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tv   News  Al Jazeera  April 26, 2014 6:00pm-7:01pm EDT

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will see you online. [ music ] you are watching al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz live in new york. held in ukraine, international observers captured in the east what pro-russian separatists >> making history, a woman who says john paul ii saved her life. dangerous immigration, the next co border is not the only hot spot. look at how africans are suffering and dying trying to get into europe. four hundred fifty years young. how shakespeare's hometown is bidding the bard a happy
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birthday. we begin tonight in ukraine where pro-russian gun men are proposing a springser watch swap with leaders in kiev. the separatists detained 8 on friday accusing them of spying. they are saying they will release them in exchange for jailed activists. barnaby phillips on the ground in donetsk with the latest >> reporter: on both sides in eastern ukraine, funerals are becoming political events. this time, it was pro-russian separatists laying one of their heroes to rest. in the town of slovyansk, a man killed who is now a martyr. >> long live donbas. ukraine is with russia. long live donbas
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>> it's also in slovyansk that the european militariary observers are being held by pro-russian gun men who said .1 way the observers could be released would be in exchange for the governments of kiev holding a number of pro-russian activists >> prisoners have always been pawns to exchange during times of war. it's an international practice to swap prisoners. there is nothing scary about it. >> this is the administration center in donetsk, and as you can see, there is no sign of pro-russian groups are giving up their control. their barricades are still up. let's go over here and see the other side of life in the east because for most people, things are going on as normal. they might be ang. they are keeping to themselves. >> that's the same not just in donetsk but across eastern ukraine. >> kiev, they were marking a grim an accompanies re, 28 ye s
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years. it was event did on the eastern border that occupied the politicians who came to this event. >> translator: if russia continues its aggression and ignores decisions made during negotiations including the ones from geneva, ukraine has to stay strong and resist the forces. >> yulia typicalta tymoshenko h the next president. barnaby phillips, donetsk >> ukraine's acting prime minister said russia violated his country's airspace. he accused the kremlin of undermining global security >> russian military aircraft today at 9:00 crossed and violated ukrainian airspace for seven times.
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>> russian aggression has its aim to undermine the global security and global stability, to redraw the lines and to revise the consequences of the second world war. >> the u.s. deployed 150 pair atroopers too lituhuania today o join forces with nato soldiers there providing security if the conflict spills beyond crain's borders. >> we are here to demonstrate nato's commitment to lithuania with our persistent presence of training soldiers, let me make this clear: should lithuania need nato, i guarantee nato will be there. >> a total of 600 u.s. troops will be deployed to the region. they will remain there until the end of the year. the united states and russia are discussing how to ease tensions in ukraine. today, secretary of state john kerry spoke on the phone with
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his russian counterpart. the russian foreign minister called to facilitate the release of pro-russians. >> more than two dozen ambassadors from europe will meet on monday to finalize a second stage of sanctions. james jotras, i asked him why he thinks sanctions are not the right approach? >> the better tools are the negotiating table to come to an agreement that tries to put the ukrainian humpty dumpty back together to stop talking as though this administration, this unelected administration in kiev were the legitimate government that all ukrainians including those in the south and east who clearly rejected must submit to and issuing threats. >> doesn't do anybody any good and it will not resolve the crisis. it will not cause moscow to back down or the ukrainian east to back down in its confrontation
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with kiev and will only make things worse >> with the elections, he says it will be hard for all of ukraine to vote >> now to the vatican. we have a live look at the crowds in rome. the mood is festive ahead of tomorrow's event. pilgrims are coming to watch declaration of sainthood. about a million visitors are expected there. our nick schifrin joins us live outside of vatican city. nick, what's it like there? >> reporter: jonathan, those crowds that we are seeing are about 100 feet or so behind me. saint peter's square, absolutely empty except for the police and all of the people setting up chairs for tomorrow's historic event. two popes being can onnized with two popes in the square, the first time in 2000 years in the catholic church that either of
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those event did have happened, making a very modern day for the ancient tradition of sainthood. [ music ] >> the historic saint marco church. they came from all over the world to pray for their newest saints. in a dozen churches, half a dozen languages, the vatican is sponsoring over-night prayer vigils. they credit st. john ii for divine miracle did like what happened to flora beth moore in her coast a rican house she created a shrine to a man she says saved her life. in 2001, her doctors said she had an aneurysm and would live for only a month. she clutched a favorite magazine with john paul on the cover. six years after he died, on the same de jongh paul took the first step to sainthood, she says he appeared to her in a vision. >> translator: it filled me with peace and gave me the self confidence i could recover from
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my sickness. >> after that moment, she says she recovered instantly. her doctors called it a miracle. the catholic church agreed. >> do you thifeel like he saved your life? >> of course. god saved my life with john paul ii's intervention. >> over 27 years, john paul's intervention transformed the catholic church. he inspired a new younger generation. his leadership helped inspire the movement or the fall of the berlin wall and the soviet union. but many, including the people in each of these childhood photographs see things differently. >> this is david classy. he was sexually abused by father john whitely. this is joel capnits. this is becky iami and becky was sexually abused about this time by the priest in her church in virginia. >> the church admits in the u.s., alone, more than 10,000
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people say catholic officials abused them. >> this is tim blenon. rita and this was me, the year before father morris started sexually abusing me >> barbara blaine runs an abuse survivors' network. she was only 12 when she says her priest first touched her. >> i was screaming, "no. stop, don't do that. don't touch me. no" in my mind. but no words came out. i was, like, frozen and in a sense, it was like i couldn't -- i couldn't even move. and i can remember him saying, "stop shaking. i am not going to hurt you." "she accuses john paul of knowing in the church abuse was per vaif evasive. she said a man who con seals sin is no saint >> unfortunately pope john paul ii had information and authority
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remove sexual predators and protect children and he refused to do that. >> john paul's defenders deny that and blames boyce is vastly out numbered. pilgrims poured into rome. they will wait for a chance at the front row and celebrate the man the church now calls john paul, the great >> those people will weight seven hours before they are allowed into the square. jonathan, to give you a sense of despite barbara blaine's criticism and those individual voices who do criticize this event, it is so popular that tomorrow, this square may be filled with the largest crowd ever that the catholic church in the square has ever seen. >> the largest crowd ever for that square. nick, we talked about how do feel feel about the different personal at this of those being can onized? >> reporter: i think this is the most interesting question.
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traditionally, john paul ii is seen as part of the conservative wing of the church. john xxiii seemed as more progressive and liberal. i think the people who speak to pope francis about why he tried to send a message to can onnize them both on the same day is a message of unityonize them both on the same day is a message of unity. we should actually see these john paul ii as continuing the progressive steps that john xxiii made and in declaration, francis is trying to say, let's move beyond the traditional notion of them being on different sides of the ideological spectrum and say we arunfied, the church is big enough for everyone and this way and we can combine the two and move the church in the 21st century >> nick schifrin live in rome. thank you r. we talked about john paul ii and john paul xxiii.
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he is credited with mon earnizing the catholic church. his work and influence opened doors. john ter bennett has more on the man still known as "the good pope." >> his was a new style of pontificate, pope john xxiii ran the vatican time enough to show he was different than hez predecessor? >> they were much more similar to kings or monarchs or emperors. >> that's the major difference that made him known as "the good pope." > the good pope was the third of 13 children raised in the italian countryside in lombardi. his education was tradition a.m. italian but before becoming pope, he traveled as a vatican diplomat reaching out to non-catholics, jews and christians. and that changed him? >> a great moment of change in the life of the catholic church. >> it was john xxiii who decided the church needed a new
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ecumenical counsel. it shocked everybody. many thought global debate about the churchts future was unnecessary >> the ecumenical council became known as the second vatican council or vatican ii. when pope john xxiii was asked why, it is said he opened the window in his papal study and said "we need fresh air". >> church leaders from all over the world came to discuss the church's future? >> vatican ii opened the door to a new series of themes, of issues and tact that made the catholic church able to interact, to survive, and to thrive. >> another profound change by vatican council ii was the language of the liturgy. [ music ] >> mass can now be conducted in all languages, not just latin. so now, john xxiii is being can onized pope francis is waving
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the fact that often one milk is being adescribed to him. vatican watchers has written a book titled "john xxiii". >> there is no question that the second miracle was going to surface. so pope francis knew very well that he was not interfering with the procedure. he was just expediting something that was going to happen soon. >> pope john xxiii, in life and in death, a saint. john ter bennett, al jazeera, new york. later tonight, we will take a deeper look at this canonization. >> that's a deeper look, coming up at 8:30 eastern toronto. the nba is law firming an investigation into racist remarks attributed to one of the league's owners, la clippers' owner allegedly told a female friend he doesn't want to be
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seen in public with black people and doesn't want them at his games. the remarks allegedly came after the woman posted a picture of her with magic johnson on instagram. there is a meeting today to discuss the comments. the coach says they will continue playing. we are trying to discuss somethi something, you know, with those dreams. as far as the comments, you know, we are not happy with any of them. but we are going to let the due process, everything get handled, and that situation will be dealt with later. a lot of people talking about that. we will have much more on the developing story throughout the evening. >> the leader of the national rifle association at the group's annual meeting indianapolis. wayne lapiere said the nra will continue to fight for the rights of gun owners. >> the people of the nra
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represent the very best of america's character and the very best of america's strength. we tell the truth about what we believe. and we stand up for the values that we hold dear in our hearts. we are, and throughout history, we have always been the good guys. >> several prospective presidential candidates attended the gathering. many focused on how the media is fueling anti-gun sentiment in the u.s. in indianapolis this weekend are several antigun groups. the groups moms demand change and every town for gun safety came to the city to speak out against gun violence. the antigun gathering is taking place right across the street from where the nra is meeting. both sides are passionate. earlier we were joined by the journalist katlin about a
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discussion about some. >> we are determined to advocate for politicians that they believe are doing what they want or in a way that they would like them to. up until now, there hasn't been a really well organized opposition to the nra. there are many people who feel very strong lyn that the nra's tactics are not the way we want to go or that they would like to go but they are not very well organized. they haven'been united. are people in congress going to change the lauds when the nra starts raising money against them? the nra is very efficient >> the pro-gun lobby had a victory when a new gayla was passed allowing people to carry guns in bars and other public buildings. president obama landed in malaysia today exactly .7 weeks since flight 370 disappeared. he arrived just as the u.s. navy is nearing the end of an under water search. he plans to discuss the tragedy with the country's prime minister and regional and trade issues are on the agenda.
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the president is attending an elaborate dinner at the palace where he offered a toast to the growing relationship. >> our people have similar hopes and similar aspirations. we can draw strength in both of our nations from our ethnic and religious diversity. >> the first u.s. president to visit malaysia in five decades. up next, it's not over yet, african officials confirm there will be a run-off of the historic allegations, also raising concerns in afghanistan >> a rare look inside baghdad's command center.
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[ music ] in southern afghanistan, a british helicopter went down in kandahar province. nato is investigating. in the northern, more have
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been forced to flee flood waters. villagers in fourth northwestern prove i knew i s ince z /* /- provinces >> in remote parts of north and west afghanistan, people's lives have been upsidedown. thousands were hit across four provinces. >> heavy rain and floods, people have suffered from lots of destruction. >> reporter: people are beginning to pick up the pieces after the floods. they say they still urgently need help. >> translator: so far.
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>> the regional police chief said they found many bodies and expect to find more. >> people took those dead bodies to the hospital and then the bodies were handed over to the families. around 7 villagers in the area were destroyed by flooding. >> it's the start of spring, usually a wet season, but not to the extent seen here in rebate days. the disaster relief committee says more than 5,000 people have been displaced and medicine and drinking water are running out. caroline malone, al jazeera. we are learning the identities of two of the victims in a deadly shooting in an afghan hospital two days ago. john gavelrana healthcare clinic at kabul university and the other victim was his father. they were visiting a pediatrician who was also killed in that attack. police say the gunman was a security guard. the top .2 contenders for
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afghanistan's president are set to face another round of voting. early results showed none of the candidates won a majority which means there will be a run-off. the next election is set for june. first, abdullah abdullah wants an investigation into alleged fraud. stefanie dekker has this. >> we are satisfied with it, with the result >> reporter: there isn't a new president just yet. but he will be chosen from one of two men. former for en minister abdullah abdullah had 44.9% of the vote just missing out on the 50% needed to win outright. he will face a run-off with a former world bank economist who came in second with 31.5% of the ballot. but not everyone thinks the second round is a good idea. >> translator: the election problems have affected the economy for the past several months. business has gone down. it's not good to have a second round. people will not come out to vote because they are afraid.
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>> translator: it's normal that if a candidate doesn't win in the first round, if we like it or not, it should go to a second round. we want it to be fair, and the election complaints commission should be transparent. >> reporter: there have been complaints of fraud, hundreds of thousands of votes are due to be investigated by the independent election complaints commission and then the final numbers are expected on may the 14th. >> there are also irregularities in the way the commission handled itself and we are calling on them to make sure that transparence is increased for the candidates to trust and to accept the result of the count >> reporter: abdullah abdullah says he believes most of the ballots suspected of being tampered with were at first cast in his favor. many say a run-off is inevitable because they don't think the result of the investigation will give abdullah a clear win. the real challenge now is preparing this country where security is a major concern for
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another round of elections at another huge financial cost. stefanie dekker, al jazeera >> now to iraq where 28 people attending a campaign rally were killed. cameras were rolling when the last three bombs went off. >> the explosions that were detonated as people were leaving the rally yesterday, an offshoot of al-qaeda claimed responsibility. he elections are set for wednesday. in these attacks, they raise questions about whether an election can be held safely in iraq. a rare behind-the-scenes look at security planning >> this is baghdad operations command, as the name suggests, they are responsible for baghdad's security. cameras are rarely allowed into this, the nerve center that controls the movements of troops on the ground. as iraq's election gets closer,
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the government understands it faces security champ he knochal. >> the enemy is always trying to demoralize us by spreading sectarian hatred to prevent iraqis to go exercise their democratic right to vote. we do believe the stakes are high but we feel we have a concrete plan to help guarantee security. >> reporter: checkpoints such as this dot the city. you can find them every few kilometers and they are the most visible sign in the government's security plan. the soldiers understand the threats that they face. >> we are the spearhead of the open war on terrorism in general. we are fighting terrorism on behalf of the renalon an especially in iraq and baghdad. the war courts with -linked groups and we are confident in our plan to security the city for e elections >> his confidence isn't shared by many in baghdad. there are attacks across iraq every day and the damage is clear to see along with people's
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frustrations with their politicians. >> according to the united nations, over 2,700 people have died isn't the year began. >> grim statistic will likely have an impact on people as they visit the polling booth come april 30th. imaran kahn >> the palestinian president said hamas would recognize israel and anyounty government he forms would also recognize israel. hamas leaders said they would not change their position to recognize the jewish state. peace talks between the west bank and israel were called off this week. still ahead here on al jazeera america, journalists held against their will by pro-russian forces in eastern ukraine, i will speak with the director of reporters without borders about why these cases are raises serious concerns. cleaning up tornado damage in north carolina.
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we will tell you who can expect another round of severe storms this weekend.
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we are glad you are watching al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. crowds are converging on the vatican for a double canonization ceremony. pope francis and pope emeritus will declare sainthood for two predecessors. president obama landed in malaysia. he plans to discuss the disappearance of flight 370 with the prime minister. that and regional issues will be discussed >> gun men are proposing a prisoner swap, holding .8 international observers accused of spying. russian separatists say they will release them for jailed pro-russians. earlier this week, an american journalist was released after being held for three days by the pro-russian separatists.
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simon istrofsky said he was blindfolded, beaten and tied up, accused of working for the cia, the fbi and ukrainian ultra nationalist group >> thank you for being with us today. >> thank you for having me, jonathan >> help us understand what are journalists actually facing on the ground in eastern ukraine? >> you just have to understand that the situation in eastern ukraine is becoming more and more maldangerous. now abductor of journalists by pro-russian militia are common and really, these last week, abductor of journalists have taken the attacks against journalists to a new, unacceptable level. first, the safety of journalists is at stake and sending an
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intimidation signal to all news providers >> do you get the impression these crackdowns on journalists are orchestrated by authorities who are in charge there or mainly by rogue people, part of this movement? >> it seems that because of the numbers of abductor and escalation against attacks against journalists, it seems there is a real wheel to control information and to restrict, actually, the work of the journalists and that's why reporters without borders is calling again and again all parties involved in this conflict to stop taking journalists and to guarantee their protection >> are you getting the impression it's having an effect? are some news agencies pulling out journalists because of fears they will be next? >> i'm sorry. yes hear well your question. >> do you get the impression that the crackdown on the
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journalists is having an effect? have you heard of any news agencies removing journalits from eastern ukraine because they are afraid their reporters may be next? >> mofor the moment, no. and i hope journalists will be able to continue to report there safely and for the moment, the journalists have been acducted a few days, we are asking for them to be released immediately and for the moment, journalists continue to be able to report there. i just had -- i want to say that when abductor, where the fact of a pro-russian militia at the same time russian journalists are blocked at the ukrainian border, and really, you have to understand that we are observing a kind of information war, information taking stage because you have to understand that by example, ukrainian t.v. stations were stopped in crimea and at
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the same time, then, the leading russian t.v. were blocked in the rest of ukraine. really, information is really the main upstage in this crisis. >> that's interesting. i want to talk further with you about that. explain to us, what are the russian journalists actually facing inside ukraine, the ones dispatched from moscow? >> it's in this kind of crisis, everybody involved in the conflict like that wants to control the information. so that's why really all parties involved, the ukrainians, the pro-russian militia, all parties involved have to guarantee access for journalists. if there are ukrainian journalits, russian journalists or foreign journalists, freedom of information is crucial because the freedom of information is the freedom that will allow us to verify the
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existence of all other freedom. we need this free access to guarantee that we will know what is really happening in eastern ukraine >> would you like to see more of an outcry on this? do you feel like too many people in the international community aren't as concerned with journalists' rights in ukraine? >> of course, i wish there would be an outcry but also i would like to see an outcry as well for all of the journalists in china, in iran, or even in turkey or also for the american journalists who are still missing in syria, by example. in every case, in any case, when the journalists's safety is at risk, it's all freedom to all of us, which is at risk then. >> delphina halgand with reporters without borders in washington, d.c. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> press freedom is a major issue, including in ethiopia. scenario journalists known to be
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critical of that country's government have been arrested. mohammed adkra >> they have been critical of government policy and big on social media. tit follows those writing for a newspap newspaper. they were taken from their homes in the ms. of the -- in the middle of the night and to a central prison. the government -- lawyers acting for them told journalists they might be arraigned in court on monday. this is known to be one of the worst jailings of journalists. there are journalists right now serving prison sentences changing between 14 and 27 years in prison with some of these journalists charged with
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terrorism. >> it's been 118 days since three of our al jazeera colleagues were arrested in cairo. they have been charged with reporting false news and aiding terrorism. the trial resumed this week. it was a journeyed for a 6th time after a day. another al jazeera stamp, abdullah ashami has been detained in dka kacairo. >> the national weather serviced confirms several toranados touched down in eastern north carolina yesterday. damage was widespread in the town of elizabeth city about 200 miles east of raleigh. officials say ef2, more than a dozen people were hurt. 200 homes were damaged. >> that's hard to look at, rebecca, considering how large the tornados were. >> they were. we were focused on oklahoma and kansas last night, looking for potential development and it ended up coming out of north
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carolina instead. so, it is something that you have to keep an eye to the sky. when we talk about severe weather or any kind of thunderstorms moving through your city, it's just good to keep an ear to that weather radio radio. it's very helpful in times like this. we are watching another situation potentially developing today but now not looking as likely because low pressure system is coming off of the rockies bringing a lot of snow here, still just too far west to really give a lot of lift to texas and oklahoma where if we get thunderstorms popping tonight, this is the most likely spot it will happen. and the main reason it would happen is because of a difference in how much moisture is in the air. we have what you know in texas as a dry line meaning dryer air in west texas and warm moist air coming off of the gulf of mexico. those two things coming together, warm moist air is buouyant, energetic and it can
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make thunderstorms travel high in the sky. radar clouds showing we just don't have the development here and that's primarily because the low pressure system is over the rockies in colorado bringing you some snow. as we look at what tomorrow brings, low pressure system moving in and we will have a similar set-up in that the dry air in one place, wet air in another is going to come together to bring us the potential of some significant thunderstorms. more toranados are possible in this area, red and yellow, you see this is where we are going to look for them. it includes missouri and even all the "t's" way into iowa and illinois for the day tomorrow. we had so much snow yesterday, overnight, into the morning hours, video showing you some snow here and in the sierra nevadas. boy, did this cause problem with snow making roads slippery. it was quite a bit. anywhere from 13 inches for blue canyon to donor peak, 21 inches of snow. jonathan, you wouldn't think we would be talking about mountain
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snow here in april. but we still have storms >> late april. spring. incredible. thanks action rebecca. snow and we have drought to talk about as well. western states facing a drought crisis including the entire state of california. farmers in colorado have also been hit hard. southeastern part of the state hasn't seen normal rain levels in more than a decade and because it is so dry they are having to deal with huge tumble weeds of all things. carol mckinley has more >> reporter: this is not the desert southwest. at one time, it was some of colorado's most productive land. but today, about the only things left alive are charactactus ande weeds? >> these are some of the most abrasive things you can cut >> russell bennett is responsible for keeping roads open in southeast crowley county. after a decade of drought, his enemy is the tumble we'd? >> everybody sold their cows off. there wasn't any cows to eat the small weeds.
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we got rain at the right time and the weeds 1409 up. there you have it. i mean the perfect storm of tumbleweeds >> he fights it with puff the magic dragon. it annihilates tumble weeds but despite months of work, they still clog the roads. tumble weeds start out innocently soft and green like this russian thistle but then it dries out and grows into this monster. each one of these mother plants has 250,000 seed pods. >> that's a lot of tumble weeds. >> this part of colorado, including vast areas of income, oklahoma, and texas are experiencing the worst drought since the 1930s. normal rainfall is 14 inches a year. last year, there were only three. the dust bowl has returned. >> we cannot find any three and a half year period that has been this dry in the history of this
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area with data going back to the 1880s. >> so this is a quiet ranch. >> it is now. yeah. >> doug techlanberg's family has ravaged here for generations >> this is full of hay, this little pen here and i had cattle on both sides. >> what happened to them? >> had to sell them. >> why? >> because of the drought. >> county commissioner gary gibson says ranchers are going under. >> i can't keep my cattle, so how do i keep my livelihood? if i can't keep my livelihood, how do i pay taxes? the rippling effect for the economy in the area, it could be devastating >> it was the hot topic in a packed room at the annual arkansas river basin water forum that no lan duskin is hoping the el nino some forecasters predict will bring rain >> there is optimism. you always think it will be better next year >> back on county road k,
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russell bennett, the guy they call puff daddy is in a never-ending battle with the tumble we'd. he knows without rain, it's just a matter of time before the wind kicks them up and sends them his way. carol mckinley, al jazeera near ordway, colorado >> there is much more ahead here on al jazeera america including a museum that is a very rare tribute to the fight for democracy in china. plus what we began as an honor to shakespeare has become a nuisan nuisance, the bard's birds keep multiplying beyond control. mera
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>> all 15 crew members navigating the sunken south korean ferry are in custody, accused of negligence and failing to help boat passenger.
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they said they smashed wind odes to try to get out passengers. the agency says they were accused of negligence. 187 bodies have been recovered. 115 remain missing. a new museum has opened in hong kong. it remembers the massacre of protesters in china's tiananmen square 25 years ago. some people say that museum is one-sided. they want it all in the past. dibia gubanman has more >> reporter: with the newspaper dated 25 years ago, the museum is declared open. it's designed as a maze as and takes visitors through the protest. at 75 square meters, it's one of the smallest museums around but organizers expect it to have a big impact. >> we are targeting the younger generation born after the
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june 4th massacre so they can come and experience what we have experienced at that time, the shock, the despair and, also, the hope at that time brought about by the democracy movement >> the group is made up of lawmakers and pro-democraciracy activists. they formed in 1989 to help fund the democracy movement. the model of tiananmen square and interactive images, with it, the museum hopes to educate mainland tourrists. many mainland editors are unaware of the crackdown because all reference to it is banned there. but there are citizen groups who feel the discourse could threaten hong kong's stability >> latisha lee says it tells one side of the story. people want to move on. >> the tin tin square ince -- t tiananmen square incident is like a wart. why can't we leave it alone.
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>> some who share her views gathered on the streets outside the building housing the exhibition. >> the museum in the middle of this normally quiet alley on the 5th floor of the building behind me but on the opening day, it's creating a lot of noise from a confrontation between soupportes and detract orders >> the commotion and the press will draw attention to the museum but it could jeopardize its existence. the exhibition ends with the goddess of democracy. she may have to find a new home soon. the building's owner is threatening legal action saying the myselfem will be disrupt i have for the other tenants. al jazeera, hong kong. illegal immigration is not an issue limited to the united states. the european union is dealing with people trying to flee parts of africa. david shuster has more on that. expensive and dangerous border fences are not just for the american southwest. take a look at the coast of africa. here is morocco, spain, the
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strait of gibraltar. the despair of africa to the south, the promise of europe to the north. spain has two enclaves on the moroccan side of the water just on the northern side of morocco and there is a boarder area between morocco and the spanish areas. once you are in the spanish-controlled territory, you are technically in the european union. it's an easy ferry ride across the strait of gibraltar to get to the mainland. to discourage them as a gateway to europe, spain spent more than $50 million buildings barriers and border fences but in the past year, large groups of sub is a har an immigrants have charged the rows with increasing frequency. the my grant did and you can see the bloody feet, they often end up injured not just from the barbed wire but thanks to the effort of moroccan and spanish authorities who are aggressively trying to stop them. two months okay, the spanish police faced over 250 immigrant did climbing the fences or swimming near the shoreline.
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authorities overwhelmed, responded by firing rubber bullets. fifteen immigrants were killed. some and to have been shot to death. others apparently drown in the water. spanish government has appealed to european authorities to try to help police this border. there are literally tens of thousands of african migrants who dream of entering the smallest doorway to europe. if they can reach one of the two spanish enclaves they are homefree because spain does not have ex 2r5dition treaties with many of the countries where they come from. once a my grant reaches one of these two areas action he or may she may spend a year or two waiting for their application to be process. if it is denied, they will transfer them to the mainland before ordering him or her to go somewhere else in europe. a dangerous border fence and my grant did looking for a better life to the north. it's an issue the united states and the eu have in common. david shuster, al jazeera.
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>> meantime, immigration controversy continues along the u.s./mexico border. on al jazeera america, we continue our original series called boa"borderland," followi migrants including a 14-year-old boy trying to reunite with his mother. here is a look. tran [ music ] >> the last few years have seen a dramatic surge in the number of children attempting to cross the border. in 2012, there were 25,000 unaccompanied children apprehended by u.s. border patrol. the majority came from central
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america. 13-year-old omar lopez, william also hopes to cross the border and reunite with his mother. >> how old are you, william? how would? are you headed to the u.s.? >> si. >> and where are you from? >> el salva dor. >> what's it like in e el salvador? what's it like to live there. >> do the gangs stop you from going to school? does speaking spanish.) does he ha
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>> who all is in the u.s.? your mother and father? >> mi mama. >> and when was the last time you have seen your mother? >> six years. >> did your mother make this same trek? >> si. >> did she tell you anything about the trip? >> speaking sp . >> for william, this is the l s lessor of two evils. he could stay at home and be in a gang and get killed there or here, he has a chance to be reunited with his mother and family and live in a safer environment. neither one is a choice that i would ever like to have to make. the kid is really strong. >> part of the reasons that we
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have been here is we have been following the story of a boy about your age. wanting to tell the story about omar. as soon as i brought up, you could see the fear in his eyes. he knew what i was going to tell him. i couldn't bear to tell him. you know. so, be very careful. very careful. okay? i can see omar standing right there and getting ready to board the train. >> all right. it's a powerful show. you can watch it tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6 passiffic right here on al jazeera america. still ahead in this hour, what started as 60 birds in new york city are now more than 200
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million across north america, lasting legacy of a tribute to william shakespeare. [ music ]
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>> we pray for the children in the womb >> a divisive issue >> god is life , so it's his to take >> see a 10 year old girl who's pregnant, and you tell me that's what god wants... >> a controversial law >> where were you when the babies lives were being saved? >> are women in texas paying the price? >> who's benefiting from restricting access to safe abortions? >> fault lines... al jazeera america's hard hitting... ground breaking... truth seeking... breakthrough investigative documentary series access restricted only on al jazeera america
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>> there is much ado about shake spears in england. it's the bard's birthday. he was born 450 years ago today. of course, all of the u.k. is a stage for celebrations in his honor. he wrote some of the most beloved plays of all time from romeo and juliet to hamlet. shakespeare's legacy is rooted in the written word on the stage but visible in the skies over north america. our randall pinkston explains >> reporter: this is where part of the story began: new york central park in 1890, when a german immigrant released 60 european starlings, the first in north america, as a tribute to william shakespeare. the other part of the story began more than 300 years earlier in england, where shake
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spears placed references to birds, including the starling in his plays. >> he loved birds, i think partly because they are musical. when you think about bird songs, it connects you to the human voice >> he is director of the follow jer's shakespeare library in washington, d.c. he said shakespeare was a keen observer of nature and included 60 species of birds in his writings. he liked the starling's ability to mim mick speech >> he mentioned the starling in henry ix through hearts partner >> he said i will get a starling who will mention the name mortimer over and over to the king. the king said "don't ever say mortimer" to me again >> the descendants of those now number more than 200 million in north american. when they fly together in large numbers called murmerations,
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their formations look like art in motion while bird watchers and fans of spahakespeare, wildlife experts say they can be a nuisance? >> they can kick birds and sp s species out of areas >> unlike larger birds sucha as canned geese that brought down flight 145 nigh in the hudson river, they pose more of a threat to farmers. it's one of the species the u.s. department of agriculture tries unsuccessfully to control. >> it's not feasible economically or practically to eliminate them. they have pretty much reached, i think, the their critical mass. >> like shake spears classics, they have made their mark on america. randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington >> for you shakespeare scholars out there, we realize a lot of people observe his birthday is the 23rd and the 26th his
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baptismal. i am jonathan betz. back with another hour of news at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 p.m. pacific. stay with us because "fault lines" starts right now. >> it's friday afternoon in the it's friday afternoon ain te rio grande valley in texas. >> abortion is one of the most common medical procedures for women around the world. >> two friends are meeti readin a manual about how to give yourself an abortion? >> i ask you how pregnant you are. >> yeah. >> you said you are -- >> for sure right now, i am seven weeks. >> okay. yeah. that's good because once you get to 12 weeks, it gets riskier >> they wouldn't let us