almost 50 army cid agents and our fort hood mp military investigation teams and local law enforcement
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detectives from killeen. we have specialists and medical investigations on hand to assist, and all together we have over 150 professionally trained investigators from federal state and local agencies. i will leave all the further details of ongoing medical and criminal investigations to the law enforcement agencies and healthcare professionals. at this point i would like to introduce colonel, the commander of the military police group cid joint base, and chris gray from cid, and they will briefly now review the status of the investigation. after their comments we will entertain questions. chris? >> thank you. >> good afternoon, i'm with the
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u.s. army criminal command based out of virginia and multi law enforcement task force led by army cid here at fort hood into the tragic shooting of the incident that took place on wednesday. i'm here today to provide you with an update with an investigative update with respect to the ongoing criminal investigation. unfortunately, and as you know we lost four soldiers on wednesday to include the shooter as one of those soldiers. that number includes 16 others who were wounded. on behalf of all law enforcement working on this case, both civilian and military, let me begin by expressing my sincerest condolences to the familie love, the families to the soldiers. please keep in behind this is an ongoing criminal investigation and we're only releasing facts at this point that we feel
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confident that will not jeopardize the ongoing case. as you know the military police, army cid and a host of other law enforcement professional responding to reports of shots fired at approximately 1416 wednesday. reports from continued through various locations which added to the top confusion. shooting with a semiautomatic handgun. the entire crime scene encompasses almost a two-city block area. we do have credible information he was involved in a verbal altercation with soldiers from his unit just prior to him allegedly opening fire. the subject then continued to
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travel to nearby buildings entering those locations and opening fire. while in his personal vehicle he indiscriminately fired to soldiers while moving from one location to another. at this time we're still gathering evidence and processing a very large crime scene so we will give you a time step by step timeline of the activity for the investigation. the alleged shooter then encountered with a responding police officer and approached her. subsequently there was a verbal exchange between the two. the police officer drew her firearm and fired one round when the subject brandished his weapon. we do not believe that the subject was struck, but we're confirming that fact with the medical examiner. the alleged shooter then place his firearm to his own head and fired one round killing himself.
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those actions by the alleged subject and military police officer are obviously part of the ongoing investigation. at this time we have the one alleged subject connecting these shootings and all evidence indicates that the subject acted alone in the alleged shooting. we have no evidence so far that contradicts that finding, but it is critical to point out that we're not ruling anything in or out at this stage of the investigation, and we'll continue to aggressively pursue any and all credible leads and information associated with this case. there were initial reports that there were possibly two shooters involved on wednesday, but that has been attributed to the chaotic nature of the situation and the short's movement from location to location as described earlier. additionally we have not found any links to terrorism or international or domestic or extremist groups at this time. again we have not completely ruled that out in order to
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conduct a complete and thorough investigation. within the large crime scene i described there are three significant crime scenes inside buildings and three areas outdoors that we're focusing our case on. those scenes are currently being processed by highly-trained cid special agents, texas rangers and members of the fbi elite evidence response team. that processing includes evidence collection, crime scene creation, trianglealation of evidence, the bullets fired and 3d scanning of the crime scene. to date we have canvassed and interviewed more than 900 people during the course of this investigation. immediately following the shooting, an outside agency took positive control and screened more than 1,000 potential witnesses and possible subjects in the immediate vicinity before releasing them back to their
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unit. at this point in the investigation we have well over 150 special agents from army cid, fbi and the atf as the general mentioned, as well as the texas rangers. the weapon used in these crimes has been recovered as evidence, and we'll be processing that as the forensic u.s. lab another atlanta, georgia. we'll conduct forensic ballistic testing to confirm that the shots fired came from that specific weapon. we have also confirmed through this investigation that specialist lopez purchased the the weapon recovered at the crime scene march 1st from a local establishment outside of fort hood but brought it on to fort hood in violation of fort hood and army regulations. we have not uncovered any history of previous criminal activity by specialist lopez. at this time we have not established a concrete motive,
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but we will do everything in our power to do so. given that the alleged shooter is deceased the possibility does exist that we may never know exactly why the alleged shooter did what he did, but again we are bringing the very latest technology in attempt to find out. finally, since wednesday's incident we have brought support from law enforcement professional in the fort hood community inside and outside of the gate. we would like to thank the following agencies for their team work and professionalism during this difficult time. the fbi, the atf, texas department of public safety and the texas rangers, the ford hood director of emergency services, the killeen police department, the harker heights police department, county sheriff office and the temple police department. we would like to thank the lieutenant and his staff for cooperate while we conduct our
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investigation. let me assure you that we're fully committed to this investigation. that concludes my update today. we are not releasing any further details. i appreciate your patience and understanding during this very difficult time. thank you. >> we'll take just a few questions, and then we're not going to do a press conference tomorrow, saturday, nor sunday. we will do one again on monday we will not do one tuesday. the memorial service is wednesday and the next one will be thursday. >> that is lieutenant general milli the commanding officer at fort hood, kill len, texas, with updates on the investigation. we also heard from the army cid spokesman with new details coming out today. a couple of things that we would like to point out, one, there was no specific traumatic event
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for lopez in his deployment in iraq. he believes underlying medical conditions were not a direct factor but more about the escalating altercation with fort hood personnel that led to the shooting. we also already from chris gray again, and he also said that after the initial shooting he was in his personal vehicle and was randomly firing at military personnel on the post. that's how so many people were wounded. 10 of the 16 wounded have been released from the hospital and returned to active duty. six remain in six other hospitals and he confirmed the names of those deceased. sergeant far gus son, sergeant rodriguez and sergeant owens, they will have a memorial next wednesday. now we want to go back to nick schifrin, who is live in jerusalem. nick, earlier you were telling us that the palestinian peace
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process with the israelis they believe they have seen momentum. this is a critical moment in the peace process. what does this mean for the further ofuture of the negotiatf they fall through again. >> if they fall through it will be seen as a major foreign policy failure. but what we've seen is pessimism from secretary kerry. he has made it his personal mission to try to bring the two sides together and try to make peace for the last nine months. he has met with both sides more than 40 times interrupted other trips to come here, but today we saw for the first time a real doubt from him, a public doubt. he criticized both sides and then said, quote, it's time for reality check. >> regretbly over the last few days both sides have taken steps that are not helpful, and that's evident to everybody.
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so we're going to reality very carefully exactly where this is, and where it quite possibly be able to go. >> kerry is much more down beat than he has ever been. but some say this is tactic, trying to stress both sides to release that unless they make tough decisions, he will walk away. both sides don't want that. the u.s. negotiator, kerry's top aide, met with both sides this morning, and met with both sides the other night for nine ours, behind the scenes the u.s. is still willing to bring the two parties together but publicly the two parties are as far apart as ever. >> there seems he is to be a lot of doubt in that process. nick schifrin in jerusalem. coming up on al jazeera america. good jobs numbers out today but economists warned don't get too excited just yet. we'll tell you why. [ male announcer ] it's here -- xfinity watchathon week,
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♪ >> the jobs market is showing positive signs today. we found out that the economy added 192 jobs in march and the number of private sector jobs is now higher than the great recession. i feel pretty good about the headline itself, but if we dive deeper in the numbers what are we really seeing. >> well, depending on what you focus on, the glass is half full or half empty. the average number of hours worked has increased and construction jobs have been created. they're considered high quality because they pay well and they create jobs that feed off construction. on the down side the economy
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lost 1,000 manufacturing los jo, and the number of people who are working part time that would like to be working full time has climbed to 250,000. >> i think the jobs report this morning really nails down the final view that this economy is not really accelerating, nor is it decelerating. we're stuck in this economy that is at or slightly below trend, and there is no evidence at all that we're moving away from that at all. >> now the employment rate we mains steady at 6.7%, and it was held there for a positive reason because half a million people joined the labor force in march. that includes the people what are in work or actively looking for, that's the labor force participation rate, and that has at 6.3%.
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that's a good sign. the problem that has been with us for a while, the 3.7 million americans who have been out of work for a half year or more. they account for more than 35% of the unemployed, and that is a trend that was highlighted to ali velshi. >> our long-term unemployment rate is unacceptbly high. if we were at pre-recession levels, there would be 2.2 million more people at work. and our unemployment rate would be 5.3%. >> there is more on the jobs report and the interview tonight with real money with ali velshi. >> there was good, bad mixed bag there, but is this air of disappointment that sort of lingers over this job report? >> that's an excellent observation. coming in, people really thought we were going to enter this period of acceleration, and then we had the winter weather and a
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lot of people were saying that winter weather is slowing us down. now to see the march report that we're entering this period of slow steady growth. not a period of acceleration. janet yellen did point out for a lot of americans this recovery still feels like a recession. >> i'm going to go with glass half full. >> good. >> i'm the optimistic. i'll going to go with glass half full. >> thank you. >> the search for malaysian flight 370 entered a new phase. underwater two ships with sound lolocaters to find the plane's black boxes. >> reporter: it's no exaggeration to say time is running out. >> on best advice the locater beacon will last about a month before it ceases its transmissions. so we're now getting pretty close to the time when it might,
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it might expire. >> reporter: the batteries that power the locater signal in blacks boxes only last around 30 days, and flight 370 went missing 27 days ago. finding it in the time left will be tough. despite an international search using 14 planes and nine ships, so far no trace of the missing malaysian airlines passenger jet has been found. >> we have nothing concrete here. you cannot grief for someone unless you have something concrete. >> reporter: they have been looking at this remote section of the indian ocean off the coast of perth, in an area only a bit smaller than romania. while planes continue to search a submarine will help and two ships towing pinger location also start at opposite sends traveling at a painfully slow 2 to 9 kilometers an hour.
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let's hope that the crew also pick up the signals emitted by the blacks boxes on board. finding those data recorders is crucial to find out what happened to flight 370. without that information investigators may never find out what went wrong. erica woods, al jazeera. >> bernard smith reported earlier that the new presidential vote in afghanistan marks a new turn in the country in thousands of years. two major tasks for the next of a damage leader, jane ferguson looks at the frontrunner many say will be the next president.
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>> previous foreign minister is ma hid karzai's chosen successor. that could come with the corruption linked to this government. >> they've been known for a very long time of horrendous levels of corruption. what will you do differently. >> first of all, i have not been involved in any corruption, i know what is happening. i know what we should do to correct that. i want the political experience that i've got, the achievement, in the service of the afghan people. >> while he was foreign minister karzai refused to sign a bilateral security agreement with the u.s. allowing some foreign troops to remain in the
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country. throwing relations with the u.s. into crisis. >> we have problems, problems have been different. i was personally involved in drafting it. i believe that the nationa natil interest of afghanistan ha and e united states. >> supporters of warlords, of the eight men running for president rassoul is only one of three to have a female vice president. but like political campaigns the world over, image and protocol molds themselves to campaign locations. candidates like rassoul want to present themselves as the future of a modern afghan state.
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but in reality, 13 years since the fall of the taliban there is not a single woman in this crowd. he was educated in europe's finest schools and has worked as the highest levels of the afghan government. as descendant of the old royal family, it's seen as an asset. if afghans decide they want more of the same style of government then he stands a very strong chance of leading it. jane ferguson, al jazeera, afghanistan. >> consensus among afghan voters suggest that they want the next president to build a strong economic future because two-thirds of afghans are under the age of 25. a quarter of them are unemployed. but 90% of the country is considered under employed, and most make about $1 a day, barely enough to feed a family. joining me now is mark jacobsen,
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senior adviser at the truman national security. i find it astudenting that two-thirds of afghans. >> they're talking about a group that is ener energized to vote. across the board afghans are energized to vote. but the youth in particular have not been interested in the political process but really driving the country forward. they understand that unless they're involved in their country's future, that they are liable to have a life for their families that is not quite what they've been used to. >> do they understand the importance of their future is based on economic prosperity? >> i think they do. i think this is very telling in two ways.
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first, they are not entirely focused on security day after day. and again i was listening to your earlier report. the american president travels by helicopter, he has to go two hours away. security is much better in most locations in afghanistan, and i think it's an important sign that the youth are focused on governance, they're focused on education, they're focused on the economy. it doesn't mean that security is perfect. it means that they're starting to look forward to the long-term challenges afghanistan faces instead of short-term challenges. >> challenges always lead to the taliban. we have seen example of violence and terrorism this week already. how much affect can the taliban have on this election tomorrow? >> well, i do have to say our sympathies are out there with the family of journalists fo.
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you can argue their structure is weakening, they are less effective. i don't see them as an extension threat to the afghan government, but they are still very dangerous. they will do everything they can to disrupt the elections. but just like in 2009 and 2010, i think these are going to be limited, these strikes will be of limited tactical importance. and again we're already seeing that after attacks, more afghans are coming out to register to vote. hopefully in afghanistan we'll see them come out to vote in record numbers. >> in the report we just heard from jane ferguson she mentioned the bilateral agreement that president karzai refused to sign. it seems every top candidate has said they will sign that bilateral agreement. will this election reset the relations currently between the united states and afghanistan? >> i think that's a fantastic way of putting it. you're dealing with a situation where it's likely that the next
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president, it could be arshaf ghani, zalmai rassoul or abdullah abdullah, all three have said they will sign things. this is a chance for the international community to give in a little bit--to give and take a little bit more than they have. and for the afghan government to reset it's own position with the international community. they still need the support, and without the bsa, no more troops, no more money, and then afghanistan is going to be in a position where they cannot continue to progress the way they have over the last decade. >> one other interesting note about this particular election not just the presidential election but even the council election among their different provinces. there are 300 women seeking office throughout the country of afghanistan, and even some those running for president have used their wives to address women's issues in front of rallies. one of the candidates has a
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female as running mate for vice president. how will the women affect this election in afghanistan? >> let me put this in two ways. first, i believe that we are seeing a proportionally many more women registering to vote than in the past. and also the afghan government has done a good job providing more female security screeners for the polling station. what this means is unlike during the previous presidential election and the parliamentary elections women will be able to get into the polling stations, and execute their votes. what i don't think it means is that while we see some of this western style, let's put the wives out in front of the cameras, i'm not quite sure that's going to swing the vote. that said, what is important is the recognition that women are not only playing a bigger role in afghan politics, but we have to remember greater percentage of afghan women in parliament than our own congress, but that women are able--women are viewed
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by afghans in general as having a much more--much greater place. there is polling that has demonstrated that. >> the historical election on many front. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> the united states may have to fully withdraw from afghanistan later this year. one afghan presidential election fears the return of the taliban, once that happens we take a look at the taliban stronghold just an hour outside of the afghancal tol--afghancapitol. >> we received the call we were waiting for. at the moment we're crossing the last check point leaving kabul. actually i'm a bit nervous. because last time i tried to meet with insurgents, i was
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actually kidnapped. it happened six years ago. the taliban demanded a ransom of $2 million. >> i was lucky and managed to escape from them. it was a terrible experience, and i hope that i will never end up in the same situation. >> the u.s. military had tried to tame this district for years. the afghan army has bases in the area, but i was told that they rarely go outside. just 40 minutes after leaving kabul, and we were in taliban country. a little further on we were met by a taliban fighter, who drove ahead of us on a motorbike. i was taken to meet two of their
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commanders. it was obvious that they were planning something big. >> you can watch the full documentary and special edition of american nights starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern and 6:00 p.m. pacific. another federal judge struck down a ban directed at same-sex marriage. that makes six states to do so. that tops our news around america. and that means maria ines. >> in ohio another victory for marriage equality. the judge ruled the state's refusal to recognize same-sex marriage outside holy as unconstitutional as--outside of ohio as unconstitutional. new painkiller will make it harder for doctors to prescribe zohydro.
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it's been banned, saying it's very easy to abuse saying that it's no more potent than other drugs of its kind. three children died in a house fire today. the medical examiner ruled the deaths accidental. even though the mother was not home, two children managed to escape before the house escaped. the ages of the children who died was 13, 7, and 2. rumors that a super volcano is about to erupt. this youtube video shows a herd of running bison before a super volcano erupts. but yellowstone said that wildlife often moves around to find different locations, and geologist experts say that the volcano is not expected to erupt for a thousand years.
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>> animals are the first to know, i would have believed. >> yes. >> aerial photos of the damage those tornadoes left behind. dave warren who has been tracking the system. >> meteorologist: the last few days this has produced severe weather. this is a tornadoic storm that formed into a line that continued to push east. not only do we have wind and hail reports but tornado reports. these are the damage reports that came in yesterday. 165 wind damage reports and 85 hail reports. this is all in the huge area of severe weather. it is continuing to push east but now the severe weather is mostly to the southeast with a wind gust. nothing like what we had yesterday: by tomorrow this is
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pushing off the coast, so it is done. the temperatures may try to warm up before the front moves through, a huge area of high pressure with no rain or snow expected. calmer weather but cooler. the severe weather will move out, the temperatures will go down just a little bit. >> mother nature has been active this year. and she is is not ready to settle down just yet. students in charleston now protesting a college professor. president george w. bush reveals his painting of world leaders.
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>> students are protesting in south carolina. selecting mcconnell to lead the school but he has not
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received a warm welcome on campus. we have the social media response. >> reporter: michael, this is the picture that has been circulating online. it's of glen mcconnell at a confederate shop that he ran up until 2009. some students have set up a web page which is a petition against this appointment of mcconnell to the college of charleston. they've also had some sit-ins where they have protested saying fight for cfoc. now some students say that mcconditional does not have academic experience. he was selected because of politics, not credentials. >> this has been going on for a long time because it's not a case of one lieutenant governor being put into a college presidency. it's part of the systemic problem of the good ol' boy network that has been around for
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centuries if not longer. >> reporter: there is no sign that the school board of trustees will back down. they say they are confident they have selected the best candidate for the job. some alumni started a change.org petition to pull financial support. but his supporters have started their own petition supporting glen mcconditional. >> and the confederate flag continues to be an issue, especially in the south. george w. bush talks about his exhibit today. it's called "the art of leadership." john terrett has been checking out those portraits. is he a good artist? >> reporter: i think he's okay and we all said the same thing which is that we couldn't do it. however, he is president bush and there is a wiggle room for huger herhumor here and there. this is the first full portrait
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that president bush has done, and he told his painting teacher that there is a rembrandt trapped inside this body. now the world's former leaders we all will ask ourselves whether there is or not. when his friend tony blair found out about this, he brushed it off. that is artist humor coming from president bush. you can see what he's done from his man cave at home in dallas he has been cranking out world leaders faster than president putin has been trying to topple them. this is the russian bad boy as seen through w.'s ice with this purple background and crooked smile. and here is the tibetan leader the dalai lama. and there is the elections tomorrow, hamid karzai, the
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outgoing leader. and here is the billionaire leader of saudi arabia. now, the portrait that is number 43 he's favorite is the painting of his dad, number 41st, and i i don't think it's too bad. however don't mention this to barbara bush senior. when shown the portrait of her husband on the today's show she hardly recognized the man she had been married to for 69 years. she said that's my husband? oh, sorry, that's minu my husba. >> i think he's pretty good. if you didn't know who it was, and if you asked do you like the paintings. >> that's the dalai lama, that's putin, that's blair. i couldn't do it. we'll take a look at the day's top stories when we return here
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on al jazeera america. >> scared as hell... >> as american troops prepare to leave afghanistan get a first hand look at what life is really like under the taliban. >> we're going to be taken to a place, where they're going to make plans for an attack. >> the only thing i know is, that they say they're not going to withdraw. >> then, immediately after, an america tonight special edition for more inside and analysis. >> why did you decide to go... >> it's extremly important for the western audience to know why these people keep on fighting... ...it's so seldom you get that access to the other side. >> faultlines: on the front lines with the taliban then an america tonight: special edition only on al jazeera america
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>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm michael yves with a look at the day's top stories. army investigators don't believe that the shooting is a direct
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cause of the gunman's illness. there was an escalating argument with the shooter ivan lopez, and he moved from one location to another. in afghanistan a police officer shot two foreign journalists killing one. the two women worked for the associated press. they were traveling with election monitors when they were attacked. the afghanistan presidential elections are set for saturday. secretary of state john kerry said it's reality time for the peace process when palestine and israel. >> regretbly in the last few days both sides have taken steps that are not helpful. that's evidence to everybody. so we are going to evaluate very carefully exactly where this is and where it might possibly be able to go. >> i'm michael yves, those are a
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look at the headlines at this hour. "inside story" is next. we have the latest from fort hood and the peace talks between israel and palestine. just go to www.aljazeera.com. >> people may use and like the product, quarter revenues, profit, investment, all may look good. but mr. ceo, if the board does not like your opinions you may be packing up the office to spend more time with your family. the boss' politics are the inside story.

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