. [♪ music ] >> this is al jazeera. >> hello, good to have you with us from al jazeera headquarters in doha. this is the news hour. coming up in the next 60 minutes ukraine's government gives pro russian activists a deadline to end their protests. and threaten to use force. >> i lost everything. i lost my house. i lost my belongings and even my son. >> we report from the solomon islands where thousands are coming to terms to the aftermath

of devastating floods. hello in london the call has gone out to drug companies to do more. also coming up from europe. >> reporter: from the outside skirts of brussels where 1.7 million tons of ivory is being destroyed. >> the ukraine government said it will solve the crisis in the east of the country in 48 hours. kiev will use force if it has to. on tuesday, activists have seized a government building, but protesters are still occupying the state security building. nevada' he reinforced their barricades and called on russian president vladimir putin for help. in a similar situation in dnesk. protesters there are also in

control of the government building. they went out in formation of an independent republic. kim has our report. >> 48 hour ultimate . >> clearly some signs of negotiations that many of the people we've spoken to her heary they remember the soviet as the golden years. >> i've been living here for 73 years. i've built all of this and they give me ultimatums. i can't look at these people who fill their pockets as the earth burns beneath them.

>> they give us ultimatums, it doesn't scare us. they can't break our spirits. >> reporter: just a few kilometers from the protest site at a restaurant, business is booming. people there are divided. >> the majority of people for example the people here are against the events of the last few days. i think it's very bad. >> i think we need to be an autonomous part of russia because dnesk without ukraine is not donesk. >> reporter: protesters were asked who they believe should come to help. standing outside of the state security building they say they want to support activists inside. activists releasing dozens of hostages are negotiating with police but believe its rush that

that--its russia that needs to act. >> i understand we'll be trying to resolve these by ourselves, but we may fail. mr. putin, have mercy on your fighters. if you lose, you'll lose the last hope to create a good neighbor. >> the clock clearly ticking in the east for demonstrators prepared for any an eventualli eventuallity. >> testifying about ukraine in front of cross. the u.s. believes russia was responsible for the recent take over of government buildings in eastern ukraine. >> there are wild stories like in when the mob started forming it showed up to take over the

opera house rather than it's inkennedied target intended to be. indicating that these were not boys from harkev, and they were not as well planned or executed as they might be. i don't think that we have any doubt that the preponderance of evidence indicates a direct russian involvement here but in this setting i'm not preparing to further. >> we're joined live from washington, d.c. and ros, the u.s. clearly worried about what is going on in ukraine. >> we just heard from the department spokesperson is that the u.s. is prepared to look at the russian government who they believe is responsible for the

fomenting of this pro-russian anti-ukrainian tension in the eastern part of ukraine. one thing we should note, the administration is very clear that this needs to be resolved sooner rather than later, and there is growing concern if there wasn't already enough concern about the risk of instability inside ukraine. >> so the threat of more sanctions, it is a crick which one for the u.s. isn't it because they're not likely to take russia on militarily. >> no, they're not. there is no a plan afoot to have the russians, the ukrainians, the u.s. and e.u. meet in something known as the quad. perhaps a week or so from now. there are ways of de-escalating the across and trying to resolve the complaint that russia has about the political situation inside ukraine. what we heard in the past.

trying to basically check what many in the obama administration have suspected is russia's effort to extend its influence over parts of what used to be over the western soviet union. more economic sanctions would do more damage and get bring more tension inside moscow rather than doing saber rattling. >> roslind jordan, or occur ponce dent in washington, d.c. now makeshift evacuation centers

are struggling to cope with tens of thousands left homeless. 28 people have been killed. as many as 40 are still missing. andrew tomorrows is in the capital where they spoke with survivors of the worst flooding. >> what is now a squalor camp. some try to sleep during the day. most here have lost their homes. some have lost members of their family. hudson's youngest son was washed away. hudson found him two days after the flood. >> when i saw my son. i don't know what to say. he is someone in my family that i miss. i lost everything.

i lost my house. i lost my belongings, even my son. >> reporter: there were more tears at hudson's house. he had been working at a shop when sh he had a frantic call fm his wife. she was marooned in the middle of a doesn't. altorrent of river. his wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and one of his other children. >> reporter: for hours they clung on. hudson's wife and eight-year-old made it. didhi not. his body was washed back by the sea the day after the flood. >> we had no way to know that this place was not really good here. but only this flood takes

everything that we own and then changed our lives. >> the area has flooded before, but thursday was more like a tsunami, ripping up trees and ripping out everything in its path. they're now digging graves. hudson buried his son rex on saturday. >> who car bombs have exploded in the syrian city of homs. more than 100 people have been injured and the death toll is expected to rise. the bombs went off in the street a half hour apart in a predominately alawite neighborhood. at cairo university stepped up their demonstrations in recent weeks after egypt's

former military chief al sisi said he would run for president. the trial of three detained al jazeera journalists will resume thursday. they have now have been imprisoned for 102 days. a fourth journalist has been detained without trial since last august. after 79 days on hunger strike his health is deteriorating. al jazeera rejects all charges against its journalists and demands immediate release. the arab league will begin the transfer of $100 million each month to the palestinian government. it comes at the end of a meeting in cairo. the emergency session was called to discuss the recent crisis in the israeli-palestinian peace talks. israel has threatened to stop transfers of $100 million of taxes it seconds on behalf of

the palestinian authority. >> reporter: they have agreed to reactivate $100 million a month. this is money that had been pledged before but it had never come through. they do say the best way to solve this is through talks. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has frozen cooperation between israelis and palestinians. both sides are still talking together with the u.s. envoy, but it is looking increasingly difficult how both sides will find common ground to move talks beyond their official april 29th deadline. >> coming up on the news hour we speak to a man who said he is american. he just can't prove it.

plus in the next 15 years all of this land behind me will be gone. i'm kimberly halkett, we'll look at the coast line that is disappearing. >> and can bayern munichs coach guide his team. the latest from the quarterly finals coming up. >> dramatic advances in the treatment of hel hepatitis-c has been showcased in london, but there is a big problem. we'll sprain what that is. well, it's costs according to the world health organization to drive down the price of new drugs that offer a cure for the liver-destroying virus.

>> ten days ago he diagnosed help tie citizen c. he believes he was infected when he had a tattoo at the age of 14, and then lived for years not knowing that he had the hepatitis-c virus. >> it can take you to the gates of hell. a lot of people can get through it, no symptoms, but most people do have symptoms. and there are a lot more. it's not just going to get medication. you need someone there for support. >> reporter: it's estimated that between 130 and 150 million people are infected with hepatitis-c worldwide. up to 500,000 die from it every year. it's generally transmitted to exposure to contaminated blood during medical treatment or injected drugs or tattoos or

body pearcings. now the "world health organization" hopes to combat hepatitis-c as well as screening for those who are considered high risk such as intravenous drug users. >> now there are new drugs and medicined they are oral and 12 weeks with high success rate. >> reporter: they say there should be international funding to fight a.i.d.s. >> now we know that hepatitis kills as many people asthma layer i can't or t.b. but this has not been appreciated, so it was not included in the millennium development goals. it was not part of the global

funds. there has been no big global movement to do something about it. that's why we're incredibly late and we've got a lot of catching up to do. >> the areas most effected by hepatitis-c are affected by north africa and asia. the world can finally start tackling an often ignored disease. al jazeera london. >> for the first time in years greece is to start borrowing money on the international market. the government is issuing a benchmark five year bond through a group of top global banks. it will be greece's first long term debt since it's bailout. we have this from athens. >> interest rates have been climbing down from the beginning of the year as greece has gradually build up credibility. the government has decided now

is the moment to advance into those markets and sell a five-year bond of what it hopes to be 5.25%. of course the choice of timing is politically significant. greece could have done this a week or two weeks from now, but it has chosen to do so at a time when the german chancellor angela merkel is about to visit on fried in order to declare the adjustment policy, which has austerity measures, has been contributed to the greek economy being competitive. back home in the real economy things have not improved because of this announcement. it will take much longer for the greek job market to pick up with unemployment at 27%. it will take longer for greek salaries to climb up. they've lost a third of their income since the beginning of

the crisis, and it will allow unions to claw back their power to negotiate wage agreements with employers rather than employers set them where they wish. as a result of that measure wages have gone down dramatically. that is, of course, part of the labor market reform, the government says, has helped to bring greece back to international markets. >> the belgium government has delivered something of a crushing blow of rifery traders, pulverizing ivory statues. it was destroyed as tougher action to stop poaching. we have reports from brussels. >> crushed, crunched and spat out from roaming the plains of africa to the outskirts of brussels. this ivory has traveled many

hours, mostly illegally. >> in wooden statutes, in clocks, in luggage in double cases. >> reporter: the international ivory trade was banned in 1989, but still it comes through europe's ports and airports mostly on route to the far east where there is high demand. >> the thing about ivory from its raw form it could be turned into any number of different shapes. these pieces have been made to look like wood so they're easier to smuggle. then down here we have beads to be used in neck lasts, bracelets, or other jewelry. and then these pieces were destined to be turned into personal stamps. it's a global trade that kills one elephant every 15 minutes according to animal welfare

activists. they hope destroying so much ivory will send a message to the poachers and traffickers. >> we no longer dealing with petty criminals. we're dealing with organized groups, armed, and some are terrorists. and they finance themselves with illegal trade ivory. >> reporter: but in the part of brussels where antique shops lie in the pretty streets, and old ivory can still be bought legally it's not hard to find dissenting voices. >> what i'm afraid of is the word destruction. especially when we're talking about a noble material. and i'm convinced that we're attacking this evil in the wrong way. using the ivory is better than destroying it. >> the countries that have destroyed their ivory don't want it to be noble, though. they want it to be shameful because they say only when consumer demands dies will the

problem be resolved. al jazeera, brussels. >> we'll have more from europe a little later in the news hour. but right now it's back to doha. >> at least 230 people have been stabbed in a school in an u.s. state of pennsylvania. four of them are in critical condition. it happened at franklin regional high school in pittsburgh. most of the casualties are between the ages of 14 and 17. the suspect has been arrested. the olympicic athlete oscar pistorius said that he did not intend to kill his girlfriend. >> i hit her on the left shoulder. i could feel the blood was running down on me. >> he made the statement as state prosecutors made their cross-examination of the

sprinter. he faces a life sentence if found guilty of murder. an australian official coordinating the search for the missing malaysian airlines plane is optimistic that they'll find the aircraft in the not too distant future. more sounds from beneath the water surface has been detected. >> reporter: they have already covered a vast area of the ocean. now officials believe they're closer to finding out what happened to it. this sonar device can detect the pings sent out from an airline's black box flight recorder. late on tuesday they reacquired the signals twice. >> ocean shield has now detected four transmissions in the same broad area. yesterday's signals will assist

in better defining a reduced, and much more manageable search area on the ocean floor. >> that is vitally important because officials say that they can only deploy their robotic submarine once they found visual evidence of wreckage. the operation to find mh 370 is a multi national effort involving planes and ships from many countries. the australian government has taken the lead, and is coordinating the effort. but the sheer size of their task is daunting. a search area of more than 75,000 square kilometers of ocean in-depths of up to 4,000 meters, and the flight recorders are not much bigger than a large shoe box. but the australians are convinced they are looking in the right place, and the signals they're hearing are from flight recorders.

al jazeera. >> the opposition in indonesia democratic party struggle in the polls but looks like its likely to get enough votes to field a presidential candidate. the outcome of this poll is important "o" important for up coming presidential elections in july. the favorite to win the president is j jakarta. we are in jakarta, and we look at his chances. >> reporter: voting day in the world's third largest no, and the vows is on--the focus is on this man. in july he'll be the presidential candidate for the indonesian democratic party of struggle. this will increase his chances of winning that vote. >> i hope this election will be held on, fairly so that everyone can exercise their right to vote according to their will.

>> but more than 186 million registered voters and 550,000 polling stations in one of the largest and most implicated in the world. there have been three free elections. and the mood is not this festive this time around. >> many are turned off by the process. they have not seen their lives improve dramatically. on the other hand they're used to voting and these processes, it's just not as fresh and new as it used to be. >> some choose not to vote. >> i'm disappointed. there has not been any change at all. poor people are still poor. >> reporter: because of corruption and empty promises many people in indonesia have lost faith in their politicians but despite fear of a low turn out people here are keen to

vote, a vote for change. they hope that they can bring that change. that's why she voted for his party pdip. >> i have seen that they have already made changes in jakarta even though he has been governor for two years and we've seen lots of real change. >> official results will be announced early next month. on july 9th indonesians will vote for a new president. the next few months they will have to build a coalition with other parties to be nominated for the presidential election. al jazeera, jakarta. >> still to come here on the news hour. italy's migrant influx 15,000 have been rescued from the sea so far this year. many more are waiting to make the journey. plus, police in kenya go door to door to look for illegal immigrants. we report from nairobi. and in the nba champions the miami heat, we'll have the

report to explain.

>> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance.

>> hello, welcome back. you're watching the al jazeera news hour. let's take you to our top stories. ukraine's government said it will solve the crisis in the east of the country within 48 hours. protesters occupying government buildings. disaster strikes solomon islands and 28 people have died. palestinian president ma mahmood abbas has secured 100 million a month. it was pledged as israel holds taxes on behalf of the palestinian authority. some cities may follow the same path as crimea and vote to

join russia but it is not parts of ukraine that are looking towards moscow. recently held a similar referendum as we report from the capitol, many feel more aligned to russia than europe. russian tanks will be needed to reclaim it from moscow. the welcome sign above this academy shows the languages used here, turkish, monthl moldovaend russian. the president of the autonomous region made us turkish coffee before he explained why he's so opposed to joining the european union. >> for the last 20 years the leaders have been robbing the people's lives while they're screening, moving towards

europe. the e.u. is patting them on the shoulder and telling them they're doing a good job. this is not a success story. this is a story of corruption, thievery, human rights abuses and discrimination against ethnic minorities. >> reporter: 98.5% of the people joined to join the eurasian federation union. the exports show why, russia, belerus, they have already signed up for putin's plan. >> they bring in the heat of midday prepping the ground. these women earn just $10 a day.

>> our bosses want us to join the e.u. but they make us work for pennies. the prices here are as high as in the west but the salaries are moldovan. europe is not for us. >> reporter: this 93-year-old woman begging by the side of the road. she didn't want our money. she wanted food. she couldn't reach the village shop. her daughter had left her alone. despair and poverty on the door step of the european union. al jazeera, moldova. >> more people have been deported from the united states under president obama than any other president. some of those who left the country insist they are u.s. citizens, and america is the only home they have ever known. from tucson, arizona, our correspondent has this exclusive

report on one man's fight to stay. >> i don't have nobody. >> reporter: he is caught in an endless cycle. he gets deported, crosses back and lands in jail. he insists he's an u.s. city. once small smuggl smuggleers br. >> get out of here, she said, i'll kill you. >> reporter: the u.s. government could not prove that he is not a citizen. he can't convince them that he is. this is his father's arizona state birth certificate. usually enough proof that father and son are citizens, but not for him. in a statement to al jazeera the government avoided saying whether he was a citizen. they only say a judge ordered him to be deported to his native mexico and cite his criminal history including drug possession and burglary. we are on the way to his

mother's house. the drive takes us to arizona where he has lived all of three of his 40 years. he said it's the only place he considers home. at 83, she has little time left with her son. >> i'm really worried about him, that he's out there alone, whether he's eating, what he's eating, where he is sleeping, whether something might happen to him. >> reporter: with nearly 2 million people deported under president obama many mothers share her troubles. deported from louisiana to mexico in 2008. immigration officers didn't believe he was a citizen despite records showing his father was. it took him three years to prove them wrong. now he is suing the u.s. government to wipe his record clean of any mention of his deportation. >> i get nervous when i pass a police officer because i'm hispanic, they look at me, they

see that i'm hispanic, and i might end up going through the same thing again because my social security number is not active, it still shows that i'm deported. >> reporter: the government told us as a quote convicted alien he was a deportation priority. in 2012 it finally gave him this document which states he became a citizen in 2002, six years before he was deported. asked if they mistakenly deported an u.s. citizen the government didn't respond. back in arizona estaben will be released any day only to be deported again. despite the dangers he said he'll come back any way he can. he says he only has one home. >> the director of immigration. marshall, welcome to the

program. i know you said quite openly that the immigration system is broken. well, it certainly is if people are being deported who could actually be u.s. citizens. >> i lost. >> you have you got me back now, marshall? you completely haven't got me back yet. you can't hear me. >> i can't hear mu. >> we'll redial you, and hold that thought. kenya has deported somali nationals. we have reports from nairobi. >> reporter: these women say they don't know what is going to happen to them. they were arrested for being in kenya without proper documents. after a number of attacks in nairobi and the city of mbassa, they were ordered to move to

camps. but first they are screened to make sure they were not kenyan-somalis who were born here and have a right to stay. >> we have deported 82 somali citizens, and we're glad to say that they were escorted by the somali government back to their country. we have also released appropriate documents and those who have refugee documents taken to refugee camps. >> the agency said that it's concerned about the arrest but it's making sure that the deportation process is handled correctly. >> we're in a position to ensuring that nobody who had identification was deported. the other thing is that we've found in somalia to make sure that they would be able to follow these cases and possible cases in the future.

>> in the last 4 hours nearly 500 people have been arrested. the police are moving house to house oh, going door to door looking for illegal immigrants and refugees. when they get to someone's house they basically ask to see i.d.s. if they can't produce it, then they are taken to a police station. they will only released when you have proved you have a right to stay. >> the kenyan government said the arrests will continue to protect kenyans from what it calls terrorists. >> okay, let's go back to the issue of undocumented immigrants being deported from the u.s. marshall, can you hear me now?

>> reporter: i can, thank you. >> excellent. good to have you on the program. thank you for joining us. more people deported from the u.s. under president obama than any other president. that's quite a record to have. i know you have said in the past the cost of mass deportations are prohibitively expensive. >> absolutely. it's about $24,000 to deport a single individual. we've just run the numbers, even if you deported 85% of them you're talking about $300 billion. it's a--it's trying to enforce your way into a solution where you have broken underlying laws that make no sense. the story you just reported is heartbreaking. unfortunately that night fair effects too many people in this country. we have many facing deportation and detention crisis. >> it seems that a lot of people

are wonderfull wrongfully arres. border patrol agents are given bonuses to catch immigrants? >> i don't about the cash bonuses but we do know that customs and border patrol officers have wide latitude to operate within 100 miles of the border. that has created enormous problems and it has led to a lot of abuses. this is again not an uncommon example. obviously we don't want to see u.s. citizens deported because that's not an extreme example but it has happened. there are numerous cases over the last five or six years of this happening. it happens when you've got an enforcement machine that is so big and so pervasive, and it's trying to enforce what are frankly broken laws. we spend now $3.5 billion more on immigration border enforcement than all other

federal law enforcement combined. that's an astounding number. >> i was speaking to someone in an earlier program who was in favor of deporting undocumented immigrants. he was saying, look, these people are here illegally. they're taking odd jobs. we need to get rid of them. what is the alternative if the current immigration system is broken, as you say. >> well, congress acted--well, the senate acted last year and passed a bipartisan super majority bill that would have legalized a vast majority of the undocumented population, it would have allowed them to earn citizenship over time. pay fines, learn english, pay taxes, but the house of representatives has refused to take up this legislation despite the fact that everyone agrees that we need to do this. we need to move forward with immigration reform legislation. there is a solution out there that is one that would help us economically. it would help reduce the deficit. and it would certainly help

alleviate a lot of suffering particularly in bordering communities around the country. >> thank you for speaking to these. very interesting. >> thank you. >> now italy has rescued 15,000 people at sea since the start of the year during a deepening immigration crisis there. let's go back to our european news center. >> italy's interior ministry said migrants have been rescued and believes 300,000 and 600,000 more people are awaiting to board smuggling boats in libya to attempt the perilous journey across the ocean. they say italy is under

increasing pressure but the migrants fleeing to its shores are running from grave threat. >> of course now the numbers are really high, and effects are multiple. there are multiple factors. the stability in libya, the problem that we have in egypt. the war in syria, all these is pushing to--is pushing hundreds of thousands of people to try their opportunity to save the lives of their families, their children, to reach europe. of course, they try to reach europe mainly through italy but also through greece. >> do you think italy has responded well, or do you agree with italy ministers who say that europe has left italy to it on its own. >> well, you know, we have to

divide into two different phases. i think, after the terrible threat with the global outcry, with 600 people dying in lampedusa, rescuing people at see, but it cannot be done alone. i mean, other members say to be part of it, the e.u. should be part of it. more resources should be put together in order to have this operation more efficient with lower costs. at the moment all the costs of the operation are borne by the italian only. >> holding a meeting with british prime minister david cameron with president higgins

for talks. $1 billion worth of paintings and other art work are being returned to an elderly german recluse. the court decision was made after 81-year-old agreed to determine if some of the art was stolen from jewish owners during the nazi era. they were kept in his frankfurt argument for decades. >> unveiling a new verbs of the unique aircraft. remaining in the air indefinitely. that includes nighttime with battery that is soak up energy with 7,000 solar cells on the

ring. it's set to take off on an epic trip lasting for several months. >> thanks very much, indeed. the coast line of the united u.e of louisiana is vanishing. the southeastern portion of the louisiana is home to 80% of all coastal wetland loss in the u.s. new orleans is nearly lost 3900 square kilometers of wetland since the 1930s because of the encroaching salty waters of the gulf of mexico. the climate change kimberly halkett reports on how the land loss continues every minute of every day. >> for more than two decades they have been fishing what is known as the louisiana bayou, as a boy he remembers searching these coastal west lands in search of crab, shrimp and fish.

it's a way of life that he's not sure will last. >> within five years i've seen places that i used to fish completely gone. it's crazy. >> the city of new orleans along with the rest of the region is built on a delta, created over centuries by sediment, fro depod from the mouth of the mississippi river. in the 19 30's engineers built a system of levies to protect the city. in turn triggering the demise of the state's we had lands. ten years ago all of this water behind me was once marsh land, but now it's gone. and in its place these bamboo poles par mark where the wetland used to be. >> reporter: in the air you can see the erosion made worse by the state's oil and gas industry. the nooks and crannies have been carved into straight edge canals

to help fossil fuel extraction. this will allow sea ward to flood the estuaries. from the air jonathan harrison documents the damage. >> a lot of saltwater intrusion. that saltwater is poison for that marsh. >> reporter: permit agreements are supposed to require oil and gas companies to restore the wetlands once it's work is complete , but it's been poorly enforced. industry jobs are the priority. roughly 90% of louisiana's coast line has been eroded. the plans now in place to stop the land loss but it's expected to cost more than $50 billion the state doesn't have. and the u.s. congress has yet to finance. >> i just mainly want to see it come back that way when i was kids. they can enjoy what i'm enjo enjoying. >> reporter: but that's uncertain without urgent preservation what took nature thousands of years to create now

faces extinction in a single lifetime. kimberly halkett, al jazeera, on the louisiana bayou. >> sports is coming up. manny pacquiao with its controversial title against timly bradley stay with pup ups.

. >> hello, everyone, this is al jazeera america, i'm tony harris. it was a week ago that a gunman open fired killing three soldiers before turning his weapon on himself. the services being held at the base. president obama is there, and let's listen to the chief of the army now, general ray. >> show compassion for our soldiers and their families, distinguished members of congress, thank you for coming down here today. deputy secretary defense, secretary of the army, great leader of our army. lieutenant governor and other distinguished state leaders, thank you for your support, thank you for your contributions

to fort hood. most importantly i want to thank the soldiers, the families, and civilians of fort hood in the surrounding community. i want to thank lieutenanful toh dedicated experienced leaders to guide us through these difficult days. our job as leaders is to prepare soldiers for the chaos of war. the loss of any soldier and "n" any circumstance is a tragedy for an unit, or for a family. yet some how the loss of comrades in the heat of battle is a risk we can understand and in time accept. but that these soldiers were lost on american soil and at the hands of one of our own makes

this tragedy heartbreaking and inexplicable. fort hood has been home away from home having served as commander. i personally experienced the resiliency of the soldiers, families and community, the fort hood family has been central to the army's success over the last 13 years of war. sharing in our victories and agreeing when wand--grieving whe dear to us. you were there for us when we deployeed our forces to iraq and afghanistan. you were there for us when we

would recover from the events of november 5, 2009, and the loss of 13 people. today we are all here to tell you and to show you that our army and our nation are here for you. we cannot help but feel the echos of that most horrible day in the tragedy that we now face. for many across the fort hood community the events like week we open the wounds of five years ago. we are heartbroken that those same units and soldiers, families and communities who have sorted unit after unit deployments to iraq and afghanistan and sacrificed so much must endure yet another burden. but we must come together as an army, as a community and as a nation to learn from wednesday's

tragic events and support and heal one another. we must come together to identify the risk factors that lead to violence. to enhance the resiliency of our soldiers and families. anyone time a soldier believes hurting ones or others is the solution to the problems they face we must make sure that the army family is there for them. to show them another way forward, and to lift them from their despair. lost to us on wednesday were three soldiers with more than 50 years of service to the united states army. danny ferguson served nearly 21 years on assignments across america and around the world, including four deployments. his fiancé recently shared with us that the army was danny's

life. he was proud to be part of a great service. staff sergeant rodriguez followed in the footsteps of his father to enlist from his hometown in puerto rico. during his nearly 20 years carlos was known for being a meticulous soldier leading from the front with a tough but kind down to earth nature. sergeant timothy owens enlisted in 2004 and served for more than ten years as a motor transport operator. including two deployments to iraq and kuwait. the loss of these three soldiers is a terrible tragedy. our hearts and prayers go out to each of the soldiers families and their units. every day we learn from witnesses and the wounded from

the heroic actions of first responders who prevented the loss of more lives the soldiers with the 89th police brigade. we learned of a chaplain who sought to protect fellow soldiers by breaking windows and helping them escape the shooting. then the heroism of sergeant first class ferguson and major patrick miller who were shot while trying to protect otherwise behind closed doors. they blocked the advance of the shooter, undoubtedly saved the lives of many soldiers. we're grateful for the rapid reaction and exceptional professionalism of all the emergency responders and hospital triage teams whose actions were nothing short of

extraordinary. there are certain people who are able to step up in the most difficult times and do something heroic. no one quite understands what characteristics will cause someone to display such incredible courage or sacrifice to their own safety. but we see a time and time again when the soldiers of this great army. the large majority of our soldiers have shown resiliency and personal growth in the face of repeated deployments as well as the normal stress of our every day lives. there are some who have struggled to bounce back and find peace in life's challenges. we don't know why one soldier finds strength in such times and another cannot see a way forward. but we must and we will be there

for them. in the days and months ahead our highest priorities will be the care of our wounded service members, their families and the families of the fallen. we also do everything in our power to investigate every detail, to learn, adapt, and protect our most valuable resource, the men and women of our u.s. army. i have once again been stumped by the inlearn strength of the american spirit. i'm inspired by soldiers, families, communities, businesses private organizations giving so generously of themselves and their resources. the family readiness groups, the red cross, the uso and local business who is immediately reached out to our fort hood families. as we have in difficult times,

we will have strength in unity. we will all stand together as a community. we will all stand together as an army. we will all stand together as a nation. we will lift each other up with our compassion, our strength, and resilience because that's who we are. strength of our nation is our army. the strength of our army is our soldiers. the strength of our soldiers is our families. that's what makes us army strong. thank you very much. >> ladies and gentlemen, the secretary of the army. the honorable john mcewen.