>> thank you. >> that brings us to the end of this edition of inside story, thank you for being with us, in washington, i'm ray swarez. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. changes at the white as kathleen sebelius steps down, following the botched rollout of obamacare. a tragic ending for california high school students. and the pope asking for forgovness for what he says the church allowed to happen. ♪

it's now official kathleen sebelius is the former head of the department of health and human services. the president making it official just a short while ago. the president has nominated the current head of the office of management and budget. libby casey it happens like that in the city, the secretary forced out. that is the question on everybody's mind. >> it seems like kathleen sebelius planned her exit. she told the president she planned to step down after the rollout of the affordable care act. there was some conflict between her and some members of congress, because they saw her as a bit of a lightning bolt.

but the president emphasized today all of the success the secretary sa bealia had during her tenure. she was there for the entire of the development, the passive, the fight that the obama administration waged to make it become law, and that's what the president focused on today. >> but under kathleen's leadership, her team at hhs turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done, and the final score speaks for itself. >> the president said he has got some bumps and bruises, and so does she, but he said it is worth it. president obama using this moment to out to the law that does get so much criticism from republicans. now even though we have a new nominee for this post, we have to wait and see, sylvia matthews burrwell confirmed by the

senate. and it does make since that if she stepped down, he would have someone in the wings ready to announce on the same day that he praises her. >> the white house not wasting much time. what else do we know about this person. >> she runs the office of management and budget, and said to be someone who is good at the fine details, and also someone understands policy. she was the treasury secretaries chief person, she came from harvard, she is a rode scholar, she is from a small town in west virginia, and she did have success at omb working with members of congress, and president obama talked about why he thinks she is the right pick for this job. >> there is another enrollment

period coming up about six months from now. there is a whole array of responsibilities to meet over at this large and very important agency, and i could choose no manager as experienced as competent as my current director of the office and management and budget, sylvia matthews burrwell. >> he said she has a rock steady hand last fall and she was someone who worked with members of koj to try to hammer out budget issues. so he sees here as being able to work with congress. that will be key because even though she got unanimous confirmation last year, she might face a tougher battle this time, because members of congress are out for blood when it comes to the affordable care act, and they will use her nominee process to talk about why they don't like the law. >> libby casey thank you very much. attorney general eric holder

says he is going to be speaking today. he is expected to talk about the sentencing decision commission to endorse shorter prison sentences for some drug related crimes. it means less time in jail for those caught with small amounts of drugs. it could put the prison population by more than 6500 over the next five years. the national transportation safety board is sending a team of investigators to california. they will be look going the bus crash that killed ten people. they are trying to figure out how a fedex driver slammed into the bus. >> reporter: this is what is left of the horrific collision. the charred remains of a fedex bus and a tour bus that had been packed with high school students. the california highway patrol says the crash was caused by the

driver of the tractor trailer who is among the dead. >> it sideswiped a white car and went head on with the charter bus. immediate explosion. there are 44 students, three chaperons and the school bus driver on board, so 48 people. >> reporter: police are unsure why the truck swerved across the median. the high school students were on their way to visit humboldt state university north of sacramento. >> and i just kind of see black, but there's fire at the front of the bus. it's crushed in the front pretty much. so we all start jumping up to run away. >> we heard a loud boom about 6:00 and the whole house shook. the tour bus was fully engulfed in flames.

it just kept popping and booming as it was on fire. >> reporter: police and ambulances rushed to the scene setting up a triage unit on-site. some students walked away while others needed to be carried. back on the bus bodies were draped in blankets. >> they were putting together all of the pieces of the puzzle to determine what caused the driver to cross over the median and in to on coming traffic as well as any actions that the bus driver may have taken to avoid the collision. the florida man suspected in that hit and run crash in an orlando day care is now in custody. he is accused of running into a car that slammed into the day care center. a 4 year old girl was killed and several other injured. witnesses say he allegedly fled

the scene and abandoned his car. he is now facing felony charges. his lawyer says he was bullied. that's the latest involving the 16-year-old accused of going on that stabbing spree at a school. but police are not confirming whether or not he had problems. authorities say he stabbed more than 20 people with kitchen knives. he is facing multiple charges including attempted homicide. he is being charged as an adult. pope francis is asking for forgiveness for child abuse in the catholic church. pope francis promised sanctions to those involved. it comes after a united nations investigation into the abuse. violent demonstrations continue in the boarder towns of

ukraine. the ukrainian prime minister visiting the region today offering more solve governing powers if they back down. now the wait. to see if the government follows through on its promise to remove them by force. >> reporter: despite the repeated warnings made by the government in kiev, profesters here seem to be digging day. they have been fortifying their defensive positions, now there are piles of stones and bombs. they say they don't want a violent outcome to the standoff but they also have to defend themselves. meanwhile the local council here issued a statement that sounds a bit as an offer of compromise. in that statement it calls on the government to make official that offer of amnesty by issuing

a decree that amnesty should be for both police forces and protectors. it also called on the government to call for a ref ren dem not on separation, but rather on feddism. it also called on the government to consider a bill that would make the russian language the second official language of this country. these are some of the demands protesters have been making. they say since the day victorian -- victor yanukovych fled the country they have been ignored. they said this is the only way for them to get their voices heard. but now they do want this ref

-- referendum not to split from ukraine but they want to administer their own affairs by themselves. the united states and south korea are launching the largest air defense exercise they have ever done together. it involves more than 100 aircraft and 1400 personal. north korea sees it as a prelude for invasion. >> reporter: this is part of a legal exercise that every year north korea calls rehearsals for invasion. is north korea has made similar protests again this year, and indeed just a few days ago during a combined am fibbous exercise, north korea chose that day to hold its own drill firing about 100 shells into south

korean waters. south korea and the united states are also launching what they are calling the biggest-ever combined air defense exercise. one other issue of note, this is also the day that the south korean defense ministry makes public its interim finings into its investigation into a number of north korean drones that have been discovered in south korea in recent weeks. something that has dominated minds in the military and defense ministry. coming up on al jazeera america, the unlikely protesters of a kentucky pipeline, some taking on a plan they say is unsafe. and an unconventional approach to tackling a disease that affects 5 million americans.

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>> crews looking for the missing malaysian airlines flight say they are making progress. the chief marshall leading the search says the latest signal heard on thursday is probably not from the flight recorders, but have heard several other signals over the past few days. police in malaysia meanwhile holding a moment of silence in remembrance of those lost onboard. addressing the media, the inspector general saying their priority now is to reveal what happened before the plane went down. >> we want to know what transpired in the last minutes before the flight lost contact. of course we want to know. so that's why we say that we -- we are the investigators, and we -- and we expect to be looking into the black box. who powerful earthquakes on

opposite sides of the globe in the last 24 hours. in nicaragua more than 100 homes were damaged, a few hours later a 7.3 quake was recorded off of papua new guinea off of australia. there is a battle brewing in kentucky over a pipeline. jonathan martin reports. >> reporter: settled in the lush green hills of central kentucky, the women of the lower reto mother house are typically quiet, but for months now they have been among the most outspoken opponents in a grassroots campaign. >> it's the threat of what -- of what this means to the environment as a whole. >> the proposed bluegrass pipeline would transport flammable natural gas liquids

like propane through an underground line starting in pennsylvania, and connecting with existing pipelines at the gulf. >> this is considered a very special place. >> reporter: still the sister worries about the possibility of a leak and explosion. the line wouldn't run through her property, but would run through several nearby counties. >> over the years there is a whole database of the examples of the danger of these pipelines, and once you have made the kind of contamination that that involved you don't turn back. >> reporter: so this pipeline would cut through your property. >> right through the middle. >> reporter: last month a state judge cited with landowners ruling eminent domain can't be

used to rup the pipeline through private land, but developers are appealing. >> these large corporations have a lot of money with a lot of influence and it seems like they get their ways a lot of time. >> reporter: some see the benefits outweighing any potential harm. >> those things for the commonwealth of kentucky and the nation as a whole have to be completed to go through. >> reporter: the pipeline company says several thousand temporary jobs will be created during construction, and they point out underground transport is much safer than using a barge or train. >> we have programs in places on the federal and state level from a permitting process, siting process to make sure these are done safe. >> reporter: while developers announced their intention to

delay construction until 2016, this sister continues to fight the pipeline. more than 5 million americans suffer from always hiem -- alzheimer's, and there is no cure. but they are trying to better understand the disorder. >> the 23rd. >> okay. >> so work on story. >> reporter: a year and a half ago this 66-year-old psychologist was diagnosed with early alzheimer's disease. the news was devastating and forced him to close his practice. >> i felt shame. i wondered if people could tell. and what they would think if they found out. >> reporter: the sdz a reality for more than 5 million americans and the sixth leading cause of death for adults. >> hey, how is it going? >> good to see you. >> good to see you too.

>> reporter: but for ferguson it has become an opportunity as well. he is taking part in a buddy program that pairs first year medical students with patients with alzheimer's. >> it's important to understand that a person is more than just their medical diagnosis, and the point of the program is for the students who really learn from the person with dementia. >> reporter: an important lesson considering that 75% of the students that take part end up dealing with patients with alzheimer's. it hit home for zachary who's grandmother was diagnosed with alzheimer's several years ago. >> it's the perfect know to get to know what it is, and all thes develop a relationship a relationship with someone who is going through the same thing my

grandmother is going through. >> him talking to me about what is going on with him, forces know pay attention and keep my brain going, so that i can come up with a reasonable kind of response to what he's talking about. >> so what has been going on with you? >> not much. got another exam coming up. >> reporter: zach says it is a chance to slow down and empathize with a person beyond the chart. >> you need to understand the patient's perspective, where they are coming from, and who they are to best treat them. >> reporter: it's an experience that can't be taught in the classroom, and put into the practices of the doctors. some people in a law in louisiana say they are being targeted in a case of environmental racism.

it's the third and final part of our series, climate sos. and this girl found a diamond, but wait until you hear how much it is worth.

>> on the next talk to al aljazeera... >> i'm antonio mora and this is talk to al jazeera

>> award winning documentary director ken burns, talks about his craft, and his latest project on the gettysburg address talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. the president announcing his choice to replace kathleen sebelius as the secretary of health and human services. sebelius announcing her resignation last night. the president nominating sylvia matthews burwell to the post. she is currently the director of the office of management and budget. investigators are trying to find ut what caused the deadly bus crash in california that killed ten people. and pope francis asking for forgovness for the child abuse that happened in the catholic church. the pontiff promising sanctions on the priests who were

involved. mossville, louisiana is one of the most polluted places in the us. it is surrounded by 14 different chemical plants, and residents say they suffer from life-changing ailments because of it. this is my father's first cousin. >> reporter: dorothy felix and her family have lived in the tiny town of mossville, louisiana for seven generations, but she fears she will be among the last. she says contaminated air and water is slowly killing the residents. dioxin is a known cars again, felix and others blame the chemical plants for contaminating their community. most of the 500 residents living here are african american.

at a townhall residents shared stories of suffering, and accused the chemical plant owners of what they call environmental racism. >> i'm tired of people taking advantage of a small african american community. >> i have seen people die, you know? i'm afraid of that. i don't want to have to sleep in it. i worked in it. but i don't want to have to sleep with a gas mask on. >> reporter: state officials deny the plants pose a health threat, and the state's governor recently approved a plan to allow a chemical giant to build one of the biggest chemical plants in the western hemisphere in mossville. but they say they are not a bad

neighbor, in fact it is offering to buy up some but not all of the homes that surround the plant. and state officials say residents shouldn't live in fear as toxic emissions rarely escape. >> the data demonstrates how frequently it crosses the fence line and goes into the community, and the bottom line is, they just seem to ignore it. >> reporter: so dorothy felix and others are demanding that the state demand a toxicology clinic free of charge. >> so they can be tested for chemicals that might be present in their bloodstreams, so they can find out what they are suffering, what their family is dying from. >> reporter: they say science is on their side even if politic is not. peopling heading to higher ground as a major cyclone approach

approached australia. it's a cat 5 cyclone, that is the most severe kind. ♪ i'm dave warren. we'll stick with that topic here. clearly seeing where this cyclone is, eye da, and it is rotating clockwise. it has made landfall and now weakened a bit. 125 miles an hour winds. impacting a large area with very heavy rain and wind. residents are urged to evacuate in a large area. this is the entire region that is being impacted by the storm. so we're watching this closely, still a powerful storm. weakened slightly, but, again, still very powerful with heavy rain and wind. we'll talk about storms across

the coup try here, but not really until the weekend. things are quiet, maybe a little shower or two across the great lakes. temperatures warming up along the eastern coast. a big warmup is anticipated saturday and sunday, but a clear line here where this front will set up. cool air to the north, warm air to the south and very high humidity. that sets the stage for severe weather. a front stalls out, and it's this entire region sunday that could be impacted by strong to receive veer storms with wind and hail. certainly watch how this develops because it could have the possibility to rotate. a teenager is $20,000 richer after selling a diamond she found in arkansas. she found in a canary diamond at

a state park. she says she will use the money to pay for college. it is the only buy hand producing site in the country that is open to the public. thank you for watching. i'm del walters in new york. "the stream" is next. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you're in "the stream." america is full of silent warriors, you may be one of them, and people have no idea what they're going through. injured veterans, making themselves far more vulnerable to bankruptcy and mental illness.