that make a difference... that open your world... >> this is what we do... >> america tonight weeknights 9et / 6pt only on al jazeera america welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. secretary of state john kerry being questioned on everything from iran to ukraine. offering up another warning today to russia. the president moving to require equal pay for equal work. and these residents of florida saying hands off the everglades. ♪ at this hour, secretary of state john kerry appearing before the

senate foreign relations committee on capitol hill. that meeting has been twice postponed due to the crisis in ukraine. libby casey is on capitol hill, and libby a lot of tough talk today. >> that's right. and the way the secretary described the relationship with russia he said it is one of consternation, but also mentioned some cooperation. so he did walk that balancing line. he did say this about ukraine, that a meeting will be held next week that the u.s. is engaging in with both unireian leaders and sergei lavrov. he did have some words though about the relationship with russia. take a listen. >> russia's clear and

unmistakable involvement in destabilizing and engaging in separatist activities in eastern ukraine is more than deeply disduring. no one is fooled. equally clear must be the reality that the united states and our allies will not hesitate to use 21st century tools to hold russia accountable for 19th century behavior. >> there is the classic divisions of democrats versus republicans the two main members of this committee bob menendez and senator corker are often very united. so they are able to speak with one voice in a way that is not always seen in the senate. senator corker, though, was pretty tough in his line of

questioning going after senator kerry relating to syria. he said the administration has no strategy in syria. pretty harsh walls, and he says the administration has been stone walling his committee. he is looking for more classified information. and we heard a little bit about that saying we heard mixed messages from you guys. and recently it was indicated that there may be a more asserted approach the u.s. could take in helping the rebels in syria. >> the secretary taking great pains to explain to the members of the senate that what happens overseas does effect things here in the u.s. >> absolutely. and this is actually a budget hearing talking about the money

the administration wants to put forth. but he needs to make a case to these senators that the u.s.'s role around the world is more important than ever. he said the u.s. needs to play an important role in all sorts of parts of the world, and he is not just talking about the middle east, ukraine, syria, also concerns in venezuela right now. so the secretary of state walking this -- this line of saying, you know, we have got to hold some tough -- tough accountability, but we also don't have to be realistic about what the u.s.'s role is, we are not talking about boots on the ground. another thing that has come up, the elections in afghanistan that happened over the weekend.

so you can expect members to talk more about that. to see whether that is a bell weather or marker of advancement. >> libby casey thank you very much. ukrainian police have cleared prorussian separatists in a billing in an eastern city. yesterday the protesters announced the region was independent and were demanding a referendum for independence to take place in may. today is equal payday. mike viqueira is live at the house with, and will how these executive orders effect equal pay for women. >> well, this is another example of the president using his pen

and phone. what the president is going to be doing is signing two documents, an executive order and an executive action. the first one right now del there is a ban on individuals who work for the government discussing their salary or pay rate publicly. the president is going to sign this executive order that says that federal contractors can no longer retaliate against people who do that. the executive action would require contractors to submit a summary -- again, federal contractors to the department of labor that is broken down by sex and race. the white house this is all about transparency and making sure women have the same rights in the workplace. a statistic that you are doubtless going to hear any president talk about, women on average make $0.77 for every

dollar that a male makes. del. >> mike, congress always has an equal pay bill. is this legislation expected to pass? >> there is a filibuster coming from republicans. very touch and go at this moment. in any event the prospects in the house are cloudy at best. republicans cite another statistic that came out a couple of months ago. right here in the west wing, del, in the white house and this complex, the comparable statistic is a woman will make $0.88 on the dollar for every dollar a man makes. they defend the fact that women working the same jobs that men are working, they point to the two deputy chiefs of staff in the west wing who make identity salaries. but these are factors that go

across society at large and come home here to roost at the white house. and you can bet that republicans that opposed that bill have been citing that statistic as well. what will be taken up is what the president is doing here taking federal contractors, and he wants -- the senate bill would apply those rules across the american work force and private companies as well. and make it easier if there were suits brought on the basis of gender discrimination in pay. >> mike thank you very much. not all women are created equal in terms of income disparity. in louisiana it is even worse. >> reporter: louisiana is the country's worst state for women from wage gaps to the poverty rate it leads the pack. >> it is across the entire

spectrum from the top professors the top women in law firms and economic firms and women at the lowest wait a minutings too. >> reporter: valerie is a single mother of three who has been in search for a job for months. >> look at me. look at mr. so and so, look at my qualifications, look at my college, you know, background, who is best? who would do a better job? that's all i'm asking for. >> reporter: with the help of dress for success new orleans, she finally landed employment at a retail shop in the city's french quarter. and now she is volunteering to help other women towards a better future. >> what happens was what they did for me, i wanted to pay it forward. >> reporter: according to the center for american progress, women working full-time in louisiana earn only 67% of what men earn. and more than one in five women

and girls in the state are living in poverty. >> it's a complex issue. >> reporter: julie is advocating for a change in state laws to deal with these issues of inequality and to advance the lives of women and children in louisiana. >> it costs government to subsidize, government for lower-income women have to subsidize. >> reporter: she thinks the national paycheck fairness act, a bill written to even the paycheck playing field should become law. and according to supporters, the pay gap is even more extreme for black women. and for hispanic women, they only earn 54%.

valley feels strongly that more legislative progress is needed to change the picture. >> we're going to have to make a push forward. >> reporter: but the fact that louisiana's legislature has the lowest percentage of female members in the country could add to the challenge of passing new laws to improve the health, wealth, and future of women here. the death toll from that deadly mud slide in washington state is now 34. only 30 have been identified. rescue crew have a knew strategy to recover the remaining bodies. engineers say they hope to finish the berm in about a week. 12 people still listed as missing. it was one month ago today that the malaysian airlines flight 370 disappeared. relatives meeting with officials

in beijing. the families are demanding answers from that about what happened to the jet liner. and the search for the plain's wreckage continues in the indian ocean. two signals that could have come from the plain's black boxes provided a glimmer of hope, but the depth of the ocean and the batteries are turning everything into a search against time. >> reporter: one month after the flight disappeared search resumed this morning, just 24 hours after australian officials announced they heard two pings, then silence. >> there have been no further contacts with any transmission, and we need to continue that for several days. >> reporter: it's the pinger locater dropped into the ocean

from the australian naval ship that picked up the signals, but until a third is detected, a blue fin capable of scanning for wreckage will remain parked. >> if we search now it will take many many many days, because it's very slow, very pain-staking work to scour the ocean floor, and of course the depths are very deep. >> reporter: nearly three miles deep representing the very same limit that the blue fin can reach. and while the data on the black blocks can last for years, it's their locater becans that could have already died out. the hunt by pair remains critical as well. ships are scouring the indian ocean. but so far not a single piece of

debris has been located. >> we have a good understanding of where the debris, if there is debris, will have gone to. we are currently very actively pursuing where we think that debris field might be. >> that task further concentrated by strong ocean currents, which could be shifting the debris. now this morning i talked to joe rowlands. >> if the pinging has stopped it wouldn't be surprising since we're beyond the 30 days that the batteries were expected to last, but i do think that they will continue to pull the pinger locater through the water hoping to reestablish the connection. there are reasons that with weak

batteries that they may come back, fade, and come back again. and also they have to be in the -- close enough area to pick it up as you'll recall the range of the pingers is only like two miles. >> and searchers say they will keep listening until there is no doubt that the batteries have indeed died. oscar pistorius testifying again today. he went into graphic details about the fatal moments. >> i started screaming for the burglar or the intruders to get out of my house. i shouted for her to get on the floor. and call the police. i fired four shots at the door. my ears were ringing. i couldn't hear anything.

i think it was at that point finally that -- that it first dawned upon me that it would be reeva that was in the bathroom on the toilet. and albuquerque residents desending on city hall today demanding that the police department be overhauled. jim hooley has our details. >> reporter: the signs and emotions filled these city council chambers. >> i wanted every officer who has been involved in a death by apd to be tried by jury for murder, and i that want to be the standard operating procedure from this day forward. >> reporter: some charging the department is out of control. >> our city is too beautiful to be portrayed by an unsafe place

at the hands of the people who committed to protect us. >> it's not apd, it's the government system we live in. it's new mexico's weak criminal justice system. >> reporter: the outrage was sparked when a homeless man was gunned down on a hillside, a few days later another man was shot and killed. >> i seen my brother falling to the ground and bleeding from his chest, and all i wanted to do was help him. >> reporter: her brother was the 24th person killed by shootings in this city in less than five years. >> they need to know how to talk to people and deal with people, and calm down a situation just using their mouth and talking to them as human beings, rather than just right away pulling their guns and firing on them. >> reporter: the city council will consider all of the publics

comments in attempts to calm the growing concerns. also being proposed a commission to monitor the police department. >> i would like to see possibly a retired police chief, a retired judge, and a civil right's person to work on that commission. >> reporter: an internal review of the shootings is underway by the albuquerque leadership, the department of justice and the fbi have also opened up their own investigation. coming up on al jazeera america, the search for oil in the florida everglades. areas are being drilled that were once considered impossible.

wall street has been bouncing around after that three-day selloff, the dow right

now in positive territory. investors are gearing up for the start of the earnings seasons. general motors could be facing another recall this time because of air bags on ch-- chevy impal. federal investigators are being asked to look at any models from 2003 to 2010. tesla is offering a business financing option for its zeidans. customers can figure out the cost of their monthly lease right on the company's website. florida everglades are a beautiful wildlife sanctuary, but people are concerned that the government's search for oil could change all of that. adam may reports. >> no drilling! no drilling! >> reporter: the air is dying, the water is dying, the people

is getting sick. wake up before you kill the creation of god's gift. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: one by one, they stepped up to the microphone to voice their fears and tell their stories. >> i'm 49 years old, and i just got out of the hospital with a lung removed. get them out. [ cheers ] >> reporter: so it meant for more than four hours at a recent hearing in southwest florida. the reason for their anger a plan to drill for oil next to the everglades wilderness. southwest florida has become the latest battleground in the search for oil. new techniques are making it possible to drill in areas where it was once difficult. >> i just hope people realize

this is about clean water. >> reporter: among those in the crowd, pamela and highmy duran. they live a little more than a stone's throw from up with of the proposed wells. this is water you cook with? >> cook with. >> reporter: drink? yes. >> reporter: bathe in. >> yes. >> and if the well goes through? >> if the well goes through there is a possibility this water may be tainted. it would also be less than a mile from the florida panther refuge. in a statement, the florida department of environmental protection told us that . . . as for the panthers it says the u.s. fish and wildlife service

didn't have any objections to the proposed drilling. the durans aren't buying it. they don't believe the thirst for oil justifies risking their slice of paradise. the well still has at least one significant hurdle to clear. getting a permit from the epa. if that happens they are not sure what they will do. >> people get upset when the rain forest goes. but we're letting the everglades go. this is a special place. would they let oil drilling at the grand canyon? where are we going to stop? is anything sacred? and coming up on al jazeera america, a race that values creativity as opposed to speed. we'll tell you about it in just a moment. ♪

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines at this

hour. today is equal payday, a day to highlight the income gap between men and women. the president will sign two executive orders to equal the pay gap for federal contractors. secretary of state john kerry appears before the senate foreign relations committee. he says it's clear that russia is behind all of the latest unrest in ukraine. the death toll of the washington state land slide is now at 34. a rock and barrier should brain the debris field and prevent it from flooding even more. ♪ and i'm dave warren, talk about severe weather across the southeast, not much happening now but the last two days had reports of severe weather and

tornados coming in. this was video in mississippi, injuries reported and some damage from the tornado that came through the area. yesterday we had severe weather in north carolina. this was a confirmed tornado that moved through north carolina. right now this is the radar showing it is just rain coming down. the front came through, so no more severe weather expected today, just some light rain as you get colder weather coming in the higher levels of the atmosphere. not expected to produ produce -- severe weather. parts of arkansas and east of oklahoma that will continue to spin east. light rain spreading out there many of the areas here across the southeast. no severe weather is expected though. in the next 24 hours it will start to clear out. 50s and 60, and then the

temperatures will drop once the rain clears out. here is the showers as that colder air moves in. temperatures dropping in chicago to 49, temperatures not quite as cold as we have seen them, so the shots of cold air not nearly has cold and it was just a few months ago. but here it is, the cold air dropping south, backside of the storm moving through. warmer weather is returning across the southwest. 90 in los angeles, 88 in las vegas. and the satellite showing the rain will continue. del? >> an event this weekend in peru, homemade cars without any engines. even cars that crash earn some points for design.

so to speak. the winner wasn't the fastest. thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. >> the peace talks between israelis and palestinians are on the verge of collapse. again. >> is there really a chance between the israelis and the palestinians. that's the "inside story." [♪ music ] >> hello, i'm ray suarez. now stop me if you heard this one before. american diplomats jet here and there talk extensively with palestinian representatives, talk extensively with israeli representatives, keep talks going when they threaten to