>> it's creating a new era of racism, a new jim crow he. >> controversy over a supreme court ruling in michigan. >> separated by adoption, a man

tracked down his biological sister after 50 years of searching. good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. it's been three years since the president talked about his asian promise. >> he made good to shore up diplomatic and economic ties, he arrived in japan for the first leg of a week long tour of asia. he will make stops in south korea, malaysia and philippines. >> the president reiterated plans to reassert the u.s. as a pacific nation, saying our strategy is a long term commitment to this region and it's people and i'm proud of our progress so far. the president who won't visit china pledged to build a relationship with the country saying it would not come at the expense of japan or any other

ally. >> first stop, japan where rising nationalism has raised alarms. a high stakes dispute between japan and china over a set of remote islands threatens to become a live fire conflict. >> what could degenerate rather rapidly through a mistake or miscalculation in the conflict between japan and china but because of our alliance with japan, we would in effect be on china's side. >> next, south korea forces serve as a trip wire against invasion. despite the rise of a new leader, kim jong-un, the erratic pattern of con frontation continues. china is its close effort ally.

critics say the obama administration has lost focus. >> unfortunately at this point, discussion and engagement is now seen as reward. we need to get over that here in the united states. north korea needs to remain high on the priority list because it has nuclear weapons. it's developing its long-range missile capability. >> mr. obama arrives sunday in malaysia when chinese criticism about flight flee 70 remains in beijing as the u.s. helps in the search for the missing plane. >> some of the more accuse atory statements tends to make china's neighbors more desirous of a strong u.s. presence. i think we have to respond to that. >> last stop, the fill teens. locked in a bitter dispute with china, this one over another set of islands, parts of which are claimed by six nations to china's south. >> they've got problems with many of their neighbors and

everywhere they've got problems, they find the u.s. cultivating new friends. i think they see this as a fundamentally constraining attempt. >> as china continues to broaden power and influence, the president's trip carries a clear message. >> this is about showing the american presence, about reassurance and this is about letting china know that we are deeply committed in the region and letting them know that china's neighbors want us there. >> the president's mission, to tip the scales in his rebalance to asia and at each stop along the way, arising chain new looms large. >> not everyone is excited about the president's trip to asia. protestors in the philippine clashing with riot police and trying to break into the u.s. embass. they say a security pact the president is set to sign could open the door to increased use of military bases there.

>> we believe it's a done deal, the signing of the agreement is very eminent and once anyone, the filipinos will be getting the shorter end of the stick. it is going to be very disadvantageous. it reinforces and increases foreign troops. it's like a second u.s. military occupation or pourarrization of the country. >> troops were evicted in 1991, but u.s. forces had been allowed to return for limited operations over the past decade. all four countries the president is going to visit are dealing with natural disasters, japan a massive earthquake in 2011 that triggered that powerful tsunami and nuclear meltdown. typhoon haiyan killed 6,000 in philippines. malaysia coping with the disappearance of the missing

flight 370 and the ferry sinking. >> he viewed the devastation caused by a mud slide in oso. he recalled a letter he got from a firefighter there. >> i have to say that the families that i met with showed incredible strength and grace through unimaginable pain and difficulty. uniformly, though, they all wanted to thank the first responders. they were deeply appreciative of the efforts that everybody has made, and i know that many of the first responders have heard that directly, but it doesn't hurt to repeat that we're very appreciative of what you've done. >> at least 41 people were killed when the landslide buried dozens of homes. two people are still missing. >> hundreds of american troops are headed to eastern europe because of the simmering situation in ukraine. the pentagon is sending 600

soldiers, 150 of them already arriving in poland. it is in response to what the u.s. is calling the russian aggression. ukraine's interim government ordered another operation when the first failed to remove protestors in buildings. two bodies were found brutally tortured by pro russian forces in eastern ukraine. one plane was hit by gunfire flying over a city in the hands of pro russian accept are a activities. we are joined by phone from donetsk in eastern ukraine. what can you tell us about those american troops headed to the region? >> some of them have just arrived today in poland, now the whole exercise will last about a month. they will be in poland. also on monday, more will be

deployed in the baltic states. i think that certainly there's a double message here coming out of the pentagon, the first one towards russia, but also the second one towards the 40 eastern european country. the u.s. wants to show that it will not let them alone and to stand by its eastern european allies at such a moment not only ukraine but all the neighboring countries are quite worried about the future. >> the interim president ordered operations against pro russian forces in the east. has that begun yet? >> well, there's no sign of it so far. i'm actually near in donetsk in front of this big administration building that has been seized by these pro russian protestors. nothing is really happening on the ground.

i think it is a very difficult mission for the government. last week, it had tried -- it was let's call a failed start to the anti terrorism operation by the acting president. one reason is that the ukrainian army is not willing to shoot on ukrainian nationals. >> thank you very much. >> the founder of russia's largest social media site said it is under the control of president putin. the c.e.o. has been fired, now it is under the control of russia's richest man. on tuesday, the u.s. base vice news confirmed one of its reporters are being held by a pro russian group in ukraine.

>> malaysian airlines flight 370 decides appeared a month ago. some families are now filing suit against bowing, which manufactured the 777. for the second day in a row, a tropical cyclone forced authorities to call off the air search for the flight 370. police in australia are investigating reports of objects that have washed ashore. there is no confirmation that the debris has anything to do with the missing plane. >> the white house is condemning the massacre of civilians in sudan, saying it shocked the conscious. 400 people died in a mosque last week. bodies were in the town which was seized by rebels, the obama administration calling that violence an domination and betrayal of trust. fighting has forced millions of people from their homes. >> police and protestors clashed in rio de janeiro over the death of a well known professional dancer.

streets were shut down in a slum near copacabana, a large crowd set fire to trash and fire, one person killed in the fray. they are angry over the death of a dancer when they say police mistook him for a drug trafficker. the government has been crocking down on crime to make the city safer for the upcoming word cup. >> in peru, thousands of teachers marched through the streets demanding better pay and working conditions, scuffling with riot police. tuesday's work stoppage was supposed to last 24 hours. union leaders will consider an indefinite strike if demands are not met. >> the safe kerry protection act, critics called the guns everywhere bill allows licensed gun owners to carry firearms in schools and government

buildings. some say it is the most extreme gun bill in america. >> here in the state of georgia, the new sweeping gun law signed into proclamation allows anyone with an open carry permit to carry guns across the state. if a police officer sees someone walking down the street with a loaded gun, they are not able to ask that person if they have a permit. that creating a situation that a lot of people are wondering what is the point of having a permit then. also, churches now allowed to have loaded guns in them, except each place of worship will have the right to decide whether to allow the loaded guns, the carried weapons inside of their churches. here in downtown atlanta, the historic marti martin luther kig site, the head of this church has his own opinions. >> this is clearly politicians doing the bidding of the gun lobbying, and i would argue not

even the bidding of most gun owners. when pastors say we get to the point where we say now it's time to pass the peace, this is not what we had in mind. this is a terrible idea. >> the national rifle association said this is the most pro gun bill in recent states' history. here at the busiest airport in the world in atlanta, if you have this permit, you can actually walk into the airport with a loaded weapon as long as you don't get too close to security check points. if you do get too close with your loaded gun, you're not going to be arrested, just be given a fine. >> i believe in the second amendment and although there may be some concerns with weapons in the airport, i believe that, you know, as an american, you have the right to protect yourself at all times, so personally, i don't have an issue with it. >> at schools across the state, if you're a pins pal, a janitor,

a cook. as long as you're given permission to carry the loaded weapon in the school, you're. licensed holders will be able to take their weapons into any state or local government building, also bars and restaurants. it's up to each restaurant and bar that serves alcohol to make their own decision as to whether they allow someone with an armed weapon inside their establishment. >> when that law takes effect in july, georgia will become the ninth state to loosen regulations. >> a deadly explosion at a fertilizer warehouse in texas accounted have been prevented according to a new report finding a lack of safety oversight and regulations contributed to the accident. 15 people were killed 70 miles south of dallas. sixty tons of ammonium nitrate exploded after a fire broke out at the warehouse. county officials did not have an emergency response plan in place and were unaware of the potential hazards at the

warehouse. >> sherpa guides are leaving mount every rest, saying they won't climb to honor their 16 colleagues killed in last week's avalanche. they were asking for more pay and a welfare fund. the government agreed to set up a fund for sherpas killed or injured but it falls short of what the sherpas want. the bodies are 13 have been recovered. >> the death toll from last weeks ferry subsequent in south korea stands at 150. divers have been pulling bodies from the sunken ship. 150 victims are still not recovered. the diverrers will get help. a robot seen here in a video posted on social media is about the size of a smart car, can crawl along the sea floor and is equipped with cameras and sonar. victims' families are starting to bury the dead. >> it's a community that's been crushed by grief.

at a makeshift memorial in a local sports complex, there was a steady procession of mourners. the majority of the dead and missing are students from the same local high school. if you know release of one of the few occasions in south korea where people are expected to express their feelings. >> it has been an emotionally draining week and with so many bodies yet to be recovered, scenes like this are set to be repeated for days if not weeks to come. >> many hope the area will recover after losing so many of its young people. >> first it needs to recover from the sadness and the students also need to recover and be able to go back to their schools again. >> the operation to retrieve the bodies is gathering pace, helped in part by better weather. the sinking of the ferry exactly one week ago was an anniversary that seemed to pass unnoticenotn

jindo where hopes are dashed in wave after wave of awful news. the family of this 16-year-old can now at least mourn their beloved daughter. i spoke to her mother saturday when she still wanted to believe that her daughter would make it. she was near to embarking on a year of exams. her family is now left to reflect on the lost dreams and ambitions. >> she was very good at design, so we thought she would work as an architect. we wanted to support her in that. >> the funeral is taking place in the memorial room of a local hospital, where the family of her close friend were also gathering. this 16-year-old loved music and had wanted to become a composer. the character of both lives conveyed by some of their most precious possessions, reminders of children now lost forever.

adrien brown, aljazeera. >> authorities in south korea have arrested four more crew members. 11 members are now defind, including the ship's captain. >> some are calling it a victory for voters. >> others say it's a blow for equal rights. the supreme court decision on affirmative action and the affect it could have on college students nationwide. >> glitter, of all things, falling off of a protest banner leads to bio terrorism charges. why two environmental activists say they're the victims of corporate greed. >> $47 billion is today's big number. >> what it has to do with the future of botox. r

>> today's big number is $47 billion. >> that's how much canada's involved pharmaceutical ever offered for botox maker allergen. if approved, it would make one of the five biggest drug companies in the world. >> both companies profited from eye care and skin care products,

reporting $6.3 billion in sales last year. >> revenues of $5.8 billion were reported in 2013. >> major shakeup happening in the pharmaceutical industry. >> a supreme court ruling that is fueling a debate on race. >> >> let's get our first look at temperatures across the nation today with meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> it's been milder recently, people have appreciated that. continuing out this morning, we'll see the midsection of the country we're going to have that warm air. we've had more active weather into the northwest, so that is an area that's been a little cooler for us. what we have is the head of a frontal system, kind of that flow out of the south. that's also going to help fuel the risk for severe storms today. i'll have more on what that risk area is coming up. you can see that is going to keep things juicy in the midsection of the country. north dakota into the 60's, that

change is on the backside of the front. i'll have more on that moving cold front in a bit. >> the supreme court upholding michigans ban on college admissions, expected to have widespread implications across the country. this ruling does not directly address affirmative action as it does state's rights to amend their constitution rewarding this issue. >> that's exactly right, but it is reigniting the overall conversation about the controversial topic. in this case, the supreme court voted 6-2, the justs said no matter what fairliative action may accomplish voters in the individual states have the right to end it. >> >> michigan had affirmative action until voters approved the ban. it amended the state

constitution to prohibit the pref rennes, saying the people should get the last word. the high court's political fairness was praised. >> the citizens overwhelmingly voted in 2006 to require equal treatment in admission to our outstanding colleges and universities. >> opponents are still celebrating especially jennifer grass, who sued the university of michigan in the 1990's over its affirmative action plan. >> it's victory for quality. >> we live in a time where a black attorney general and president make claims that people are being discriminated against or prevented from positions in auniversity or a job at a hospital or public employment project, something

that no longer makes sense. >> some groups say it is still needed. >> segregation and racial inequality exists in house be, employment and schools. so that is something that must be addressed. >> justice anthony kennedy wrote it should not be beyond the voters. eight states have banned amplative action, starting with california years >> it's create ago new era of racism, a new jim crow. >> the justice said the amendment rigged the political system against minorities, saying while the constitution does not guarantee minority groups victory in the political

process, it does guarantee them meaningful actions to that process. >> the ban has already been in place for eight years. how has it affected minority enrollment up to this point? >> since the ban's been in effect, we know that black and hispanic enrollment into public universities have dropped by a third. you have many michigan colleges trying to recruit minorities. >> they say two things are certain in life, death and taxes, but for some i.r.s. employees, it appears only death is certain. some i.r.s. workers received bonuses and time off despite disciplinary issues and not paying taxes. the report alleges from 2010 to 2012, 2800 i.r.s. workers with conduct problems received nearly $3 million in bonuses and over 27,000 hours in time off. the report found more than 1100 employees who didn't pay federal taxes received more than a

million dollars in bonuses and over 10,000 hours time off over that same period. the agency has since revamped its bonus policy. >> brazil authorities passed an internet bill of rights guaranteeing on line privacy and allowing freedom of expression. it protects net neutrality requiring providers to treat all data the same without charging extra for video streaming. it was first introduced after reports the u.s. was monitoring on line communications of leaders, including the brazilian president. the bill heads to her desk for approval. >> america's middle class no longer the richest in the world. >> why the middle class in other countries are making more money while incomes in the u.s. stay the same. >> i couldn't believe it. it's been surreal ever since, the whole experience. >> after 50 years of searching, a man finds his long lost sister. the link the family shared for years and didn't know it.

>> it sounded like the plot from a sci-fi movie. >> the asteroid warning that is making headlines around the world.

>> as america strives for energy independence... >> we can't do it on just solar panels or some wind turbines... >> we look to alternatives >> you are sitting on top of a time bomb >> and the familiar... >> it's amazing what oil can do for ya...black gold >> and what are the human costs of the new energy boom? >> lots of men, and lots of money, your going to find prostitution >> people are just dropping like flies... >> we're paid with our lives... >> dirty power an america tonight special series only on al jazeera america

>> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. ahead, we're going to be talking about why america's middle class is no longer the richest in the world, which it was for decades. >> a lot of people will be strides at the numbers. the affordable care act, the impact on the mid term elections and balance of power in congress. >> salt kills as many as 90,000 people a year. americans are consuming too much. how much you could be eating without realizing it.

>> first a check of our top stories this morning, the president arriving in japan for the first leg of his asia trip is expected to discuss trade, economy and america's security agreement with asian allies. he'll be stopping in malaysia, south korea and the philippines. >> 150 u.s. troops arriving in poland in response to what the u.s. is calling russian aggression. ukraine's interim government threatening to use force against pro russian militants in government buildings. >> the number of dead from that south korean ferry accident at 150. there are 150 more victims still inside the boat, many high school students, presumed dead. family members have begun funeral services for the victims whose bodies have yet to be recovered and whose bodies may be on the way. >> the u.s. is still the largest economy in the world, but the

american middle class no longer the richest in the world. the median income for middle class americans has remain unchanged since 2000. in that time, middle class incomes have grown in other countries, canada now has the richest middle class, after seeing a nearly 20% income increase between 2000 and 2010. in europe, the middle class in britain, norway, sweden and the negligenter lands all saw gains. joining us this morning is lou daily director of policy and research at a public policy organizations that focuses on economic and voting rights issues. thanks for coming in this morning. the study gives a few reasons for why we're seeing this. let's start with education. at what point and where has the u.s. fallen behind? >> that is one of the maybe problems here. it is an amazing story.

the u.s. was really the first majority middle class country, and now that's being challenged. >> it's been like three decades, actually more than that. i believe it's been five decades that the u.s. middle class has been considered the richest. this is a relatively recent phenomenon. >> one of the big issues you just mentioned is declining college affordability for sure. it's harder to get a college degree today even as we know that that college degree is the ticket into the middle class and a decent living standard. the main reason if i could elaborate a little bit. >> absolutely. >> is that in our state university systems where most people get college degrees, we've had a lot of budget cuts and disinvestment translating into skyrocketing tuition, putting college out of reach of many families. >> there are other reasons cited in the study, another reason they say is that companies in the u.s. distribute a smaller amount of their profits to lower and middle class workers, and a

lot of the wealth is concentrated at the top of those companies. >> yes. one of the main drivers of that is a declining rate of unionization. compared to other countries where the middle class is doing better, we have many fewer workers who are organized in unions and have that collective bargaining power. >> unions' power has been weakening, there's been a trend away from that in many organizations. >> sure, at our peak unionization rate, it was about 35% of the workforce that had that power, now down to under 10% of the workforce. >> that's significant. this graphic shows how countries like canada, sweden and norway all gained ground over the past three decades. the countries where they are doing better seem to also have greater safety nets. >> yes. this is a really important issue. if you really dig into the income and equality data, what

you see is if you just look at market inequality before what government does, the u.s. is actually less unequal than many european countries. our government support system, social safety nets of much weaker. when you look at inequality after government gets involved with taxes and transfers and benefits, that's when the u.s. skyrockets to the top of the inequality detail. >> what about taxes? the other thing cited in this study is that these countries that are doing better tend to tax the rich at a much higher rate than the u.s. does. >> yes. so over the last few decades, we've really had a significant regression in our tax system, about 50% decline in the tax rates for the wealthiest americans. that in turn translates into the weaker social safety net problem, because we have less revenue to invest in the middle class. >> lou daily, director of policy and research, thanks so much for

joining us this morning, appreciate it. >> the u.s. is partially resuming military aid to egypt, the pentagon releasing $1.5 billion in aid to the country, clearing the way to deliver 10 helicopters. the white house spokesperson said that move does not believe a democratic transition is taking place, the u.s. stopping aid last year after mohamed morsi was removed from office. the interim government saying the elections will take place next month. >> the trial of our three colleagues held in egypt is now adjourn again, the next court appearance set to take place in early may. they have been held for 116 days, accused of providing a platform for the muslim brotherhood, a group that has been labeled as a terrorist organization by the egyptian government. aljazeera continues to reject all charges against our colleagues. we demand their immediate release. >> police in oklahoma city have arrested two environmental

activists on charges of bio terrorism. they are protesting the key stone excel pipeline. activists say they are victims of a big corporation using its influence with local authorities. >> this is what happened at the headquarters in oklahoma city december 13. environmentalists unfolds a banner from which glitter fell. the activists were arrested for simulating an act of bio terrorism. if convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison. a few blocks away, the site of the 1995 oklahoma city bombing, which left 168 people dead, that's why the police say they take no chances. >> we had the bombing in 1995, domestic terrorism, one of the worst bombings in the country, so there's an atmosphere here that if a threat is made, we take it seriously. >> the activists say no one was threatened by their glitter, in fact it was swept up before

police called in a team trained to deal with hazardous chemicals. >> what the police are doing is exploiting that history. i think that charging terrorism hoax and perpetuating that non-violent civil disobedience is terrorism completely devalues the actual experience of violence that we had here in oklahoma. >> we are normal folks. we're from oklahoma. we just want to get a message out that is not heard much. we're not at all trying to alienate people. >> oklahoma is well accustomed to pipeline development, but even here the key stone exxon has inspired opposition. >> the owner is taking action. transcanada's pitch to law enforcement agencies along the pipe lines' route was exposed. among the suggestions, consulting local district attorneys about the applicability of terrorist

charges against protestors. the police deny they have seen the presentation, but had to concede that consultations do take place after a document surfaced that revealed city police officials took part in a meeting with transcanada in april of 2012. >> i can tell you, we do not take instruction from private companies. >> they live to the uncertainty of pending bio terrorism hoax charges. >> i've seen my family and land be devastated by the actions of devon and other oil and gas corporations. >> they accept that they can no longer be as active in protests against the energy companies. aljazeera, oklahoma city. >> that proposed pipeline would carry 830,000-barrels of crude daily from canada to the u.s. >> an nypd twitter photo campaign backfired in a big way. the new york police department asked followers to post pictures of themselves posing with

officers. the result, a die luge of photos alleging police brutality among the hundreds of tweets, baton wielding cops during the occupy wall street movement and an elderly man bloodied by a jay walking accusation. >> they did get a couple nice photos. >> they did. >> an iceberg twice the size of atlanta getting in the way of shipping lanes. >> nicole mitchell explains what is happening here. >> we were watching this last fall when this huge chunk twice the size of atlanta and if you know atlanta, it's actually one of the cities that's more sprawled out. you take two of those, a chunk that big broke off from pine island in antarctica and now is heading out to sea. they're heading out of summer and so this is now fall in that hemisphere, so some of the lanes have been opened. it's going to get into the

shipping chanels now. it's a third of a mile thick. as it makes its way out to sea, such a thick piece of ice, it could take a year to melt. this is going to be sitting off in the shipping channel. imagine getting around two sizes the times of atlanta and that in a shipping channel that they're trying to get through in antarctica. breakage is linked to possible global warming ties. they won't even be able to see it on satellite, because it's about to be so dark this time of year. >> that's a lot of margueritas. >> albert pujols reached a major milestone hitting home run number 500. it was the second homer last night off the washington nationals pitcher taylor jordan,

the 26th player in major league player to hit 500 home runs, the third youngest to do so. pujols is the first player to hit home run number 499 and 500 in the same game. >> in california, a family reunion, a half century in the making. a man from sacramento spent years looking for his sister who had been adopted. when he finally found her, she was no stranger to his family. we have the story. >> a style course was a life changer. >> little did i know. >> for jean phillip, an instructor at the beauty school. >> i couldn't believe it. i just -- it's been surreal ever since, the whole experience. >> january 14, 1966, just days old, jean was adopted. her family moved her to simi valley anden that frasier park. in 1974, her biological older

brother, jose ramirez made it a mission to start looking for his sister. this past week while he was searching an adoption site, he found a lead in bakersfield. he called his daughter. >> he said i think i might have found her. >> they knew she was a hairdresser and knew a stylist named jean was also looking for her biological parents. this weekend, they checked it out. >> all the information started matching up and then when my daughter's friend pulled her phone out, and looked up the number, it matched the number that my dad had given me. we were just speechless. we could not believe it. >> and then that's my dad. >> the family is now sharing pictures and unbelievable stories. last november, ramirez's grandmother was visiting from texas. that's jean's biological mother. she had her hair done under jean's supervision. all three of them together, no

one knew it. >> evidently, i must have had my hands on her and done the consultation, not even knowing that was her. [ laughter ] >> my heart is just exploding right now. >> i call it an easter miracle, because it happened the day before easter. >> i can't wait to actually meet her and, you know, have hands-on, give her a big hug. i'm waiting for that. >> now, jean has now spoken to both her mother and brother on the phone. her brother is planning to visit her in a couple weeks and they're working on plans to bring the mother out, too. >> that is a lot of coincidence. nice story. let's look at headlines around the world today. "u.s.a. today" has a story about a farewell from a british teen documenting his cancer using social media. 19-year-old steven sutton using facebook trying to race $17,000. he raised about $980,000. his last twitter saying it is a

final thumbs up from me. >> it's not really clear from his page why he believes these are the last days, but you suffers from an union curable form of ball cancer. this next one is right out of a hollywood movie. >> this drama is potentially real. scientists now believing that chances are high of a city-killing asteroid striking earth. this video is from the b612 foundation. the organization releasing the video to show how and where 26 asteroids collided with our planet from 2000-2013, that actually did happen. they are saying this is not as rare as we all thought. >> we've got to call in bruce willis and billy bob thornton and shia lebeau.

>> a western kentucky mailman has been stacking thousands of pieces of mail in his late mother's house and a rental storage unit. he was arrested last year. the judge ordered him to pay $14,000 in restitution because he had been stashing -- look at all of that mail. >> there's a lot of people that are looking for their mail. >> that was a comedy ask it on seinfeld. >> it was in new man's basement, the real life newman. >> the mid term election still months away. >> republicans poised to make big gains, americans upset over obamacare. what it will take for the gop to ride the outrage all the way to november. >> we were supposed to be living underwater or in space right now. we'll look back in time of the future that was predicted in the 1964 world fair in new york.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. how the affordable care act could affect the mid term elections and congress. >> lets look at the severe weather and nicole, there is snow in the forecast? ized mid april. >> i'm starting to feel guilty even saying the word snow at this time after the rough winter. first the system clearing out of the northeast, still just a couple lingering showers into new england. the system pulling out of the west is our big player today, but still, a little bit of moisture into the northwest, so the higher elevations of snow, that's not the snow we are talking about, though. it's what we are already seeing in the midwest. this system that is growing and that could bring us already showers today, but later into the day, we've got the heat coming in on the backside of this, that is the snow we're talking about, northern parts of

minnesota, wisconsin, and michigan into tomorrow, watch for some potentially heavy areas of snow. we have to get through today. that warm moist air we see coming into the plains and instability coming in, we could see severe weather from texas to nebraska and especially kind of this core right around texas and oklahoma, hail is our biggest threat. as all of this moves along, tomorrow the thunderstorm threat shifts to the east and of course as i mentioned, that snow threat to the north. back to you. >> the affordable care act could have a big impact and that might be the understate on the upcoming middle term elections in november, the wall street journal reporting if those elections were held today, the republicans would likely take back the senate. obamacare is going to cost the county, but a lot can happen by

then. last week, follow the president's announcement that more than 8 million people enrolled, he said i think the democrats should forcefully defend and be proud of the fact that we did something. mr. watkins, should democrats take the president's advice and in short, why is this man smiling? [ laughter ] >> i think that democrats make a mistake by thinking that just because 8 million people have signed up or complied with the law that they're all happy. people are signing up for the law, but it's the law, a federal mandate, something that everybody has to do under penalty of law, and so we've got 8 million people signed up right now in the u.s., but if you look at all the polling data, lots of americans are very, very unhappy about the affordable care act or

obamacare as it's called. at the end of the day, we know what drives people to vote in elections especially in off presidential year elections would be their anger, and they're angry about it. a lot of people are not happy they've been forced to do this. >> the president takes a victory lap. >> i think the president is certainly trying to rehabilitate what's known at obamacare, that word, what it represents, kind of the d.c. back and forth, the sausage making process, yes is very unpopular, but it's always been the case if you strip out the individual provisions of obamacare, the kids on their parents' plan, not being denied precondition coverage, that's what's popular. that is what people are experiencing, the actual benefits of the law. the president certainly believes as you get closer to the election and voters know more people who have coverage as a result of health care reform

that those numbers will begin to turn around. >> last week according to a research center poll, 50% of people pod disapprove of obamacare, 37% approve. is there anything that the democrats can do from a p.r. standpoint to change the perception of the law? >> some departments have started running on the law. senator from louisiana is calling on her governor to expand medicaid to give people more coverage, people like mark prior in arkansas saying he would vote for the law again. i think the more democrats embrace it and run on it and build it up and tout benefits, the more popular it will become and the harder i think it will be for republicans to argue they should take that currently away from people. >> joe watkins, do you agree? >> the problem is that average americans who aren't terribly political know what it costs them to have this affordable care act and if you were

somebody like many americans, told by the president that if you liked your plan you'll be able to keep it and found out that you weren't ail to keep your plan and now have a plan that costs you more money every month, provides you with less coverage and higher deductibles, you're angry. every month you pay that premium, you're angry about it. >> joe, i want to ask both of you a question, because we've got about a minute left, joe, is there anything that your party has done to mislead the american public about the affordable care act and will there ever be a time when republican say it works. >> no, i think what it is is that republicans will take advantage of the anger on the part of lots of americans. >> i asked you was there anything specifically that your party did to mislead the american public and if it worked. >> i don't think so. i don't think that there's anything that the republicans did. >> you're smiling.

>> to mislead americans, but republicans will take full advantage of the anger of americans having to do with affordable care and every announcement about how many enrolled reminds everybody how angry they are. >> did the democrats mislead the public? >> look, i think certainly the president has admitted that his initial statement was overly broad about you can keep your coverage, but joe's claim it's hard to make with a straight face, death panels and seniors, their coverage will be taken away, all that have's in the past, it's not true. i think the more people have coverage, the better this law looks and what the republicans -- >> it's nice to see both of you smiling. we'll leave it at that. >> it has been 50 years since the 1964 world fair captivated audiences in new york and this is a live look at the

fairgrounds, still standing, but neglected in queens, new york. the fair introduced visitors to a wide range of science and technology. john siegenthaler explains some of that science fiction is now a reality. >> this is what the future looked like 50 years ago, a ferris wheel shaped like a rubber tire. multi-projector screens, and an expedition to the moon. it was spectacular, colorful, and in some cases surprisingly accurate. in 1964, tens of millions of visitors gazed at the wonders stretched out across the park in queens, new york, the theme was peace through understanding. while there were pavilions showcasing customs and traditions from the seven continentses, the big draw were the predictions, a few missed

the mark like this prototype jet pack, the experts said we'd all be using them to get to work. they were wrong about that one. they are also wrong about living underwater. here's what one colony would look like. the world's fair was close on computers, there were exhibits where people could ask computers questions. also, long before skyping and face time, the bell system offered up the picture phone. the world's fair also gave us this beauty, the ford mustang. it was a smash hit there. it still is half a century later. as for the fairgrounds itself, the tour toes remain as does the globe and rounding everything, the relics of a future envisioned so long ago. >> new york city officials are debating what told with the neglected fairgrounds. it would cost $52 million to

restore them. >> at the end of our first hour, in a 6-2 decision, the supreme court upholding michigan's affirmative action ban preventing colleges in the state from using race to decide admission. >> president obama arriving in japan expected to discuss economics and security with the leaders of malaysia south korea and the philippines as well. >> the easter truce now over, the ukraine making transto remove pro russian protestors from governmentings. >> urban farms and their bounty. >> health officials are putting a ban on bush meat approximately local residents are furious over that safety measure. >> i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell. chances for severe weather increased today with a system that can also bring heavy snow.

i'll have that forecast. >> aljazeera america will be right back. del and i are back with you in just two minutes.

>> president obama arrives in japan as china looms large. >> the cries in ukraine has tokyo concerned about security. >> the beginning of the end for affirmative action, a supreme court ruling affecting college applications. >> we hear about new advances, but those aren't getting us to zero. we need people to understand that h.i.v. is still a problem. >> 30 years since the discovery of the virus that causes aids.

after three decades of sounding the alarm about h.i.v., america may be falling behind in the fight to contain it. >> the silent killer, america's love affair with salt and the toll it is taking on our nation's health. >> good morning and welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> it's been three years since the president talked a strategic plan for asia. >> he will make stops in south korea, malaysia and the philippines. in an interview in japan, he reiterated plans to insert the u.s. as a pacific nation, saying: >> the president pledged to build a relationship with china but said it would not come at the expense of japan or any other ally. >> the president has some fences

to mend from past disappointments. >> it's said actions speak louder than words. secretary of state john kerry had to stand in for u.s. president barack obama who for the second time last year did not manage to make to it a major asian summit. what were asian leaders to think had happened to the much. ized rebalancing or pivot of foreign policy to asia. hillary clinton explained, saying: >> obama could not come last october because of the government shutdown, fiscal difficulties. this is a big problem for asia, to find this policy of pivot and rebalance credible, we had to see more delivery and we're not seeing that. >> governments in north and

southeast asia want the u.s. to help provide military balance to china's assertiveness. critics say the pentagon hasn't gone far enough and point out that the u.s. has more limited resources. washington doesn't want to antagonize china unnecessarily. economics lead the way for washington, which needs to justify the pivot to american voters. there's not as much urgency for asian governments. they're confident about their emerging market's gravitational pull for the u.s. underlined by clint campbell who recentry wrote: he has now set up his own advisory and investment firm. 7,040,000,000 people live on

less than $1.25 a day. no mention is made about them. they're probably not going to notice obamas visit but their governments watching closely, seen as the most critical test of the u.s. strategy so far. aljazeera. >> not everyone is excited about the president's trip. protestors in the philippines clashing with riot police today trying to break into the u.s. embass in manila said a security pact could open the door to the increased use of military bases in the country. military troops were evicted in 1991. u.s. forces had been allowed to return for limited operations in the past decade. the president is he can specked to arrive on monday. >> before leaving for asia, the president paid tribute to the victims of the mud slide in washington state. he viewed the devastation caused by last month's massive mud

slide in oso. he spoke to local rescue workers. >> there are still families who are searching for loved ones, there are families who lost everything and it's going to be a difficult road ahead for them. that's why i wanted to come here, just to let you know that the country is thinking about all of you, and have been throughout this tragedy. we're not going anywhere. we'll be here as long as it takes. >> at least 41 people were killed when the landslide buried dozens of homes. two people are still missing. >> as the president seeks a fresh start in asia, the crisis in ukraine remains constant, the u.s. beefing up military presence in eastern europe. ukraine targeting pro russian groups in the east. the first offensive last week

failed to remove armed men occupying government buildings there in several cities. we are live in donetsk. what can you tell us about american troops set to arrive in the region? >> the first batch has arrived in poland and due to start exercises as of today as we understand it. then there's a second batch that will arrive monday in the baltic states of latvia, estonia and lithuania. the u.s. is making a clear message to both russia and its eastern european allies. the message is we stand by you, eastern european countries, we are here and a warning to russia that if things get worse here, the u.s. is already in the region. in total, 600 soldiers will be deployed, all seem to come from a u.s. base in northern italy

and exercises should last about a month. >> the interim president ordering a launch of those military operations against pro russian separatists in the east. are we seeing any evidence at this a you are that that has happened? >> there was already a sort of botched attempt to do that. the government wants to concentrate on the area which is more volatile at this stage. this is donetsk administrative building that has been seized for more than two weeks. it is quite peaceful, people walking around a music concert and quite peaceful protestors. some journalist have been harassed, some taken, there's one held hostage until now and things are a built more out of

control there, especially they do have heavy weapons, they have seized armored vehicles from the ukrainian paratroopers last week when there was that botched attempt to start the anti terrorism operation. so far, there is no sign of it starting on the ground, and i think it has to do with the fact that ukrainian troops are not willing to shoot on fellow ukrainians. >> in donetsk, ukraine, thank you very much and be safe. >> the palestinian president is threatening action if talks fail. he may dissolve the palestinian authority and hand complete responsibility for the west bank back to israel. he said israel had in any case deprived the palestinian authority of any real party to governor. talks between the two sides have been on the verge of collapse since israel missed a deadline to release palestinian prisoners. negotiations are scheduled to end next week. >> the death of a professionally dancer sparked violent clashes

in rio de janeiro between residents and police late tuesday. streets were shut down in the tourist area as large crowds set fire to trash and cars. protestors are angry over the death of a dancer killed when police mistook him for a drug trafficker. local media report one pepper was killed in clashes with police. the government is stepping up security to make the city safe for the upcoming world cup. >> the supreme court upheld a michigan ban on affirmative action in college admissions, the decision expected to have widespread implications across the country. >> this ruling does not directly address affirmative action as much as state's rights. >> it is certainly getting the conversation going again about the controversial topic. in this case, the supreme court voted 6-2, the justice said no matter what affirmative action

accomplish, voters in individual states have the right to end it. >> people who support affirmative action took a hit on tuesday when the supreme court upheld michigan's ban on the practice. the state had affirmative action until 2006, when 60% of michigan voters approved the ban. the initiative amended the state constitution to prohibit the preferential treatment based on race in public employment and education. the supreme court ruling defends the voters right to make that change saying the people should get the last word. michigans torn general praised the high court's political fairness. >> it is a victory for the citizens of michigan who overwhelmingly voted in 2006 to require equal treatment in admission to our outstanding colleges and universities. >> while the court did not rule on the constitutionality of affirmative action, opponents are still celebrating, especially jennifer, who sued the university of michigan in the 1990's over its affirmative action plan and won. >> it's not only a personal

victory, but a victory for the voters of michigan and the issue of quality. >> we live with a black attorney general and president make claims that people are being discriminated against or prevented from entering into positions in university or a job at a hospital or public employment project simply no longer make sense. >> some civil rights groups say affirmative action is still needed. >> segregation and racial inquality exist throughout this country in house be, employment and schools. that is something that must be addressed. >> justice anthony kennedy wrote that while debate may be emotional, it should not be beyond the reach of the voters. the issue goes beyond michigan, so far a total of eight states have banned affirmative action, starting with california nearly 20 years ago. the supreme court ruling may have others following suit, and that concerns this college hopeful from detroit. >> it complicates things more than they are already. it's creating a new era of

racism, a new jim crow. >> justice sonia sotomayor said the amendment rigged the political system against minorities. she wrote in her dissent while the constitution does not guarantee minority groups victory in the political process, it does guarantee them meaningful and equal access to that process. by the way, since the ban took effect in michigan, black and hispanic enrollment in the state universities has dropped by a third. that has many colleges ramping up efforts to recruit minorities. >> the first lawsuit is filed in connection with that bus crash in california earlier this month. a mother of a 17-year-old student who was killed in the crash is suing fedex for $100 million. the suit was filed in los angeles on behalf of rosa rivera, who's daughter, jennifer was killed april 10 when a bus

collided with a fedex truck, claiming fedex trucks have a history of catching fire. the honor student was heading to state university to tour the campus when the bus was struck head on by a fedex struck. an explosion at a chemical warehouse site in texas could have been avoided. it was 70 miles south of dallas. most were first responders. sixty tons of ammonium nitrate exploding. county officials didn't have an emergency response plan in place and were unaware of the potential dangers. >> some important lessons to be learned there. >> a large port of the country will deal with the threat of severe weather today including heavy snow for some parts. >> for more, we turn to anymore mitch. snow? >> we're getting almost to may. it seems a little ridiculous. >> what are we doing to do in august?

[ laughter ] >> yeah, by then, we'll be sick of the 100-degree hit, so there's always something to complain about in the weather approximate eastern half of the country quiet, still a few showers into new england with that last system, keeping that part of the country cooler. the midsection of the country has a number of facets that could cause problems. already showers moving through in minnesota. we are on the warm section of all of this now. ahead of that, that heat help to go fuel the fires for severe storms today along with instability. texas to nebraska is what we're watching, although the primary risk with this is hail, slighter risks for damaging winds or isolated risks for tornadoes. i would say the best hail chance anywhere from texas and oklahoma as all that moves along. watch for this entire area. into the day tomorrow, this moves along, shifts to the east. we are looking more at arkansas under that risk for severe weather. thunderstorms through the midwest in the meantime and on

the northern side of this, this is how this develops over the next couple of days. by the time we get into tomorrow, not today, but tomorrow, minnesota, wisconsin, parts of michigan, the northern tears, a half foot of snow is possible with this. some isolated spots a foot. it is phenomenal this late in the season. the west coast staying under a very active pattern, so watch for cooler weather here, but impressive to see the snow this late in the season. back to you guys. impressive and a little disturbing. >> the midwest really getting pummeled. all right, nicole, thank you. >> check your calendar, believe it or not, malaysian airlines flight 370 disappeared 47 days ago. lawsuits are filed in american courts as the result. lawyers have to wait 45 days after a crash before they can reach out to the victims families. some of those families filing suit against bowing, which manufactured the 777. we learned that police in australia are investigating reports that objects have washed ashore. there's no confirmation that the

debris they're seeing has anything to do with the missing plane. >> police investigating the deadly ferry accident in south korea raided home of the ferry company's owner. they have been carrying out raids on the company offices. the owner, his sons and more than 70 other company executive have been barred from leaving the country while the investigation is underway. meanwhile as adrien brown reports, victims families are burying the dead. >> it's a community that's been crushed by grief. at a makeshift memorial in a local sports complex, there was a steady procession of mourners. the majority of the dead and missing are students from the same local high school. funerals are one of the few occasions in south korea where people are expected to express their feelings. >> it has been an emotionally draining week for the people and with so many bodies yet to be recovered, scenes are set to be repeated for days if not weeks to come.

many hope the area will recover after losing so many of its young people. >> first, it needs to recover from the sadness and the students also need to recover and be able to go back to their schools again. >> the operation to retrieve the bodies is gathering pace, helped in part by better weather. the sinking of the ferry exactly one week ago was an anniversary that seemed to pass unnoticenotn jindo where the hopes of families have been dashed in wave after wave of awful news, the family of this girl can at least mourn. i spoke to the mother when she still wanted to believe her daughter would make it. she was near to embarking on a year of exams. her family is now left to reflect on the lost dreams and ambitions. >> she was very good at design. we thought she would work as an architect. we wanted to support her in

that. >> the funeral is taking place in the memorial room of a local hospital, where the family of her close friend are also gathering. this 16-year-old loved music and had wanted to become a composer. the character of both lives conveyed by some of their most precious possessions, reminders of children now lost forever. adrien brown, aljazeera, so you korea. >> south korea arrested four more crew members, 11 members of the crew are being detained, including the captain. >> crews searching for victims in that ferry accident now able to get inside the hull where many bodies recovered tuesday were found. recovery teams believe most people they're looking for will be found inside the restaurant, highlighted in yellow. >> just a massive boat we're looking at. >> divers wilson use an undersea

robot to help in that search. the crabster robot, we're going to show you it in this video here is posted on social media. that device is capable of walking along the sea floor using its six robotic legs. >> it's the same size as one of the smart cars you see on the streets, working 600 feet below surface even in high currents where divers are unable to operate. it's equipped with 10 cameras and sonar. >> rats bats and monkeys considered delicacies, but a new man on so-called bush meat is leaving a bat taste in millions of mouths. the vendors are furious. >> a tree gross in brooklyn. s massive farm in the middle of a concrete jungle and the budding business of urban agriculture. >> if at first you don't succeed, don't mess with mother nature again. the early bird giving transit officials a run for their money

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>> welcome to al jazeera america. up next, a new trend is blooming across america offering up farm fresh food from urban areas. >> first, a look at temperatures across the nation today. meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. i see a wide disparity over there. >> del's just laughing. >> i give up. >> i mentioned snow and he's in shock. up and down the east coast, temperatures in the 50's this morning, the warm air is in the midsection of the country, 50's, 60's, that's part of our setup during the course of the day today. we're going to have the head of that next system, a nice flow out of the south. some of that will tap the gulf moisture. the heat and humidity will crank up severe weather risk. look at how mild temperatures are, temperatures, looked like we jumped ahead a day. temperatures could be up into the 60's easily. these temperatures around the great lakes do go down enough by the time we get into thursday to

possibly support that snow that dell can't believe. >> i'm not going to say anything. i'm going to keep my mouth shut. >> that's not going to happen. >> they say two things are certain in life, taxes and death. >> and you two picking on me to tell the truth. >> let me read this story. >> ok. >> it appears only death is certain, a watchdog group saying some i.r.s. workers received bonuses and not paying taxes. >> 2800 i.r.s. workers with conduct problems received nearly $3 million in bonuses and over $27,000 in time off. the report finding more than 1100 employees who didn't pay federal taxes severed more than a million dollars in bonuses and over 10,000 hours time off during that same period. the agency said it has since revamped its policy. >> the f.b.i. says millions of

fugitives are slipping by background checks because police are not putting their names in a national database. the checks block final i was and felons from buying fire articles. the system is designed to track fugitives who cross state lines. it allows fugitives to buy a gun anywhere in the country and neither the f.b.i. nor the store would know he or she was wanted. >> urban farmers also wanted as farms are popping up on rooftops across the country. we went to an urban roof farm in new york. >> we've got bok choy growing there, green leaflet at us. >> lettuce and tomatoes aren't the only things growing. the business itself is expanding. >> building a facility like this on a rooftop certainly has challenges. we want to be as lightweight as possible. >> company founder claims to have the only two special

rooftop greenhouses in the country. >> investors were intrigue due to the growing trend of locally produced food, sustainably produced food. we were able to tornadic activity a significant amount of investment. >> this is as local as it gets. the second greenhouse was built right on top of the whole foods supermarket. >> the main advantage to growing produce in an urban environment is the shortened supply chain. >> they specialize in vegetables and herbs. they sell it down stairs and throughout the region. this reduces the energy used to transport the produce as well as the cost. >> many stores in new york get their produce from california, all the way on the west coast. that means it's a week old by that the time it hits shore shelves. >> the model appears to be

gaining an interest as well as investors. bright farms is another company raising money to finance urban farms close to grocery stores that will want to sell products. >> we come in and say we're going to grow produce on a commercial scale level locally or at least regionally, right. that means the produce will be fresher, tastier, safer, more attractive. super markets love this idea. >> so does government, which has provided grant money to urban farms. >> they don't just produce food, they also stem storm water run off into our sewer system, provide greenery for neighborhoods, they are places where people can learn to farm and get job skills, so they really are beneficial in a lot of different ways. >> experts caution the business model is still new and largely untested, but as long as the demand for pretty sure local food continues, urban farmers expect profits to keep growing.

aljazeera, new york. >> rooftop farms have the potential to lower gas emissions with pure trucks on the road. >> it's a magic mineral help to go make food taste better but most americans are eating to much salt. the staggering amount of sodium in some of your favorite foods and the effect a dash of salt is having on your health. >> the u.n. said syrian chemical weapons are destroyed, but evidence shows otherwise. >> the robot met with the secretary of defense. it's more than a science experiment. >> our images of the day. with my shakespeare and performances of his famous works. we celebrate who is his 4,050th birthday. he doesn't look a day over the

age of that actor. happy birthday, will.

>> as america strives for energy independence... >> we can't do it on just solar panels or some wind turbines... >> we look to alternatives >> you are sitting on top of a time bomb >> and the familiar... >> it's amazing what oil can do for ya...black gold >> and what are the human costs of the new energy boom?

>> lots of men, and lots of money, your going to find prostitution >> people are just dropping like flies... >> we're paid with our lives... >> dirty power an america tonight special series only on al jazeera america >> this is a live look at the site of the 1964 worlds fair in queens, new york, introducing visitors to innovations across science and technology, computers, flying cars and jetpacks, 50 years ago. >> they've developed the whole area around there, but not the site of the old worlds fair. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. >> ahead, health officials in west africa are banning a local delicacy to contain an outbreak of the ebola virus. that move is not sitting well with locals. >> transportation officials in

one state, an ongoing battle with a pair of birds. they say this traffic camera is their home and don't want to move. >> first, the organization task with destroying and removing syrias chemical weapons stockpile said their job is nearly done, shipping out 88% of the stash. as we report, that progress is being overshadowed by claims of more chemical attacks in the country and and he should warn you, this footage is disturbing. >> they have problems breathing, they cough, vomit. doctors say these people are victims of chlorine gas bombs. this is a hospital in a town in the northern country side of hamas. syrian government helicopters have dropped barrel bomb that is contain this poisonous gas. over the past two weeks, hundreds of people have been

treated. >> there have been six attacks using chlorine gas. when the bombs are dropped, the smell of chlorine spreads across the down. the critical cases were sent to turkey. three have died so far. >> this is not the first time toxic materials have been used. the united nations said sarin gas was used in a rebel controlled damascus suburb in august killing hundreds of people. the u.n. inquiry didn't say who used them but an international deal to destroy syrias chemical stockpile was reached. the united states is trying to determine the facts. >> we have indications of the use of a toxic industrial chemical, probably chlorine in syria this month in the opposition dominated village. we are examining allegations that the government was responsible. we take all allegations of the use of chemicals in combat very seriously. >> the people who are being targeted say that's not enough. they want these attacks to stop.

>> they are using us as a field for experiment. many people have already left the town. >> it is not the only area where chlorine related incidents have been reported over recent weeks and the frequency of these attacks is increasing. civilians have largely been the victims of these attacks. these chlorine bombs are dropped on populated areas not far from the front lines. >> i think you're going to hear noises about this, but i don't think any particular country or the international community is going to act on this right now. you sort of got that sense from the white house statement, because they want to wait until the last bit of chemical weapons is officially destroyed and then take on this other issue as a separate investigation. >> people here people the government is banking on international silence as it continues clear these towns in its push to retake territory.

>> joining us now to discuss the destruction of syria's chemical weapons is a former u.n. inspector in iraq. as we see those images and they were very graphic, it raises the point if we get rid of all the chemical weapons in syria but then they make something out of chlorine, what has really been accomplished? >> well, i think what you're seeing is the bizarre behavior of the government of bashar al assad. on the one hand, he should stand down and take a success when he has one. the removal of the 90% of chemical munitions and agents which has been described is a big success and he could accrue some international benefit from that in spite of all of his actions, yet at the same time, at the same moment that he's conducting this getting a success in a sense, he then takes an drill chemical and applies it as a terror weapon against his own population, which again brings back the

condemnation of the international community. it points to the bizarre behavior, the horrible behavior of the government of bashar al assad, but doesn't really take away from the suction of the international community in getting the munitions, the brux--production facilities of the mustard gas an sarin removed from syria. >> what evidence we have that 80% of chemical weapons was removed? >> what you're seeing i guess the influence of russia. russia is the primary political defender of that regime said listen, if you want any hope of reestablishing international legitimacy, you've got to comply with these u.n. terms. you don't really even need these chemical munitions and weapons to do what you need to do against the rebels. i think that's kind of the assessment which bashar al assad was making, but there was a lot

of pressure by russia to cause the syrians to comply. in the end, the disaster that is syria has one small bright spot and that is the success in getting these chemical agents out of it, but the behavior of the bashar al assad regime remains the same, killing their own people, up to 150,000 casualties now, using lots of barrel bombs, some with chlorine, some with normal high explosive the. if you're in syria, you might be forgiven for thinking that the international community only cares if he kills his people using chemical munitions, but doesn't mind killing them using conventional weapons. >> is there a laundry list of chemicals, over-the-counter chemicals that can be used even after all of the conventional chemical weapons are taken out of the country, and give us an indication of what else is out there besides chlorine. >> chlorine is the most prominent one. it's very common.

united states produces over 10 million tons of chlorine every year. in fact, there's many industrial accidents in the united states each year which lead to chlorine poisoning of some fashion. there's chlorine, ammonia. if you put this in an explosive device, it would spread around a toxic cloud of some sort. it's not an effective military weapon. on the plus side, if there is one with respect to chlorine, it's something which you can smell. you can smell it at very low levels, much less than lethal doses, so you kind of know it's there. it's heavy, so tends to congregate in low areas. it's a dangerous thing from an drill stand point. it can be used as a weapon, but there are so may be other conventional munitions which they are already in plying, i'm not sure it will make that much difference other than as an

indicator of the bashar al assad regime. >> you can't outlaw a 55-gallon drum and nails, either. thank you very much. >> the pentagon is releasing a $1.5 billion aid package to cairo, clearing the way for the delivery of 10 apache helicopters. a white house spokesperson said it does not certify a democratic transition is taking plagues in the country, aid was stopped last october after egypts first civilian president mohamed morsi was removed from offers. the interim government said elections will take place next month. >> a court in vietnam sentenced an american to death for heroin trafficking. the 41-year-old was convicted in a court on tuesday. state media said he was arrested last june. customs officials found the drug in his underwear as he was

boarding a flight to australia. vietnam has some of the world says toughest drug laws. possessioning or selling drugs does carry the death penalty. >> south sudan attacks attacked the conscience. bodies were strewn across the streets of the town. united nations has taken in 22,000 people in shelters over the past few days and is now beefing up peace keeping missions there. >> about 500 peacekeepers are doing their utmost to protect the civilians that have south shelter in the u.n. base. >> u.n. security council now meet to go discuss the security in that country after the attack. since december, fighting has killed thousands and forced millions more from their homes. >> in west africa, there's anger over a ban on bush meet. health experts warn the local

delicacy might carry the deadly ebola virus. 142 people have died from an outbreak of the disease. the world health organization said the virus is limited to the two nations, and officials hope this ban will keel it from spreading. >> these women are furious at the police. they've taken away the bush meat they were about to sell at this market. >> we've been put out of business. if we can't sell our meat, our families are going to go hungry. we want our bush meat back. >> this is what authorities did with it, 200-kilos of mostly rat meat up in flames, these wild animals are popular cuisine, but known to host the highly contagious ebola virus. >> it is found in animals biological secretions.

you run the risk of getting infected if you are in contact with it. >> the government ordered a ban on touching, consuming and selling bush meat. ivory coast shares a 600-kilometer border with gene knee where a recent outbreak killed 120 people. there's no cure for ebola and environmentalists hope the new measure will help protect wild animals from harm. despite the ban, wild animals continue to be hunted. >> don't get me wrong, i love this animal, but eventually i will kill it and sell its meat. >> bush meat is a delicacy here and inspectors are checking to see what is being sold. >> meat is readily available in the market, but it's cut into little pieces, making it very difficult for inspectors to find out to whether this is bush health or not. >> the ban is hard to enforce. although some may have been driven out of business, most like the city's butchers

continue to thrive on new freshly cut meat. aljazeera. >> ebola is one of the world's deadliest viruses, there is no cure and 90% of people who contract it die. >> canadian drug company valiant wants to buy another drug company. if successful, that deal would make valiant one of the world's five biggest drug companies. the largest shareholder is the driving force behind that offer. >> today marks the 30t 30th anniversary of the announcement that h.i.v. had been discovered. while the in connection of infections has been reduced, new cases have remained steady at 50,000 per year. >> jonathan watson remembers the day he learned he had h.i.v. he was 17. >> it won't happen to me. like that's exactly what life was going through my head, it wouldn't happen to me. and it did happen.

>> what made it particularly tough for watson was the sense he'd let his mother down. she had educated him on the importance of protection from an early age, and yet when that moment came, caught in a whirl wind romance, he let his guard down. >> you really don't believe that at their ages they are actually vulnerable to contracting h.i.v. and aids. >> the number of new infections at the u.s. has dropped by two thirds since the height of the epidemic in the 1980's, but where the infection rate has grown has been with young gay men. young gay men now 20 years old face a 50% chance of contracting h.i.v. by the time they are 50. >> in the last decade, much of the fight against h.i.v. aids has moved abroad with the united states leading the global battle in africa and asia that in that struggle, some worry we've neglected the home front. >> people don't believe it's a problem anymore. we don't hear a lot about it.

we hear a lot about medications but those aren't getting us to zero. h.i.v. is still a problem. >> what's important is that we make sure guys are getting tested more frequently so if they find out they have h.i.v., they can get primary care. >> the irony is the sense of imminent danger fading. unlike an older generation of young gay men who experienced the trauma of drying friends, most don't see the images of h.i.v. african americans account for almost half of new infections. poverty, access to health care and sex education is blamed to greater cultural stigma in the black community for being gay explains the trend. >> there are days when i'm tired

and i know why i'm tired. i'm so used to just like burning through, like, you know, that's it, let's do this, let's do that, i have to take a breath, you know, like, you know, take a weekend off from hanging out or going to parties and stuff. >> for the most part, he makes sure the infection plays a limited role in his life. aljazeera, san francisco. >> 30 years later, how prevalent is h.i.v. infection today? according to the c.d.c., 33.4 million people live with h.i.v. and aids around the world. more than 1.1 million people in america are infected with the virus and almost one in six with h.i.v. are not even aware that they have the virus. >> too much salt is bad for you, but we're about to rub some salt into the wound. >> the staggering levels of sodium in foods and the effect on your health. >> our new segment, healthy and

wise, is next.

only on al jazeera america

>>, to aljazeera america. just ahead, you're going to begin the debate we were having during the commercial. salt can cause major problems for your health. >> first, meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. lots of wet weather? >> the easternern half of the country, moving out. but midsection, scattered storms, already a wet day in minnesota. our bigger concern is the thunderstorm risk, pretty widespread including the risk for severe weather. texas and oak on the ground are the biggest risk with hail and all of this shifts to the east tomorrow.

to really on the northern side of all of this, cold enough weather to support that snow that everyone's been talking about. back to you guys. >> in recent years, the cuban government loosening regulations on state run business creating a restaurant scene enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. >> until recently, nearly all businesses in cuba including restaurants were run by the state. the decor was behaving and service was interesting. the food, there's a lot to be said for cuban cuisine, easy to prepare, cheap, extremely filling and very nutritious. what it's not is very exciting. >> all that is changing. there have been privately run restaurants in cuba, but only a few and kept a pro profile. now with president rule castro

partially loosening the state's hold on the cuba economy, they are spreading across havana. >> when we make a dessert for main course, that's how our grand mothers or mothers used to make it, traditional, but food is getting better, more variety and ingredients. >> the owner of one of the new wave of restaurants in the heart of old havana fought in the cuban revolution and then became chef to former president fidel castro. >> brother and sister are at the forefront of the boom. they are meeting at her place. he runs another restaurant, one of havana's best established restaurants. >> people are trying new dishes, experimenting, visiting different restaurants with different styles, different

dishes. it's a revolution. they offer top quality cuisine for a discerning clientele, mostly foreign tourists and cuban elite. these customers with access only to the cuban peso are unlikely to ever dine there. >> our product has a high value which makes it expensive for cubans. most of our customers are tourists, diplomats. it's most foreigners you see here. >> fashional coffee shops and best of cuban traditional dishes are whetting appetites. a simple plate of rice and beans is what most people tuck into. >> cuban families first started

running restaurants in their own homes during the 1990s when the government briefly allowed some private businesses to take root. >> the average american consumes roughly 3300 milligrams of sodium every day. that's the equivalent of about 11 of those little salt pack yet from fast food restaurants. according to the c.d.c., it's 1,000 mill gaps more than recommended. between 40 and 90,000 deaths a year are attributed to excessive salt consumption, adding up to nearly $20 billion a year in medical costs. doctor neil barnard joins us for our new segment healthy and wise. he's a professor at george washington university and president of the physicians committee for responsible medicine. thanks for being oh us on healthy and-wise. >> good morning. >> we are talking about salt and the fact that most of us when we get to a restaurant tend to do

this. remind us what headlight conditions come from too much of it. >> the health conditions can be serious. first there's cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and stroke. that excess salt intake can damage the kidneys and even the bones. that might be a surprise, but when people have too much salt going in, they lose more calcium in they're urine, weakening the bones. >> i never knew that it could damage bones. let's look at some of the common foods with really high sodium content. a bag of potato chips contains 180 milligrams of sodium per serving. we don't usually have one serving. a frozen pasta dinner contains 620 milligrams of sodium. one can of chicken noodle soup has 890 milligrams of sodium per serving.

where does most of our daily salt can assumption come from? >> people think about potato chips but that's not the worst source. when people have -- open up a can of whether it's canned vegetables or soups or a canned pasta dish, the manufacturer has dumped in an enormous amount of sodium. that's a problem. we are seeing it in processed foods, processed cheese and meats like ham and bacon. those are big, big sources where people don't think of well before they've picked up the salt shaker. >> britain reduced sodium consumption by 15%. will those changes happen here? >> i sure hope so. when britain made that change, their risk of heart attacks and strokes dropped by 40%. we really ought to be doing that here. i really think we can with fairly simple stems. >> when you talk about salt consumption, is it only people

that are preaddition posed to hypertension or heart issues that should worry about their intake and can the rest of us ever as much as we want? >> we really shouldn't, because first of all, when you add up all the people who either have had heart disease or diabetes or kidney disease or people at risk for all of those things, well, that's the majority of americans. >> now, i remember in the 1980's and 1990s salt seen as public enemy number one when it came to health, and then lately, it seems there's been more focus on sugar. when you compare sugar and salt, what's worse? >> neither one is exactly health food, but salt contributes to very, very serious health problems and demands more attention. >> don't we need at least a minimum amount of salt, as well as to be healthy, aren't their health risks with not getting enough salt and are there americans that suffer from that? >> that's a terrific point. yeah, you don't want to be zero salt.

the body does use a little bit of salt, maybe 230 mill groups or so for its basic needs, plus let's say you're physically active. perspiration will cause to you lose more sodium. that could be another thousand milligrams. 1500 milligrams a day is a pretty good intake getting you way blow where we are now but enough for your needs. >> 1500 mill gaps. is that two tea spoons, is there a way you can break that down that makes it easier for us to estimate? >> if you're looking at vegetables and fruits, beans and whole grains, in nature they have almost no sodium. if you add up anything, look at nutrition liable on a package and add that up over the course of the day. you'll see which are the high sodium foods you want to avoid and most people are not going to run too low.

>> thank you, doctor. >> science fiction becomes reality at the pentagon, chuck hagel on hand to meet atlas, 6'2" inches tall, a robot in a contest to create a man like life saving machine, able to perform rescue missions in earthquakes and tsunamis. a turf war underway, an epic battle between man and mother nature, a pair of ospreys decided to live the american dream on a traffic camera. the scenery is great. transit officials say their duty to give beachgoers a clear view of the span draws near took precedent, so they removed the nest. the very next day, the births were back. officials pull would the nest down again. the very next day, all over again. so you can guess where this is going. as we speak, the ospreys working

on that you are fourth nest. technology no match for the wild. >> so much can be learned from their persistence. >> have a great morning.

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