>> results of analyses were skewed in favor of the prosecution >> the fbi can't force the states to look at those cases >> the truth will set you free yeah...don't kid yourself >> the system has failed me >> >> this is al jazeera america, live from new york city, i'm thomas drayton, let's get you caught up on today's top stories. a string of tornados killing 16 in three states much the threat is not over. >> big fall out after racist comments allegedly from donald sterling - sponsors pulling out. the n.b.a. investigating. sanctions on russia - greater costs over actions in

ukraine. thanks for being with us people across the heartland are cleaning up the damage from a string of deadly tornados. pictures and other items littered the ground in berlonia arkansas. daybreak brought the heart-breaking sight of damages. in hundreds of homes and business business - damaged or destroyed by a tornado. jonathan betz is joining us with more. devastating images. >> yes, at least 16 killed. it's the deadliest tornado that arkansas river saw in 17 years. the governor expects the death toll to rise. >> reporter: the quitest start to a tornado season ended with a vengeance. dozens touching down destroying

towns in the midsection, and taking lives. >> he came in, he didn't say nothing, he went like this, i said "tornado", and everything was hitting. >> drivers swallowed by black clouds. >>e, we are pulling over -- yes, we are pulling over. we'll back up. >> central arkansas was hit hard. towns north of little rock. rescuers dug through debris, searching for dividers. in cars thrown along interstate 40 rescuers tried to pull out people. many escaped with their lives, but little else. >> finding this stuff for days and days. >> early warnings likely saved this family. >> lucky we had enough warning to get down in the heidi hole. and it went over the top.

>> by dawn the pain was clear. 80 miles of devastation. neighbourhoods levelled. >> we had no warning or anything. it came out of nowhere. >> especially difficult for people in bologne arkansas, reeling from a tornado three years ago that killed four. >> the sad thing is that there are a lot of homes hit this time and demolished that were the homes rebuilt from the last tornado. >> that tornado in 2011 as within ef2. this appears to be more powerful. >> so much destruction. thank you. cathy wright is with the arkansas department of emergency management and joins us by little rock. good to have you with us. we know it's been a difficult 24 hours. what's the latest on the search effort? >> at this point we have teams out there in search and rescue.

they are, this afternoon going to transition over from search and rescue mode to a recovery mode. but there are still a lot of responders on scene in the affected areas as we speak. >> do we have a number on people displaced? >> i do not have that. >> you are working closely with a number of agencies, is that correct - the national guard, for example. >> correct, we are working out of the state emergency braigss center. with that we are able to coordinate with multiple state and principal agencies. we have fema here at this time and working closely with the national guard, assisting with recovery and rescue, as well as security. >> i know a lot of people don't know what to do next. what advice do you have for people hoping to go home to survey the damage? >> at this time they are beginning to allow people who live in the area, in the affected areas - they are

working with them to assist and get them back into the area to look at their home, assess damage. we are still requesting that anyone that is not from that area, that does not live in the affected area to stay away. it's a safety issue as well as a hindrance to responders as they try to do what they can to to help get everything as back to normal as possible. >> over the next 24-48 hours, what will be the e.r. departments primary focus be? >> we'll continue to be here to assist in coordination. we coordinate resources. at the local level they max out on the resources. we are here to get the supplies and resources and personnel that they need to assist with these efforts. we will continue to do so as long as we are needed. >> our thoughts are with you as we look at the devastating images. cathy wright with the arkansas

department of emergency management. appreciate your time. >> thank you we appreciate it. the n.b.a. is preparing to make a decision on the fate of owner donald sterling, of l.a. the team is getting ready for a play-off game tomorrow, but will not practice tomorrow. in case you missed the comments allegedly made here is a taste: ross shimabuku joins us. this is far from over. >> that's right, it's a big distraction that the l.a. clippers decided to cancel the practice as they prepare for the play-off tomorrow. a number of major sponsors. carr max, te motors, virgin america and state farm ended or suspended the relationship with the clippers. the league have scheduled a

press conference regarding the investigation of donald sterling. the big question - what type of punishment or suspension will be handed down. adam silver is facing his first major crisis and is in a delicate position. tech mickly he -- technically he works for the owners of the league. here is another clip of the alleged racist comments centre donald sterling: >> now, the clippers are trying to find a way to regroup and focus. they are mentally and physically not in the game, after getting blown out by the warriors.

head coach doc rivers refused to use the controversy as an excuse. >> once the game starts, there's no executions to play -- excuses to play like we play. that's my fault. i have to do a better job - whatever the distractions, i've got to do a better job. i didn't do my job tonight. i took that personally. we are going home now, and usually that would mean we are going to our safe haven. and i don't even know if that's true. to be honest. >> coach, fans, sponsors and the president of the united states are in disbelief over donald sterling's comments. before yesterday's game n.b.a. hall of famer magic johnson chimed in with his thoughts of the l.a. clippers owner. >> he shouldn't own a team and should stand up and say "i don't want to own a team", when you have african-americans in his

apartment, coming to the games, playing and coaching for him. this is bad for everybody, bad for america, and so i'm really upset about it. >> donald sterling has yet to comment on the scandal. the big question - will he show up at the staples centre for the game. you imagine there would be a protest. game 5 is tomorrow night. >> it is. it's difficult to emain focussed as a plan, player, ko.. >> hope flue the n.b.a. -- hopefully the n.b.a. will shed light tomorrow. >> it's difficult to know what they'll do. >> it's unprecedented. >> you might have heard that the na a.c.t. was set to honour donald sterling. here is a newspaper ad marking the event. the ncct came out to explain that. we'll hear what they had to say. turning our attention to the ukraine, the u.s. took new action against russia for its

role. the u.s. impressed sanctions on 17 companies with ties to vladimir putin's inner circle and moved to freeze exports of items that could help the russian military. peter sharp has more from moscow. >> reporter: all the latest names and companies have strong links to vladimir putin as the u.s. tries to up the pressure on the russian leader by hitting those close to him. deputy prime minister in charge of planning the sochi winter olympics , and igor the boss of rosneft, and sermga in charge of ros tech. they'll join others close to vladimir putin, like sergay, the kiev of staff. and billionaire gas trader who was honoured to be punished by washington. the west says the sanctions have

had an impact, scaring investors into pulling $65 billion out of russia's economy. and the key stock index has been down by 15%. russia's currency, the ruble lost 9% of its value since january. washington said it would deny export licences for high tech equipment that could be of use to the russian military. foreign secretary william hague promised further sanctions to be revealed on tuesday, with 15 high-ranking russian officials targeted. >> increasing the scope of sanctions placed on russia is the right response to the failure to implement the geneva agreement and the destabilization of ukraine. >> the creme lip said the sanctions -- kremlins said the sanction would not go unanswered and response would be painful. >> reporter: this latest set of sanctions is unlikely to cause

the kremlin pain. it knows down the road there are for-reaching sanctions hitting energy, banking and defense. these would have a serious effect on the russian economy. . pro-russian activists seized more government buildings in eastern ukraine, amid more violence in the region. hundreds attacked a rally in donetsk. the mayor was shot and wounded. hoda abdel-hamid has more from eastern ukraine. >> reporter: it's becoming a routine mission for the pro-russian self-defence unit. this time their target was the local council building. the police station next door is also under their control. >> translation: right now the government in kiev are the puppets of the americans. we are defending our people. we are the peaceful people. they are the ones that broke the truce. we have not started any

conflict. >> here, like elsewhere, they met no resistance. and then, with the help of supporters, this pro-russian position was fortified. first, the sandbags. then the tyres. and finally concrete blocks. >> reporter: once the barricades are up, it's difficult to see how the you withdrawnian government will -- ukrainian government will retake control of the building. it'ses losing ground in the east by the day. >> this person has come to the local council to do paperwork. >> translation: i supported the protest in kiev, not when it got violent. they should stop calling us criminals when they are doing the same in kiev, belittling the local government k saying russia is our enemy. they have to stop. there's no rule of law in ukraine, it's scary. >> if this take over was peaceful, the crisis is taking

its toll elsewhere. a tv building was seized in donetsk on sunday. protesters demanded russian state tv be put on air. in another city the mayor, pro-russian, and a supporter of a united ukraine was shot through the back while out jogging. he's in critical condition. the little men in green vow to continue extending their presence throughout the east. if there was hope that the geneva agreement could be implemented - it's all but gone. ukraine is stuck in a zero-sum game. house majority leader eric cantor demands that john kerry apologise for his rail. sunday john kerry made comments likening the state to south africa's racist regime. cantor suggests that kerry's comments that israel is becoming an apartheid state makes peace

harder to achieve. the white house has not responded. michael grim indicted by prosecutors, facing 20 counts stemming from a restaurant business he operated before entering congress. david shuster joins us with politics. >> 10 years ago michael grim worked for the fbi as a fraud investigators. today he turned himself in for processing as prosecutors declared that he and a business associate cheated the irs. charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, permry and obstruction of -- perjury and obinstruction much justice. >> when grim brought someone on board in 2010, he did not stop the off the books payments or conform the payments to the law, he became a fraud instructor. >> prosecutors allege that in running hits star grim had a million from the irs, paying workers hundreds of thousands off the books to avoid other

taxes. according to an indictment grim lied about it. lawmakers attorney denied that he violated laughs and would be vindicated. he represent parts of brooklyn and staten island. in 2016 donors from wall street appear to be sitting on the sidelines waiting for the field to take shape. dozens of waument executives -- wall street executives say the preference is former governor jed bush, chris christie, or democrat hillary clinton. the financial executives consider hillary clinton a familiar face, and has relatively moderate views on taxation and financial regulation. a top wall street lawyer told "poll it quo. ".

: >> a might mare for wall street. supporters say that is why they like the candidates so much. meantime the new york publishing world is joining democratic activists in comparing hillary clinton and elizabeth warren. senator warren promised "a fighting chance", hinting at the world as it might be. clinton's book has the title "hard choices." her title conveys a world in which the ideal clashes and progress can be fright nippingly slow -- frighteningly slow. prague matrix versus ideaism. >> in the 2013 primaries, there's a lot of ads featuring candidates carrying or shootings. john stone is running a campaign ad that goes a step further.

watch. gungun. >> my forefather used a canon like this to fight the british and the savannah and win the constitution. i'm willing to do the same as the only licensed dealer. >> in case the british are coming john stone and his canon are ready to go. it may work in the g.o.p. primary and tea partiers, but could backfire in the general election. this is a generally democratic district. that is the power politics. >> not to laugh or make light of the situation, but how do you stray so far from a serious topic, gun control. >> this is a guy that obviously doesn't believe in gun control and thinks the democrats are coming to take away second amendment rights and he's prepared to defend his rights to fire his canon. in certain quarters, among the tea party, that rhetoric is like liquid gold. the problem is how do you pivot to a moderate position in a general election, especially in

a district where that ad can hurt him, especially where there's a democrat saying "he not only likes gun, he wants to shoot canons. >> louisiana macauster says he will not run, after a security tape showed him kissing a married female aid, saying his conduct was a failure, failing his family and district. hoel serve the remainder of his -- he'll serve the remainder of his term. a $100 million bid - pfizer making a move for astra zennica. will it lower costs for consumers.

>> welcome back. the cost of food and other basic items is rising. for most people how much they earn is not going up. this means many american families are forced to make a tough decision. patty culhane has more. >> reporter: if you want to know what the rising cost of the food means in the u.s. ask sharon white of maryland.

she was buying the cheapest goods on the shelf. it was not enough to feed her two children and grandson. to do that she had to get a second job to supplement her $25,000 a year salary. >> it's bad. i work at the school with the children as a teachers aid and work in a fast food restaurant. >> she is one of millions of americans who can't remember the last time they got a raise. during the recession wages fell for 70% of those in the country. the price of everything is expensive. beef has hit a high, up 56% since 2010. eggs jumped 6%. milk up 2.5% since last year. apples up more than 4%. that is the beginning for fruit prices expected to sky rocket in the coming months because of a drought in california. the draught from 2012 is behind the record beef prices and weather in the mid west could

have an impact on the cost of food worldwide. >> planting could be late, meaning shorter growing seasons and less output, and higher prices for some of the big commodities in the fall. that is what can have a big swing at international prices when you look at the big five commodity crops of corn, soya beans, wheat, cotton and rice. >> it has the potential to impact billions. what it means for sharon? >> i'm trying to save for a car. i can't do that. i'm balanciing money from the savings to the checking so they won't bounce. it's been hard. >> more walking, working and a lot more worrying. u.s. pharmaceutical giant

pfizer announced a $100 billion bid to by british drug maker astrazeneca, it's the third offer, they rejected two previous offers. >> i want to brick in michael santoli a senior columnist with yahoo finance. we are talking about a hostile take over, going after shareholders with a sweet offer. is the third offer too good to pass up? >> it doesn't seem to be, at least at this price, for astrazeneca to pass it up. the reason pfizer came public with two approaches is because pfizer wants to raise the pressure on the company, and british take over law requires some transparency about these things. it seems as if this is going to be pfizer stalking astrazeneca, and who knows if other companies are coming in to take a look. >> pfizer has until the end of may to make a firm intention.

pfizer offering up a lot of money. they'll get a hefty return. >> they think so. they would only do it if they feel like a lot of drug mergers are pred cade on the idea of -- predicated on the idea of cutting drugs, getting them to market efficiently. it's the case 10-12, 15 years ago, a lot of pharmaceutical mergers occurred. it is what happened. we may be in for another round. >> they have a big stake in cancer drugs. >> there's sinernalies where they -- synergies with cancer drugs where they can pool resource and get them to market quicker. >> will we see lower costs? >> i don't think you can draw the line at lower cost or better medicines, but it will not hurt. it's a matter of trying to have it happen more efficiently and to the benefit of those

companies and the shareholders than it is about rushing things to market. >> there are different rules overseas. there's a lower tax rate for pfizer if they, in fact, are overseas. do you think the company will set up shop to dodge u.s. taxes. >> indications are that they would consider doing that, in part to save money on taxes, and pfizer, like a lot of companies - it's a lot of cash sitting offshore, and i feel it's another way to influence astrazeneca, saying hey, we wouldn't make you a u.s. company. we'll become british based. >> do you think there'll be opposition if it's from the government or regulators. >> it will be examined closely on the nh trust front and other avenues. it will not have a clear path to approval if the bid is accepted. >> michael, senior columnist with yahoo finance. good to have you with us. >> the potential merger of

pfizer and astrazeneca sent stocks rising. microsoft warping users to be careful when using the internet explorer web browser, there's a security gap that could allow a hacker to take control over a computer if the user clicks on a link to a website. microsoft is aware of limited targeted attacks trying to exploit the flaw. the company says it is working on a fix. >> controversy is mounding over alleged racist comments from l.a. clippers's opener donald sterling. what kind of punishment can the n.b.a. hand down. >> in egypt. 700 sentenced to death. what the u.s. calls a dangerous press dent.

>> welcome back. a big talker donald sterling is facing a mountain of criticism over alleged racist comments made, caught on tape. all donations made by the clippers owner will be cancelled by the ncca and will hold been an achievement award. there's a lot of history. >> donald sterling is very public, and has a reputation for making racist remarks and has been accused of discrimination in his rental properties. he was supposed to receive a life achievement award from a civil rights group. >> the man has a history of giving and offending. >> there's a personnel, economic and social price that donald sterling must pay for his attempt to turp back the clock on race relations. >> the naacp said it would no

longer give donald sterling a lift achievement reward, which the group promoted and found themselves defending. >> he has contributed to a lot of minority charities, including the naacp. >> donald sterling made his money in real estate, bout the clippers in 1981 for 12.5 million. overshadowing the team and work are the accusations of racial discrimination. in 2006 the department of justice sued him for refusing to rent to african-americans and south koreans. donald sterling's team settled for $3 million. his manager sued accusing donald sterling of having a plantation mentality, having a team of poor black boys playing for a white coach. it was unsuccessful.

he was honoured with a humanitarian reford, and deserved it for donating up to 3,000 tickets to minority kids and struggling groups. others say he just wanted to fill the stadium. >> if these statements is not who donald sterling is, he should spend a sufficient amount of time that is necessary in the african american community to prove he is not the person those words portray him to be. >> donald sterling is not commenting on whether he is the person making racist comments. the naacp expects to sit down with donald sterling to see what he had to say. >> a conversation that needs to take place. >> definitely. let's bring in dominic romano a sports attorney and founder of romano law. what actions could be taken? >> definitely a fine and inspection much the n.b.a.

constitution and by-laws are confidential and not public. we don't know what powers the n.b.a. has in the extreme. according to reports that leaked out. there is power to force the vest itture, selling of the team, but only in cases where an owner is unable to pay their bills. there may be an amendment in an extreme case such as this. >> there's not a precedent in the n.b.a. for something like this. >> in 68 years one owner was suspended, 2000, the timber wolves owner over alleged collusion with a player to circumvent the salary cap. >> major league baseball had a similar incident with the reds' owner. she was basically pushed out of ownership. could the same thing happened. >> definitely. in her case she was twice band,

twice suspended in in 1999 forced to sell the team. >> could donald sterling face losses separate from n.b.a. sanctions. >> definitely. you are looking at a minimum record suspension and fine. >> did he break discrimination laws? >> you know he has a history of racial ipp tolerance. it was a -- intolerance. it was a private conversation, he was voicing his cruise, repugnant opinions, if it is income his opinions. >> i ask that question. if you are a player or coach and working under his leadership, could you file a class action lawsuit against a hostile work environment. >> that's a good question potentially. you'd have to look at all the facts. the players are in a horrible situation. you have to feel for the players in this situation after the owner of their franchise has

made horrible comments. >> there are a number of questions being raised. can this be characterised as hate speech? is it a hate crime? >> well, if the statements are authenticated, and properly vetted, that would be something to look into. as i understand, we have a small fraction of the statements, we don't have the full tape. he could have made more soars - it's serious enough of itself. he could have said other things as well. that should definitely be vetted. i am sure the n.b.a. is interested in hearing of the rest of that. >> interesting to see what actions are taken here. domenic, sports attorney and founder of romano law. a court in egypt sentences 683 to death, among them the muslim brotherhood spiritual leader who says he'll continue to fight for his cause. the united states says the verdict is illogical setting a dangerous precedent ahead of

presidential elections. we have the details. >> reporter: relatives in shock. moments after the verdict was announced. heavy security was deployed outside the court building, where egyptian-presiding judge convicted 683 supporters of the outlawed muslim brotherhood to death. including the group's leader mohammed badir. the muslim brotherhood is a conservative political group to which former president mohamed mursi belongs. the defendants sentenced on monday are accused of inciting violence, attacking a police station, and killing a policeman in one of the districts in southern egypt. the attack happened last august, shortly after egyptian security forces carried out raids on two

large antimilitary protest sites in cairo. hundreds were killed, leading to ri odds in other parts -- ri ots in other parts of the country. monday's ruling represents the largest number of people to be sfpsed to death -- sentenced to death by a court in egypt and sets a world record. >> it's the scale and lack of due process. we have documented the trial that you referred to for the 529. it was carried over incredibly fast and we have information that current trial, the one for the 683 today was also conducted in the span of a single substantive assist. >> also sentenced in march 5, '28 supporters of -- 528 supporters of mohamed mursi to death. most were not present in court. they were accused of killing a police officer, seizing

government weapons and damaging a property in a police station when a police station was attacked south of egypt. that ruling was overturned on monday. commuting most of the death sentences to life in prison and upholding the death penalty for 37 defendants. the mass death sentences sparked outrage worldwide. riot groups and government expressed cop certains offer the fairness -- concerns over the fairness of the proceedings. taking you around the world - in australia officials are calling off the aerial search for malaysia airlines flight mh370. prime minister tony abbott says it's unlikely any aircraft debris will be found on the surface of the ocean. . officials believe after 52 days debris would have sunk, they will expand the underwater area. the passenger jet disappeared on march 8th with 235 aboard. south sudan rebels and

government are sitting down for peace talks. international mediators are overseeing the negotiations in ethiop ethiopia, after weeks of delays. both sides are accused of committing atrocities. recently the u.n. says rebels killed hundreds of civilians bentiu. tens of thousands fleed their home, half living in makeshift camps. in south korea video by the coast guard shows the moment the doomed captain fled the vessel. captain le joon-seok and his crew were arrested escaping the ship while passengers were told to stay in their cab jups. the prime minister resigned, apologising for how the recovery effort has been handled. more than 187 are missing. in poland thousand marched at auschwitz, to march

remembrance day. the memorial is focussed on 400,000 hungarian jews killed at auschwitz in 1994. st rail's prime minister and -- israel's prime minister and president joined the country for 2 minutes of silence. many say the actions are hollow as israel failed to help tens of thousands of holocaust survivors. nick schifrin reports. >> reporter: each witnessed the darkest days and survived. each one says their trouble is not over. >> 140 faces that i hope people will never forget. and together as a group of 140 holocaust survivors - yes, i think it's powerful enough to make a change. >> half a million holocaust survivors, 200,000 live in israel. a new photography exhibit shows how they struggle for dignity and report in a state created as

a safe hach. >> they survived. what they have to do now is be survivors. >> underneath each picture the caption details how they fight the government for stipened or given up on getting the help that the state owes them. >> she has many bureaucracy problems with the government. on the other hand she's very proud. >> she is so sad. she lost her husband a year before this fof. >> she -- photograph, and she feels so lonely. >> i see a man that is trying to overcome a difficult era in his life. and because he doesn't like, you know, to talk about it, so he - he puts it on paper. very powerful. >> he was a painter, his

daughter was a photographer. >> i don't feel much, i suffered. >> he grew up in romania with 200,000 jews were slaughtered. he survived in a camp like the one in his paintings. >> they say stand up, you don't move. if you move, i kill you. the suffering was terrible. three years - you are not yourself. >> he arrived in israel excited, feeling like he was home. he became a famous painter. 70 years later he said the government amappedoned him. -- abandoned him. >> the government - if you are honest, you don't get nothing. nothing. >> in response to that anger the israeli government announced this week it would increase survivors medical care, pensions and hand out an additional $300 million.

the people behind the exhibition say the improvement must be followed by more, before it's too late. >> we are giving them the voice. we are giving them visibility. we leave it's like the last chance, because it's a generation that is fading away. you utah mother charged with murder for killing six of her newborns, that story and others from around america. yes, 39-year-old megan huntsman was charged with six counts of first degree murder. she is accused of killing six newborns, found wrapped in boxes in a garage of her former home. huntsman admitted to strangling or suffocating the babies after they were born. in mississippi, the only abortion clinic in the state is fighting to stay ape.

an appellate court heard arguments over a dispute on tougher restrictions, jackson's health organization has been a focal point. 22 states passed restrictions on the way abortion clinic operate. >> in new mexico 35 police officers sparked protests. the department's goal is to certify 100% of officers within 18 months. the u.s. department of justice began community meetings on findings of excessive force within the a.p. d. in michigan detroit's bankruptcy may be closer to a resolution. a tentative deal has been announced op a 5-year bargaining agreement. detroit is expected to get out of bankruptcy by the fall. pensions will be cut during

bankruptcy. >> paul symon and his wife were arraigned, charged with disorderly conduct. they were arrested after police were called to their home regarding a family dispute in connecticut. police did not give details about what sparked the incident. the couple has been married since 1992. we don't know details about this domestic dispute. >> singer-song writing couple - bizarre details from a private couple. coming up, new numbers showing 4% of people on death row are incident. we'll have the story of one inmate who was ultimately exonerated. why google insists that self-driving robotic cars are not far from

>> welcome back. we have learnt that ohio will increase the dose im of lethal -- dosage of lethal ipp jebz drugs. the state is boosting the amounts of the drugs to ease concerns after the last execution in january. dennis maguire appeared to gasp for air say witnesses before he died and cop as a resulted. o -- convulsed. officials believe he was not conscious or experience pain during the execution. nearly 3 huz people are on -- 3,000 people are on death row in the united states. researchers at the university of michigan say more than 4% of people sentenced to death are incident. half of them are never exonerated. we talked to a freed ipp mate from death row in texas. >> hello. i'm anthony, i'm an death row.

this is on my typewriter. there are people on death row that are in the. i am one of them. >> anthony gray says during his 18.5 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, his letter kept him sane. >> i wrote hundreds of thousands of letters to any and anybody to ask them to help me save my life. >> he was sentenced to death for the 1992 murders of a family of six in a small town. somerville texas. despite the recan takes of the key witness and gray's protests of innocence. he was on death row. he said the days were filled with writing letters of attorney, family and friend, and the night were filled with anguish. >> silence can be really loud, very loud. a lot of times at night, all you

hear is an eerie silence. eerie silence. and then, just like that, somebody scream. i didn't think i could do it any more. you know, after - after two people had been executed, and then you got three more in the week coming. >> gray's execution was narrowly averted twice, when appeals delayed the date. it wasn't until 2010 after a court overturned his conviction and prosecutors declared there was nothing connecting him to the crime, that grave's regained his freedom. part of his mind is behind prison walls, with a man he claims was innocent, and never had a chance to be heard. >> reporter: how many more men are in the criminals at the moment waiting like you did for 18 years. >> many. >> how do you know that. >> i was there, i foe, because i was one.

>> at the innocence project in texas, floor to ceiling bins contain more than 10,000 letters from prisoners asking for help. 500 cases are on the waiting last to be vetted. gray's attorney said after news of deprai's exoneration spread her mailbox overflowed. they write to me. my daughter's name is nicole, i hope this is an omen, that you are the one who will investigate my case. >> right now most letters are unanswered. >> it's hart breaking, but -- heart breaking but it's like searching for a needle in a haystack. i can't possibly do it. i can't read them all, investigate them all. it would be a life-long project and i do have a full-time job that i have to do as well. >> i know that the battle cry for inmates who have lost their freedom is that they are always

innocent. i have a situation that come up when a man is actually innocent. i hope and pray that god guide me when i write the letter so it may touch the hearts of those that really care about justice for me. the words of one man are echoed in the letters of thousands. the question that lingers - who among them may ultimately be innocent. . >> once again, there are nearly 3,000 people currently on death roll. ready for this - one step closer to self-driving cars. google showed how software improvements helped robot cars mastering thousands of situations on the streets. science and technology correspondent jacob ward in san francisco. remind us why self-driving cars are a good idea? >> with all due respect to you

and everyone watching we are terrible drivers. we text, drink, get distracted, fight with a passenger. as a result there's endless numbers of death by autoaccident - it's the number two accidental cause of death in the united states at the moment. it's an epidemic. the estimates are that if you could network the cars, handing controls to a robot driver, you would reduce auto accidents bias much as 9 -- by as much as 90 prsz. the argument for safety and consistency is the same. >> robots don't have to shave, ate or drink? >> that's right. and they don't get tired or drunk. >> google tells it that they are making great progress. how close are they? >> we have come an incredible distance from the urban challenge, a government sponsored projects or contest that got going in 2006 and showed a bunch of prototypes

developed by a range of universities and private investors. they were rudimentary, creeping along. if you put four of these cars at a four way intersection. they'd wait for each other forever. they are primitive. according to the head of the self-driving project at google. they can handle thousands of situations that they could not have handled a couple of years ago. they can handle jaywalkers, delivery drivers double parked. bikes off the sidewalk. all that stuff. >> we are looking at the video. >> what are the remaining kings to work out? >> driving is not a universal language. there are a lot of subtleties. when i wave sorry, or you go ahead. they are things that a computer cannot pick up. they have to be preprogrammed to recognise things much they have to make a choice of going off the road.

someone has to have made that decision in the so the ware code. in the midwest, when you double tap your brights as a driver of a truck, you are saying go ahead, merge in front of me. in europe they use the brights in place of the horn. it's not universal what we mean when we drive a certain way or in particular. the software has to work that out. we are 5-10 years away. >> thumbs up for the robot car and thumbs down for jacob ward behind the wheel. thank you. a racist gesture at a soccer game. someone in the stands throws a banana on the field. the players' response is the buzz. details

>> welcome back. thousands showing support after someone in the stands made a racist gesture towards a barcelona soccer player. we have that story.

>> barcelona danny alvis did not miss a beat when a fan threw a banana on a field during a game last night. look closely. he picks up the banana takes a bite and continues on with the corner kick. he says this conduct has been going on in spain for years now. he said humour is the level way to handle racism in sports. and all day people have been posting images of themselves holding a banana in support of alveries, and started with a -- alves and started with namar, his team-mate, from brazil, and he tweeted this picture with his son holding a banana and himself saying: >> he wrote it in portuguese and spanish. and a famous soccer flan from argentina and another brazilian

writi writi writing:. >> he has a team picture of the carr inthians and folks tweeting: >> take a look at this image k this one saying: hundreds of thousands of images like these - and you also have danny who today put out this image of himself saying: >> better yet.

>> the person that threw the banana was banned from the stadium for life. >> we saw something similar in hockey, and any league needs it take action to get those fans out there. >> thank you for joining us "inside story" up >> are values different when you're in the entertainment business. dirty laundry, public opinion and the business of sports is the inside story.