>> a tragedy at sea, a crowded passenger ferry capsize's near south korea. 300 people were thrown into the water. >> russian president vladimir putin warning ukraine is on the brink of civil war while the appearance of heavily armed pro russian military in the east may derail talks. >> in chile, this huge wave of volunteers are helping the

country deal with its disasters. >> taking a look at eating and sleeping habits of grizzly bears to help humans fight fat. >> a massive rescue operations taking place right now off the coast of south korea, the coast guard saying a passenger ferry with 400 people onboard started to sink on the way to a resort island. >> dozens of helicopters plucking people from the water. three passengers are dead, nearly 300 more are missing. >> south korea's coast guard received the rescue call this morning. passengers heard a lawsuit bang and then the ferry started to tilt. it is now mousily underwater. >> we have the latest on the rescue operation. >> one by one, they stepped off this rescue boat. others had to be carried by stretcher, all of them draped with blankets to ward off

hypothermia from the frigid waters. it capsized off the southern coast of the peninsula as it neared a popular tourist destination. most of the people onboard were high school students on a field trip. the ferry named the sea wall was also packed with 150 vehicles. it sent a distress call when passengers reported it began to lean on its side. >> the announcement told us that we should stay still, but the ship was already sinking and there were a lot of students who did not get out of the ship. >> within hours, an all out sea and heiress skew operation was underway. this is all that could be seen. only part of its white and blue hull showing above the water. it is unclear if any passengers went down with the boat.

many of the pardon mes who jumped into the water were pulled to safety from fishing boats as helicopters circling about plucked others from the ship. >> because there are teams in the area, including soldiers and coast guard, we are expecting more people to be rescued. >> the u.s. is sending ships already on patrol in the area to help assist in the rescue effort. meanwhile, worried parents to the more than 300 high school students onboard the ferry packed buses to head to the island where they were reunited with their children in a game anyways yum where pane survivors are being treated. >> craig leeson joins us now live -- i'm sorry, we had craig live in hong kong. we are having problems with that shot. we'll see if we can get back to it. >> a u.s. navy submersible searches for the missing malaysia plane that come up

empty. it was deployed on its second mission today, but technical problems forced them to bring the sub back up to the surface. tuesday, the sub's dive was also cut short after exceed be its depth limit of nearly 15,000 feet. authorities launched blue 15 after giving up hope from the signal's black boxes. the plane and the 239 people onboard vanished more than six weeks ago. >> armed pro russian accept are a activities taking control of the city of donetsk. ukrainian jets were seen flying over the airport. it had been blockaded. that is part of a wider offensive. armed gunman occupying government buildings and property across eastern ukraine. vladimir putin saying the latest moves are pushing the country to civil war. russia is accused of exporting terrorism. in donetsk, the pro russian forces are now gaining ground.

>> here, pro russian groups have this morning taken control of the city council building, the second building they now have control of in donetsk. gun men stormed that building. we don't know what if any resistance they were met with. we have people on the ground now who tell us there are a dozen gunman standing outside, some of them wearing ak47s, some hunting rifles. on the ground, these people appear to be part of a separatist right wing group that has their roots in kharkiv. >> reporting from donetsk in ukraine. stay with us for continuing coverage of the crisis of the country. coming up, we're going to talk to a military expert about russia's military presence along the ukrainian border and what it would take to stop an invasion. >> the new york police department is disbanding a controversial police unit that speed on muslims.

the program that started in 2003 was heavily criticized, accusing the city of profiling. new york city mayor called getting rid of the program a critical step in easing tensions between the nypd and communities they serve. >> one year after the boston marathon bombings, a suspicious backpack was found. a bomb squad detonated the bag. one bag had a rice cooker inside. they arrested a man. local media identified him as a performance artist, seen here in this you tube video. >> i'm a fashion designer, an entrepreneur, a performance artist, a mental patient, a blogger bloggerrist, a jail bird, a college dropout, and a

drag queen. >> police have yet to officially identify him as the man that they have arrested. local media said he had been charged with disturbing the peace and disorder conduct. we have more on the emotional memorial service held yesterday in boston to remember the victims and heroes of the attack. >> a moment of silence in the pouring rain, the weather falling in with bostons mood a year after the bombings and their aftermath that stole four innocent lives and changed hundreds more forever. the day began with a replaying ceremony. jane who lost her brother martin in the blast and was serious injured herself, she lost a leg, she's up and ba now, and active like any other 8-year-old. she uses a prosthetic leg. at the convention center, hundreds of injured and their families and scores of first

responders gathered for a tribute moment that everybody in boston has been seeking, a chance at some kind of closure. >> when they responded. >> vice president joe biden praising survivors and the city for being boston strong. >> america will never, ever, ever stand down. we are boston. we are america. we respond. we endure. we overcome, and we own the finish line! >> the governor of massachusetts did he deval patrick spoke. >> it adds up to common cause and working together and turning to each other when we could have easily turned on each other. >> if biden and patrick stood out, it was the survivors who said it best. >> the biggest lesson of all the lessons that i have learned over

this past year is that something in your life, in anyone's life can go horrifically, terribly wrong in a matter of seconds, yet it is up to us to make every single second count after, because believe me, they do. >> a year ago today, we chose to run toward smoke and danger. we chose to utilize our belts and purse strapping to create tourniquets. we chose to hold the injured in our arms. we chose to offer our hearts to those in despair and our treasures to those in need. we chose to love and that has made all the difference. >> best mile ever. >> the next test for boston comes on monday, the city's looking for a regular fun marathon day, like all the others before last year, one that starts and ends and has two winners and nothing more north worthy than that. >> aljazeera, boston.

>> meanwhile, the attorneys for the bombing suspect dzhokar tsarnaev are back in court, hoping to get some of the charges dropped against him. his lawyers say they are redundant. they say the strict prison conditions are making it tough to provide a defense. he is scheduled to go on trial in november where prosecutors will seek the death sentence. >> a suburban pittsburgh high school reopens after a student went on a strapping spree. classes will be back in session in murraysville. he used two kitchen knives to attack fellow students. the teenager remains in custody and will be tried as an adult. 21 were stabbed, four students are still hospitalized. >> in canada, police are investigating a mass murder near university of calgary. five people were stabbed in a house party in the worst crime in the city's history. the suspect, who is in custody, is the son of a veteran calgary

police officer and a student at the school. he had been invited to the party, where the group was celebrating the last day of classes. >> the suspect arrived at the party, obtained a large knife and targeted the victims one by one, tampa baying them several times. >> the victims ranged in age from 22-27 years old. >> today marks the anniversary of virginia tech university. the names of the victims are going to be read today at two separate memorial as her moneys. the gunman turned himself in after the rampage. it is the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history. >> it is day 24 in the murder trial of olympic runner oscar pistorius, accused of killing his girlfriend. he looked distraught during testimony. the defense witness said the model was reaching for the door when she was shot, casting doubt on the prosecution's case that she was hiding from pistorius

after a late night fight. >> i think the person, the deceased was falling, four shots in rapid succession hit as she was falling and turning. >> the judge says the court will adjourn after tomorrow's testimony and resume again on may five. the trial has already run longer than the three weeks it was expected to take. the defense plans to call more than a dozen additional witnesses. >> turning to weather, it maybe april, but the snow just keeps coming. >> unbelievable. >> let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> a couple different areas we've been dealing with, some of the snow moved through parts of pennsylvania and in a lot of cases, because of the temperature change, you might have had rain, switching to snow and the snow was heavy, wet, slush mixed in. let's watch that system as it clears out, but watch for a couple of places as we get

through the next couple of days. what we're going to see for the next system is this system here into the midwest. that's going to cause us a lot of problems over the next couple of days, because we could be looking at some significant amounts of snow once again. some places 8-12 inches as all of this comes in. you can see this area that is already building up. duluth is going to see this. we've seen it in parts of far go as all of this moves along, causing us problems for a couple of days. because of all of this, we already have the different advisories put up for different storm warnings, but april and the fact that we can see over a foot of snow again with this system, that is pretty jim pressive out there. we have the one system moving off the east coast, another one brewing and yet on to the west coast, another area that we could be watching in the days to come. here's the broader picture of all of that. you can see that west coast system starting to bring in rain. as for the east coast, that

system is moving out, where we were just watching the snow, looking at that area clearing out. that's what the good news brought as it moved across the country. behind this, though, if you thought about not wearing the joint account this morning, i would say bad idea. up and down the coastline, temperatures are now from the 60's yesterday into the 30's this morning. i'll have more about that temperature contrast coming up in just a few minutes. back to you. >> i got nothing. thanks a lot, nicole. >> chile's president is vow to go relocate the people impacted by this week's deadly wildfires. 15 were killed, more than 3,000 homes destroyed in valparaiso. the city is prone to fires and the president said the homes must be rebuilt away from hill sides where many lived. we show how the fires and recent earthquake are bringing out the best in the people of chile. >> this is a common site on the streets of chile, young volunteers marching to help

victims of the latest disaster. on this occasion, a huge fire that ravaged the port city of valparaiso. these people were swiftly evacuated, most lost everything. helen was a victim, but says that all is not lost. >> it's been incredible, the help we've been given. we don't belong to any government program. we're desperate, we'll take help from anyone. >> thousands of bags of clothes, blanket, shoes, toys and medicine were donated, sorted and distributed at community centers. volunteers treat animals rescued from the fire. medical staff and teachers come in after work and on their days off. >> if there is anything positive to emerge from the misery and broken lives of chile's recent disasters, it's the spirit of cooperation and salad art. they transcend class and

political lines and help the rebuilding process. >> the authorities have generally been praised for their response. it's this response from ordinary people that's made the difference. appraised >> it's only two hours, which is nothing to us. it's something we all have inside us, this need to help. >> it's part of our culture to show salad art, a response to

arenites, shortages, our way of living. it has ban huge volunteer response. valparaiso, chile. >> many of those homes destroyed by the wildfires belong to lower class people, they were built in an area where the risk of wildfires is very high. >> yesterday, they talked using soda pop and beer to put out fires, because fire hose's don't run into the houses. >> american politicians often court the youth vote to get elected. >> in india, many voters there are young, as well. we'll talk to millions of young people in the country who say issues are important to them. >> general motors is seeking protection from cripples lawsuits, even though the

company admits knowing for years about a fatal flaws in millions of its cars. >> $50 million. >> who is shelling out that money to get guns off the streets. >> a film festival getting underway in new york city. they will include live music, trying to bring in younger fans.

>> indias election is too close to call. india's political parties have always courted first time voters during election system. >> obviously there is a euphoria where youth are participating and also we think that youth need to transform the system. in what way they would like to sustain the ideals. >> for these first time voters, it's less about the big personalities that often dominate indian politics and more about each party's commitment to issues. >> for me as a first time voter, i'm not willing to vote on who makes the mistakes. >> social welfare and education

and health and things like that. none of the parties are very satisfactory. >> those politicians need to deal with the issues. i think we need to make a choice of how they deal with them. that's the political choice for me. >> the message from the political parties is loud and clear, vote for us and we'll deliver on our promises. for first time voters, it's not about which party's message is the loudest, but who she can trust to help navigate the politics of the world's largest democracy. >> india's elections are the world's largest, 800 million people are expected to vote over a five week period. >> general motors is asking a bankruptcy judge for protection against lawsuits it's anticipating. a most are for accidents that happened before 2009.

>> those switches have been blamed for 13 deaths, the automakers now recalling more than 7 million vehicles worldwide in recent months. >> the struggle over control of after heern ukraine is heating up. >> pro russian forces taking control of ukrainian tanks. we're going to talk to a military expert about the possibility of an all out russian invasion and what the u.s. and rest of the world would happen to do if they wanted to stop it. >> a teenage girl's prank that landed her in serious trouble. >> what she tweeted to led to hear arrest. >> every year, these animals put

on almost all fat and they do it in such a way that doesn't make them sick. one morning they wake up and decide that they're not hungry anymore. how the heck do they do that? >> scientists trying to unlock the keys fighting obesity in people by studying bears. >> a long wait through the night where people are waiting for any stories about survivors from that ferry that sunk, carrying hundreds of people onboard in south korea, 400 onboard, 300 missing.

>> good morning. welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> we're going to talk about the military strategy it would take

to keep ukraine out of russian's control. >> we are going to talk about why rents are so high, in 90 american cities, people can't afford to pay their rent. >> first, rescue crews are searching for the victims of a catch sized ferry in south korea. many passengers were high school students on a field trip. three are dead, 300 unaccounted for. >> two backpacks found near the finish line of the boston marathon finish line. a 25-year-old man described as a performance artist is under arrest. >> pro russian militants seized tanks from ukrainian troops in the eastern part of the country.

there are reports some ukrainian soldiers have defected to the other side. this comes a day before talks aimed at easing the cries and a warning from russian president putin that ukraine is on the verge of military war. >> flying the russian flag, seizing military vehicles and occupying government buildings in eastern parts of the country. the divided region is front and center. >> here in the city center, the police building that was seized a few days ago is just a few hundred meters behind me in this direction. >> you have these men that were described standing around. they have a few armored personnel carriers that fly the russian flag. we asked these men where they

were from and they said they were russian ethnics, but ukrainian citizens. we asked and investigated their accent and anyone we spoke to said they definitely had -- they didn't have the russian accent if you came from proper russia. they say there is as big difference between how they look and the men we saw in crimea a few weeks ago, their uniforms are quite mismashed, some of them wearing trainers rather than military boots, the equipment seems older. one was carrying a hunting rifle. they described themselves as self defense units here to defend hear cities and area from what they call the junta in kiev. >> the ukrainians are saying two of their sell injuries have been kidnapped. what are you hearing about that? >> well, we spoke to the pro russian protestors that are

inside that security building now for more than 10 days. they denied that that has happened. they say actually they were still wait to go hear back from the government. a few days ago, there was a delegation from kiev that made it to ma building. they were holding negotiations. the men put forward demands. they were making sure that they will get guarantees that absolutely everyone in that building will be given amnesty. they say so far, it is just talks from the active president and they want that turned into a decree. another request is they want to form their observe southeast army as they call it, saying at the moment that would be a unit within the ukrainian army, and that unit will however have local command and be independent

from kiev. they haven't heard yet and say today is the deadline. they doubt that actually that happened, because as they say to put them in a more compromised position. >> a retired army major and fellow at the truman center for the national security project joins us. good morning. how bad are things getting right now in ukraine? >> bad, to the point we likely could predict a shooting war could take place within a couple of weeks. you don't put 80,000 troops on a border and not do anything with them. the ukrainian government is trying to prevent this, but russia continues to edge along, fund activists and protestors, their wearing good uniforms, they have great weapons. russia is clearly involved right now. >> are you seeing these troops amassed along the border as a

military strategy by moscow. the rug military has 845,000 troops, more than six times the number of ukrainian troops, they have 29,000 and that doesn't account for reserves. do they have the military might to first of all put down the uprisings in ukraine and secondly fight back a russian incursion? >> no, ukraine would have no match against what is a very formidable russian military. the 80,000 on the border there alone could take care of the ukraine military. most of the military is located to the eastern part of the country. they wouldn't even get there. if a war happened in some ways, they wouldn't get there on time. there's 20,000 ukraine troops in the eastern part of ukraine that would be -- have this mission to defend that part of ukraine, russia would just run right over them. >> does nato have to get involved? >> nato get involved, the game changes. >> does it have to get involved? >> no, it doesn't have to.

i think that's what vladimir putin will miscalculate. if nato gets involved, he'll lose his military. >> why do you say that? >> well, because we won't stop. we've seen that before, once nato decides to get involved, we'll pound the russian military into submission from the air. we won't necessarily have to put ground troops, but i don't believe we'll hit listen military survive, at least the 80,000 currently there. >> this is the russian military, most of that military going to are you sure from the soviet union. does nato have the military might to back down vladimir putin? >> yes, it does, the question is whether it's used or not. over .500 thousand troops in turkey alone, smaller combat forces in other countries, poland, for example, the war would be much extended. we'd have to get troops over from the united states to europe. we don't have the large numbers

we once had 20 years ago. the superiority from the air, the missiles would pound the russians into submission. >> i heard these arguments before the united states went into baghdad and afghanistan, the british heard the arguments, as well. why is it that military men always say we're going to pound someone into submission and then say we didn't anticipate this. >> you can seize land with that military, but holding it requires putting troops on the ground. you look back in history, we haven't put enough troops on the ground in the last two wars. we did during dessert storm, 500 troops on the ground. we could have taken that ground. what would that have taken? same thing happened here. you could destroy their military on the ground, however, for you to actually take it requires you to put people on the ground. that would be the commitment that nato would have to make.

>> if nato were to get involved, how much time does it take to amass an army capable of pushing the rugs back from the border of ukraine. >> probably three to six months and to do it in a manner that ensured ukraine sovereignty is what it's going to mean. it's one thing to push them back, another to hold them back and keep them there. it would be three months to get troops and equipment there and 12-18 more months to ensure that that border is secure. diplomatic relations were restored and the fact that ukraine could then defend itself. then obviously ukraine could become part of nato, changes eastern europe completely. >> should the united states and nato and west be pursuing a dual strategy, diplomatic and military so that three month lead up is not in the future? >> i think we have to. i think russia is going to see any build up taking place that

might persuade them to act sooner than they would act. we have to start that highballization process. that will be known. we'll lose the principle element of surprise here. you always have to use diplomatic channels first, make sure you have those things working. war is an extension of foreign policy, not the prime means of foreign policy. we've got to give that a chance to work. >> thank you so much. >> stay with aljazeera for continuing coverage of the ukraine crisis. we'll focus on the latest situation involving the ground escalation in eastern ukraine. that will be in our next hour. >> a veteran of the war in afghanistan will receive the military's highest award. kyle white has been tapped by the white house to receive the medal of honor. his platoon leader was killed

with other soldiers. the injured soldier called for help and contacted commanders for support. >> armed men have abducted 100 girls in northeastern nigeria. they reportedly entered a boarding school late at night and ordered the girls on to a truck. the attackers are believed to be from a rebel group. >> the police spokesperson confirmed that the attack on this girl's college happened late monday night into the early hours of tuesday morning. the college was stormed by armed men ordering young ladies out of their beds into trucks parked outside. there was violence in the village where this college is situated, apparently some buildings burned and homes destroyed. now so far, no one group has claimed responsibility for this attack. it looks like the work of the

work that wants islamic law i am poled in the country. they're against western education and against the kind of education these young girls have been receiving and they've been behind hundreds of attacks in the region. they are suspected of taking part and being behind the attack that took place in the nigerian capitol monday in which many were killed at a bus station. we've been to talk to families who were caught up in the violence. >> muhammed and his family and friends are mourning the loss of his son. he thinks he was killed in monday's bomb attack at the bus station believed to have been planned by the armed group. >> we have concluded that my child is perished in this bomb blast, because my child and my neighbor's child, they were together. they were together.

they saw their son's corpse but up until now, we have not seen mine. >> he has searched hospitals where injured people are being treated, and morgues, but have not found their son. the government said it will pay the hospital bills of survivors and do all it can to support their families. >> i wish to use this medium to convey our heartfelt sympathy to the families of those who lost loved ones and assure medical treatment to the injured persons. >> the government reassured people security will be improved but people are deeply worried that the violence has reached the capitol. it is the most secure part of the country and the government is spending $7 billion a year on security and fighting the armed group. >> next monday, the world economic forum will be hosted. the government will still go ahead and deploying more than

6,000 soldiers and police officers to protect the delegates. officials here say it will be the biggest security operation ever undertaken. >> back in the house, they wish such security could be proved for all in nigeria. >> if we are secured, in this area where this bomb blast happened. it will detect a bomb. >> investigators are looking for clues, but in the hundreds of attacks launched by the group since 2009, only a handful of people have been arrested and charged with supporting the group. >> the area where the bus station attack took place remains cordoned off. many are wondering how such an attack could have taken place so close to the capital and given the fact that so much money is being spent on security in the

area. these are the questions they are now asking of the authorities here. >> fighters have killed more than 1500 civilians in nigeria this year. >> jordan's ambassador to libya now in the hands of his kidnappers. he was abducted in tripoli. they want a release of fighters from jail for his release. >> president obama will not use his executive powers to change the countries immigration laws. during a white house meeting with hispanic leaders, he said he can only do so with the backing of congress. immigration restorm stalls on capitol hill. president obama has called for home land security to review it's deportation practices.

>> six every day americans retrace the steps taken by immigrants who died trying to get to the u.s. you can see episode one tonight at 9:00 eastern. >> in new mexico where police are excused of excessive force, there has been fall out. half the force has stepped down. the department of justice blasted the department for a culture of abuse and aggression. since 2010, officers have shot 37 men, 23 of them are now dead. >> thousands of australians turned out to welcome britain's prince william and his family, in the country for a 10 day trip. their arrival comes amid a push for australia to become an independent republic and break away from the british royal family. >> they call this a royal tour, a chance for future monarachs to meet future subjects. because the united kingdom's man

arc is also australia's, though the country won independence in 1901, it remains a constitutional man arcky with the king or queen of england its formal head of state. prince william will become king with my of australia. baby george will be king george here. >> it's somebody to look up to. that's how i was brought up and i want my grand chirp to do the same. >> this is as much about the liberty as royalty. you won't find many here critical of australia's attachment to the man arcky. that isn't universally shared. >> our constitution tells us that a baby born across the word in the palace has to sit above everybody else and that's wrong. >> a referendum was held on whether australia should ditch

the man arcky for a president elected by its parliament. people voted against change. australia remained a monarchy, elizabeth ii remains queen. prince charles made a trip to australia. his popularity has dropped. since his baby became a man, husband and now a father, support for the royal family has risen again. a poll showed a majority in favor of keeping the monarchy. >> republic or monarchy? >> republic. >> monarchy, of course. >> the debate's on hold. >> you have to say the british royal family has a fabulous p.r. effort, promoting great britain. we look forward to the day when the british people will warmly

welcome an australian head of state. >> they have 10 days in australia. whether william or george will one day come back as kings will be up to their family subjects on the other side of the world. >> just 28% of australian ages 18-24 years old backed the idea of an australian head of state. 60% say no to the idea, yes to the monarchy. >> let's look at other headlines making news around the world. "the new york times" reporting a twitter prank by a girl in the netherlands got her in hot water. she tweeted that she was a terrorist to the airlines. the airlines then wrote back and said we have your i.p. address and this is not funny. she then said ok, my bad, i was only a kid, i'm joking. nobody's laughing. >> these attention-getting stunts are common on twitter, but american airlines decided to

do something about it. the police arrested the 14-year-old. >> teens are not smart. keep an eye on them. >> we always new that, now they have twitter. >> "u.s.a. today" reporting on a pennsylvania teen appealing a disorderly conduct conviction, he used his ipads to record students he claimed were bullying him. the assistant principal instead of going after the kids bullying him decided to go after this kid for wiretapping charges. >> he wanted to prove he was being bullied, they said that is against the law. >> it's not clear that the kids that were throwing spitballs at him were disciplined. the kid that was convicted of this is obviously appealing and still going to school. >> another reason you might not want to let your kids watch television, there is an ad that takes a job at john boehner, saying he has electile

dysfunction. it really pokes fun at him. i think the problem that i have with this, it's giving an awful lot of attention to the man running against him. the add says that -- do we have any audio on this? >> it could be blood flow. sometimes blood goes to his head and he just can't seem to get the job done. >> i don't know that the man that is running against him in this particular ad didn't do it just for the publicity. >> he obviously did. it's not running on television. it's on his you tube channel. j.d. winter egg is the tea party candidate, 32 years old, a french teacher that i believe has never held public office. he is backed by a tea party pact, but boehner's seat seems

pretty injure. >> it says one of the side effects is you might have orange colored skin. >> our discovery of the day coming up. >> why everything in space may not be as old as you think. plus this. >> this is the home of the cougars, washington state university, but the second most popular wild animal on campus might be the bears. grizzly bears and obese tyree search. that story's just ahead. eera ama

>> a nasa spacecraft may have witnessed the birth of a new moon on saturday. >> photographs taken by nasa's probe show a bright arc at the very edge of saturns outer most ring. the arc and bumps near it were probably created by the gravity

of a small icy object. >> new studies suggest that could be a newborn moon. it's still too small to be seen in the images taken. >> the spacecraft will move closer to the outer ring in two years and possibly provide a more detailed image. >> giving birth to a moon. >> it is april and you might want to say to the moon, nicole, it's snowing out there again. >> nicole mitchell is back. >> this was in the forecast, the area that moved through the northeast, for example, very warm ahead, very cold behind. that was enough to transition to some areas of snow. we're focused on the midwest, a lot more accumulation expected with snow that's already in places like detroit, so watch for that as you head out in minnesota. this could be in some places up to a foot of snow in minnesota and wisconsin. more rain into the northwest, as

well. back to you guys. >> you can learn a lot from bears. researchers are looking at how they eat and sleep to learn more about why humans get fat. scientists are looking at bears' habits as they hibernate. >> the size, the claws, the voice all make it very clear these are no lab rats. >> they are definitely grizzly bears. we try not to target that. >> that difference makes these 500 to 750-pound bears so valuable at research animals. their genetics are more similar to ours than rodent physiology. the doctor has worked with them for 12 years, some born and raised here have been trained since birth to play along, as researchers draw blood and do other tests, offering their legs while so thatting up honey

water. >> we put the blood pressure cuff on here and we can take the blood pressure on this leg. >> they don't seem bothered by it. >> no, not at all. >> she was 550 this fall? >> they study the bears, hoping for breakthroughs in obesity treatments and drugs. >> thank you. [ laughter ] >> it is a rare partnership between business and academia with the company profiting from studies conducted at a public university. >> they have a lot of the brain power and ideas. we in bio tech have the drug know how and resources. we need to get these entities to come together. >> they are not testing new drugs, but measuring fat deposits, blood pressure and data to figure out how they gain

and lose weight in ways that would kill or sicken us, as the bears prepare for hibernation, sleep all winter and then wake up in the spring. >> every year, these animals get obese, they put on it's almost all fat. they do it in such a way that doesn't make them sick. one morning they wake up and decide that they're not hungry anymore. how do they do that? >> the hibernation physiology is extreme that we don't do. >> this is a four year study. the company hopes if all goes well to have products on store shelves resulting from this study by the early 2020's. >> i feel nature has figured out how to deal with all human health problems. we have to go out and find the right things. >> beyond the obesity study, both reservers see the bears as partners who could find treatments for heart decease,

kidney disease, alzheimer's and more. >> bears break down fat and muscle cells, feeding them with nutrients. researchers hope that helps solve obesity. >> more than 300 people missing since a ferry capsized in south korea. >> concern for diplomatic talks in geneva switzerland. >> gassing up in motor city. entrepreneurs choosing to start their business in detroit. >> the u.k. seeing its economy turn around. not everyone is cashing in. some criticize the local

government saying it is not doing enough to help people struggling just to get by. >> between the chilly temperatures and a snowstorm, it doesn't feel like april. i'll have that forecast. >> aljazeera america continues. dell and i are back with you in just two minutes.

>> the announcement told us we should stay still, the ship was already sinking. a lot of students did not get out. >> a search and rescue operation underway in south korea after a ferry capsizes and hundreds of still missing. >> ukraine has vladimir putin

now warning of a civil war. >> a bomb scare at the finish line of the boston marathon. >> if you're going to be an entrepreneur, you've got to be ready to work. that's the one thing that it recovers. >> getting the motor city back up and running, young entrepreneur making their way to detroit and play their part in the city's economic recovery. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera. i'm stephanie sy. >> a massive rescue operation taking place off the coast of south korea, a passenger ferry with more than 400 onboard started sinking on the way to a resort island. >> dozens of rescue boats and helicopters are plucking people from the water. three passengers are dead, nearly 300 others missing. >> south korea's coast guard received a distress call early this morning.

passengers already rescued heard a loud bang and ferry started to tilt. the ship started sinking and now is mostly underwater. >> we have the latest on the rescue operation. >> one by one, they stopped off this rescue boat. others had to be carried by stretcher, all of them draped with blankets to dry their bodies. they reached land after their ferry carrying more than 470 people sap sides off the coast as it neared a popular tourist destination, about 60 miles away. most of the people onboard were high school students on a field trip. the ferry was packed with 150 vehicles. it sent a distress call this morning when passengers reported the vessel began to lean on its side. the announcement told us that we should stay still, but the ship was already sinking and there were students who did not get

out of the ship. >> within hours, an all-out sea and heiress skew operation was underway. that is all that can be seen of the ship after it sank into the ocean, part of its hull showing above the water. it is unclear if any passengers went down with the boat. many of the passengers who jumped into the water were pulled to safety from fishing boats, as helicopters circling above plucked others right from the sinking ship. >> because there are diverse teams in the area, including soldiers and coast guard, we are expecting more to be rescued. >> the u.s. is sending assault ships on patrol in the air to help assist the rescue effort. meanwhile, worried parents to the more than 300 high school students onboard the ferry packed buses to head to the island where they were reunited with their children in a gym where many survivors are being

treated. >> craig leeson joins us by phone from hong kong. what's the latest on the recovery efforts? >> they're still searching for survivors. it's quite late here now, very dark. they've got more than 80 vessels searching the water and the vessel itself, which is completely upside down and almost completely submerged. there are hopes that there are survivors still within the vessel itself. they haven't been able to reach them if that's the case and they are searching the waters around the vessel, although one of the rescuers did mention that the freezing worse there are extremely cold, 53 degrees fahrenheit. that would mean that anyone in the water would get hope poe thermic within just hours. >> is it true some of the passengers were told to stay onboard the boat after it started to sink?

>> that's what we're hearing from survivors. they are saying that they received a message on the loud speaker system that asked them not to move, to stay where they were, and that there were no further commands following that last message, so many of the people did in fact stay where they were. those who chose to leave scrambled up the side of the ship, which as it listed presented a very difficult situation for them and many were lifted by helicopter and the others by vessels that were searching. they were very lucky, because they got out by their observe accord. >> stay with aljazeera as we continue to follow this story. >> a u.s. navy underwater drone searching for the malaysia airlines flight 370 has come up empty. it went on a second mission, but technical problems forced the

sub back up to the surface. the first dive was cut short after it exceeded its depth limit. authorities launched it after giving up hope of locating signals from the black boxes. >> there is a battle for control of eastern ukraine, armed accept are a activities taking control of the city of entrepreneur. the move comes hours after troops regained control outside the city. ukrainian jets were flying over. it is part of a wider offensive. armed gunman have been occupying government property. an increased military presence is in that region. >> we will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water and more readiness on the land. >> russia's president vladimir putin saying these latest moves are pushing ukraine to the brink

of civil war. we are in entrepreneur where pro russian forces are now gaining ground. >> gunman storms the building earlier this morning, the city council building a few blocks from here, right now, there are gunman outside, some holding a.c.47s, others holding old style hunting rivals. they're very much in control of that building right now. what we're hearing is that they're from a far right wing group here with roots in kharkiv. they are not making their demands known, but say they have control of the first story of that building. they are letting civil workers go about their duties. they haven't ousted them. they continue calls for a referendum on the status of the self declared republic of entrepreneur. in the past hour, we've seen military jets flying overhead outside of the state administration building, people there are still pulling up bricks from the pavement and stockpiling those wrecks, several lines of defense

barricades filled with tires and barked wire. it's a bizarre seen. it's a very sunny day, with hundreds of supporters outside. meanwhile in the midst, men are walking around in military uniforms, sitting at the rode. >> that is aljazeera reporting from entrepreneur, ukraine. >> in cab da, police are investigating a mass murder near the university of calgary. five were stabbed at a house party tuesday in what's called the worst crime in the city's history. officials say the suspect who is in custody is the son of a veteran police officer and a student at the school. he had been invited to the party where the group was celebrating the last day of classes. >> the suspect arrived at the party, obtained a large knife and targeted the victims one by one, is to being them several times. >> the victims ranging in age from 22-27 years old. >> some suburban pittsburgh high school is going to reopen one week after that student went on

a wild stabbing spree. classes will be back in session at regional high school in murraysville. he is accused of using two kitchen knives to attack fellow students. he will be tried as an adult. twenty people stabbed, four students still in the hospital. >> attorney general holder will travel to kansas to pay tribute to the victims of the jewish community center shootings. on tuesday, 70 3-year-old frasier glencross made his first court appearance facing murder charges. he could be charged with hate crimes. on sunday, the white supremacist fatally shot three people. he could receive a death sentence. >> today marking the seventh affairs of virginia tech massacre, 32 killed in 2007 on that attack in the college campus. the names of the victims today will be read at two memorial as her moneys. the gunman killed himself after

the shooting rampage. ments the deadliest shooting in u.s. history. >> a year after the boston marathon bombings, two suspicious backpacks were found near the marathon finish line. the bomb squad detonated the backpacks as a precaution. authorities say one of the bags had a rice cooker inside. police say they arrested a man running up boylston street. the suspect is this man, performance artist seen in this you tube video. >> i'm a fashion designer, an entrepreneur, a performance artist, a mental patient, a blogger bloggerrist, a jail bird, a college dropout, and a drag queen. >> police have yet to officially identify him as the man they've arrested, but local media outlets say he has been charged with disturbing the peace and disorder conduct. >> we have more on the emotional memorial service held yesterday

in boston to remember the victims and heroes of marathon bombing on the first affairs of the attack. >> a moment of silence in the pouring rain, the weather falling in with boston's move a year after the bombings and their aftermath, that stole four innocent lives and changed hundreds more forever. the day began with a replaying ceremony, jane richards who lost her brother martin in the blast and seriously injured herself, she lost a leg, she's up and about now and active like any other 8-year-old. she uses a prosthetic leg. at the convention center, hundreds of injured and their families and scores of first responders gathered for a tribute moment that everybody in boston has been seeking, a chance at some kind of closure.

praising survivors and the city for being boston strong. >> america will never, ever, ever stand down. we are boston. we are america. we respond. we endure. we overcome, and we own the finish line! >> the governor of massachusetts deval patrick spoke. >> it adds up to common cause and working together and turning to each other when we could have easily turned on each other. >> if biden and patrick stood out, it was the survivors who said it best. >> the biggest lesson of all the lessons that i have learned over this past year is that something in your life, in anyone's life can go horrifically, terribly wrong in a matter of seconds, yet it is up to us to make every single second count after,

because believe me, they do. >> a year ago today, we chose to run toward smoke and danger. we chose to utilize our belts and purse strapping to create tourniquets. we chose to hold the injured in our arms. we chose to offer our hearts to those in despair and our treasures to those in need. we chose to love and that has made all the difference. >> best mile ever. >> the next test for boston comes on monday, the city's looking for a regular fun marathon day, like all the others before last year, one that starts and ends and has two winners and nothing more noteworthy than that. >> aljazeera, boston. >> meanwhile, the attorneys for the bombing suspect dzhokar tsarnaev are back in court, hoping to get some of the charges dropped against him. his lawyers say they are redundant.

they say the strict prison conditions are making it tough to provide a defense. he is scheduled to go on trial in november where prosecutors will seek the death sentence. >> the new york city police department disbanding the controversial unit that spies on the muslim community, saying the nypd was guilty of profiling. undercover officers watched where they prayed, lived and worked to detect terror threats. the new york mayor saying getting rid of the program was a critical step to ease tensions that the program created. >> in new mexico, the albuquerque police department facing accusations of excessive force. half of the members of a police review board have stepped down, saying it was impossible to affect change within the embattled department. the resignations come after the department of justice blasted the department for what it called a culture of abuse and aggression. since 2002, officers have shot at 37 men and killed 23.

>> a lot of you woke up this morning, checked the calendar, yes it does say april, but parts of the u.s. are dealing with cold temperatures and snow. >> let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> we're in the second half of april. we should be, you know, more of those flowers blooming. we had a lovely shot of warm air ahead of this mess. as you see in the northeast, one system moving out, another system already in the midwest, both have had snow associated with it. into the northeast, that clears quickly. it went from warm rain in a lot of cases, the backside dramatic temperature drops, 30 degrees in some cases, cold enough to support the back end of this having? snow. not most places seeing accumulation, but northern parts of new england, you did see a little bit of that. it will melt pretty quickly in most cases, because temperatures will moderate a little today. behind this, we already have snow in portions of the midwest.

you've seen it in fargo. this will continue today and tomorrow, moving into wisconsin and michigan. we already ever the winter storm warnings in effect. there's wind in this region, as well. that's going to blow what we have around. the area widespread of snow with that watch it for the someone cities, the core of the stuff, we're going to see it in hayward, wisconsin, once we get into the u.p., that could see up to a foot of snow. pretty impressive even for the northern tier of the country in april. back to you. >> that storm did not get the spring memo. nicole mitchell, thank you. >> the president of ch chile is vowing to move people affected by the wildfires in valparaiso. she said homes must be built away from vulnerable him sides where many live. we show how the fires and recent

earthquake are bringing out the best in the people of chile. >> this is a common sight on the streets of chile, young volunteers marching to help victims of the latest disaster. on this occasion, a huge fire ravaged the port city of valparaiso. these people were swiftly evacuated. most of them lost everything. helen was a victim that says that all is not lost. >> it's been incredible, the help we've been given. we don't belong to any government program. we're desperate. we'll take help from anyone. >> thousands of bags of clothes, blankets, shoes, toys and medicine were donated and sorted and distributed at community centers like this one. volunteers treat animals rescued from the fire. medical staff and teachers come in after work and on their days off. if there is anything positive to emerge from the misery and

broken lives of chile's recent spate of disasters, it's this spirit of cooperation and solidarity. they transcend class and political lines and help the rebuilding process. >> the chile authorities have generally been praised for their response to this latest disaster, well practiced after a recent spate of earth quakes, a tsunami and other catastrophes. it's this response from ordinary people that's made the difference. nicholas and his friends collect donations and drive from the capital santiago. >> from santiago to valparaiso is only two hours, which is nothing to us. one feels helpless that these people have lost everything. it's something we all have inside us, this need to help. >> the flames were still reasonabling when these donations began arriving, and with them, the volunteers to sort and distribute, at times

overwhelmed by avalanche of good will. >> it's part of our culture to show solidarity. it's a response to our needs, our shortages, our way of living. >> there's still a lot of work to be done. these lives are not reconstructed overnight. dealing with chile's many recent disasters has been made a little easier by the huge volunteer response. aljazeera, valparaiso, chile. >> many of the homes destroyed belong to middle and lower class people. experts blame unregulated growth for allowing homes to be built where wildfire risk is elevated. >> they are young, savvy and looking to be the economic engine in the motor city. >> i can see the opportunity that's available here. it's an exciting place to be. >> the allure that has entrepreneurs looking to detroit for success.

>> a detour these medical professionals are choosing to take. >> hundreds of bombs fell during air raised, it nearly destroyed it, the station was rebuilt after the war. there's concern that some bombs could still be buried in bangkok.

>> a live look here in new york city where the try becca film festival gets underway. >> what a difference a day makes. washington, d.c. yesterday near 70 degrees. this morning 35. that's a 30-degree drop from yesterday. that spreads to the south. temperatures yesterday were in record territory, birmingham down to 33, temperatures

starting to nudge up to 34 with the sunshine. record is 32. we were in that territory. exceptional to get freezings temperatures this time of year, that's why we had the freezing warnings up. we are warming now, so we'll get out of that warning soon. a lot of 50's and 60's for the eastern half of the country. >> the pension fund covering retirees in detroit has reached a tentative agreement with the bankruptcy city. under the deal, retire re's would receive a 5% cut and have cost of living raises eliminated. if approved, the deals would cover all of detroit's public workers. >> people have been leaving detroit by the thousands, leaving a gaping hole for people trying to find work as businesses left the city.

young entrepreneurs are refueling the motor city. >> the unemployment rate is 15%, but in detroit, signs of progress. downtown has gained 10,000 new workers since 2010, hundreds of small businesses have opened. emily torn him's new clothing line, home slice, is one of them. >> at 27, she knows the perks. there's the skilled, but still affordable labor pool, affordable too, the office space with rents 25% lower than other rates outside the city. >> i can see the opportunity that's available here. it's an exciting place to be. >> exciting, yes, but it's also about building a successful business. for thorn hill and others, that means tax incentives. in 2007, michigan eliminated

it's 4.95% tax on small businesses to help spur economic development. this is also a plus for anyone looking to launch a small company there. that's what dan ward is doing. >> they're able to create something really amazing out of line that is may not make sense to us. >> ward who grew up in the suburbs is cofounder of detroit labs, a company that designs and builds mobile applications. with a clientele that includes big name companies, such as domino's pizza, general motors and quicken loans, in three years has gone from four employees to over 50. >> chicago, new york, l.a., why detroit? >> you know, it just really made sense. there's so much opportunity here. >> located in what was previously an abandoned building, the tech start up is a r. part of a new wave of innovators setting up shop and changing the downtown detroit

landscape. there was a vacancy rate of 33%. in 2013, it dropped to 26.5. >> detroit historically is blue collar. i think that translates really well to tech, translates really well to entrepreneurs. if you're going to be an entrepreneur and especially if you're going to be an entrepreneur in tech, you've got to want to work. detroit offers that. it's part of our heritage. >> made in detroit. these young entrepreneurs are showing it's not just about cars and trucks anymore. it's everything. >> yeah, right? >> aljazeera, detroit. >> tomorrow, we'll look at the city's blythe. we'll see how detroit plans to use its own money along with state and federal funds to get rid of all of those boarded up houses there. >> tough times also in england, forcing a great number of people to turn to food banks. >> we haven't got ourselves in

this situation because we've lived this amazing life and we've got it because it's just the way it is. >> why local religious leaders criticize the government, saying it's not doing enough to help those in need. >> here in the u.s., more people finding themselves squeezed out of their homes, the growing prices of people who can't afford to pay their rent. >> i'm in washington where the smithsonian is welcoming its newest attraction, 66 million years after it roamed the earth. the story of the t. rex in d.c. coming up. >> a look at hour images of the day are of that capsized ferry off the waters of south korea. officials are still looking for more than 200 still missing from that ship. stay with aljazeera america for more developments on that story.

>> this deadly accident caught on camera in thailand, officials trying to make sure more of these hidden dangers don't happen again. >> we'll have more on that, as well as why cuban doctors sent for work in venezuela are ending up in the u.s. >> dozens of boats and helicopters searching for passengers off the coast of south korea after a ship carrying 400 started to sink on the way to a resort island. rescuers have scrambled to pluck passengers from the water. three are dead, 300 missing. >> the united nations is releasing a report which will confirm iran's nuclear capabilities have been significantly reduced, part of the deal with the six world

powers. the agreement requires that they back off materials for a partial lifting of economic sanctions against tehran. >> iraq shut down the abu ghraib prison over security concerns. it served as a torture center under the now executed zambranom hussein. >> we could be seeing a resurgence of al-qaeda in yemen, forcing the country to increase its military presence. a government-backed truce is now in jeopardy. >> this is the gateway to yemen's embattled province. military enforcements have

arrived after clashes between soldiers and fighters. the army said the fighters attacked a military check point, bringing into question a fragile truce. >> soldiers say their role is to maintain peace. >> we assure the residents that the military and security forces are in position to defend and fight to the last drop of our blood. they are on the offensive, we are on the defensive. >> they're not far. just a few kilometers away these camps belong to tribes man. they set up tents near the entry points. they want to change the government after it received backing to implement a security plan to end confrontations. despite carrying weapons, they say they want a peaceful change. >> we do not want war.

the other side does. they are digging their own graves. injustice, no matter how long it lasts, must come to an end and these are the outcomes of injustice. >> tribes man are reported to have taken positions in nearby village. hundreds have been killed in sectarian fighting in recent months and lasting peace does not seem eminent. as politicians in the capitol work on drafting a new constitution, for soldiers in the north, it's going to be a tough task to maintain peace. aljazeera. >> yemen is an ally of the u.s. it plunged into instability two years ago after a mass uprising against that countries president. >> dozens of boats and helicopters are searching for passengers off the coast of south korea after a ferry carrying hundreds of students capsized. joining us now by phone is the associated press bureau chief in

seoul. thank you for being with us. what is the newest information that you're hearing on the ground? we have right now numbers wise 300 missing, three people confirmed dead, and 180 recovered. has that changed? >> the numbers of a bit different. the numbers have been changing as the search goes on. we get varying numbers, but the latest is that four people have been confirmed dead. that includes at least one crew member, one male student, and then another person who's believed to be a male student and someone who's not been identified. number of injured is 55. perhaps the most -- well, all those numbers are worrying, but nearly 300 of missing. most of those people are high school students. >> when it comes to the search for these people, is that on

going now? it is 9:00 p.m., dark there in that part of the world. is the rescue operation ongoing? >> yeah, the last week they were still searching for these missing people. it has been many hours now since the ferry sank. the distress call went out at 9:00 a.m. fairly rapidly it was on its side at a pretty dramatic angle and not too long after that, nearly all of it was gone. there was a massive effort by dozens of groups, divers, helicopters getting people off the ship. they were using helicopters to lift people, people were jumping into the water and being plucked from the ocean. it's been many hours and while the search is still going on, it is hampered by the light, the darkness and there's also the

fact that these waters are not warm. they're 12 degrees celsius. officials say that lengthy exposures can bring on hypothermia. we believe -- >> that's about 60 degrees. i want to ask you a little more about the resources. is there a sense that the south koreans have the resources they need? do they have what they need to rescue these people? obviously a frantic rescue must be on going. >> i haven't gotten the sense that it was the lack of resources. it seems the speed with which the boat went down was the problem. they very quickly had quite a number of helicopters and boats there, rescue boats and were rescuing people. the problem i believe is that according to the eyewitnesses and again, this changes

depending who you talk to, but a lot of people are saying that there were people trapped initially in the boat as the water came very quickly into the boat, into the ship, sorry and the boat, the ship turned on an angle, making it impossible for the people that were in the ship that was filling up to get out because of the angle of the ship and the water going in. that seems to be the problem. >> ok. >> with why there are so many people that are missing. >> thanks so much for that information, again, the latest four dead now, including one crew member, 55 injured, 300 people missing in that ferry capsizing. >> cuba sends thousands of doctors to venezuela to give free health care to the poor, in return get an estimated $3.02 in cut rate venezuelan oil. some of those doctors and nurses now say they feel like in dentured servants.

>> living out of a backpack for seven years, this cuban nurse lives day by day, cleaning homes, cooking and hiding from the police. he doesn't want to be identified, terrified of arrest, because he doesn't have the proper documents. >> i don't want to continue living in venezuela, because of the insecurity. now i have to hide like a prisoner so the police don't arrest me for not having papers. my passport isn't stamped and if i'm detained, i will be jailed and no one will help me. >> he defected from venezuela's social health program, a deal sealed by late president hugo chavez. venezuela sends billions of dollars in oil. in return, cuba sends thousands of medical staff oh. >> this social program became the cornerstone of late president chavez's socialist revolution. that's when the cuban doctors arrived to give health care to venezuelans who didn't have it.

>> a south florida group claims nearly 8,000 cuban doctors have fled from venezuela. cuban doctor fernandez agrees many have defected. he says the number is not important. >> it's true that some doctors have abandoned the social program, but the number is insignificant. we are more than 70,000 doctors here, over 100,000 have come and gone. we have saved thousands of lives. mortality rates have gone down, so few leaving will not affect the greatness of this work. >> thousands of poor venezuelans living in slums or rural areas get free health care in these clinics run beau cubans. this woman says the doctors have made a difference. >> excellent. i always come here, because i can get good care. i've never had any complaints. the doctors are wonderful. >> the cuban professionals have

low salaries and forced to stay in venezuela for as long as both countries decide. this doctor wants a better future. >> i am like a boat stranded in a huge ocean without a rudder, unable to go left or right. i've lost nine years of my life here thinking that my decision to leave the program has been better for me, but it's been a nightmare. >> he says unemployment, solitude and desperation is the price he has been forced to pay for his dreams. aljazeera, caracas, venezuela. >> 31,000 health care professionals from cuba are colonel working in venezuela. >> earlier this month, a deadly explosion shook a bangkok neighborhood. officials blamed a gas leak, but it turned out to be a bomb from the 1940's. authorities worry there could be others. >> this devastating explosion caused by a 70-year-old rely

lick, killing eight and leveling the scrap metal shop in bangkok. all from a bomb dropped during world war ii. it was dug up at a nearby construction site, then sold as scrap. workers were taking it apart when it detonated. >> during the war, thailand aligned with japan. when paul harbor was bombed, japanese troops entered the country. retaliation from the allies began three years later. >> by 1944, 1945, the allies started bombing strategic points in thailand. movement of the japanese in the theater. >> one those strategic sites right here, the railway station. hundreds of bombs fell during

air raised. it nearly destroyed it, the station was rebuilt after the war, there's concern that some of those bombs could still be buried in this part of bangkok. >> we're on this property now. >> his house burned to the ground from the bombing when he was 11 years old. >> it was panic, of course, we never lad anything like that before and during the daytime, it was frightening. but mostly at night, we all had to go down underneath. the sirens came and we would go back. >> just two days after the scrap yard explosion, another world war ii bomb was discovered in the outskirts of the city. with a great deal of development, there is frequent digging, opening up the danger of more bombs being unearthed. >> after the explosion happened,

police were concerned about further incidents. we launched a program to educate citizens and construction companies about these dangers. >> the hope is that with more aware of what these look like, the less chance of explosions. >> discoveries of world war ii era bombs in asian cities not uncommon. in february, a bomb was unearthed in hong kong prompting evacuations. >> a new study finds nicotine vapor from electric cigarettes is dangerous. they stress the findings are early but raise more questions about how safe they really are. the f.d.a. administration is expected to rule soon on whether to regulate e cigarettes. >> nearly a million people in

britain have been forced to ask food banks for reactions. as easter approaches, dozens in the u.k. criticized the government's attitude to the poor. >> polly asspires to be a business woman and never wanted handouts from anyone, certainly not the government. she had to close her shop for a month when her 4-year-old daughter became ill and had to go to hospital. when she came home, she had no food and not a penny to buy anything. she did what so many are having to do, go cap in hand to the food bank after raiding her daughters money jar for a few coins to buy some milk. >> we are nice people. we're not what people expect. we are not drug addicts, alcoholics. we haven't got our receivers in this situation because we've lived this amazing life. we've got it because it's just the way it is. >> holly lives in england's

south coast. it's posh here. chidester is the fifth most expensive town in england. the food bank has never been busier. >> the government can point to statistics saying that life in britain is genuinely getting better. some of the fastest growth rates forecast in the industrialized world, wages up, inflation down, yet it's also clear there is now an entire layer of society here who simply can't afford the basics. >> 30,000 volunteers at some 400 food banks around the country has come up with startling figures on use. in 2010, over 61,000 were asking for emergency reactions. the following year, that doubles, and the year after that, nearly triples. last year, it almost tripled again to virtually a million

people. >> many of these families, you know, they can be just an unexpected bill away from being in a crisis, and as their incomes are stagnating and bills continue to rise, so, too, you know, things are going to get even more difficult for many families as we go through 2014. >> now 40 bishops have used easter week to write to the government to express anger at all this. >> when i think ofs. >> and the sorts of thing he did and stood for and encouraged followers to do, he talked about the good samaritan, the person who joins up with their neighbor, who does what they can for real people, as well as just coming out with great ideas of things other people want to do for them. >> a couple of days ago, the prime minister david cameron said he felt he was continuing jesus work enable social changes. many feel his government lacks basic christian values in its treatment of the poor.

>> unemployment benefit delays were the most commonly given reason for using food banks. low in come and changes to welfare payments were the most well known causes. >> around easter, too. >> a new blow to the taj jail housing market. wipe the middle class says they are stuck right in the middle. >> the driving factors behind the worst rental affordability crisis ever. r

>> keeping a roof over your head is more difficult for renters. >> first, where it is going to snow again today. here's nicole mitchell. >> already snowing in some places. the system on the east coast has continued to clear off. that's good. that had enough cold air with it. you are really feeling the cold

air up and down the coast today. this is the one we're watching now into the midwest and it is going to bring areas up to a foot of snow in some places like northern wisconsin. back to you. >> nicole, thank you. new figures out say construction for single family homes rose almost 3% in march. a new study found half of all renters are now spending more than 30% of income on housing, half. that has led to a cries of affordability in rental housing across the country, pricing middle class families out. as you can see from trend lines, from 2000-2013, people are spending 5% to 10% more income on rental. it's a trend you see in populated places like new york city, as well as ithaca, new york. joining us to discuss the reasons is chris estes, president of the housing conference joining us from

raleigh, north carolina this morning. this harvard study shows there are more renters across the board. how much of that is fallout from the 2008 financial cries? >> well, we don't know exactly how much. people have speculated that there is definitely the cries has led to more people renting than would have normally moved into homeownership. you see some of the income levels of renters starting to rise, usually an indication that people who would normally have moved on to buy a house are staying in rental. you've got demographic shifts where the population growth is really at the age bracket where people are more likely to be renting than owning, so there's a couple things going on there. it's also one of the after shocks of the crisis is the lack of ability of credit for folks to be able to get a loan. it's also holding folks back in

some cases. >> is there also out of the financial crisis a hesitancy from people to buy homes and commit to that when they feel like their jobs and the economy is still insecure? >> yeah, what's interesting is we seem to have as people have been polled, sort of two almost conflicting ideas, which is when people are asked, a vast majority of them still want to become homeowners, but clearly their actions are saying they don't feel either that it's a good bet to do now, they're still hesitant about, i think their job security or income security in the economy, and their probably questions still whether the making the move is the right investment for them at this time. >> right. >> so the somebody is there, but i think the actions are still holding people back. >> people might not be ready -- >> they don't know how much -- >> you think of renters as the

single just out of college type but according as to the study, there are a lot of people my age and people in their 30's that have decided to rent, people with chirp. is this affecting young people and the middle class, because those are the people you would normally hope would be in the rental market. >> yeah, definitely. i think we are concerned about that long term trend, if it remains this way, because you've got two things happening, families that would normally be moving into some sort of homeownership situation that would be allowing them to hopefully build an asset over time. you've also got them as you said at the start of the segment, paying a lot more money for rent, so they're under a much more sort of severe income crunch, if you will, and becomes somewhat of a catch 22 if there isn't enough housing affordable for folks, it becomes difficult to save for down payment and present the kind of credit profile that lenders are looking for right now.

>> on the supply side, so we know that demand has gone up, but on the supply side, are we starting to see more inventory for rentals? >> part of the challenge is that the rental production is a long time line, typically two years to get a development on line from the time it started and particularly at the what we would consider more of the affordable workforce into the multi-family space, folks that are anywhere from 50% of the area median income to 80%, a huge section of the service economy of our workforce. those folks are really struggling to find housing. there is definitely not enough there and that has created a crunch with upper income rentallers and low to moderate income rentallers also searching for a short supply. the long-range expectation is that rental housing will continue to produce more units, but they'll really be at that higher end price point, trying

to serve that market. >> makes you wonder if there's a new normal we're looking at here. chris, thanks for joining us this morning, sir. >> stephanie, the old bones of a t rex in the nation's capitol, the smithsonian making room for the skeleton. we go behind the scenes of a larger than life exhibit. >> five days after leaving from the northwest state of montana, the 16 crates arrived at the world's most visited natural history museum. the ramper who discovered it was as excited by the event as any tourist. >> we were all kind of done with the hurrah and this is welling all up and it's just as much fun this time around. >> visitors will watch as the

staff unpacks, and digitally scans the bones. once assembled, it will be mounted for the first time standing up right, showing the stature that rs its name, kick of the tie rant lizards. >> it is one of the largest and most complete t rex fossils in the world, perhaps not quite and it is big as the one i allowed to get away. >> this is sue, the star attraction at chicago's field museum, bought at auction in 1997 for $8.3 million, a record sum for a dinosaur. the nation's t rex as the smithsonian calls its specimen came free, found on public land. it will form the centerpiece in 2009, part of the renovation built a century ago.

they want dinosaur study is more than looking at dusty bones. >> the world's known number of dine source has doubled since 1995. new species are being discovered telling us about the planet, climate changes, how extinction happens. >> microbe collected from the skeleton in chicago have been loaded on the space exflight awaiting launch to the national space station this week. they'll be compared to micro organisms already found on the space station. >> the fossil was on loan for the next 50 years, the museum expects 7 million visitors a year. >> a toddler gives his mother a scare. the 3-year-old snuck out of his apartment in lincoln, nebraska while she was in the bathroom. she called 911. he was inside the claw machine game at the bowling alley down the street. the little boy was eventually

freed and reunited with his mom. he got to keep one of the stuffed toys as everyone is saying this morning, so many questions. >> they will be talking about this story until the end of the day. that's going to do it for this edition of aljazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm receive sigh. stephanie sy. thanks for watching.

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