>> clashes leave three pro russian militants dead in ukraine, the violence likely to mar diplomatic talks underway. >> families aboard those on a capsized ferry holding out pope. they are looking for high school students still missing. >> big changes to the s.a.t. test, how the college entrance exam will now look and why those changes are really being made.

>> a new ford mustang, brilliant new kind of car. >> a major milestone for the ford mustang, celebrating a half century of one classic car. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> the battle in ukraine taking place in different fronts. 300 armed accept are a i was attacking in mariupol. >> men tried to use molotov cocktails to storm the base. >> this attack comes as ukrainian soldiers failed to gain control of four eastern russian cities, russian tanks forcing them to surrender. >> diplomatic talks are underway right now in geneva. aljazeera is there with more on today's summit. >> the positions of the foreign ministers gathered here in geneva are as hard to reconcile as their different views of

what's happening in ukraine. you have ukrainians, the americans and the europeans accusing moscow of stirring up unrest, sending in intelligence officers, possibly special forces, troops to take over the local administrative buildings and create unrest that might possibly justify a military intervention bittens of thousands of russian troops who have been gathered along the border of ukraine for some weeks now. then you have the russian perspective delivered by the foreign minister sergey lavrov saying that russia is doing nothing to stir up problems in ukraine. the problem there, according to the kremlin is that the rights of the russian speakers in that part of the country are not being respected and the only solution the russians see is to have a federalization of ukraine, increasing autonomy, something bordering on independence for the regions bordering russia in order that they might have an independent foreign policy of their own and

align closer with the kremlin. >> that is nick spicier reporting from geneva. >> pro russian militias are flexing their muscles in eastern ukraine, seizion government buildings and taking control of ukrainian tanks and other combat vehicles. ukraine's military tried to remain control but quickly were forced to retreat. >> it's a cat and mouse game. we are at the exact same location where yesterday, 50 meters from where i'm standing were six armored vehicles that had been seized from the ukrainian paratroopers. they have disappeared this morning. we ask where they've gone, we're told on a mission. i think we'll find out in a few hours what's happening there. now the buildings that have been seized like the one behind me, this is a police building getting barricaded and fort tied, the men inside say they are not going to leave until

something actually really moves and it's not just all political talk. >> >> president obama warning russia that it will face more sanctions from the u.s. and europe if it steps up support for the accept are a activities in eastern ukraine. >> they are not interested in any kind of military confrontation with us, understanding that our conventional forces are significantly superior to the russians. we don't need a war. what we do need is a recognition that countries like ukraine can have relationships with the whole range of their neighbors and it is not up to anybody, whether russia or the united states or anybody else to make decisions for them. >> the president didn't specify if russia will face further sanctions if today's meeting in geneva fail. he signed and executive order last month which gives broad

authority to sanction entire sectors of the russian economy. russian's president denying that its troops are even in eastern ukraine, vladimir putin making the comments during a call-in show. this year the show was scheduled to specifically coincide with meetings in geneva. >> we had president putin flatly denying it. >> this is nonsense, there are no forces, they are all local citizens. the best proof is that the people have taken off their masks. they are the owners of the land and they will not leave. >> that runs totally counter to what the u.s. and kiev says, russia is making all the rung in eastern ukraine and heatedding the unrest there. putin went on to see interestingly enough that he

admitted that russian troops were involved in the annexation of crimea. this was after forthright denial by him, lavrov, press secretary saying categorically at the time that russian troops weren't involved. putin says they were and they were there because there were many weapons in sevastopol because it's a russian military base and said without the troops, the referendum could not have taken place. the q. and a. basically is covering a lot of crimea and the ukraine for very obvious reasons. speaking to the people of ukraine, putin said that standards are living are going to rise, salaries will rise and military who have stayed on and not gone back to the ukraine will be getting paid four times as much as ukrainian troops. if there was one note of reassurance, he said that there is no way, he's certain that russia and the ukraine can reach

when he described as mutual agreement. we have too much to do with each other not to do that, he said. >> stay with aljazeera for continuing in-depth coverage of the crisis in ukraine. coming up, we'll talk about what is driving the tensions between russia and ukraine and we'll talk to former u.s. ambassador to nato, joining us live to talk about the cries and nato's responsibilities going forward, what they are to ukraine. >> anger and heartache as families wait for words of loved ones still missing after a deadly ferry accident in south korea. rescuers are searching for 300 people. the official death toll stands at nine. we have more on the on going efforts. >> day two of this operation, and rescue crews were in little doubt where most of the missing must be. for all the boats, helicopters

and divers, just getting access to the upturned ferry, let alone getting to anyone inside is a challenge. fast currents, and the depth of the access points made for slow progress, something the president expressed concern about during an unannounced visit to the site. the parents have been through so much and this ordeal is only becoming more grueling. >> you are just repeating what they're saying on the news, the woman tells officials. they say there have been too few dives and time is running out for their children. facebook posts and texts coming from inside the ferry. >> we think 60 to 70 people are still alive but when we talk to them, they just worry about who's job it is. they keep passing it on to somebody else. >> many parents stood vigil through last night and now through another awful day. what they want of course is what

authorities haven't been able to provide them, some real news of the fate of their loved ones. >> investigators are trying to determine just what caused the disaster. police are also questioning the captain. local media say he left the ship even while its public address systems were telling passengers to stay put. scores of parents were returning from a trip so his for themselves the rescue effort at sea, a response to a national tragedy made up of a hundred individual ones. >> 475 people were onboard that ferry when it sank, 300 of them were teenagers on a school trip. >> there is going to be a memorial service today for the shootings at the two jewish community centers. attorney general holder will speak. he is saying the mass shootings are too common, prosecutors charging frasier glenn miller with all three murders. the 73-year-old white

supremacist will likely face federal hate crime charges, as well. >> a long awaited federal terrorist trial, a muslim cleric accused of conspiring to kidnap tourists, also creating a camp in oregon. the trial in new york is expected to last through mid may. >> oscar pistorius returning to court in his murder trial, the double amputee is accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend, model reeva steenkamp. the defense wrapped up its third witness before a two week break. the case has already reason month longer than expected. pistorius insists it was an accident. if convicted, he faces 25 years in prison. >> we are just about a month into spring but winter still sticking around, the midwest

digging out after a heavy snowstorm. some areas in minnesota and wisconsin hit with more than a foot of the white stuff but it is expected to melt by the start of the week. warmer weather, we've been saying this for a long time. >> that's real winter snow and that storm is still going on. >> let's check in right now with nicole mitchell. >> even when it's predicted, we said there would be some places with over a foot of snow it's still not appreciated when that forecast is correct. that's the system that's been moving through the midwest and not expected to make its way into the northeast. it will move toward the great lakes and toward the north. i've seen reports of over 15 inches of snow. northern parts of wisconsin, the u.p. of michigan, that's where we're getting it. it has been going in some cases easily 12 hours at this point and making roads a little bit on

the difficult side this morning. here's snow totals we have seen already today. minnesota, over a foot of snow out here, just outside of superior, wisconsin, about a foot of snow. superior is a big city, borders duluth. drummond, wisconsin over a foot of snow. two and a half inches in houghton. seeing one to three-inches across this region, but definitely lately in the season to see this much. this moves to the north. this is the next thing we're watching, already starting a little bit today, but especially into tomorrow, rain for the south, a low pressure system lifts towards the north bringing

heavy rain towards parts of the gulf coast. more of that into friday, but easily, three inches, some places up to six inches. you could watch for flood concerns into tomorrow. >> it is the busiest day in the world's largest elections, voting in india is spread out over five weeks to handle the logistics of nearly 800 million people heading to the polls. 200 million indians are expected to cast their ballots today across the states in the country. voters elect a political party, that party then aappointments it's choice for prime minister. voting ends in may. >> a federal judge overturned a north carolina law banning abortions after six weeks. the judge contradicts roe v. wade. the north carolina bill made it a crime for a woman to abort a fetus with a detectable hard beat. critics called it the most extreme measures on abortion. the measure was approved next year and never took effect.

>> three people killed in fighting in ukraine. >> diplomatic talks are underway in geneva, will they accomplish anything? we're going to talk to former ambassador to nato about easing tensions. >> the assad regime is dropping barrel bombs, the devastating weapon killing innocent civilians in what amounts to genocide. >> $550 million, that's our big number of the day. >> it's a lot of bucks paid for different kind of bucks that some say aren't worth the price. we'll explain. >> taking a live look here, the sun rising over the capitol building this thursday morning. it's 39 degrees in the nation's capitol right now.

>> today's big number is $550 million, that's how much former senator herb coal is going to get for the milwaukee bucks. >> he bath that team for $18 million in 1985. he's selling them to hedge fund billionaires, the sale will not

be final until 23 owners approve the deal. >> this is why so many people are looking at this. a lot of people are shocked by the price tag, considered that milwaukee is considered to be a small market team. >> the kings who are in a bigger market sold for $535 million last year. >> forbes estimates the real value is $405 million, which made is the least valued team in the nba. >> maybe they know something we don't yet. >> they were a powerhouse. >> let's see temperatures across the nation now. >> here is nicole mitchell. good morning. >> we are looking at still that brink air that came in with the last weather system. not as cold in the south as yesterday with freeze concerns, but a brisk morning. forty in atlanta. 29 in minneapolis. this is where we just had the

recent snowstorm moving through the region. temperatures rebound quickly. even though the morning temperatures are still on the cool side, look at afternoon temperatures, memphis 69. close to 50 for many. >> russia and ukraine are fighting over borders drawn after the fall of the soviet republic, but what's really driving the tension between these two countries? owe explain. >> ukraine is the bridge between the west and the east, and it's fate will determine order since the cold war. for centuries, ukraine was russian. in eastern ukraine, most people speak russian or russian orthodox and call moscow their morland. they used to provide a physical buffer against the west, but when the soviet union broke up, the west expanded east. in 1990, nato stopped at germany. in 1999, it added three

countries. by 2009, nine more countries. nato on russia's doorstep unnerved moscow and russian president vladimir putin wants the expansion to stop. >> russia definitely sees ukraine, the territory of ukraine as an area of its national security interests, and president putin has been warning time and time and time again that this is the red line not to be crossed. >> putin wants more political influence. those russian troops on the border and the pro russian forces inside ukraine help ensure the next ukrainian government will change and be more likely to accept russian demands. >> there has to be an inclusive process that would involve constitutional reform, federalization, giving autonomy to the regions with the majority of russian speaking population. >> why is the u.s. so worried? this dangerous brinksmanship

threatens a return to the cold war, under the old order, countries redrew borders with force. if russia grabs eastern ukraine, that would give license to tactics that were supposed to end with the end of the cold war. >> if this kind of thing becomes the norm again, we are in a world in which the number of major security problems of potential wars that could break out in europe, as well as as in other parts of the world really multiplies. >> what can the u.s. do? it's unlikely to go to war but can target russia's main source of revenue, energy exports to weaken the russian economy. >> it's a matter of everybody doing this together in a coordinated way. it will involve sacrifice and sharing the sacrifice among the western powers that have to impose the sanctions. >> ukraine is a test of western resolve, of how the countries in

the 21st century resolve conflict and a test of whether that ukrainian bridge is strong enough to last or is allowed to collapse. >> so that's the context. the geneva talks are taking place right now. the head of nato is pledging to step up military patrols in countries that border ukraine. ambassador, thank you for your time and for being with us. nato released these satellite pictures last week, clearly showing troops amassed on the russian side of the border with ukraine. nato announced increased patrols over the baltic states, ships, land readiness, more flights over baltic states. this is presumably to reassure nato allies. when it comes to ukraine what can nato do? ukraine is not a nato partner. >> right, you're drawing a

correct distinction between nato allies and countries that are not allies. we have a commitment to defend the territory of all nato allies, including the pal particular states, poland and to son. it's simply to reassure those countries and create a deterrent against those countries. in the case of ukraine, we don't have that obligation, but we are very concerned when we see russia undermining a neighboring country, claiming that the citizens and territory should rightfully belong to russia and taking steps to actually bring that about. here we should be providing assistance to ukraine, perhaps military equipment, certainly advises to help them with tactics. right now, ukraine is facing a very tough problem of russian supported armed groups taking over buildings and facilities in eastern ukraine and then trying to reestablish control, risking that russia's own troops would pour over the border to come in.

>> president putin again denied that these are russian troops and russian forces involved. he also said. >> he did that in crimea, too. >> yeah. and he also said today that the reason moscow annexed crimea in part was influenced by nato enlargement around the black sea, which is russia's back yard. is what we're seeing, putin simply trying to restore the balance of power in this region and is that a junk for his actions. >> no, absolutely not and i'm glad you bring that up. that is a false narrative that we need to take apart. it was in the package before this interview, as well. taking over countries that have been independent previously and have an independent culture and history, estonia, latvia, lithuania, georgia, azerbaijan, what the soviet union collapsed because of the failures of their

own system, they became independent and wanted to make sure they were never going to be occupied or controlled by moscow again. even in central europe, you had countries that were forced to have communist systems, responsive to moscow, soviet troops on their territory, part of the warsaw pact, poland, czech republic, hungary. they were desperate to get rid of the soviet power and did. once they had their chance, they wanted to join nato for security. what russia is doing now is seeking to reestablish control and influence over neighboring countries and peoples and i don't see why we should consider it has any right to do so. >> talking about the international norms being violated in this case, because putin maybe reverting back to the cold war method of redrawing borders by force, however in crimea, we should point out,

there was an element of self determination. there was a referendum held in that region, some 97% of the population said they wanted to be part of russia. >> right, so crimea was a part of ukraine. the ukrainian constitution has a way for people to have elections and referendum decide their fate. russia instead inserted special forces, then regular forces, controlled the country, controlled the physical environment, the information environment and then in that context held this vote as a justification for annexing it to russia. this is not the exercise of a free and fair choice. look in scotland and all the effort going to make that a free election. contrast that with crimea. >> mmm, meanwhile, nato seems to be increasingly vocal. let's listen. >> we call on russia to be part of the solution to stop

destabilizing ukraine, pull back its troops from the borders and make clear. it doesn't support the violent actions of well-armed militias of pro russian accept are a activities. >> ukraine's troops have so far been unable to take back any of the ground loss to pro russian militants in several cities in the east. if president putin calling the west's bluff, he knows that the west doesn't want to intervene militarily and that the u.n. cannot. >> that's exactly what he's doing. putin has set this up in such a way that he'll usage taters and special forces to seize territory and buildings, create these fake referenda to create a justification for annexing this territory to russia. if ukraine seeks to stop that trying to reestablish its own control over its own territory, then these operatives will create conflict with those

forces, which russia will use as a justification to move its regular troops into that territory under the pretext of establishing order. either way, putin is planning to do that this and betting that western europe and united states won't stop him. >> former u.n. ambassador to nato and executive director at the mccain institute for national leadership. thank you for being with us this morning. >> in our next hour, we'll focus on whether u.s. and european sanctions are impacting the russian economy. >> when we come back, fighting an epidemic in america. >> attorney general eric holder said it's time to act on heroin abuse as the number of overdose deaths reaches a sad milestone. >> the state of illinois handing out money to first time homebuyers. it could help the entire state's economy. >> you could be giving up your right to sue simply by using a

company's coupon. >> always check the fine print. this and other headlines making stairs when we come back p.m.

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions

and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. the bombing campaign that some say amounts to genocide. >> a coupon, if you use it or you like somebody's company or facebook page, could you give up the right to suh if something happens? >> let's get a look at hour top stories this morning. the crisis in ukraine, talks underway in geneva aimed at finding a solution to the crisis there, coming as violence erupts

in mariupol, leaving three russian supporters dead. vladimir putin blames nato. >> they are still searching in south korea for 300 missing passengers onboard a capsized ferry. most of teenagers from a high school. >> a memorial service will be held for those killed in a jewish community center. a former k.k.k. leader has been charged with three counts of murder. >> in a statement emailed to journalists, the group accused the countries military of torturing prisoners and killing several taliban fighters during a 40 day truce. attacks on civilians have not stopped. a bomb exploded last month in a busy shopping area, killing 20.

pakistan's government has not i should a response to the group's announcement. >> jordan said war planes have destroyed several vehicles trying to cross the border from syria. a government spokesperson said the targets appear to be syrian rebels fleeing the country. opposition forces or accusing bashar al assad's government of committing genocide in aleppo. his regime has been dropping devastating bombs on that city for months. >> the bombs have a devastating effect. for the past four months, the rebel held area east of the city has been targeted by barrel bombs. syrian government helicopters drop them almost on a daily basis and they drop them on civilian areas. this campaign has forced tens of thousands to leave. >> there was a a large exodus due to the bombardment. there are less doctors. those who stayed got used to the

bombing. it has become routine and people got used to this life. >> many who didn't want to live that way fled. tens of thousands crossed into the government controlled west of the city or further north to turkey. this used to be one of the busiest neighborhoods in aleppo city. like many areas controlled by the opposition, it is almost desserted. those who stay behind struggle to stay alive. >> you cannot envy our situation and the reason is coming from the sky. people can no longer feel safe and cannot protect themselves. >> the barrel bombs are not precise weapons, so they hit indiscriminately. they are cheap to make, oil drums filled with exflowsives and shrapnel. activists say more than 1,000 people have been killed in barrel bomb attacks. >> the syrian national coalition, the main political opposition in compile said what is happening in syria's largest city is genocide.

it has asked the united states to take what is called an appropriate response, but so far, the use of barrel bombs has only drawn condemnation. >> some syrians started a social media campaign to show the world how serious the situation is. >> we want the world to listen to us. our people in aleppo are dying and being killed by assad's regime. until now, no one wants -- we could make then listen to us. >> apart from receiving messages of support, the save aleppo campaign has done little to end the suffering. life may go on in this city, which has been at war for almost two years. the barrel bomb campaign hasn't shifted the balance of power. the government may be hope to go create division between the people and the rebels. aljazeera. >> there are conflicting reports as to the whereabouts of 129

school girls kidnapped by nigerian rebels. military officials say eight are still missing after tuesdays object ducks, however the principal denies that, saying only 14 girls have been returned. it's the latest in a series of attacks by a group blamed for a bombing at a bus station monday that killed 75 people. >> heroin is the leading cause of death in many cities across the united states. law enforcement officials say open yet use is claiming more lives than car crashes and violent crime. in new york, the number of deaths is doubling the homicide rate. the fight needs to begin at home. >> we have to raise the consciousness of the nation, so that people understand that this in fact is a problem and that we talk about it. it is not something that we only discuss in these kinds of settings, it's something that gets discussed at the family dinner table, you know, in

churches, synagogs, mosques, where people get together. >> since 2007, the number of people using heroin has shot up more than 80%. federal officials say a supply from mexico and columbia and cheap prices are to blame. >> searching for the cause of an explosion that tore through a ammunition factory near insureville. the blast happened on wednesday. one person was killed, three others injured. walls were knocked down. the blast tore a huge hole through the building roof. it sparked nearby brush fires. >> a small town in texas recovering one year after that explosion at affeared lieser plant there. a memorial will mark the exact moment of the blast at west fertilizer company. it registered as a small earthquake and spread debris for miles. 15 were killed, more than 200 injured. a number of lawsuits have been

filed against the owners of the plant. >> b.p. is ending its active clean up of the louisiana coast. a rig explosion in 2010 killed 11 workers, spilled millions of gallons of oil and contaminated hundreds of miles of beaches. the u.s. coast guard stopped patrolling the final three miles of the affected shoreline. b.p. said containment crews will remain to responsibility to new reports of ail. b.p. that spent $14 million responding to the deep horizon disaster. >> the harsh winter and high prices leading to fewer home sales in february. in march, construction of new homes fell short of expectations, as well. one state is trying to jump start the housing market by helping first time homebuyers. >> we pulled your credit yesterday and it's a lot better. >> seven months of financial counseling is putting maya on the path to homeownership by helping her improve her tattered credit score. >> i went to college and once i

graduated, i i'd gotten the bill, but i did not pay it off. >> her current score is around 620, but counselor eddie says today banks demand much higher scores for a mortgage. >> anything less than that, they're asking for a lot of detailed information, letters of explanation. >> the chicago schoolteacher may still be in luck with support from a new program called welcome home illinois. the state wants to help an estimated 3,000 first time homebuyers by providing $7,500 in down payment assistance and cut rate financing to consumers. the state is stepping in because many banks still have a get-tough attitude towards many perspective homebuyers. >> a lot of lenders are trying to clean up balance sheets, and really pulled back from mortgage lending and they're also trying to absorb the new rules that have come out around qualified mortgages.

>> tougher lending rules coupled with rising home prices and interest rates could be behind a nationwide decline in mortgage original nations in the first quarter. major banks reported a drop of more than 50% from last year. >> for illinois, getting people into homes is critical. the state has the second highest unemployment rate in the nation, so the idea is if people buy homes, they might also buy alines toes and furniture, boosting other areas of the economy. >> the welcome home illinois program has its own set of requirements to make sure those who get assistance getting into homes have the means to stay in them. applicants must have a better credit score. this isn't the first time illinois has provided assistance, the $30 million ear marked for down payment assistance is the most generous.

>> it's designed to provide opportunities to working class families, and the extent that we can add to that economic recovery that illinois is experiencing, we're happy to have that part of it. >> the teacher wants to add to the recovery by the end of the year, hoping by then she can buy a home. aljazeera, chicago. >> qualified first time homeowners can receive up to $7,500 toward down payment or closing costs, offering interest rates as low as 3.75% on a 30 year loan. >> "the new york times" asks if liking a brand on line, like on their facebook page voids the right to sue them. general mims, the makers of major serials have quietly added this language to their website. if you use the coupons on their facebook page, like the page, you might not be able to sue the company if you ever have a dispute over one of their

products. >> they would like you very, very much. they added the headline at the bottom. people didn't know it was there. also be the republic reporting on a major severance package for a tap yahoo executive, 15 months on the job, $58 million is what he got paid. ricky decastro was the chief operating officer. a lot of people are saying this questions the former head of yahoo's judgment, because she hired him and let him go a short while later. >> the fact that yahoo stock has doubled, not apparently thanks to this guy, but because they bought a piece of the big chinese company. >> it still says an awful lot about how much they make at the top. >> 16 months on the job. "u.s.a. today" reporting on minnesota state players boycotting practice after their old coach returned. the coach had been fired. the firing was ruled unfair, so

he was brought back to the job and his players really liked the interim coach, because he got them to 2ncaa playoffs. they don't want the old coach back. >> it was a controversial firing. he had pictures on his cell phone that were not appropriate and they were 20 our-2 under the interim coach, a lot of players said winning is everything. >> he was exonerated on those charges but they don't want him pack. >> a documentary follows the lives of three street musicians in indonesia. we talked to the real life stars of the movie. ♪ >> the stage was always the city bus, his home the streets. now he has become an unlikely movie star. together with two others, he is featured in the film. it means "street side."

>> my message to the audience is don't look down on street musicians. they are the flowers of the street. if you treat them well, they'll become very precious, but if you throw them away, they have no value. ♪ >> on the streets since the age of 13, she now that four children. >> i'm a housewife, but i'm also struggling in the streets. i want to make my family happy. >> it is a struggle of survive in a world many don't know exists, and inspiring hundreds of thousands of indonesian street children. >> poor people are normally objectified in films, if ever shown, it's always abobjects, as

subjects. here they are the heroes, in some senses the super heroes and rock stars and carry with them tremendous wisdom. >> he still lives in a tunnel under the city center. he's been here more than 15 years and calls it the hyatt. >> they consider us human garbage. i'm sad, because i've been on the streets for such a long time. normally if i go to the cinema, i see other stars, now i can see myself. i'm sad and proud at the same time, but not happy yet. >> the makers of the documentary hope that it will be an eye opener and help improve the lives of those on the street side. >> aljazeera.

>> the if i aming won best documentary. >> an icon reaching new heights. >> the ford mustang celebrating year 50. we're going to tell you how they managed to get one car on the top floor of the empire state building. >> college students may be sweating a little less to the s.a.t. some say it creates equal opportunity, others claim it's about making money. >> our discovery of the day. >> new information that the fiercest predator in the ocean was once just an ordinary fish.

>> it's time for our discovery of the day coming from arkansas. >> the recent finding of a fossil found a shark dating back

300 million years. its gills resemble a tuna. >> that finding reverses earlier assumptions that sharks definitely and their gills before modern fish. >> the discovery challenges the long held belief that the anatomy of sharks, including the size has barely changed since the dinosaur age. >> straight ahead, celebrating the 50th anniversary of an american original, the ford mustang. >> lets check in with nicole mitchell to check the weather. >> a little bit of everything this morning. we'll talk about the on going snowstorm in the midwest in a second. the pacific northwest, one system coming in today, another by friday night. we're start to go get back in a more active pattern with rain and some areas because it's cold enough of mountain snow, so watch for that. still on going with the snow in the midwest, wisconsin, measure

picking that up, a lot of places picked up about a foot with this system, which is tapering off, but you'll shovel out for the next day or two. back to you. >> the mustang is one of the most popular muscle cars made, first hit the road 50 years ago in 1954 and ford is celebrating including looking now at a picture of the empire state building here in new york city. they parked a bright yellow mustang at the top of the 103 story building. engineers cut up a car, brought it up in pieces and resembled it. we look back at drivers long love affair with the original. >> coming april 17, the unexpected, the new ford mustang. brilliant new kind of car. >> the 1964 ford mustang cost $2,300, and americans couldn't get enough of them.

the fast and stylish roadster cruised into 1960's pop culture and inspired incurable car lust in millions of american males. 82-year-old jim has been selling and restoring mustangs for 45 years. >> what has the mustang meant to you in your life? >> 45 years worth of pleasure. i've been retired, basically for 45 years. working on mustangs. >> we pointed out one slight design flaw. >> the back seat is a little too small to make out in. >> well. [ laughter ] >> depends how bad you want to make out. >> over the years, the mustang has been very good to ford. the company has sold more than 9 million. >> i think the enduring appeal goes back to when we launched it in 1964 and 1965.

it was a sense of optimism in america at that time, a sense of freedom and it really captured for that generation that feeling, not only in the u.s., but around the world. >> proving that the mustang mystique is alive and well, hundreds set out from los angeles for a mustangs across america tour. >> it's the experience, you people the road, everyone knows it's a mustang, and it's american. >> mustang is unique to america. >> the car may be uniquely american, but love for it is international. these guys came all the way from slovakia. >> what does mustang mean to you guys? >> it is legend. >> here's a tip. if you're driving your mustang across country, always take along a kid to wax and polish. ford is throwing a big birthday bash for it's now middle age baby in where else, las vegas,

so that's where we're heading right now. rob reynolds, aljazeera on the road to vegas in a mustang. the first was introduced in 1964 in new york. >> the college board behind the s.a.t. is overhauling the college entrance exam. changes include a math section focusing on analytical problem solving. each section will be worth 800 points, going back to the 1600. scale that we remember. a timed essay portion is now optional. critics long argued the s.a.t.

favors students from higher economic background and has lost ground to the a.c.t. a professor from new york university joins us in studio. why are they making these changes? >> the main reason has to do with widespread knowledge that scores on the tests are very strongly associated with the students' social and economic backgrounds. it just seems unfair that poor students do much worse on the test than more affluent students. some of it has to do with the preparation that students get, families can afford more preparation object others less. some has to do with the nature of the tests, the questions, the differences that the families and experiences they offer their children. there are lots of reasons. i think that's the idea of making it more fair is probably the biggest motivator.

>> 800 colleges now dropping the s.a.t.'s, american university, arizona state and ohio state, those are pretty big names and schools. it really has to shake them up in the boardroom at the s.a.t.s. >> it is a business, a not for profit business. these are not profit making corporations, but they have to make their money and pay their rent. there's no question there are business considerations. i think the challenge that has come from the optional movement is one that they take very seriously. there are a lot of clems and universities that do not require the s.a.t. and that's a threat to the business model of the organization. >> they're losing ground to the s.a.t.s, 1 million students taking the s.a.t. exam,

1.8 million the act's. are these changes really about leveling the playing field? >> well, it's another way of asking the question. i think it clearly has to do with the challenges that the s.a.t. is facing. there are multiple kinds of challenges they are facing. i think the biggest issue is whether or not they can figure out a way to convince the population that we are -- that they created a test, that there's a better job of providing the opportunities that they claim that the test exists to provide. whether or not they are going to be able to convince colleges to continue to require the test, we're going to see. >> are you concerned that we are now becoming a society of test takers and not thinkers? >> well, part of the problem has to do with the fact that so many kids are now going to college. the colleges are certainly the

attractive ones, the selective ones are under really significant pressure to select a population of students. the question becomes what's the measure that we use to choose. the colleges have a pecking order, in part pecking order based on their ability to select and choose students. the question is what are the devices they use to choose students and are those acceptable as fair and legitimate. there's no question that they're under -- a challenge there. >> professor, thank you for being with us. >> president obama is promoting a new plan to help train americans for skilled jobs, along with vice president biden, mr. obama announced $600 million in grants for two new programs. the first will partner community colleges with employers to create job training programs, the second help expand apprenticeship programs. >> when it comes to training our workers, not all of today's good

jobs require a four year college degree, but there's not a job out there that's going to pay a lot if you don't have some sort of specialized training. our best bet is keeping ahead in the skills race. >> president obama added that better skills are the key to growing the middle class. a majority of funds for these programs will come from money already set aside for job training by the labor department. >> ahead in our next hour, detroit taking on that massive operation trying to deal with a backlog of blighted properties. we'll talk about that and other problems detroit faces. >> several thousand afghan interpreters fear for their safety after several colleagues were murdered. why many of them aren't being helped after they put their lives on the line. >> i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell. spring snowstorm today, but a huge warm up for the weekend. i'll have the details on our weather whiplash.

>> aljazeera america continues right after a break. we are back with you in just two minutes.

>> secretary of state john kerry brings russia and ukraine to the negotiating table as clashes in eastern ukraine leave three pro russian supporters dead. >> guy and rescue crews in south korea still searching for missing passengers of the capsized ferry. >> i had folks call me and say i can't afford it, i'm leaving. >> leaders look to bring life

back to detroit by singing a song to the tune of millions of dollars. >> clowns are still funny, we're still cool, we're not going anywhere. >> shrinking numbers of the funny folk threaten the future of these entertainers. >> the battle for ukraine is taking place on multiple fronts. ukraine's interior minister said three armed accept are a activities attacked a base in the city of mariupol. >> the men tried to use molotov cocktails to storm the base. vladimir putin speaking today, saying ukrainian forces in eastern cities are making the crisis worse. >> people started to get weapons themselves and instead of trying to make dialogue they started to

use more force and they started to send aviation and tanks to the civil population. to people it is a serious violation, serious offense of the current kiev government. >> in geneva today, talks between the u.s., europe, russia and ukraine comes as president obama issues his strongest warning to moscow about escalating the ukraine crisis. >> they're not interested in any kind of military confrontation with us, understanding that our conventional forces are significantly superior to the russians. we don't need a war. what we do need is a recognition that countries like ukraine can have relationships with a whole range of their neighbors, and it is not up to anybody, whether russia or the united states or anybody else to make decisions for them. >> we have global team coverage tracking the cries in ukraine,

we are in ukraine and moscow. >> we begin with nick spicier in geneva where world leaders are meeting to hash out a solution. >> the foreign ministers gathered around the table here have different views of what's happening in ukraine. you have ukrainians, the americans and the europeans accusing moscow of stirring up unrest in the southeast of the country, sending in intelligence officers, possibly special forces, troops, to take over the local administrative buildings and to create unrest that might possibly justify a military intervention by the tens of thousands of russian troops who have been gathered along the border of ukraine for some weeks now. then you have the russian perspective delivered by the foreign minister sergey lavrov saying that russia is doing nothing to stir up problems in ukraine. the problem there, according to

the kremlin is that the rights of the russian speakers in that part of the country are not being respected and the only solution the russians see is to have a federalization of ukraine, increasing autonomy, something bordering on independence for the regions bordering russia in order that they might have an independent foreign policy of their own and align closer with the kremlin. >> that is nick spicier reporting from geneva. >> vladimir putin is denying his troops are in eastern ukraine, making comments this morning during a call-in show. the russian government is backtracking on prefers claims that his troops were ever in crimea, as peter sharp has more. >> we had president putin flatly denying it. >> this is nonsense, there are no forces, they are all local citizens. the best proof is that the people have taken off their masks.

they are the owners of the land and they will not leave. >> that runs totally counter to what the u.s. the e.u. and kiev says, russia is making all the running in eastern ukraine and heating the unrest there. putin went on to see interestingly enough that he admitted that russian troops were involved in the annexation of crimea. this was after forthright denial by him, lavrov, press secretary saying categorically at the time that russian troops weren't involved. putin says they were and they were there because there were many weapons in sevastopol because it's a russian military base and said without the troops, the referendum could not have taken place. the q. and a. basically is covering a lot of crimea and the ukraine for very obvious reasons. speaking to the people of

ukraine, putin said that standards are living are going to rise, salaries will rise and military who have stayed on and not gone back to ukraine will be getting paid four times as much as ukrainian troops. if there was one note of reassurance, putin said that there is no way, he's certain that russia and the ukraine can reach when he described as mutual agreement. we have too much to do with each other not to do that, he said. >> during that public question and answer show, an appearance by an unexpected guest, edward snowden asking president putin about his countries security programs and whether they target citizens. >> does russia independent, store or analyze in any way the communications of millions of individuals? >> i have seen little discussion about russian involvement in a mass surveillance program. we don't have such a mass system

of such interception and according to our law, it can't exist. >> now, before putin's reply there, he stated he would speak professionally one-on-one to snowden as a former k.g.b. agent to a former spy. >> meanwhile, pro russian militia's flexing their muscles in eastern ukraine, seizing buildings and taking control of tanks and combat vehicles. ukraine tried to take control but had to retreat. >> it's a cat and mouse game. we are at the exact same location where yesterday, 50 meters from where i'm standing were six armored vehicles that had been seized from the ukrainian paratroopers. they have disappeared this morning. we ask where they've gone, we're told on a mission. i think we'll find out in a few hours what's happening there. now the buildings that have been

seized like the one behind me, this is a police building getting barricaded and fortified, the men inside say they are not going to leave until something actually really moves and it's not just all political talk. >> sergey lavrov is expected to speak shortly. we are watch that go news conference and will bring you developments. >> families wait for word of loved ones r. once missing after a deadly ferry accident wednesday in south korea. divers are battling current and windy conditions searching for people missing. the captain and his crew face accusations they were among the first off the doomed ship, leaving hundreds of passengers to fend for themselves. >> we are more on the on going investigation. >> day two of this operation and rescue crews were in little

doubt where the missing must be. for all the boats and helicopters and drivers, just getting access to the upturned ferry, let alone locating anyone inside remains a challenge. fast moving currents, poor visibility and the depths have made for slow progress, something concern was expressed about. the parents have already been through so much and this ordeal is becoming only more grueling. >> you are just repeating what they're saying on the news, the woman tells officials. they say there have been too few dives and time is running out for their children. facebook posts and texts are coming from inside the ferry. >> we think 60 to 70 people are still alive but when we talk to them, they just worry about whose job it is. they keep passing it on to somebody else. >> many parents stood vigil through last night and now through another awful day.

what they want of course is what authorities haven't been able to provide them, some real news of the fate of their loved ones. investigators are trying to determine just what caused the disaster. police are also questioning the captain. local media say he left the ship even while its public address system was telling passengers to stay put. scores of parents were returning from a trip to see for themselves the rescue effort at sea, a response to a national tragedy made up of a hundred individual ones. >> joining us on the phone is the associated press bureau chief in spoul. >> officials are not discussing

openly how many people are still alive. they are pushing ahead with rescue efforts. nobody is saying anything other than they're going to work to get these people out. the families are becoming more and more pessimistic with extreme anger, fury direct the against it is government and media >> you can certainly understand that, 300 passengers still missing, most high school students. what more have you heard about the captain and the crews actions on this ferry? >> we had an interview with a crew member, a helms man on the

ship. he woke up when the ship was already tilting, ran to the bridge and by the time he got there, he says the ship was already tilting at an angle that was more speed than accounted be righted. there's a technical angle where it's possible to right the ship. he says it was past that angle. he said despite that, the captain ordered efforts to right the ship even though it was past that angle. that happened. meanwhile, they sent out an announcement that passengers should stay where they are, put on their life jackets and that half hour passed before the captain told the bridge to order an evacuation. this person we talked to says that he never actually heard announcement go out on the loud speaker, just the captain announce at which point the captain and crew proceeded to leave the ship. he said it's actually not possible at that point to help the passengers, because the boat

was already tilted at such an extreme angle, they had trouble walking, let alone leading an evacuation, so it was a scene of confusion and chaos. we're still not clear, because we haven't talked to the co. or heard any extensive comments to him any defense of what happened or whether he was following some protocol that we don't know of. >> >> there is still an on going rescue operation. thank you. >> a memorial service is going to be held today in kansas city for shootings at two jewish community centers. eric holder is expected to speak. he is pushing to train police on how to deal with active shooter situations. prosecutors have charged frasier glen miller with all three murders. he will face federal hate crime charges, as well. >> her-run is killing more americans than car crashes and

violent crime. in 2012, there are 700 fatal overdoses in new york city alone, half related to heroin. eric holder vowed the justice department will be judge land in enforcing drug laws. >> people should understand that this is a problem and we need to talk about it not only in these kinds of settings, but something that gets discussed at the family dinner table, in churches, synagogs and mosques, where people get together. >> the drug use shot up 80%, heroin cheaper than prescription drugs. >> a lot of you folks are still feeling the april chill, but warmer weather is on the way. >> she promises. let's go to nicole mitchell to find out exactly when it might arrive. >> we had warmer weather last week and then the bottom dropped

out. it is that time of year where we get the yoyo affect. snowstorm this morning in wisconsin, picking up over a foot of snow like in drummond and in minnesota and cold enough temperatures that we have freeze warnings in a lot of the mid atlantic. you can see a lot of these temperatures in the 40's. it's a holiday weekend. what do we have in store for warmer temperatures. we'll spring right to saturday. minneapolis, we had more of the snow to the north of here, but already up to 65 by saturday. part of the influence for all of that is and this is over the next couple days, you can see the yell lows, the warmer temperatures slowly creeping farther north each day. by saturday, we'll have a flow coming out of the south once again, helping to cook those temperatures well up into the middle part of the country. those were some of the temperatures you were just

looking at. sunday could see warmer temperatures, possibly getting around the 70's in places that just saw snow. the snow isn't going to be long lived, chicago at 70 degrees and to give a perspective over the next couple days, already starting to warm today. by the holiday weekend, looking really nice for a lot of people, do have chances for rain over the weekend. warmer temperature is appreciated. >> we'll take it. thank you. >> nigerias president is summons his natural security council to combat escalating violence after violence that week killing 75 people and the kidnapping of 129 female stands top the president vowed to deploy maximum efforts against the group blamed for the blast at a bus station and the abductions. >> south sudan is on the brink of famine. u.n. secretary ban ki-moon saying 1 million people will starve unless there is immediate action. he says the country is fighting

malnutrition and dyer humanitarian conditions, it has been swept by violence when fighting broke out. >> this is south sudan, normally home to around 7,000 people, but now hundreds are leaving. they are driven by fighting between government and rebels. this state is rich in oil and therefore straitically important to both sides.

>> he is doing more corruption by exploiting our resources. >> they attempted to attack the area, the town, and now after now, they are being resisted and the fighting is still going on. >> many people driven from their homes have tried to take refuge with the u.n. at its base with there are hundreds of people trying to reach the safety of the u.n. base. we think we've now got 9,000 people inside our base there. what we've just managed to do in the midst of the violence is to send a patrol of peacekeepers. >> the south sudanese army says it is clear who is to blame for the violence.

>> this has happened with the support of armed men. and a group who have committed crimes in darfur. in the city, they killed civilians in hospitals and the mosque and the market. >> that term can be translated as meaning thugs or bullies something that the rebels have accused each other of being in recent days. aljazeera. >> south sudan gaining its independence from so dan in 2011. >> looking to build on an economic recovery in the motor city, why getting rid of 80,000 properties is critical to the success of detroit going forward. >> it's considered a hybrid of twitter and facebook and is one of the most widely used websites in china. the reason it's choosing the u.s. over china to make its stock market debut. >> there's no planning around for these performers as their business of entertaining people around the world faces an

uncertain future and for once, they're not laughing.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. up next, china's verse of twitter set to make its debut in the u.s. this morning. >> first, temperatures across the nation today. nicole mitchell is back. >> i already gave you the glimpse into the weekend and a little bit of recovery. we still have to get through the cold stuff this morning. a lot of temperatures in the 30's, new york at 37. we've had snow moving across the western great lakes region and close to that report of moisture near the snow. we're starting to see recovery. these temperatures still below average, 64 for atlanta for example. quite warm, phoenix at 92 already. by the time we get into friday, more widespread warmth, denver 78. east coast, temperatures nudge closer to where they should be. by the holiday weekend, some temperatures starting to squeak

above average, so there is relief in sight. >> new fed chair janet yellen said the fed will keep interest rates low until the recovery is more secure and american job market better. >> purpose of my remarks today is to emphasize that there can be a lot of twists and turns. we need to be alert to what is happening in the economy and to respond to what we see happening and not a fixed idea that we perhaps held at some earlier time about what will come to pass. >> yellen warned that low inflation poses a more immediate threat than rising prices. >> a makeover for the milwaukee bucks, the team sold for a whopping $550 million. wednesday, the current owner herb coal announced the sale. the new owners will commit

$100 million each toward a new arena. cole bought the team for $18 million. the deal must be finalized by league owners. >> yahoo chief operating officer walking away with a severance package, only on the job 15 months before he was fired, let go after the c.e.o. realized that he wasn't executing her plan for reviving yahoo. >> china's version of twitter is set to go public on the nasdaq today, hope to go raise $500 million. it's estimated to have attracted six must not million users. the countries revenues have tripled in a year to $118 million. >> the site is one of the most widely used of all the social networks in china and could best be described as a hybrid between twitter and facebook. it is accessed by over 30% of

internet users here and has a market penetration similar to twitter in the united states. when launched five years ago, it radically changed the way news spread in china's environment with protests against government officials aired on its site. it's highly monitored by the chinese government and engages in its own self censorship. >> everything there is restrained and people from outside who are going to use it are going to try to educate people inside of china. >> finding out how many people actually use it is a difficult task, because marketing companies generate millions of zombie accounts. of the more than 500 million registered users, 10 million generate more than 90% of messages. >> it's a platform for people to express themselves. >> easy to keep up with the news

in china. it's quite good, useful. >> ironically, it is launching in the united states, because under chinese rules, a company cannot float if it hasn't turned a profit. >> that was craig leeson reporting from hong kong. the price is valid at $3.4 billion. >> we continue to track the situation in ukraine, the president weighing whether to issue sanctions in russia over the crisis there. >> how that accounted backfire and hurt american interests overseas. >> the man claiming to be an american citizen caught in the middle of a corrupt police force and the justice system, now his criminal record could work against him. >> we have an opportunity to identify those talented people and really amplify their voice and their message in a unique way. >> it's become a piece of the big apple. how the tribeca film festival has become a part of the fabric and culture of new york city more than a deck indicate after its inception. >> we look at the escalating

standoff of the crisis in ukraine. we're going to have more of that meeting between world leaders in geneva right now trying to end the situation there.

real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the

world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> ahead, detroit looking to put a department in blytheed neighborhoods. we'll talk about the effort the city is undertaking to tear down properties. >> >> first, our top story, the crisis in ukraine. the interior minister saying 300 pro russian accept are a activities stormed buildings in

mariupol today. russian president vladimir putin holding a q. and a. on russian television denies russian troops are acting in eastern ukraine. we spoke to natos former ambassador said it doesn't mean putin isn't involved. >> he'll usage taters to create justification. if ukraine seeks to stop that trying to reestablish its own control over its own territory, then these operatives will create conflict with those forces, which russia will use as a justification to move its regular troops into that territory under the pretext of establishing order. either way, putin is planning to do that this and betting that western europe and united states won't stop him. >> putin did admit that russian

troops were on the ground prior to the march referendum in crimea. >> the u.s. is warning russia of more sanctions if it doesn't pull its troops away from ukraine's eastern border. the white house placed restrictions on influential russian businessman. critics wonder whether it is having any impact. >> the obama administration said it has proof that russia is behind this, the unrest in eastern ukraine and they are warning if a diplomatic solution can't be worked out, they are ready to respond. >> if there are not steps taken by russia to deescalate, we will take additional steps including additional sanctions. >> the current sanctions on people close to russian president vladimir putin are having an impact. >> the market value of its stocks, of its exchange rate, it has been moving in a bad direction. >> if you use those parameters, it actually isn't, not the

markets, it has actually increased since sanctions were imposed. the value of the ruble to the dollar has barely changed. >> we have a high level of uncertainty in the global financial markets, serious capitol flight and a situation where investors are not ready to make investment decisions in the tense international situation we've had for the past two months. the economic situation is not stable. >> president barack obama has raised the idea of target the sanctions at entire sections of the russian economy such as oil and mining. that could have a big impact on american companies. >> the obvious one would be a company like exxon-mobil, which has significant investment in russia and is about to sign a very comprehensive and far-reaching deal with the russian state oil company. the deal almost certainly would go down the tubes if more

serious sanctions were imposed. >> the obama administration will still go into the meeting making threats. what it hasn't said is how big of a threat it actually is. >> the u.s. said the sanctions are affecting russians economy, siting to drop in the russian ruble and the loss of $70 billion in investments. >> investigators are searching for the cause of an explosion ripping through a tennessee ammunition factory. a dozen people working at the plant 50 miles from nashville, one person was killed, three others injured. walls were knocked down, a hole burned through the building. the explosion touched off small brush fires. >> a texas town recovering one year after a deadly fertilizer plant explosion. residents will holt a memorial marking the exact moment of the blast at the west fertilizer company. the blow registered as a small earthquake and sprayed debris for miles. if i were were killed, including

12 volunteer firefighters. more than 200 people were injured. lawsuits have been filed against the plant's owners. >> 15 people were injured when two fire trucks collided in california wednesday. the trucks from different democrats were responding to a house fire in monterey park. one of the trucks slid into a restaurant during the crash. officials say both trucks had their lights and sirens on. an investigation is underway. >> the city of detroit has been hit hard by decline, the urban decay becoming dangerous. 20% of the city's housing is empty, 80,000 homes. 60% of the fires in detroit involve abandoned buildings. we are in detroit with more on how the city is making an effort to turn things around. >> 80,000 abandoned buildings fill detroit's landscape. the result is of 50 years of decline. race riots in the 1960s, a dying auto industry and finally, the great recession fueled the

exodus. the population is down to 700,000 after a peak of close to 2 million. >> we saw folks walk away. i had folks tell me i'm leaving, i can't afford it. >> neighborhoods are plagued by crime. the abandoned burned out and rotted out homes speak to the decline. >> it's tough to see it go down this far. we're hanging in there. i will say that, we're hanging in there. >> these are structures targeted by scrappers squatters and illegal dumpers. >> was there a sense of hopelessness with the blight situation? >> dex frustration. frustration with the fact that we're stuck with these homes for so long, and nobody was maintaining them, nobody was taking responsibility. >> they are now. detroit is now embarking on a historic effort to tear down blight. in its bankruptcy restructuring,

the city proposes to set aside a half billion dollars to clear out urban decay. this would amount to razeeing buildings. >> there is opportunity for economic development that will come after the blight is removed. >> there is a lot of land to cover. forty of the city's 139 square miles are already vacant. >> the city's biggest challenge after eliminating blight is to begin to assemble the land for reuse. >> the city that begun an on line program to auction off vacant city owned homes. aljazeera, detroit. >> tomorrow we'll look at a young detroit restauranteur who rents out space for pennies on the square foot. >> the president of the business association in detroit this

morning joins us. high crime, aging infrastructure, bankruptcy, other than that, how do you get young entrepreneurs to come to detroit? >> we're seeing a wonderful revitalization in our community. certainly high crime and high urban decay is certainly a challenge for any major municipality, but here in southwest detroit and in particular southwest detroit business association has really worked hard to really build immigrant community, we are a largely predominantly latino community with very unique start ups, restaurants, food manufacturers. our organization has worked closely with private and public partners to really enhance the quality of life, to make it a more attractive community for not only our business entrepreneurs, but for our residents. >> the infrastructure is still a

major problem. battling the blight, nearly half of detroit's 88,000 street lights are broken. how do you fix this? >> that's a great question. in fact, the detroit business association launched a groundbreaking ceremony to replace the lighting infrastructure along a major business artery in the city of detroit, replacing nearly 200 street lights with new light poles, led lights, landscaping, sidewalks and curbs. we see this as a way to improve safety. we have ruffle 17 schools on or near the highway where children are walking to and from and in some case in the dark. this is a wonderful way to improve safety, but importantly, we see small business owners who are willing to stay open past 6:00 p.m. if the street lights are on, and so this is a wonderful way to really enhance the quality of life for our residents and business owners

and hopefully drive visitors to the area. >> michael, one of the things that often happens when we see urban decay, you have seen this first happened is cities go through their highs and lows and the people who stick around are the ones that usually wind up losing the most. when detroit turns around, will it be the old detroit or something completely different from the motor city, motown to we used to know? >> i always look toward the positive, the future. the city has some wonderful things on the horizon. we are working very hard. the duncan administration has done a wonderful job to change the quality of life for our residents. the adopt a part program is kicking off, 300 public parks in the city, encouraging local businesses as well as organizations to adopt a park and really take pride in ownership in our community. it's about being a part of the solution. we can't rely just on the city to make positive change happen.

it's about creative solutions and organizations, individuals as well as elected officials thinking creatively to really make a positive impact. >> if i am watching right now and sitting in one of those cities other than detroit, right now i'm thinking what can i get good, cheap in detroit. sell me on what i can get in expensively that will change my lifestyle say if i live in new york. >> real estate certainly is one. we have real estate for investors to come to the city of detroit and explore. for example, in southwest detroit, there's a 6.9-acre property that's a former d.p.w. lot that's under utilized, that has been scrapped, vandalized. we're working with the urban land institute to evaluated this property to determine its best and most practical use. we are doing our due diligence to rehabilitates the property and bring in a developer. certainly we have the real estate in the city of detroit.

we also have the people. detroit it a wonderful, vibrant municipality. we encourage folks to come and explore. we have interesting start ups. i know the michigan brewery opening up in cork town, one of our historic districts, we have a former detroit precinct that is now a home of artisans and local fine artists that was performed and revamped entirely inside, allowing to support creative culture in our community. there's really wonderful real estate, so come and explore detroit, check it out and find out what's available for you and your business. >> michael, you're right. sadly, that causes people to come to cities. it is the value that they look for. michael can be thanks. >> the mustang is one of the motor popular muscle cars ever made. it first hit the road 50 years ago in 1964 and ford is

celebrating. you are looking at a live picture of the empire state building. on the top of that building, they have parked a bright yellow mustang. it's 103 story building, so engineers had to cut up one of the cars, brought it up in pieces, resembled it on the top floor. it's the same stunt they pulled half a century ago when the mustang debuted. ford plans on making 1964 of these limited edition cars. they will be an sale later this year. >> the taliban ending its ceasefire with the pakistani government will still continue the peace stalks. in a statement sent to journalists, the government is accused of killing several taliban fighters during the truce. attacks on civilians didn't stop. a bomb killed 20 in a busy shopping center. the pakistani government has not i should a response. >> several thousand interpreters working with nato forces in

afghanistan are trying to leave the country. they say it's because they fear the taliban. many aren't getting the help they're asking for. >> protesting outside of heavily fortified entrance to the british embassy in kabul is perhaps as close as these former military interpreters will get to british territory. branded as spies by the taliban and in fear for thor lives, they want asylum in the united kingdom. the british government prefer they stay here. >> it was like hell, because we were going on the ground, we were facing taliban, even though we were not trained. the head of the british forces, the fact that i joined the british forces, i thought i could help my country, because i knew english. best of all, nobody else was happy to come and do interpretation. >> this man interpreted for the british military, then his

family got a warning letter from the taliban. >> written warning is the last warning. after that, they will come to your home and they will kill all your family. >> more than 20 afghan interpreters were thought to died serving alongside british troops. despite the risks, the british government has been reluctant to provide blanket asylum for all those who worked at interpreters. >> the british government offered resettlement for workers working for the british government. others were offered local training or redundancy. that date is when britain's prime minister announced the troop draw down from afghanistan. those that left before that don't qualify. the interpreters say such a cut off is irrelevant to the taliban. >> in the past year, the taliban has killed two afghan interpreters who worked for

nato. >> deportations in the u.s. are declining, the number of people deported through the u.s. courts is down 35% according to justice democratic data analyzed by "the new york times." one reason is that the obama administration is opening fewer deportation court cases. last year, there were 20% less cases than 2009. under the the obama administration, it's come under criticism for 2 million deportations. however many at the border do not go through the courts. it's estimated that there were 11 million people in the country illegally. >> many of those are caught in immigration crackdowns. researchers say there is evidence of american citizens deported by their own government. we talked to one man who said he's american but he's been deported to mexico six times. >> he is afraid to stand still. back in mexico, he's wary of

kidnapping gangs and corrupt police. he had to pay them $10 to leave him alone. he wanders the streets of know gal less with no friends or family. at the age of 40, he's forced to start over again. >> depressed. >> this is the sixth time he has been deported. he says he's a u.s. citizen. in 2008, he convinced a federal criminal court that he had a right to be in the united states, but an immigration judge said he hasn't proved he's a citizen and with a criminal record including domestic violence, drug possession and burglary, deporting him was a priority. he is one of 2 million people deported under president obama.

>> he says the u.s. government has a clear strategy for people like him. >> to make it so hard that that suffering very manly gets to you bow down and break and then say i can't do it anymore. >> that strategy may be working. for the first time, he is questioning whether to cross back, knowing it will likely mean more jail time. deportees are dropped off in this border city every day. >> migrants come to places like this looking for basic services, showers, to make phone calls, or just eat a meal, but other than that he is extremely basic things, they are not given much support here to start their lives over. >> he needs help, so asks to borrow a phone. nearly out of money, he called his sister in the u.s. she wired him $100. just enough for a short trip to the coast. he's heard there are more jobs

on the beach than in the desert. >> i would like to cross back, but i don't want to do time. i don't want to go to jail no more. >> unsure where he'll end up, he still dreams of somehow being allowed to go home, a dream he now knows may never come true. aljazeera, nogales, mexico. >> detainees have a large amount of american citizens. >> six every day americans retrace the steps taken by immigrants who died trying to get to the u.s. p.m. you can camp that special monday evening at 9:00 eastern time. >> thief been a stable at birthday parties and circuses for decades. >> why these performers are disappearing one by one. n al ja.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. just ahead, how new york city's tribeca film festival built up careers. >> whether or not it is going to snow today. we turn to nicole mitchell. >> sounds like an ad question, but we have a potent snowstorm. the western portion of the great lakes having snow this morning in places like the u.p. of michigan. it will taper off into the afternoon hours, but we've already seen places with over a foot of accumulation, like wisconsin, a foot reported. on top of that, another couple inches before this winds down. it's going to be a very slow morning. low pressure in the gulf coast spinning out, especially friday, a very wet day, some places over

three inches easily. six inches in a couple of isolated spots so watch for flooding concerns tomorrow. >> tribeca gets under way in new york city. the documentary about the making of an album is one of more than 80 independent and international movies and documentaries that will be shown. the festival itself is becoming as iconic as the city. >> it's billed as a venue for the world's independent movie makers. when the film festival began, the mission was to help manhattan recover from the attacks of september 11. in the days that followed the collapse, the nearby neighborhood was badly hit. many residents were scared away, others had health concerns. a year later, the film festival was established by figures like robert deniro. >> it's actually become part of the city and hopefully will become something that will last

for a long, long time. >> now tribeca is bustling, a rebirth of a once struggling neighborhood. >> it has done more than emerge from the shadow of september 11. this is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in manhattan. a one bedroom apartment will cost $1.5 million, well out of reach for any aspiring filmmaker, but the festival is a stepping stone into one of the world's large evident film markets. >> there were more than 6,000 entries this year, whittled down to a handful from across the globe. it's a mix of undiscovered talent that makes this festival unique. >> are you ok? [ creaming ] >> people from all over the world are submitting films and having them accepted. some of these films might not get a distributor or end up on television, but are seen at the festival and that is extremely

valuable. >> last year over 100,000 people bought tickets, that number is expected to grow this year. this is an audience keen to discover the next big thing. >> it is a huge opportunity for international films and smaller american films as well. >> we have an opportunity to identify those talented people and their voice and message. >> lower manhattan now bristles with energy and renewal, thanks in part to the magic of the silver vein. aljazeera, narc. >> the festival runs for 10 more days. >> diabetes in america, the number of people diagnosed gross, the number of complications is dropping. better diagnosis, monitor and treatment has led to a decrease is heart attacks, strokes and amputations. the number of heart attacks dropped 68%.

>> they're in the business of putting a smile on your face but not finding much to be happy about themselves. many who work at professional clowns say the media is giving them a bad rap. aljazeera reports on a serious decline in the funny business. >> the laughs are pretty much guaranteed in front of a circus crowd, away from the lights, it's no joke. clowns are in trouble. put a group like this together, you can guarantee there will be chaos, but there is serious talk here among the madness at the annual general meeting. they don't major anymore. which is cause ago problem. >> this is no laughing matter. they have seen their numbers fall. the problem is many clowns blame television, movies, saying their image has been altered. people don't see them as funny, they find them slightly weird and in this cases, a little bit

scary. >> it's down to 2,000 registered clowns in the u.s. clowns international, the body which represents them has seen their meship fall from 1,000 down to 100. >> kids still love us. there's no doubt about it. but the kids are not the ones who book us. we need to get the message out to the moms and dads that clowns are still funny, still cool, we're still here. we're not going anywhere. no way. >> for those who hide away, joey the clown has a story. he used to be scared of them. it is a recognized condition. and then he became one, and he wants others to follow in his huge footsteps. >> i've got the fear, but i realized it's quite a fun job to do. >> these clowns were given a lifetime achievement award wednesday, seven generations of this family have been making people laugh.

many see this not as a job, but a vocation. >> we're here for a purpose and our purpose is to make people happy. >> this is a profession determined to have the last laugh. aljazeera at the circus. >> the average age of those in the professional clown business is 40 years old, so not attracting a lot of young folks. >> i got about three more years to wait before i hit that mark. have a great morning.

>> you're watching the news hour live from our headquarters in doha. these are our top stories. tears, anger and frustration as rescuers work to find mostly school children still missing in the capsized ferry in south korea. >> russia's president hopes he doesn't have to use military force as kiev tries to contain a pro russian uprising. >> accusio