... this is al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz live in new york. millions of afghans defy the taliban. an encouraging turnout for todd's presidential e elections. a chinese ship hears picks. could they be from the missing malaysian jet liner's black boxes. authorities shared new insight on what might have sparked the rampage at 40 hood. >> 40 years since the genocide in rwanda. some accusing french soldiers of a role in the massacre.

♪ seven million. >> that's how many turned out to vote today in afghanistan. it is a big number. more than half the country's voters showed up despite threats by the taliban. now, the countdown begins to see if afghanistan can carry out a true democracy and whether american forces will stay. barnard smith has the latest >> reporter: the queue started before the polling stations opened. despite the taliban threats to target this election, people wanted to vote in afghanistan 5,000 year history, this marks the first democratic transfer of power. people have been eager to seize the chance. >> we don't care about the threat from the taliban. you can see everyone is coming here. for me.

>> reporter: 12 million people were eligible to vote. in parts of the country where the taliban held sway, polling stations remained closed. this is the scene being repeated at voting stations across the country. people queue up. they dip their finger in indeadible inc. action pick up their ballot papers, go into the providacy of the booth to cast their votes and cast their ballots in the boxes here the blue one is for the presidential election. the green one is for at a time provincial e elections that are also happening. the presidential e votes easy. there are eight candidates. the proof incial e elections, they have six pages each like this. there are 400 candidates just in kabul. each person voting has to choose one of those candidates. it's not a quick process >> reporter: president hamid karzai was one of the first to vote. this election brings to an end his 12 years of rule since the taliban was forced out of pour in 2001. >> translator: i cast my vote as a citizens of this country.

i am so glad and proud that i voted today. i am certain today's event and our people's participation will take afghanistan towards stability and better lives for people. >> kabul was locked down as part of unprecedented nationwide security operation that mobilized 400,000 security

personnel. running mate for vice president is a woman. he is unmarried which is kind of unusual for a politician in afghanistan. abdullah abdullah ran in 2009 for president. he finished a sdabt second to karzai. he is a former eye doctor.

he served as afghanistan's foreign minister. let's talk about this man, rasul. he is the one considered to be most like hamid karzai. jane ferguson takes a look at what his victory could mean >> reporter: those hoping to run this country can't travel its roads. this presidential candidate's helicopter lands at a spot just a 2-hour drive from the capitol, a journey considered too dangerous for him. previously foreign minister, rasul is seen as hamid karzai's chosen successor. >> support could also come with a legacy of corruption linked to this government. the karzai government has got -- will be very well known for a long time for horrendous levels of corruption. you were part of that government. what will you do differently? >> i think i, first of all, i have not been involved in any corruption issues, and i repeat myself, that the fact that i have been involved, i know

what's happening, what kind of thing we should do to correct that. i want to put this experience that i have got, achievement and lack of achievement, in the service of the afghan people. >> karzai refused to sign a bilateral agreement with the u.s. allowing some foreign troops to remain in the country throwing relations with the u.s. into crisis. >> the fundamental of relation of afghanistan and the united states is soft. we have problems. problems happen between friends. i was personally involved in drafting it from the afghan side with my other colleague. i believe that the national interest of afghanistan has been respected in that, and is in the interest of afghanistan and the united states and i am hopeful that this will be signed soon. >> in jalalibad city, speeches are heard by thousands of locals

including supporters of war lords. of the 8 men running for president. rasul is one of 3 to have a female vice president. like political campaigns the world over, image and protocol mold themselves to campaign locations. >> when in the capitol, candidates like rasul want to present themselves as the future of a modern afghan state. but in reality, when they travel to the provinces to areas like this, 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 a technoaccurate at the highest levels of the afghan government. his leg as a descendant of the old royal family is seen as an asset in the eyes of many afghans. as a candidate, he will be seen as a vote for continuity. 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,

jalilabad, afghanistan. >> u.s. forces have been in afghanistan since october of 2001. that's when president bush launched "operation enduring freedom" aimed at dismantling the taliban. he kept around 30,000 troops in afghanistan throughout his administration, but by 2010, president obama had increased that number to 98,000. two years ago, he began scaling back. today, there are about 38,000 american soldiers in afghanistan. more than 2300 servicemen and women have died during the afghan war. joining us from washington with more on the afghan election is rebecca zimmerman, a truman national security frontage panel and a rand analyst. rebecca, that i can for being with us today? >> thanks. >> what is top of the to do list for the new afghan president? >> getting the bsa signed. >> that's something that all of the frontrunners have said that they intend to do. so, i think we can expect that to happen

pretty quickly. next, they are going to have to make some decisions about what's going to happen in terms of negotiations with the taliban. will they want to negotiate? will they take a hard line stance toward that if they do? and then probably, the most important decision they are going to face in those first few days is how inclusive is this new regime going to be? are they going to ignore a lot of the ethnic and partisan differences inside the country, or are they going to create a government of unity that's going to allow them to have a little bit more currency with all of the various different partisan zupz and, i think, faxes. >> rebecca, i want to go back to the bsa argument that would keep american forces there between 2014. are we sure this is such a done deal? i know all of the candidates said they will sign the deal. president hamid karzai has been against it. why are we so convinced these an dates will live up to their word

and sign it? >> yeah, well, look. you know, you never know. it's something that has had widespread support, though. in fact, the afghan parliament has asked that the bsa be signed. >> there is really a lot of steam behind it. and really, once we get through the election, a lot of other things will no longer be so up in the air as far as the future of the country. and it will be a time to really start putting, you know, filling in the outlines of what have this country is going to look like in the next few years. i think it will be an easier time to sign the bsa. you are right. we never know until it's actually done. >> it's still not done. it's not a guarantee yet. a lot of encouraging news by today's election. there were not a lot of taliban attacks although they had been promised. the turnout was high. do you think, though, it's too early to claim a giant step forward for democracy for afghanistan? sc ? >> i think it is because in part, the results of the election won't be made official

for two and a half weeks. there are a lot of things that need to happen. ballots need to be counted and to be transported to kabul in tamper resistant or evident bags. which ballot boxes may have been fraudulent. who was in franchise. who was not enfranchised. there is a lot of work to be done. what we can say right now, though, is this is a tremendous victory for afghan national security fors who proved they could secure population through vote. it was a victory for the afghan people because in unprecedented numbers, they got out there and they voted. >> so -- >> there is -- >> i want to get a hit on that point about the afghan security forces. is this a big test for them? does this prove that they are perhaps ready to take over security for their country? >> well, this is really the result of several weeks worth of security operations that is have been leading up to this day. so, this has been a very pre-planned and well orchestrated series of

maneuvers. so, it proves a lot in terms of their ability to handle short-term operations. there is still a lot in question in terms of overall logistics, ability to provide medical relief to wounded soldiers, ability to sustain their forces in the field and then strategic direction, creating a campaign plan and following through on it. those are the things which are really in terms of thinking about the afghan national security forces being independent in the long-term. those are really the questions we are asking there. but certainly, this in terms of their standing with the afghan people, in terms of proving that they could set a task and get it done and get it done very well. today was a big win for them. >> also, there is a lot of concern about the taliban. they have been successful launching attacks in recent weeks. what do you see their role in the when it coughs to afghanistan's politicians. >> i believe the taliban is

sdportd at how well things have gonedisappointed at how well th have gone. we know there have been some instances of violence, some instances of voter intimidation with lengthy campaigns. in terms of looking forward, i would say again today was a victory for anti-taliban forces. they will probably, you know, lick their wounds, but, you know, if we find ourselves in a run off election, which is likely to happen, there is probably a good chance they will try to redouble their efforts and come back and have a little more effect. >> an encouraging day for afghanistan without question. rebecca zimmerman. thank you for your time today. >> thanks. there may be a new clue in the mystery of the missing malaysian jet liner. australia confirmed signals heard by a chinese ship are consistency with an aircraft's black box. the ping was detected in the southern indian ocean about a thousand miles off of australia's coast. the signal was heard early this morning. chinese state media report three

members detected the ping but did not have time to record it. it has not yet been connected to the missing plane. the battery, by the way, in the black boxes only last about 30 days. >> plane has been missing for 29. memorial services will be held this week for victims of the shooting rampage at fort hood texas. army officials say an argument with fellow soldiers likely provoked specialist i have a n lopez's attack. heidi, do we know anything more about that argument? >> reporter: yeah, jonathan. we are hearing that this argument, according to the 40 commander was a direct precipitating factor to the shooting on wednesday. according to the father of one of the wounded soldiers, he says that his son saw -- saw the shooter enter a building, ask for a form to ask for leave and when an official told lopez that he could not have that form until the next day, he became angry, got a gun, and started the shooting. we are learning more from the

family of lopez in puerto rico where he grew up. in november of last year, hi mother died of a sudden heart attack. according to a family friend, it was difficult for lopez to get leave from the army to attend her funeral. they ended up giving him 48 hours. the next month, when his grandfather passed away, he was not able to attend that funeral. so right now, though, it is early in the investigation, and motive has not been determined. investigators are certainly looking down that path. you know, heidi, two mass shootings there at that post in five years. how is the community handling this massacre? >> well, i think everyone here still is sort of in disbelief because this wasn't supposed to happen again. after the 2009 hassan shooting in which 13 people were killed, it was repeated over and over again that this can not happen again. yet here we are less than five years later. many people i spoke to in the community say they just don't

understand, but at the same time, they have a riz iliency here and because they have come through that adversity and were able to close the book on that when hassan was convicted and sentenced to death in last august, and the community has started to heal from that. this, of course, is again another traumatic event. but we know that they say that they will come through. now, the representative of this area, john carter, visited the wounded today and had this to say about the violent history of this area. >> this is my second -- second time, and i hope i never see a third. i was here at the hassan shooting, and it's just almost unbelievable people are asking what can be done so this doesn't had a third time? a lot of people are asking that question in washington ear and here on the ground on the bates in fort hood. we ask representative cater whether he thought it would be a

good idea to repeal the ban on soldiers carrying personal weapons on military installations. opting not to allow those. a lot we spoke to here in killeen disagree. they say had soldiers been oormd they could have stopped this and perhaps saved allotted of lives. jonathan? >> heidi joe castro live for us at fort hood texas. still ahead on al jazeera america, protests in more than 40 american cities. the fight to stop deportations, next. the church and the mansion. a new promise from atlanta's catholic archbishop. 20 years after one of the worst general sides in history, we look back at rwanda's national nightmare. google and the world brain >> it would be the worlds greatest library, under one digital roof. but at what cost? >> google could hold the whole word hostage... google and the world brain

only on aljazeera ameria [ male announcer ] it's here -- xfinity watchathon week,

your chance to watch full seasons of tv's hottest shows for free with xfinity on demand. there's romance, face slaps, whatever that is, pirates, helicopters, pirate-copters... argh! hmm. it's so huge, it's being broadcast on mars. heroes...bad guys... asteroids. available only on mars. there's watching. then there's watchathoning. ♪ the fight over immigration took center stage today. protesters marched in 40 cities across the u.s. organizers are calling it the not one more deportation

campaign. patty colhane reports they are demanding a major deportation change >> reporter: a slow, loud march through washington, d.c. karen fianose part and her daughter part of the crowd that marched to the white house. they are here in many ways for her because soon, she could be the 2 millionth person departed since barack obama took. for her daughter, that means fear. she can't find the words to express. they found their voice to protest deportation policies in atlanta, in san jose california, a few arrests.

all of these protesters hoping to send a message that the immigration system has to change and now? >> most don't believe the u.s. congress will pass immigration reform this year so they are focusing on president barack obama. they want him to change policies when officials don't believe the president has that power. >> we are fighting here to stoup deportations. p deportations. >> they don't believe that. they don't believe the president when he says his priority is deporting criminals. of the people deported in 2013, almost 152,000 were what the government calls non-criminal removals. for the vast majority of those, the only law they broke was entering the country illegally. president barack obama has ordered a review of deportation policies but it's not clear when that will be complete. it does seem likely that it will be long after karen pianose and her daughter have their day in

court. officials with immigration enforcement say most of the people being deported are violent criminals. the non-profit immigration policy center reports out of 368,000 people deported last year, more than half of them were considered a national security or public safety threat. most of those were non-violent offenders. about a quarter were convicted of two miss demeanors or less. among those facing deportation, a young man who grew up in new york city. he and his sister were brought here illegally by their parents. kaelynn ford reports what it is like to be living under the threat of expulsion. >> one carlos and his sister are inseparable. ever since they came to new york from mexico when they were eight and 10 years old. like many of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the united states, the ramirez knew that life here could be tenuous. >> my mom always prepared me for what to do in case they were

deported in a raid. >> the family wasn't prepared for the day three years ago when juan carlos was stopped by police. >> fifteen or 16 is when i began top experiment with marijuana. so i would usually be around my school. and because of all of the police around, i got stopped and frisked a couple of times. >> juan carlos was arrested and spent 5 days in jail for violating his probation. when he was released, agents from immigration and customs enforcement were waiting to take him to a detention center. he has been fighting deportation ever since. he says the fear is always there. >> it was pretty overwhelming. it's dragging me. it does change me. it makes me feel like an ugly person sometimes. >> if he loses his appeal in june, he will be sent back to a country he hasn't seen in more than a decade. >> there is a lot of shame that's been put on us for the choices that our parents had to make or for the choices that we

make. and the debate is really public right now on what should be done with us. we are living in the every day. >> according to the department of homeland security, 1.8 million undocumented immigrants have been deported since president obama took. that number is set to reach 2 million this month. >> after pressure from immigrants' rights groups, president obama has ordered a review of the administration's deportation policies and priorities priced this month in the hopes that the laws can be enforced, quote, more humanely. >> immigrants rights groups say that isn't enough? >> it's completely dishonest to say they can become humane. we are asking for a stop to all deportations and for the president to meet with the families that are being affec d affected? >> denise says it's affected her plans to become a teacher? >> something i carry with me all the time. it's hard for me to think about a future where i am not with my brother. >> a future that for many

undocumented immigrants remains uncertain if they wait for reform. al jazeera. >> it was a pricey purchase and it angered a lot of people. now catholic archbishop wilton gregory is apologizing for the $2 million mansion in atlanta, the 6,000 square foot tudor style hold raised eyebrows. many thought he should follow pope francis's example who lives in a ford focus who lives in guest rooms. the archbishop said he got the message. >> archbishop gregory announced he will vacate the residence in early may and moved in to another available archdiocese and property excluding the former residence. there were many that did say don't sell the residence. archbishop gregory feels strongly that this is the time to bring a close to this and move on. so now, after living there for three months, the archbishop will sell the home and donate

the proceeds to catholic causes. in chicago, officials fired the train operator who crashed into o'hare airport last month. investigators say brittany hayward told them she dozed off shortly before the train jumped the tracks. more than 30 people were hurt. she admitted to also falling asleep back in february and overrunning a station then. another earthquake out west. details on that just ahead plus a report on how some of the plains states might fair as we head into the height of tornado season. >> i am ross at the final 4 in arlington texas where the kentucky wiemd cuts are lookild to go where no other team has gone. we will explain in just a bit.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. united states is praising today's election in afghanistan after a successful day of voting. secretary of state john kerry

called the afghan people courageous and committed. turnout was almost 60%, about 7 million people and double the last presidential election in 2009. there may be a new clue in the disappearance disappearance of flight 370. australia said electronic signals heard by a chinese ship are consistence sees with a plane's black box. it was detected near the search area in the southern indian ocean. immigration activists are marching in 40 cities calling on president obama to change his policy. deportations under his term are expected to hit the 2 million mark this month. critics say that is more than any other president. in syria, there are reports that the government has taken over a strategic position outside of the country's largest city t assad is stepping up a defensive. charles stratford has more >> reporter: the aftermath of what activists say was a syrian government forces attack on the city of aleppo on friday.

>> all civilians says the man pointing to what appear to be corpses covered in sheets on the pavement. >> assad forces hit the neighborhood. there was no army here they hit the hospital. a rebel held area elsewhere in the province on saturday. thesis pictures were posted on the internet. a dozen people have been killed here since wednesday. it has been under siege for nearly six months. fighting continues to the

mediterranean coast for a military checkpoint known as post 45. it over looks large areas of countryside to the north of the city. barrels filled with ex mroesz were dropped and this video was reportedly shot after one such attack. >> the syrian army has made gains near the west of the country near the lebanese border. the united nations says more than 140,000 people have died since this war began over three years ago. charles stratford, al jazeera. >> united nations has called the syrian war the worst humanitarian crisis since rwanda's genocide. it's been 20 years since an estimated 800,000 people or more than 10% of rwanda's population were killed during a 100 day massacre. millions more were forced to flee while the international community stood by. the french did send a

humanitarian mission but they were accused of allowing some to escape. they say france has dragged feet prosecuting those suspected in the killings. >> when rwanda's genocide began, he and his wife and two children sought refuge there sending the rest of his family to stay with relatives. he says he asked french officials for help any vain >> translator: we were evacuated to nairobi after the french army refused to do so. but my oldest daughter, my mother, my sisters, my brother, my brothers in law, my nieces and my nephews were all exterminated. >> reporter: what many believe is that france is still in denial. paris sent 2 and a half thousand soldiers as part of operation turquoise. they arrived under the united nation's mandate 11 weeks after the massacre started. some have accused french troops of participating in atrocities

including the rape and killing of civilians. those charges have always been strongly denied by the military. the more common accusation is that the operation offered protection to hutu militias fleeing rwanda. the general in charge says that's nonsense. the french were the only ones. other major nations did nothing. france can be proud of its intervention which saved tens of thousands of lives. >> there is an open wound for many genocide survivors. the presence of french soil of rwanda's implicated. last month, he was jailed for 25 years for complicity in genocide and in crimes against humanity. his laufrz helped bring charges against more than 20 other suspects. he says france's legal system has been far too slow to act.

this translated into french xlisty. it may offer some form of home. some say what france is doing is too little and too late. nikolas sarkozy was the first to visit. campaigners say it's too early for france to turn the page on the tragic event did of 20 years ago. na nadine barber. al jazeera, paris. >> earlier, i spoke with linda melvern about whether there should be a formal investigation into why western countries failed to act in rwanda? >> absolutelition i think there should be inquiries. there has been no inquiry at all in the u.s. or in the u.k. about

why this failure happened the decision taken on april 21st to withdraw the peace keepers sent a signal to the extremists. there has been no adequate inquiry in france. they were involved with the regime that planned the genocide and is senior officers imbedded in parts of the rwandan army. there is no satisfactory explanation from france to this day. >> 92 people were indicted. 83 of them were brought to court, but 9 have never been found. for much more on the anniversary of the rwandan massacre join us at 8 eastern, 5 passiffic right here on al jazeera sergeants ukraine's interim leaders are pushing back to russia's move to nearly double the price of natural gas.

yakhouba accused moscow of economic aggression. he said they are ready to take the state controlled gas company to court if it does not lower gas prices. ukraine imports more than half of its natural gas for from it's neighbor. there are emergency talks with european countries to try to boost supplies. russia may be sacrificing profit for politics. international investors have pulled out billions of dollars from the country this year. peter sharp has more on that from morning 0. >> it is the financial heart of the nation. they call this place moscow city, a place where the money men are starting to feel the pain. here at the moscow offices of los angeles-based property investment company cbre, they have been charting the flight of capitol out of russia over the last three months and monitoring a growing reluctance among their international clients to buck that trend. >> the uncertainties scare the foreign invest orders who become very cautious. if we look long-term, they are

generally not very optimistic toward russia. when we have news like this, it gets worse. >> on the london market did, they have been tracking the volume of capitol flight from russia. >> confidence is being impacted very severely. ormly, there was a lack of confidence. now, there is a crisis of confidence. you have seen that with the share value or gas prom. president putin's for ainto crimean continues to be regarded as a triumph here his ratings have never been higher. the huge wall painting reeds russia and crimea, together forever, a sentiment shared by the vast majority here on the street, united opposition to the west and its sanctions voiced in cold war rhetoric. on the one hand, prices may go up. but on the other hand, nato won't be able to set up their military base in crimea. >> i think it's good. crimea is historically ours.

the west doesn't have anything to scare us and they come up with nonsense. >> opinions delivered almost word for word what russia's highly efficient propaganda machine has been pumping out since the start of this crisis. >> president putin stands firm, tall, and proud in opposing the unfriendly and even hostile policies of the west. this is how people -- people see it and this is what makes president putin and his policies even more popular. >> popular? not with russia's banks. $70,000,000,000 of investment funds have fled the country since the start of the year. amid the euphoria, the self congratulation and the sense of national pride, it's becoming clear there will be a price to pay for the annexation of crimea. safrningsdz, the flight of

investment capitol, some economists say it will be a bumpy ride ahead for the people here as the political realities begin to bite, they say that the annexation of crimea may not look like a triumph for putin's presidency, more a dangerous miscalculation. pieter sharp, al jazeera, mexico. >> a spectacular volcanic eruption record ecuador. morgan radford has more >> reporter: in the indigenous language, it means throat of fire. it lived up to the name on friday. the volcano erupted after 6:00 p.m. local time shooting a plume ofab six miles high in five minutes. located 90 miles south of the capitol, it has been active since 1999. it is closely monitored. >> since yesterday and this morning, there were stronger than usual emissions. about two kilometers high. >> scientists have seen two

major eruptions in just the last two months. >> in the afternoon, we received a geophysical report that indicated we should take precautions because the volcanic activity was increasing >> reporter: standing in more than 16,000 feet, it is one of eight volcanoes in ecuador. it is part of the so-called ring of fire of the passiffic. the actionplosion in 2006 killed four people. no deaths were reported in the latest explosion. morgan radford, al jazeera. >> hundreds attended a vigil for victims of last month's landslide in washington state. ♪ and know that you are holy. ♪ >> the march 22nd mud slide killed 30 people. another 13 remain missing. govern j emzley says the cata catastremove fee caused damage. victims families and rescuers were recognized. >> the first responders and the paramedics, you are the ones who run to danger to keep us safe.

we are so grateful for what you did and for never giving up hope. >> more private memorials are taking plates this weekend as the search for the missing continues. earthquakes shook central oklahoma this morning in the stronget with a magnitude of 3.8. one expert says seismic activity in the state is soaring. oklahoma has had 253 sizeable tremors so far this year. >> tops last year's total record of 222. some size moth did think it may be let me ask you thissed to under ground gas and oil exploration. oklahoma has seen more tornados and earthquakes. r rebecca is here. we are in tornado season? >> heading into it slowly. oklahoma has not had any tornados at all this year. >> that's good for oklahoma. we have been picking up on the number of tornados. they have been increasing and it may seem like we get a big spike in them. here is the reason why. as we look at the area that we

most likely get tornados to occur on this date, this goes back over 30 years of averages. that's what we are looking here. the most likely spot for a severe thunderstorm with a tornado to happen is in oklahoma and northeast texas. now, already, just this last thursday, we did have a tornado touchdown around denton, texas. we look at our three-year averages. in march, we typically, on average, for the last last three years, we have had 82 tornados. so far this year, just 25 for th that month. look at april. typically, 350 tornados. we are just getting started with the month. we have 11 that have occurred, and we've got quite a number to reach. so we are moving in to the severe weather season definitely to keep an eye to the sky in the south and southeast. we are seeing mainly rain showers pop up from texas over to florida right now. these are some heavyy showers in some places around the florida panhandle as this line of thunderstorms is coming right up from the gulf.

we are going to see this increase over the next day. sunday is a day that's going to bring a lot of rainfall with these storms. it's a cold front that will slide in and stall and bring 3 to 5 inches of rainfall. we have flash flood watches going in to effect for the day tomorrow. for the forecast most of our rainfall. only a slight risk of severe is going to stay into the south and the southeast. from midnight tonight all the way through the day tomorrow into early monday. low temperatures, well, they are going to be on the cool side here on the north still. gradually, we are going to get a little bit warmer in parts of the east. now, new york overnight, you will be 35. a high temperature of 60 and this is exactly what we need to get tornados spinning up. there are several inland agreedients to it. one of them is human warm air. so temperatures warming up into the sent did here around houston, on the gulf of mexico, 60 for atlanta, farther inland. these temperatures, as that warmer air is coming in slowly

will start to see our jet stream shifting northward, and that's just going to spell more trouble for the days ahead when we start talking about severestorms. also getting warmer, though, to the north and the northeast. so, there are some things to look forward to with summer. not just tornados but jonathan, warmer temperatures. >> okay. we will take it. thanks, rebecca. march madness is down to the final four in and kentucky has one of the youngest teams out there. ro ross has a big weekend in arlington, texas. >> tonight's semifinal match, the young cats against the badgers. there is a lot of hype and hoopla surrounding this kentucky team. rightfully so. they are starting five freshman in the final 4. the last team to do that, michigan's fav five, kris weber, gentleman wan howard t jimmie rose and jimmie king and ray jackson changed the cultstuer of college basketball.

in honor of the fab 5, we reminisce. >> there was a time when college basketball starters were seniors and giving their roles to fre freshmen were unheard of. one came to take the ncaa tournament by storm. jimmie king requires the knocks the fav 5 took. >> now, when they are coming off of the rim after a dunk or a big 3 or a big steal or a play and how they are able to celebrate now, you know, we sacrificed a lot of technicals and bad press, you know, to allow the college kids today to enjoy themselves in the and to play in that style of play. >> sports writer alan st. john remembers the impact the fav 5 had on college basketball. >> they are great and trend saiders. up to that point, people were fix theiated on the idea of experience, letting seniors take shots, senior leadership and all of that. the fact is these guys came in

and said, hey, you know, we can come right in and we can -- we can lead. >> we impacted the culture, the shorts, the balanced heads, black sox, the black shoes. just, you know, the overall look. >> what king and his teammates brought to the tournament in 1992 and '93 was more than just style but an attitude. >> i think that's what made us special is that we weren't scared of the moment. we always embraced the moment. and that's why i think we began bigger than the moment because we fit right in to it. we knew how to excel in it and not let it overwhelm us >> reporter: this weekend, another all-freshman unit. this time from kentucky comes in as an 8 seed to peek in march. he knows how comparisons to their team must feel. they want everybody to know they are better than the fav 5. they want everybody to know that it's not a mistake. it's not a fluke that they are here, that they are one of the best recruiting classes ever. so they want to show that. >> now, on the verge of glory, a little advise from those who

have been there: >> enjoy it. have fun. it's a game. play the game like you played it all your life because you never know when you will get back. i would record every month when i wake up, when i go to bed, when i am on my with a to practice, when i am coming from practice and shoot a round, every moment i could document, that's what i would do because it's truly a special moment >> reporter: this kentucky team has a chance to do what michigan's fav 5 could not: win a national championship. kentucky is making its third appearance in the final four in the last five four years. the head coach has taken a lot of heat for recruiting these one and done players in terms of players staying one year and jumping into the nba. but instead of the term and phrase one and done, he likes the phrase, succeed and proceed. and if kentucky wins their national, i think that will be some hot selling t-shirts. >> i think so. succeed and proceed. i spent a lot of time in that

stadium. honestly, what steals the show is not usually what happens on the court but what's hanging above it. >> oh, my goodness. you are exactly right. the video screen that hangs above. it is 50 yards long, and it is quite a sight to see. in fact, 60 yards long, bigger than the entire basketball court by some 66 feet. it is the fourth largest video screen board in the world, and believe it or not, people are looking up all the time instead of actually at the game because it is crystal clear and it's unbelievable. >> that's part of jerry's world, as they like to call it out here, cowboy's owner jerry jones, the cost to build at and stadium, $13,000,000,000. but it is quite a sight to see. >> very expensive t.v. monitor. it fits almost at eye level. it's hard to take your eyes off of it. thanks, ross. we will see you tonight. still no buyer. the home where cereal killer jeffrey daumier committed his first murder is up for sale. the 3 bedroom home some on a

wooded lot. it's listed for about $300,000. the 1978 daumier killed a hitchhiker and buried his remains in the woods. he moved to wisconsin and went to kill 16 more people before being caught in 1991. the owner tells buyers this house never killed anyone. running a marathon is no easy task. imagine running a marathon across the sahara desert? >> you tell yourself everything is in the mind. it's the mind that controls the body. and if you want to achieve something, it's within you. and there is no limit. the limit is what you put yourself. >> up next, we will introduce you to some folks who are up for the challenge. around the world, people are taking to the streets in one way to relief stress. ly on al jazea

with the most popular ted talk ever, sir ken robinson is a leading voice on encouraging creativity in students. he talks with david shuster on th this week's episode of talk to al jazeera. >> first if you want to encourage creativity, you have to cultivate imagination. it's like you can't have an athletics program if you ignore physical health. you can't. you can't just have people sitting around on sofas drinking six packs all day long and say we will turn up for the event and hope it goes well. you have to exercise and develop the thing you depend upon. so, schools need to encourage development of imagination and honor it and see it's important. this culture standardization tends to suppress and damp en. it is about using skills. you can't be creative if you don't do anything. to be creative, you have to be doing something. to be creative, make something original, you have to be able to

develop the skills that the production requires. so there is no conflict here between standards and creativity. you can see the full interview with sir ken robinson on "talk to al jazeera" at 7:30 eastern. 4:30 pacific. a gruelling trek against one of the most inhospitable places on earth the it's not a secret journey across boarders. travelers on this expedition are doing it for the thrill. andy richardson has the story >> reporter: sports most extreme nomadic collective has reconvened, more than a thousand runners from more than 50 countries are in the sahara desert to take part in the marathon. seven days, six stages of running, more than 250 kilometers to cover and all done carrying the kit and food you need to survive on your back. >> you can tell yourself that everything is in the mind the

limit is what you put yourself. >> the view from above underlines the scale of the challenge. sand, salt pans, mountains and sun. it's all here these elements now combine to make a race is thanks to the wanderlust of one man. >> in 1984, frenchman patrick bauer decided today go for a walk. unimpressed by the challenge of his local park, he decided to come here to the sahara desert. many days and kilometers later, an idea came upon him to try to share his experience with other people. two years later, he organized the first ever marathon de saab. >> a few runners are here to try to win. the vast majority, though, desire only to prove a point to themselves. i remember when i couldn't run around the block let alone contemplate doing this. to watch people go from the start to the end is an

amazingtrition not just bodywise but mentally as well. >> at 72, mario is one of the oldest ever entrants. he is back for a 5th time. >> if you are young and fit, you think you can burn through the stajdz and come up on top. at my age, i take it slower because at the end of the day, it's punishing. there is no doubt about it. >> everyone here sets to gain a unique understanding of their own limits and their tent mates' personal habits. al jazeera morocco. >> people in 100 stitdz are internationalcities are international pillow fight day. >> many dressed in pajamas took to the street for a good hyphenated fight. london hosted the fight 23096th year in a row. held ol hong kong city city's

district. what a mess that is. you have to admit, it kind of looks like a lot of fun. >> that does it for us tonight. thank you for joining us. i am jonathan betz. back at 8 eastern. stay with us. we will have a quick check of the head lines after this very short break on al jazeera america.

you are watching al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz with today's top stories. secretary of state john kerry is praising the afghan people, calling them courageous and committed. about 7 million people turned out for today's presidential

election, twice as many as the last election in 2009. a possible new clue in the sdapsz of malaysian flight 370. australia confirmed an electronic signals detected by a chinese ship are consistency with that of a plane's black box. it was heard near the search area in the southern indian ocean. the army says an argument with fellow soldiers likely provoked this week's rampage at fort hood. the dispute requestinvolved a r for time off. he turned the gun on himself. protesters are holding rallies in .40 cities across the country. they are demanding the president change his policy on detaining immigrants. atlanta's catholic archbishop wilton gregory has apologized for his $2 million mansion. parishners were angered saying he should live a simplee lifestyle. he has agreed to sell the residents. >> ecuador is on high alert after a volcano eruption.

the volcanoe spewed six miles of ash into the sky. those are the headlines. "techknow" is up next. to discover facial recognition. for updates around the world go to aljazeera.com. >> this is "techknow," a show about innovations that can change lives. we will explore the intersection of hardware and humanity and we are doing it inique ways. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out our team of hardcore nerds. dr. shay soma are. a, a mechanical engineer. facial recognition technology. it can fight crime by spotting a face in a crowd, but can it keep you out of the club? >> my picture is in the gallery. >> so is all of your information. >> marita davison specializes in ecologist coming. >> it looks like an egg, cooks like an egg.