perished. >> lost lives are re-lived... >> all of these people shouldn't be dead. >> will there differences bring them together, or tear them apart. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> which side of the fence are you on? borderland only on al jazeera america this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i am jonathan betz with today's top stories. a showdown in ukraine. gunmen seize a police station. proceeds russian activists refusing to leave government buildings. >> a fire, everybody screaming. >> what witnesses are saying about the fedex truck that hit a bus filled with teens. this is not science fiction. the navy's newest weapon joining the fleet today. >> vegas has a per missive

atmosphere. this is good for artists because you have to feel like you can do anythingmissive atmosphere. this is good for artists because you have to feel like you can do anythi anything. >> a gamble on getting people off the strip and into art galleries. ♪ in eastern skrairn this weekendukraine this weekend the situation is escalating. russian sympathizers have taken over state buildings in several eastern cities. after a week of protests, donesk's police station has stepped down. armed men opened fire seizing buildings in other towns. leaders in kiev call today's an act of aggression from russia. al jazeera's kim vanell has the latest >> reporter: this is the police station, usually a place for local offices now in the hands of pro-russian activists. more than a dozen gunmen, many with professional grade weapons go in and out of the building.

it's unclear how many more may be waiting inside. outside the building, local supporters gather. hundreds chanting the words "referendum." they say they want the people to vote on autonomy from kiev. many here believe the interim government is i will legitmat and not listening to the people in the east. >> our people want to live quietly and peacefully so we are not under america and the west. we don't want to be their slaves. we want to be with russia. the gunmen took the building in the early hours of saturday morning. this video shot from across the road shows them prepare to go enter through a window. within hours, they had fortified their positions. >> just seen a truckload of reinforcements arrive. they are pulling out large tires to reinforce their barricades. people arriving all the time bringing supplies, handing them over to the people who are now very much in control of the

police building. >> just moments after being told to film people so they could show this at court, a mob of protesters turned on us, attempting to take our camera gear. riot police are reportedly being sent from donesk. by mid-afternoon, they had still not arrived. authorities in kiev now have a difficult task on their hands with continued caulls for a re r referendum and unrest in the east spreading fast. >> joining us is amy knight. she is onset with us in new york. thank you for being with us. >> you are welcome. >> what do you make of the recent events? we have seen this before. so what's at work here? >> well, i think what secretary kerry said a few days ago is correct. i think that in large part, this is instigated by the kremlin. surely, there are people who are legitimately pro-moscow who are living in ukraine, but i think

they are being stirred up to a great extent by outsiders. >> do you see this as the crimean playbook where the locals get upset, storm government buildings, raise the russian flag and russia sweeps in to the rescue and seizes its territory? do you think that russia has the aim of trying to grab some of these eastern cities? >> well, it really can't be the crimean playbook because the situation in crimea was very different. there, the population was overwhelmingly pro-russian. i don't think anybody knows for sure how the population would react if russian troops actually came in. >> but isn't the population in the eastern cities also largely pro-russian? russians, the language that is largely spoken there? >> well, the language is not always a determine ant of how people feel. i think the younger generation of ukrainians are much more western-oriented, and they might, you know, be russian speakers. they might have russian parents, so on and so forth. but it doesn't necessarily mean

that they want to have eastern ukraine annexed back to russia. >> if you think russia is deliberately stirring the flames in eastern ukraine, do you think it's because russia wants to grab this land as some fear, or do you think russia is trying to keep ukrainian government in kiev weak and distracted? >> well, first of all, it's difficult to know what russia really wants. and i think we have to be careful in making predictions because we don't know the decision-making process that's going on right now. it's pretty much up to mr. putin, i believe. and we don't know how rational he is. >> that's one thing. but what their aims are, i think, are really more to prevent ukraine from forming a country that is solidly governed and more aligned to the rest than to russia. so what that means? some sort of a division with sdrain? then that might be part ofukrai? then that might be part of layer term plan. >> because russia has been clear they would like to see a federal

type system within ukraine, basically, not split apart but that the regional areas these cities have more index and more authority over their area. do you think this is maybe what's at work here? >> well, this is what they are saying. but really, what that means is they want these roojons that are part of ukraine to be moreegion are part of ukraine to be more so that they won't be controlled by the pro-western government in kiev and they will be, you know, more apt to be influenced by the kremlin. >> real quickly, how does this end? especially with ukraine talking about sending soldiers into eastern ukraine to try to get these protesters out of these government buildings? what happens? >> well, thus far, the kiev government has been quite restrained, and there hasn't been any violence. now that some of these rebels or sep rattists, if you would call them, are armed, i think the situation is becoming quite alarming and it could easily turn into some sort of blood shed, and that might be a

prerequisite for the russians to at least move some troops in. >> because you said vladimir putin wants to protect russian nationals? >> right. >> amy knight, thank you for your time today. we appreciate it? >> thank you. >> it may be weeks before investigators are finished looking for answers in the california bus crash. in the meantime, 10 families are now preparing funerals. new information is emerging about some of those victims. morgan radford has more on that >> reporter: marissa and ma marisol were insep rabble until they entered different tour buses headed to the same college they wanted today go we wanted to see which one fit the best. that's why we were going to see this one. >> marissa was one of the five students who died on highway 5 in northern california. her tour bus slammed head-on by a fed ex bus that had crossed a median. >> a very, very large explosion. >> the driver's side of the truck and the bus also died along with three chaperones who

were taking the teens to visit humboldt state university. dozens were injured while others managed to escape. >> a ball of fire, and then a ball of fire. everybody was screaming. >> the students were all part of a program at the college for low-income families. in fact, many of them would be the first in their families to attend college. >> it's just a matter of seconds where you could either die or live, and that's a life experience, and i don't wish it to anyone. >> the ntsb is trying to figure out what caused that fed ex driver to cross the grassy median and hit the bus filled with teens. >> the ntsb mission is to determine why this crash happened. not just about the what but the why. >> why allows us to issue safety recommendations to prevent these kinds of crashes from happening in the future. >> morgan radford, al jazeera. >> in the los angeles times reports two witnesses said the fed ex truck was on fire before it actually hit the bus.

the ntsb plans to investigate the crash site for up to two weeks. kansas city police are searching for a certaserial shooter targe drivers. they say they can now connect at least 12 of 13 shootings to one gunman. .3 drivers have been hurt since the attacks began early las last month. nobody has been killed. police say the shooter appears to be targeting cars on highway exit rams. >> people in wells texas say they have had enough of the church of wells. some consider the group a cult. anger is so high, it's now drawing protests. residents say the group crossed a line by preaching to kids at a home coming parade last week. heidi jo castro joins us live from wells, texas. what's happening out there today? >> reporter: jonathan, well, we are right here, smack-dab in the middle of the bible belt in the u.s. if you look at the gathering behind me, it is quite a testament as to the strength of the freedom of religion in this country. those people in orange are the people of wells and the most vocal protesters who want this church group out of their town.

and if you look at the men wearing back packs and the women in the long skirts, they are church members here now, the church of wells has been in the town since new year's eve, 2011. that was the night their rv broke down just a block away from where we are standing right now and from that moment, they have been purchasing homes and businesses in the city. to this day, they have grown to more than 100 members. now, they are fundamentalist christians whobl in modeling their daily life believe in modeling their daily life after the disciples of jesus christ in the bible. their belief is that unless you live that lifestyle, that you are going to hell. and that is the message that they have been preaching to the people here in wells. now, they have been open-air preaching for years, but it reached a climax last saturday when a homecoming parade here for the high school where about 1,000 residents were attending, the members of the church came to preach sharing their message of condemnation for those who they say were unsaved, and a

parade float carrying small children passed by as they were preaching this message and the father of a four-year-old who was on that float says that his daughter continues to ask him why a man would tell her that she is going to hell. >> her and several other children that are unmentioned are traumatized from it. they are having nightmares. they are not wanting to, you know, go out and play any more, and we are pretty much doing this today to show, you know, our town is not going to take it. we are going to stand up for our children. we are going to stand up for our elderly and everyone in our town that we are not going to take this. >> last week, confrontation did result in some violence. there were two church of wells members who were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. we know that some of the towns people who were the agressors were talked to by police but the church of wells said they have decided not to press charges,

jonathan. >> it's interesting this relatively small church there in a small texas town is igniting so much anger. what does the church say in its defense? >> well, i just spoke with those three elders who are the leaders of the group, jonathan, and they say that they are doing this out of a christian love but the conflict, the point of could conflict here is, they see themselves in the context after biblical world, not in a modern world that the rest of the town of wells lives in. and they have said, the church members have said, that they are willing to be martyred for their cause. now, today's event, this protest, there was some fear that violence might once again erupt. but thankfully, that has not been the case. instead, it's actually been quite spectacular. there has been an hour and a half long confrontation where church member, residents, have spoke, have talked face to face. there have been some angry words exchanged. there have been people holding each other back to prevent violence. but this is what a church

leader, sean morris, says is his group's mission here in wells. >> we believe god sent us here to wells to reach, you know, this community of people. and the surrounding communities of people with the message of the gospel. and what makes us peculiar from other professing christians is that we don't believe that the claims of the gospel, itself, are plainly understood by the common public of even professing christianity. >> jonathan, we have been covering this story for quite awhile. and previously, we brought you reports about a 27-year-old woman, katherine grove, who disappeared one day from her home in arkansas and ended up coming here to the church of wells where she has been a member since. now, her parents have been trying to track her down for months. she hasn't been in contact with them, but i saw her today at this protest. and to give you an idea of the

peculiarness of their leader, would put it, when i asked her how she's doing, she told me, katherine is dead. >> peculiar is the right word without question. okay. heidi jo cast row live in rural east texas. >> florida is considering a billed bill that couwould ease restrictions allowing people to carry guns. sponsors say it will maintain a hurricane after a hurricane -- order after a hurricane or blackout. the senate is considering it. the supreme court has banned life sentence did for most commission who will are convicted of crimes but florida courts are getting around that. >> shammic wasn't old enough to drive when he went to prison. now, at 19, he is an adult looking at living in a cell until he is an old man. >> do you feel hopeful? >> yes, ma'am. yes, ma'am. i pray every day.

>> at 14, his family says he was the kind of kid who got bs in school and was trying to get money to help his mom after she lost both her job and their home. in 2009, he and a friend attempted to hold up a jacksonville man named dana battles when battles turned, he fired a shot gun. he survived but suffered buckshot wounds. bernine carried the secret of what he had done for .3 days before he confessed and turned himself in. >> i was like no, that wasn't my son. no. shocked, upset, disappointed. >> shammik gridine pled guilty to attempted murder and aggravated battery. the minimum sentence is 25 years in prison. a judge sentenced him to 70 years. >> by sentencing the 70 years, he threw -- he threw shammic on the garbage heap, said you ain't

worth nothing. >> how do you feel about what's happened? >> i feel bad because i know i was in the wrong. at the same time, i was young. i was young that day and i was young, trying to be cool, trying to help my mother out. >> advocates say it's the susceptibility to peer pressure combined in changes in a brain still develop that show why juveniles shouldn't be treated or sentenced as adults. >> e line says judges in florida are circumventing a supreme court ruling banning life sentences without parole for juveniles who commit crimes other than homicide. she stresses that judges are sentencing juveniles to long prison terms that are virtual life sentences. >> these people will never, ever see the light of day. they will die in prison. >> thomas has prosecuted more than 50 juvenile defendants being tried as adults. he says he refuses to believe that teens don't have the mental

capacity to fully differentiate between right and wrong and comprehend the repercussions of their actions. >> my number 1 mission is to protect the public from future violence. then, i am going to seek the greatest sentence i possibly can to protect the public. >> that's what you pay me for. >> now, the florida supreme court will weigh in. gridine filed a lawsuit against the state. >> you can also define a life sentence as a sentence that does not provide a meaningful opportunity for release based upon rehabilitation. >> what gridine and his family are asking for is an opportunity for him to make a positive mark in the world instead of being remembered only for his crime. >> he do have a chance to turn his life around and make good. >> as things stand right now, gridine might not have the chance until he is 77 years old. natasha gin aim, al jazeera, florida. >> a decorated boston

preliminary has died from a medical emergency. president obama was to award officer dennis simmons next month for his bravery in watertown. the 28-year-old was injured in the shooting last year with the suspected bombers. tuesday marks a year since the attack that killed three people. still ahead on al jazeera america, the navy's newest marvel joins the fleet. also, a serious warning for parents who don't want their children vaccinated. later: playing with fire, scientists wander against tinkering with the earth's climate.

>> australian's prime minister says pings are connected to the missing malaysian flights. he said he is kong if i had ent some came from the blashing box. heck box. he says it may take awhile to find it? >> we have narrowed down, very considerably narrowed down the search area. but trying to locate anything 4 and a half kilometers beneath the surface of the ocean, about

a thousand kilometers from land, is a massive, massive task, and it is likely to continue for a long time to come. >> the batteries in the flight data and voice recorders are supposed to last about a month. but the plane has been missing for 37 days. today, the u.s. navy welcomed the latest addition to its. fleet. it was chris ended in maine the 610 foot ship is the navy's largest destroyer. it only requires half the crew of existing destroyers. it is scheduled to go into service in 2016. joining us to talk about this from washington, d.c. is grace jean, a naval reporter for jane's magazine. good to see you. the ship looks cool. how revolutionary is it really? >> it features a lot of very new capability that the navy has not had before. you mentioned the stealth.

>> that's one of the biggest features of the ship. if you look at it, it looks almost like a submarine. it took a lot of indications of its design from the under-sea warfare area and you also have a lot of fire power capability on board that ship. you are talking about an advanced gun system. you have .2 of those. it's going to fire missiles. it's going to fire a long-rangeland attack missile that can reach land from 63 nautical miles away. >> you talk about the fact it's a stealth ship, what does it mean? can he be seen by other country's radar? >> the navy calls it a roots radar cross section. the way that works is if you have a ship that is detecting other ships at sea, using a radar, this shim looks actually smaller than what it really is. so, it's kind of deceptive in that way. and there are design features inherent in the ship that make it seem smaller. >> you also mentioned the weapons. i want to go further with that because i was very confused

about this. there is talk about it could fire layserses, that it could. it has a rail gun that's not used explosives. what are they things? >> for this ship, we are talking about conventional weapons. lazers, the rail gun, those are largely in development. they may come on board on to other ships later on but this ship featuressers, the rail gun largely in development. they may come on board on to other ships later on but this ship features a projectile, rocket-propelled. it's a new gun system that will be able to fire itt will be able to fire it pretty far distances compared to able to d >> when you look at today's military and the kind of wars the u.s. has fought in recent years, are these very expensive warships really needed? >> the navy would say they are. it fills a capability gap they identified with their u.s. marine corps some years ago. you probably know that the navy did cut down the number of these particular warships that they wanted, and there was a reason for that.

they are very expensive. they carry a lot of capability that they have re-assessed and said programs we might not need them. it's advanced capability that the navy is very eager to get out into the fleet. >> when you look at the price tag, it's close to $7,000,000,000, including the research and everything else. there is only what? three of these ships out there right now. do you think that the navy plans to add more to the fleet? >> right now, there are only three ships. as you said, they are very expensive simply because they cut down the number that they are going to buy. they are restarting the articleie burk destroyer and they think that's going to carry them through for some time. there is some question whether they could eventually build another ship that's based upon this design. we will just have to wait to see what they do. >> when you look at combat when it comes to the navy, how much of a game-changer is this ship when you look at the bottom line here? >> bottom line, it's a big game changer because you can -- you are talking about being able to fire some of these projectiles

from very far distances offshore. this ship does have that stealth which does give the navy the capability to get in close to shore, which is something a little bit different that they don't have on their other destroyers and cruise cruisers. >> fascinating, grace jean with jane's magazine. thank you for your time today? >> thank you. >> another last detail about that zumwalt, the name of the commanding officer. the navy has said captain kirk is a graduate of the naval academy with nearly 25 years in the military. a pretty fitting name for a futu futuristic ship. >> the once common childhood disease, measles, was once thought eradicated. doctors say parents who do not vaccinate their children could be making a deadly mistake? >> here. >> kimberly a cuellar o never had her children, jude and luna

vaccinated for measles. she is concerned early childhood vaccines may do more harm than good. >> i think it's a decision a parent has to make based upon their family's needs. >> now, she is visiting her family doctor to get his advice about measlemeasles? >> i am still considering the vaccination. >> once completely eradicated in the u.s., measles is back in the worst outbreak in decadedecades about 50 cases have turned up in california. other states include new york arizona and massachusetts. at least 375 cases have been found in capital canada's br british columbia province. it's called by a virus. immigrants or travelers from parts of the world where the disease is common have reintroduced it. the current outbreak is sganing ground because thousands of parents all over the u.s. have opted not to vaccinate their kids. some of them think vaccines are

linked to autism even though numerous scientific studies have thoroughly debunked that theory. >> the mmr vaccine is very effective. it's very good at keeping people safe against measles. when we have disease from an illness that's vaccine-preventable, it's a big concern to us. >> doctors say it's essential to vaccinate as much of the entire population as possible. >> the concept is called herd immunity. by maintaining the high vaccination risk. >> measles can be fatal in extreme cases. so doctors are telling all parents make sure your kids get that shop. rob reynoldses, al jazeera. >> still ahead the latest on the heated situation in parts of ukraine. a look at one proposal to counteract agreeable warming and why the louisiana bayous are disappe disappearing.

eastern ukraineian cities. emergency session has been called to deal with the unrest. investigators are trying to figure out what caused a deadly freeway collision in northern california. ten people were killed. five were teenagers on their way to a college tour. the world's leading organization on climate change will release a major report tomorrow. a leaked draft is getting a lot of criticism. the report is a scientific guide. jacob ward on trying to save the planet. >> the amount of carbon dioxide in the planet has spiked 40% eye since the industrial revolution. the latest report lays the blame almost entirely at the feet of human beings. >> experts agree the prior to

should reduce emissions. what happens if we can't? >> one market based approach is to pull carbon dioxide out of the air. there is a machine that can do just that. the device removes c 02 directly from the atmosphere and scaled up the company claims such devices could have an impact on the entire planet. the first thing to understand is theress no cheap and easy fast fix there. all of the carbon dioxide removal is pretty much at the same skel as our energy system. >> the sun is what's warming up our planet. some scientists suggested blocking that out and reflecting it back into space cloud brightening as its called is basically filling a cloud with particles that can reflect the sun's injury and keep it off of the earth? >> it's even answering a natural process that's already there. the natural process is to form

clouds. >> incredibly fine water vapor? >> it e vap rates quickly as you can see. what you don't see are tiny salt particles that are left behind. >> with the technology you are developing, how would it get into clouds? would you take up in a plane? >> you would use a ship. a fleet of about a thousand or 2,000 ships for the entire planet. while the team focuses on existing clouds, other scientists have considered creating a reflective cloud around the entire planet. >> the idea is based upon something that happened in nature. this poster child for solar engineering is the penitubo eruption. >> it spewed millions of tons high in the air. >> a degree fahrenheit. if that amount has been kept in the stratus fear, that would have been enough to offset all of the global warming expected this century. we need a small fleet of

airplanes, maybe 10 or 12. some say having that is going to continue greenhouse gases the way we have. scientists also worry that tinkering with nature could have unforeseeable and very dangerous consequences >> we know how to moderate climate. we need to adopt energy e if i havency, deploy renewables and re new the subsidies from fossil fuels. >> claimant crane through technology, the truth is we only barely understand to the skies that all of us must share. jacob ward, al jazeera, sab francisco. >> one of the most dramatic examples of change in the environment can be seen on the coast of louisiana since the 1930s, nearly 3,000 miles of wetlands have been lost, so much so that maps and charts are having to be redrawn.

in the next couple of minutes, we will take a look at the causes and impacts of this environmental disaster. it's our corresponding kimberly houket series, climate, sos. >> for more than two decades ross monte has been fishing what's known as the louisiana bayou. as a boy, he remembers searching these coastal wetlands along the gulf of mexico in search of crabs, shrimp and fish. it's a way of life he is not sure will last. >> within five years, i have seen faces 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 deposited from the mouth of the mississippi river into the gulf but it's vulnerable to hurricanes which have more than once devastated the area. in the 1930s, engineers built a system of leafies to protect the

city. in turn, triggering the demise of the state's wetlands. >> 10 years ago, all of this water behind me was marshland. now, it's gone and in its place, these bamboo polls mark where the wetlands used to be. from the air, you can see the erosion made worse by the state's oil and gas industry. the marshland's natural nooks and crannies have been carved into straight-edge cables to help fossil fuel extration. in the from the air, jonathan henderson documents the damage this brings in a lot of salt water intrusion and brackish marsh. >> is like poison for that marsh. >> permit agreements are supposed to require oil and gas companies to restore the wetlands once work is complete. it's legislation which has been poorly enforced in a historically poverty-stricken

state, industry jobs are the priority. roughly 90% of louisiana's coast line has been eroded. praningz now in place to stop the land losslansr now in place land loss. the u.s. congress has yet to finance. >> i mainly want to see it come back that way when i have kids, they can enjoy what i am enjoying. >> that's uncertain without urgent preservation, what took nature thousands of years to create now faces extinction in a single lifetime. kimberly helkut, al jazeera on the louisiana bayou. >> the green army, environmental groups taking on oil and gas companies suing over the damage done to the louisiana environment. we go again to kimberly halket >> reporter: for more than 30 years, retired lieutenant general russell honore served in the united states army but he is fighting a new battle to save his state's environment.

>> because of the impact of the oil extraction companies that have come here and e basically had their way in the state of louisiana, they have hung their flag over the state capitol. >> honoree says he has washed for deck it's a as state politicians have turned a blind eye to pollution he says was caused by the oil and gas industries in the gulf of mexico. in the air, honoree says it's easy to spot the abandoned wells and uncapped pipelines. >> it took nature thousands of years to build thewetlands. much has disappeared, turned into open water. >> environmentalist complain the state's government allows the industry to self regulate. >> that's why the green army has filed a lawsuit asking nearly 100 oil companies to honor contracts requiring them to repair the destruction? >> every scientificiffic study including the industry's own has concluded that the industry

caused a significant amount of damage there is this idea that the oil industry is above the law. louisiana's governor and oil industry supporters in the state's legislature are pushing back. legislation has been drafted that would stop such lawsuits and in a statement, the used oil and gas association said the green army is just one more group seeking to extort money from the oil and gas industry. this group is suing the very industry that is providing steady growth and stable jobs in a flailing economy. honoree says little of the profits line pockets of residents. they say it's the fourth largest and the residents are the fourth poorest. >> this place is controlled by an industry, oil and gas. and they write the laws and the people of louisiana have to fight their own government to

try to protect its. >> place. >> it's not clear when the courts will hear the green army's case. so they are looking to draft their own laws despite decades of destruction, they hope their efforts will begin to influence state politicians to help protect louisiana's coast. kimberly halkut, al jazeera, new orleans. it's a big issue. to discuss it, we are going to new orleans with john barry. we heard from him. he is the president of restore louisiana now, a nonprofit that lobes for the protection of wetlands in the louisiana bayou. we appreciate you being here. >> thanks for having me. >> help us understand what is at attack here because a lot of americans look at this and say it's just swamps in louisiana, if they are lost, not a huge crime. what's at stake here? >> for us, a slight correction, the plaintiff is the southeast flood protection authority east, the levy board protecting metropolitan new orleans, and i

was removed from the board because my support for the lawsuit, and the green army are allies and friends but they did not file the lawsuit. the levee board did. >> right. >> in terms of what's at attast it's the entire infrastructure of the oil industry. 20% of the refining capacity in the country is within easy reach of a hurricane storm surge. the port of new orleans, 60% of the grain exports in the united states go out the mississippi river, the gulf costal waterway. there is a tremendous amount. fisheries that both commercial and sport, all of these things are at attack. it would have e moralous impact on the entire national economy if these wetlands disappeared. >> these wetlands serve as basically a speed bump to hurricanes as this approach the gulf coast? >> that's exactly right.

they provide a buffer protecting populated areas including new orleans. >> including new orleans. so let me ask you. after hurricane katrina, john, in $2,005, millions of dollars were sent to new orleans to try to restore levees and marshs and flood lands surrounding so southeast louisiana. how much has been done to fix the problem and protect that part of the country? >> 14 and a half was spent on the levee system protecting new orleans. several billion has much of it from the bp spill shaz gone into the coastal lands. the reality is what the lawsuit seeks to do is have the people cause part of the problem, not all, but the oil industry caused part of the problem and we are seeshinging -- we were asking them to fix a part of the problem they created.

they were required by pair their permits, contracts and state law and federal law to fix the areas they destroyed and they haven't done it. so now when the levee board sues them seek to go make them obey the law and nothing more, they use their political muscle to go to the state legislature to try to kill a lawsuit retroactively that is already moving tot through the courts. this is some third-world country. this law that is being proposed, the governor is very much against the law that's being considered there. and of course, a lot of people in louisiana say, listen, the oil and gas industry generate a lot of money for the economy and generate a lot of jobs and have done a lot of good for that state. we are not against the industry whatsoever but the reality is,

fixing this problem will not cause the industry to lead. fixing the problem will help the industry because it will protect their own infrastructure. as you start addressing these problems, you don't cause jobs. you create a number. there was a study by a respected economist that talked about well over 100,000 jobs that would be created if we start funding the state has a master plan to address the coast. the problem with that master plan which has been generally praised by scientists and passed the legislature, the problem is there is there is no money. the purpose of the lawsuit is to actually fund the master plan. it's absurd that there is a solution sitting on the table. all the "t's" governor had to do was reach down and pick it up. he has turned his back on the

state of louisiana, particularly on the coast. >> okay. john barry with restore louisiana, thank you for your time today. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure thanks. >> have been onneded by 14 chemical plants, the town is mossville, louisiana, one of the most pollutet polluted places in the united states. kimberly halcut talks to some residents who believe racism is to blame for their dangerous environment. >> this is my father's first cousin. >> dorothy felix and her family have lived in the tiny town of mossville, louisiana, for seven generations. she fears she will be among the last. she says contaminated air and water is slowly killing residents of mossville? >> the dioxin in the blood levels was he willvated three times that of the united states populations. >> it is a known carcinogen. felix and others blame the more than a dozen other chemical plants their state government has allowed to move in to mossville for contaminating their community.

most of the 500 residents are african-american? >> born and raised right here. >> at a town hall, they accused the chemical plant owners of what they call environmental racism. >> people taking advantage of a small african-american community and minority community. why they can't keep our air clean, clean water. >> i have seen people die, you know. i am afraid of that. i don't want to have to sleep in it. i worked in it, but i knew where i was but i had to sleep with a gas mask on. >> state officials deny the plants pose a health threat. even though alleluia government research shows there would be a rise in toxic emissions into the air, the state's governor recently approved a plan to allow the south african petrochemical giant, sassol, to build one of the biggest chemical plants in the western hemisphere in mossville. >> the new chemical plant is expected to spew millions of tons of greenhouse gasses into the community.

>> sassol says it's not a bad neighbor. in fact, it may be a generous one. it's offering to buy up some but not all of the homes that will surround the new plant. state officials also say residents shouldn't live in fear as toxic emissions rarely escape. >> the data that i have accumulated since the late '70 did demonstrates how frequently it crosses the fence line and goes into the community and the bottom line is they just seem to ignore it. >> so dorothy felix and others are demanding the state provide a toxicology clinic to residents free of charge. >> so that the health of these residents could be monitors. they could be tested for other chemicals that might be present in their bloodstreams so that they will have an idea of what their health problems are, what they're suffering from, what their families are dying from. >> science is on their side even if politics right now are not. >> kimberly hellcut, al jazeera, mossville, louisiana. >> still ahead, risking it all

for a chance at a new life. we will meet some of the people trying to make it across the border into the united states. that's ahead on al jazeera america.

♪ well, back. illegal crossings along the southwest border have increased dramatically. the "new york times" says the border patrol made nearly 91,000 arrests in the rio grande valley

over the past six months. >> that's 69% more than the year before. recently, there has been a string of shootings involving border patrol agents. paul beban is on the border on a town straddling the u.s. and mexico. >> a dusty cross and faded plastic flowers mark the spot where a boy named jose antonio alan a-rodrod dia >>. >> this is the story of a boy, a boarder and a wall of silence. sometimes shortly before 11:30, on october 10th, 2012, the 16-year-old died instantly when he was hit by a bullet in the back of the head. as he fell face-down, eight more shots hit him in the back. >> one aboveder patrol agent

fired through the next down into the street and down into mexico. why? border patrol says jose antonio was throwing rocks at them. one eyewitness says jose antonio was just walking down the street. even if he was throwing rocks, was shooting him an appropriate response? was he really a threat to armed agent did up on the cliff behind the fence? jose antonio's grandmother is an american citizens. she lives on the arizona side of the fence in nogales, a few minutes away from where her granted son was killed. at a bedside shrine, she praiys >> there needs to be justice because it seems to me a cold-blooded, calculated crime. to me, it's a crime with no justification because he wasn't doing anything. he was just walking. he wasn't doing anything.

>> almost a year and a half after the fatal shooting, the border patrol has at last formally responded to jose's family. >> this is the claim. >> the family's american attorney showed me a letter he received dated march 14th. >> your client's claim could not be attributable to a wrongful negligent omission on the part of the united states currentoms and border proceed texas and it's over. as far as they are concerned. >> he says the border patrol took four minutes from the time of the shooting to make this call to mexican authorities. >> let's listen to that call. >> b. >> mon says the delay suggests indifference to the fact a mexican boy had been shotteil s suggests indifference to the fact a mexican boy had been s t shot. >> if they are worried about somebody being hurt, you don't wait four minutes because obviously, the shooting had stopped. >> hose an antonio's mother said

the letter from the border patrol is an outrage. >> well, i think they are mad. they are wrong. how can they not be too blame? it was an assassination and no point did my son shoot at them. he didn't have a weapon. so for me, it was a murder. and i think a murder needs to be paid for, and justice has to be dealt with. people can't kill people and have impunity. >> setting aside the unanswered questions of the case, border patrol agents do face assaults with rocks. this went out to agents a week before the letter to hose an antonio's family. it says agents have been attacked with rocks more than 1700 times since 2010. 43 times, they responded with deadly force, killing 10 people. no border patrol agent has ever been killed by a rock. the memo instructs agents to take cover and not shoot unless they are in imminent danger of death or serious injure. >> with all of this inn mind,

the question remains: is shooting ever an appropriate response to rocks? despite the boarder patrol's letter to his family, both the department of justice and the f.b.i. are investigating. local border patrol agents wouldn't talk about the case or use of force policies. >> people feel like they are stonewalling. there is a lack of information. there is a lack of trans pairancy. how does that act the job? >> not too much because we don't have any control over the investigation. explain that to people but overall, once that investigation is pending, we are out of it. you know, like i said, we cooperate fully with the investigative agency but as far as giving information to the public, we can't do that. >>. surveillance cameras tower over the intersection but whatever images those cameras caught that night haven't been released >> translator: show me the video where my son throws rocks.

en with that, they didn't do the right thing. i want to see the video. i want to see where my son hurts them. it's a pain inside me that will be there until there is justice, until i know who killed my son and i know he has been judged. only thing will if i be able to think all americans are border patrol agents and bad boys. coming up tomorrow, sashingz will debut a new original series called "borderland." it tracks six diverse americans retracing the footsteps of three migrants who died trying to cross into the united states. that's tomorrow 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific. be back in a moment.

>> what excites me about detroit is the feeling of possibility... >> the re-birth of an america city >> we're looking at what every city can learn from detroit, >> the industrial revival entrepreneurs driving growth communities fighting back... >> we're fighting for you and we're taking these neighborhoods back, for you. >> a special look at the moves adding fuel to the motor city five days in detroit only on al jazeera america. some breaking news in the from the south passiffic, a 7.6 earthquake has just struck off of the solomon islands. a tsunami warning has been posted with a watch in effect for much of the southern pacific region. so far, there is no word of any

injuries or any damage. we will bring you updates as soon as they become available. >> when you think of las vegas, you probably think of slot machines and maybe fake elvis weddings. as melissa chin reports, some are trying to redefine sin city and turn it into a hub for the arts. >> las vegas where some 40 million tourists flock to gamble, to part party, to indulge but generally not to appreciate art. we are at the university of nevada, las vegas and patrick duffy shows us works both home grown and global. he won't deny the art has struggled here the las vegas art museum closed in 2009 during the recession but he remains optimistic. >> we have about two million people who live here every single day of their life. to be interested in our

galleries and institutions. some tourists have made their way up the strip one block from the city's main drag is marty walsh's gallery. the current exhibit rifts off of the neon signs. >> not necessarily the lifestyle here but really the color. >> artists based here like tim babington say sin city inspires. >> you know the saying that what happens here stays here vegas has a permissive atmosphere. this is good for artists because you have to feel like you can do anything. >> babington says out here in the desert, he can work in a low-profile studio while drawing on the city's high-free file glitz. >> it never escapes your mind that it's there as you work. >> on the strip, the ballagio hotel has a gallery. some drop in but it's not why they come to vegas.

strippers, alcohol. >> cocaine? >> christina, no. >> sorry. >> and, you know, like a good time. >> good time out with your girls. forget your problems? >> definitely not art. >> not art. >> sorry. >> you can go to a musek to experience art or the arts can come to you. >> that's what's happening at las vegas's city center duplex which carries a large collection of contemporary and modern art including this one by henry moore. >> bring it to the people, and then perhaps someone will pause to appreciate the art here david ryan's ab attract pop art sin thes sizes color into wall puzzles. for so many people we met on our art tour, he can't imagine being anywhere else but here? >> don't under estimate las vegas. there is a lot of culture here random.com bizarre culture. >> off of the casino floor and is remade into cool contemporary

art. melissa chin, al jazeera, las vegas. >> chitrying to bring culture t sin city. >> does it for us on this afternoon. thank you for being with us. fau "fault lines" starts right now on al jazeera america. >> just an hours drive from kabul, is charkh district, afghanistan. as the us and nato prepares to pull out most of their forces later this year, i travelled here to try to see what life is like in areas of afghanistan under the rule of the taliban.