that's our show for today. i'm david shuster on behalf of ail ail and the entire team of "real money." thanks for watching. >> hello and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey in new york. john seigenthaler has the night off. the iraqi vote. polls about to open ... in the first iraq elections since u-s troops pulled out. the growing violence that could scare voters away. crisis in ukraine: pro-russian activists -- using force to take over more of eastern ukraine. follow the money. the u-s promises to help find the billions --- allegedly stolen by ukraine's former leaders. plus:

>> this league is far bigger than anyy one owner...this institution has been around and will stand for a long time" >> ejected. the n-b-a's strong reaction -- to a team owner's controversial comments. and how sports fans are battling racism - around the world. and who is she? how researchers are hoping to finally solve the centuries-old question ... who modeled for the mona lisa. >> we begin tonight in iraq .. where in just a few hours .. the country is set to hold parliamentary elections. it will be a landmark vote ... the first since american forces pulled out in 2011. over the last year... more than 8-thousand people have died in violence in iraq. the worst unrest there .. in years. the aftermath of a suicide

attack northeast of baghdad. ahead of wednesday's election .. it has been an increasingly common scene. attacks have killed hundreds of people .. with suicide bombers targeting political rallies and polling stations. the parliamentary elections -- the first nationwide vote since american forces left in 2011 -- is expected to be difficult. across the country, a massive security operation is underway. basra is considered relatively safe but security forces are on maximum alert. baghdad's airspace is closed to commercial flights, shops and offices are shut and there's a 10pm curfew. in places like anbar province, there's intense fighting between the iraqi army and members of the islamic state in iraq and the levant, an al-qaeda affiliate. the aid group doctors without borders says more than 380-thousand people have fled the recent violence in anbar and other parts of iraq. some of the displaced say they might not be able to vote.

>> we the displaced people in shaqlawa area don't know where the polling centres are. the high electoral committee has not yet declared the exact location of polling centers." >> with nearly 9,000 candidates vying for 328 seats, polling day though is just the beginning of the process. analysts say forming a government will be the big challenge, due to the diverse nature of iraqi society. >> when you have so many opponents inside the political process you must sit down with them and make negotiations, even if they are not with your ethnic group or even if he is a christian and so on, this is a positive thing about democracy. >> here in the u-s iraqi expatriates are also voting. phoenix is one of 9 places where polling stations are open. they've been open since sunday. many iraqis were reportedly turned away at the door though because they didn't have the proper documentation.

robert worked for the cia for nearly 30 years, and he joins us tonight from washington d.c., and we always appreciate it. thank you so much for your time. >> you're welcome. >> so how different does iraq look now carried to the leaks in 2010? >> the situation in iraq is considerably worse than it was in 2010. in 2010, there was at least an opportunity to really pull the country together. and after the ex session, the re-election if you will, to maliki to his second term as prime minister, instead, he has driven the country in the opposite direction. he has tried to reinforce support for himself within his own shiite community by creating further tensions with the sunni minority and that has driven iraq to civil war today. >> but he is the favorite to win

again. >> that remains to be scene. if anything, the iraqi economy is more fractured than it was in 2010, when it took eight months to form a government after the elections are over. and i don't know if it will be that long this time, but it will be equally as difficult to put together a coalition. >> let's talk about getting through the leaks, are the iraqi forces prepared to deal with this. >> during a period like this when the islamic extremists are focused on trying to create as much violence as they can, no army would be in a position to control the ground completely. so there's going to be violates, no doubt about that. but there's a strong desire by iraqis to vote. and they're not going to keep them from the polls, except in

the area where you mentioned it from the outset to get out and vote. >> wow consider the invasion of iraq to have been a success? >> that's a very long and complicated question. i think that it was easy and successful and where the u.s. made great mistakes was in the political reconstruction of iraq, and many of the problems that we see right now date from that time, that said, during the lat eryears of the u.s. presence in iraq, they were able to deal with the country and take the tribal elements in the sunni minority and give them a stake in the process. and since 2010, prime minister maliki has not been able to seize on that and to bring that process forward. >> 8,000 deaths in a year cannot be okay, and what role should

the u.s. play going forward, having more security and stabilizing more? >> well, the u.s. doesn't have very many tools in the box right now, if we continued a small u.s. presence, we would have more military presence than we do. we're not entirely without influence. the u.s. is providing support to the iraqis and we do have long-standing relationships, and i think that we should not be shy in trying to create those relationships and trying to act as the role of an honest broker. but again, given the fact that we no longer have a military presence, and the u.s. presence is very small. and given the overwhelming influence that the iraqis have, our influence on the ground is very small. >> thank you for your insight, we always appreciate it.

>> in syria, another surge of violence a day after president bashar al-assad registered to run for re-election. mortars and car bombs killed nearly 60 people in homs and damascus. both are key frontlines in the war between the assad regime and rebel fighters. the government blames the opposition for the blasts. rebels have called for assad to step down, to end the 3-year civil war. >> tonight the violence is spreading in ukraine . and pro-russia activists are tightening *their grip on eastern cities. hundreds stormed buildings across luhansk today, a province that borders russia. barnaby phillips is in eastern ukraine with this report. >> the pro-russian crowd swept into the government building in luhansk unopposed- and despite widespread rumours that this takeover was imminent- the police did nothing-

they seem unwilling to take on the crowds, and they were escorted away. so pro russian groups continue to extend their control in eastern ukraine. they want to hold them in early may, but in order for that vote to be credible, they need to have a large number area of authority. and that's what's driving them on. but how fair would such a vote be? roman lazorenko runs a news website in donetsk- we're going to his office - he's taken down the name plaque- and most of his staff are too afraid to come here- after a visit by a group of masked men who said he should report more favourably on the self-declared 'people's republic of donetsk' >> if the influence of the people's republic of donetsk grows, then it will be difficult and dangerous for journalists to work. and it's already dangerous now. i have one colleague who has received death threats- he's fled with his family to kiev'

>> some of those opposed to russia say they've had enough- this video has appeared on you tube - these men say they're ukrainian patriots- ready to fight the invaders. the divisions in the east are hardening- barnaby phillips al jazeera donetsk. >> both the u-s and european union are ramping up sanctions against russia. they're hoping to convince the kremlin to change course in ukraine. today, the e-u imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 15 more individuals. washington went even further yesterday, adding 17 companies to *its sanctions list. critics say western leaders aren't being tough enough on moscow. and the crisis in ukraine has rattled nato members in eastern europe. secretary of state kerry says . the unrest is a wake-up call for the alliance . he's warning members .to *not let their defense budgets shrink >> we have to make it absolutely clear to the kremlin that nato territory is inviolable. we will defend every single piece of it, article 5 of the

nato treaty must mean something and our allies on the front lines need and deserve no less." >> ukraine's current government says billions of dollars in assets were stolen from the country by ousted politicians. the u-s and britain are pledging to help get the money back. john terrett has that part of the story. >> this is the moment the world woke up to what ukraine's previous leaders had been doing with the country's money. when former president victor yanukovych fled his estate in kiev for russia - his people saw his expensive car collection - - his zoo with exotic birds - and even giant model pirate ship - all paid for with their cash. now in london - a two day forum aimed at finding the billions of dollars allegedly stolen from the country and stashed abroad by yanukovych and his cohorts. the attorney general eric holder using sport to make the point. >> the great american boxer joe lewis once said "you can run but

you can't hide" and i think that is the attitude that we take here. >> holder admits the stolen assets will have been well hidden by now - behind sham companies and fake bank accounts so getting it all back won't be easy. >> i think it's safe to say that we are talking about billions of dollars - billions of american dollars - and i think that shows the magnitude of the problem and what is at stake. >> the forum heard it may take years to track down the missing billions - more than thirty nations are involved in the hunt. >> we thought it was absolutely right that the international community dealt with the corruption of the yanukovich regime >> the current government is trying to prevent the unrest in ukraine. for now, it shows the taxpayer's money.

>> that shows the magnitude of the problem.and if one thinks about the issues that ukraine is facing, the repatriation of those amounts of money can go a long way to dealing with the issues that are presently confronting the ukrainian people" >> so far only three billion dollars of stolen cash has been identified according to kiev - it's a start - but a mere fraction of what the former regime supposedly took, empting the coffers and leaving the treasury bare. >> after 9- months of efforts . talks over the future of a palestinian state are on hold. today was supposed to be the deadline -- for an agreed framework to move forward. but israel suspended talks -- after a reconciliation agreement between the palestinian authority and hamas. nick schifrin is in jerusalem. nick, how big of a setback is this? >> this is a huge setback. this is one of the u.s.' to toran policy priorities.

but after a huge amount of shuttle diplomacy, press conferences, private meetings and endless strategy sessions, and yet today's deadline passed, with not even a single phone call between the two sides. >> for exactly 9 months, america's top diplomat worked tirelessly on mideast peace. >> this can be achieved. >> secretary of state john kerry met israeli officials 39 types, he met palestinian officials more than 40 times. both sides warned it would be difficult, he was determined. >> i know the negotiations are going to be tough, but i also know that the consequences of not trying could be worse >> but after all the diplomatic sound and fury, the official deadline passed with nothing officially achieved, and the two sides are finger pointing. >> they were determined from day one to undermine these peace talks. >> the palestinians refuse to

legitimacy, legitimacy of the jewish people's right to national self determination in a country of their own. >> but despite the rhetoric, both sides are willing to keep talking - under certain conditions. the palestinians say israel must release palestinian prisoners, freeze settlements, and commit to 3 months of discussing borders. >> we are determined to know where their borders end and where ours begin, otherwise, there will not be any peace >> the israelis say the palestinians must abandon efforts to create a unity government with hamas, which runs gaza and the us labels a terror group. >> this is an organization that says every israeli civilian, man woman and child is a legitimate target for terror attacks. and so we said clearly to the palestinian leadership you can have peace with hamas or peace with israel, but you can't have them both. >> neither side is willing to give in.

and the u.s. is frustrated and losing patience, has effectively put its hands up. >> there is one door and that is the two parties getting together and making some very difficult political compromises // do i expect that they will walk through that door next week, next month or even in the course of the next six months? no. >> kerry may wait for the two sides to find their own solution. or he may impose a personal peace plan and tell them to take it or leave it. either way, today's deadline marks a failure for the u.s., and for the decades' long effort to find mideast peace. >> what happens next? the palestinians will focus on reconciliation with hamas - setting a date for new elections, and expanding efforts to join un organizations as a path toward de facto statehood. by applying the more u.n. organizations. israeli officials are beginning to impose sanctions on the palestinian authority, including holding back tax revenues. both sides have left the door that leads to more talks unlocked. by richelle, neither side is

willing to open it. >> nick, thank you so much. >> south korea's president has fortunately apologized for the ferry disaster. the prime minister resigned. and an official memorial was held today for the dead. the ship was carrying mostly high school students. 109 people are still unaccounted for. the clipper's owner, donald sterling, has been banned from the nba for life. commissioner said sterling admitted that he was the one speaking on the now infamous tape recording, and he was also hit with a $2 million fine and a possibility of having to sell the clippers. shortly before today's announcement, sterling vowed never to sell the team. >> effective immediately, i am

banning mr. sterling for life from any association with the clipper's organization or the nba. i'm also fining mr. sterling $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the nba constitution. >> kiko is live in los angeles tonight where the clippers are about to play game five in the playoff series. and basketball kind of got lost in all of this. but we have a game to play tonight. kiko, what's the reaction that you've seen? >> that's right, richelle. the clippers just hours from game five, but talking about the big victory off the court with donald sterling now banned from the nba. i want to show you the shirt that the fans are wearing. it says los angeles clipped him. and on the back, it says sterling minus one. organizers were planning a

protest, but now they have turned it into a victory celebration. los angeles is better than sterling. and that sums up the mood of the fans tonight. earlier, they were at the ticket office trying to get tickets for the game. and others showing up with a message for the clipper's owner. the man saying that he was a lifelong fan of the clippers, and he needed to come out and express what he felt today. he was initially planning to boycott the game, but now he hopes that the fans should show up in big numbers. >> there's no reason they should not show up tonight and play at their best tonight. anything that was hindering them in the past, it should be alleviated and they should be able to move up and down the court like they never moved up and down the court before. >> in addition to fans, we have seen owners around the league rally around the clipper's players. and the biggest endorsement coming from magic johnson

tonight, you shalling fans to show up to support the team. >> so the commissioner has made it clear, he wants sterling gone, and what is the process of removing sterling as an owner? >> well, the first step is for all of the league owners to vote, to force the sale of the team. and the commissioner wants it done as soon as possible. 3/4 of the league owners would have to vote to force the sale of the team first. >> i want to make it clear that this is not just about basketball. this is about los angeles. the clippers have on their jerseys this city's name, a name that stands for tolerance, openness, diversity, civil rights, and breakthroughs and most of all, basketball excellence. >> and this team, if donald

sterling agrees to sell it if he's forced to sell, could goa as high as $1 billion. >> which means that sterling will still make money off of this. but there have been a couple of owners, and i know that the rocket's owner has made it clear that he wants sterling gone, but do we really know how likely it is that the owners will really go that way? >> well, adam silver made it pretty clear that he is confident that he has the votes to force the sale. and in terms of timing, it depends on sterling himself. the league owners could force the sale, and if sterling refs, this could drag out indefinitely. >> thank you very much. a few hours from tipoff. and pro basketball is not the only sport dealing with racism. the unique way that people in other parts of the world are dealing with discrimination.

and violent weather, the worst outbreak in tornadoes in years, and more could still be on the way.

>> a storm system moving through the country is generating one of

the worst tornado outbreaks in year of the trysters have left behind destruction from louisiana to north carolina, and the storm prediction center said 70 million people were at risk of severe weather today. tornadoes were blamed for the death of 35 people in at least six states. twisters started tearing through the region, ripping out trees with hundreds of thousands of customers without power. and hundreds of homes and buildings have been destroyed. >> we lost everything. everything we had. all of our life savings and everything. >> we don't have anything. >> that was the treehouse. we would set up horseshoe right here, and we would play on sundays after church, and just memories, and we're just in shock. >> the storm system has already spun off about 100 tornado, and there could be more on the way. let's bring in kevin now for

more on what's ahead. kevin. >> richelle, we're looking at tornadoes right now in north carolina. for parts of alabama and mississippi, i'll get to that in a moment. and we're seeing active weather there. but in north carolina, seven tornadoes have been reported, a couple in the last 20 minutes, and you can see where the red box is, that's a watchbox covering most of south carolina. if we break that down just a little bit. it's dark red and it's a taupe,o watch box, and that means that we expect tornadoes in the future. but parts of fayetteville, a warning is imminent or we have tornadoes on the ground. in parts of fayetteville, there were tornadoes on the ground several minutes ago, pushing through the ream, and we expect this to continue for the next several hours in the area. let's go to the southeast. and we did see a lot of activity yesterday, where we saw 60

yesterday. and over 30 tornadoes on sunday. and now we're looking at parts of mississippi and the northern part of alabama. this is the same area where we saw tornadoes earlier, and we saw some clear weather today, recovering and relief going on. but the weather is still very active in the region. we're seeing a break in the northwest, parts of mississippi there. now, the other part of the story going to be the amount of rain we receive with these storms. flooding is going to be a major problem for alabama as well. as well as into georgia. believe it or not, we could be seeing well over 4 inches. in some isolated areas, 6-8 inches, and that's going to be in the mountainous region of north georgia. we have seen major problems. >> kevin, thank you so much. and keep us posted. up next, selling high. the future for jamaica's marijuana farmers, and the

search for mona lisa. scientists trying to discover the woman behind that famous smile.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm richelle carey, and there's a lot to cover this half hour. nowhere to hide. people in south africa living in fear after mass killings, and the rebel leader agrees to talk it over. and cash crop, legalized marijuana and what it might mean for the people in the united states, and the key to finding out who mona lisa really was. the first top stories. iraq is getting ready to hold it's first parliamentary election, and leading up to tomorrow's vote, it has been deadly. at least 17 people were injured in two bombings in baghdad today.

nearly 9,000 candidates are vying for 328 seats. pro russian activists are trying to control eastern ukraine. hundreds of activists stormed into the capital today. the u.s. and it's allies are pushing back with sanctions pressuring vladimir putin. and the european union unveiled the latest measures today. but critics say that they don't go far enough. donald sterling will not be attending the clipper's game tonight or any other games. he has been banded for life from the nba. sterling did make racist comments on tape. and sterling has been hit with a $2.5 million fine, and the possibility that the team owners will force him to sell the clippers thank you. >> racism in sports is around the world. in spain this week, someone threw a banana onto the field during a soccer game.

soccer player picked up and took a bite. and he said that humor is a good way to handle racism. it's a good way to show support for the italian prime minister, fletcher is a broadcaster for the seattle soccer team. and before that, he covered european soccer for the bbc. and he joins us tonight. so brazil is scheduled to hold -- we'll get to that in just a minute, i got my notes a little backgrounds, and what do you make of his reaction to this? he's been the focus of a lot of racism before, and you follow him. and what do you make of his reaction? >> the first thing to say, it's a surprising reaction, the main reason, because it's very very rare that a player will have a banana thrown at him on the field. there are instances of racial

abuse in soccer all over the world. sometimes players will have coins thrown at them and monkey chants, but the banana was left field, so it was a novel way for danny alvarez to fight back, and he said he wants to fight it with humor, but the way he has done it, he certainly raised the issue here, and as you mentioned, the likes of the italian prime minister and the belarus president, and many in the world of soccer have stood up against this kind of abuse now. >> not everyone would necessarily agree that humor is the way to deal with it, but to your point, it has everyone talking about it at the very least. >> what you see now is a massive show of support and solidarity from professionals, not only in the spanish league where danny alvarez applies his trade, but around the world. this went live on social media

instagram with other players posting themselves with bananas, and saying that we stand in solidarity with danny alvarez, and so it's not just spain now. many of the high-profile players who will be playing on the world cup stage this year have gone ahead and said, this is not acceptable. if this happens to you, we want to be there and show you that we support you all the way. and this cannot continue. >> how prevalent is an issue is racism in soccer in. >> well, still sadly, bubbling away, danny alvarez has played in spay for 11 years, and he has been subjected to abuse throughout his career. only in the last year, he said that the fight against racism was a lost war, after he was subjected to chants at real madrid.

the subject of racist abuse in 2006 in spain, and he even reached international levels in spain and england eight or nine years ago when the english contingent of players were racially abusing. >> how are they punished? >> well, in this particular case, you have to say it was a swift job by the fan who threw it. they used the help of other fans to track this person down, and he was found and he was banned for life. they may have sanctions against the team themselves, and that's up to the spanish federation in spain, and if there are continued issues, then the football association can step in. they have been known to close down sections of stadiums. and some say that it has not gone enough. >> when you talk about being banned for life, that's what happened to the owner of a

professional team here in the united states today. the owner of the los angeles clippers, banned for life from the league in which he actually owns the team. do you see any parallels between racism and sports here in the united states and racism and sports in europe? >> essential, it's a worldwide endemic. but what you see is people at the top taking a firm grip. defining the term in sports, zero tolerance today, in banning donald sterling for life. controlling world soccer, he said at the upcoming world cup that he will also take a zero tolerance approach against any racial abuse. and they will be raising the flag against racism this year in brazil. so there are parallels all over the world. showing the support with danny

alvarez, and we have seen today, prominent nba players expanding up and saying, this can not continue either. so there are parallels wherever you look. >> great conversation, and we appreciate it. thank you for your time. brazil is scheduled to hold the olympic games in just two years, but an international olympic official said the preparations there are the worst ever. construction on some venues hasn't even started. and the ioc said while brazil is behind schedule, there's no plan b. the task force is going to help get rio ready for the summer games. >> we have not had to send people in like this before. we have been struggling to get them to understand the problem. and yet in the test of it, they

are lurking. >> brazil is hosting the world cup in june, and they have been accused of handling that poorly as well as problems with construction and security continue. and i other. >> 1 million people are set to protest in nigeria tomorrow in the capital. they want to put pressure on the government to secure the release of 230 schoolgirls abducted earlier this month. the family members of the missing girls will hold a rally. secretary of state, john kerry, traveling to central africa this week, focusing on regional conflicts, including fighting in the sudan, more efforts to bring peace. >> reporter: in his stronghold in nasa, the leader of south sudan's rebels receive the u.n. human rights chief. she came to south sudan to

discuss the human rights situation. the situation that the rebel leader said troubled him. >> 35 minute, and gave him the concerns. about protections in the video. we received assurances from him that he himself has been investigating the human rights of violations. >> reporter: the visit took place after two recent mass killings, in the town of benty, hundreds of people who sought shelter in a hospital and a mosque were massacred. armed youth attacked civilians that thought they would be safe at a you knew base. dozens were killed, including children. >> you could see open bone and open flesh. women who had several shots to their body, shots directly to the face. shots directly to the back of the head. >> around 1 million people have

had to leave their homes looking for safe haven, heavy being many in the south sudan. >> they're going to kill us all. but i don't know what is going to happen next. >> reporter: people are starting to leave the protected civilian's area, and go to other countries, saying that they don't feel safe here. and there could be another attack, and they would prefer going to uganda or ethiopia and live as refugees. here in the u.s., a law, requiring voters to use a state issued i.d. at the polls, and the decision affects fall elections in wisconsin and could set a precedent for north carolina and texas.

some form of i.d. before casting a ballot. some say that it cuts down on voter fraud. the police can search cellphones without warrant. the justice department heard the cases and they could affect cellphones nationwide. >> many of the justices were bothered that the police have the right to search someone's cellphone after they're arrested. and themed why it might be necessary if some cases, and if so, how to draw a line between what is okay and what isn't. if the police officers pull someone over, they have the right to pat them down and check the immediate surroundings to search for evidence for a crime that the suspect could quickly destroy. but does that right to conduct a search without a warrant extend to your cellphone? which these days could be an encyclopedia of all of your information.

such a cellphone search violates the 4th amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. >> today people may carry their medical records, their financial records. the nature, as well as the quantity of the information that gives you a reasonable expectation that it won't be completely everybody is rated by general warrant. >> some of the justices are concerned about that too. elena kagan said that most people do carry their lives on their cellphones, and even those with a minor violation could be affected. they arrest you for not wearing a seatbelt in and it seems that it should be absurd that you can search that person's i-phone.

but the two cases before the court involved a gang member and a drug dealer. in both cases, the police searched the suspect's cellphones and it led to additional charges and long prison sentences. the justices wondered if there was a middle ground. would it be okay to search phones for more serious crimes, or look through only some apps. the judges said there should be no cellphone searches without a warrant. >> there's a danger that the searches of our mobile device would be routine. even if we're not charged with a crime. >> the justices have to balance the right to privacy with law enforcement's need to do its

job, and that can be very difficult in the digital age, as evidenced by a light hearted exchange in the courtroom, justice stephen breyer saying that he doesn't know what kind of cellphone he has. i can't get into it because of the password. the justices will have a final decision in the next few months. >> and in washington, what's coming up on "america tonight" at the top of the hour. >> good evening, richelle. at any time on the program, from the ashes. a critical look at the dirty power of coal. and a dark cloud cast over native americans. the coal plant in their backyard is producing dusty waste that's a danger to their health and their beloved land. sarah hoyt talks about what they have seen. >> it's nasty stuff, and it's important to make sure that it's

properly disposed of, and we want to move away from relying on coal for our power. >> dirty power, coming up at the top of the hour on america tonight. see you then. >> jamaica is looking at becoming the first country legalizing marijuana for the economy. >> hidden away in the hills above king stop, ralph and his son, simba, lead us to one of their small farms. the planted among vegetables, the remains of his small crop. for two decade, he has been selling marijuana and last week, the police raided his field. >> you can go and shop in america someplace and buy it. no arrests, and police destroying the plant. >> jamaica is the biggest producer of marijuana in the

caribbean, but the drug is illegal here. anti-narcotic police burn acre after acre every year. but as more and more in the u.s. is decriminalized. leaders say that it's only a matter of time before jamaica follows their lead. >> it has opened the door for us to decriminalization in the first time. >> raymond said that the race is on. making his violence heard, it's time to capitalize on a huge economic opportunity. and one could make a big difference to a country saddled with some of the biggest debt in the world. and many agree with him. many james support the use of medical marijuana and stopping the criminalization of those caught with a tiny amount. six out of ten, according to a recent survey. but in this country, the government is walking a very

fine line because there are powerful voices that oppose such a move. the minister of health says that the government must listen to the country's religious leaders and their supporters. >> there are families who have been impacted by their own children using dango. >> but for tens of thousands of jamaicans, it's a ridges right and not a crime. he says it could be the healer of the nation. but whether it can be legally remains to be scene. aljazeera, kingston, jamaica. >> up next, our photo of the day. plus, how dna can help scientists find out who mona lisa really was.

>> all the way up the coast of north carolina, but the next threat is the flooding that we're going to see from the florida panhandle, up to mobile bay and georgia and the carolinas. it's coming in from the gulf of mexico, and here across the gulf coast, in destine alone, 4 inches of rain in the next 24 hours. and that means that the low-lying areas will be flooded. you need to be careful if you're driving toward this area, up to the higher elevations of the georgia mountains, we'll be seeing rain totals of 4-6 inches, maybe higher, up to 8 inches there, and as we go to the next days, the rain will be moving up the eastern seaboard, and we'll be seeing heavy rain here and new york, as well as parts of new england. now, the temperatures tomorrow are going to be cool up towards minnesota, up to 48°, and

washington, 73. that's the national weather. and your news is coming up next.

>> it's perhaps the most famous painting in the world. the mona lisa has been in songs and books, and now the effort to figure figure out who she really was. using technology to solve the mystery. through dna sampling and forensic science, they tried to fine out the identity of the movie in da vince's face. >> this is arguably the most recognizable in the world. and now the model who posed for the mona lisa is as mysterious as her enigmatic smile. and now the researchers hope to put a name to the face. on thursday, they opened the family tomb of the woman believed to be the real mona

lisa. >> i'm sure that she was the model. and the documents suggest that it really was her. i'm sure i will find her. i have a reasonable doubt. >> the tomb contains the remains of her husband and son. by matching their dna with the bones of eight bodies recovered from a convent nearby, they hope to piece together the skull of lisa. they will perform a 3-d reconstruction of her face and compare it to the painting. >> if these researchers are successful, they will put an end to centuries of speculation. as they believe that she was the model behind the mona lisa, many other women were associated and some say that it is a self portrait of leonardo da vince

himself. it won't be ready for six months. art lovers have waited 500 years to discover the identity of the mona lisa, and they won't have to wait much longer. >> joining me from naples, florida, a forensic anthropologist, heather. and thank you for joining us. what's your first reaction to this? >> it blows me away at first blush. my work revolves around trying to figure out, from bones, who someone was, and how they died. and to know the mona lisa, to have seen it and read about it. not to see the real thing, but to have read about it in books, and see it in reproduction, it's amazing to think that these forensic anthropologists and historians are trying to match that beautiful face with skeletonized remains.

>> what is going to happen? >> as i understand, and what i can draw upon on my own work here in florida and guatemala, is that they have looked through funeral records to try to locate the family vault. and then what they have done is gone and evaluated the still call remains, so they have teased apart the adults from the children, and then knowing leeza's biological profile, how old she was at death. and how tall she was, they have selected one skeleton that they believe fits her profile, and now they're looking at perhaps pieces of bone and teeth, that they will change and amplify and destroy, unfortunately to get at the dna, and in all likelihood, they will be taking the dent infrom the tooth and the

collagen from the bone, which hold our dna inside, and then they will amplify that, and hopefully get a family line, or it being the father's line or the mother's line, and match that dna to lisa's. >> how reliable is this, considering how old the bones are? >> you bring up a wonderful question, and it's something that i deal with all the time in modern forensic tests. when we're dealing with dna and ancient dna, we have actually gotten good mitocondreal mother's results, in skeletons 100,000 years old. so in all likelihood, when we go back 500 year, we should be able to have a wonderful specimen. but then the idea of contamination comes in, and it's not just contamination from a laboratory, and i'm sure that the laboratories are top-notch. but rather, it's contamination

that happened while lisa's remains were inside of the tomb. water passing through the bones, and bacteria, fungi, all of that can destroy the dna. >> is all of this as reliable as the person doing it, if they have a bias or don't have a bias? does that make sense, what i'm asking. >> it absolutely does. >> so if someone wants this person to look like lisa, might they reconstruct it so she does look that way? does that make sense what i'm asking in it. >> yeah, it does. one of the things that very good dna labs do, they keep everybody's dna, whether it's mitochondrial or nuclear on file, and they will make sure that there hasn't been contamination, and the other thing that you have to rely o.

is there statistic call reliability. and what is the likelihood that the skeletonized remains are related to lisa's mother's line or her father's line? the only way to positively identify the dna, lisa's remains, is to have something of hers that have her dna on it. and unless she had an identical sibling, we would have to find those artifacts, and the other thing, facial reconstruction, and that's a horse of a different color. >> thank you, and you've made it easy for us to understand, and you've made it easy for us. >> thank you. >> tonight's freeze frame comes from new zealand. it's a 3-d beach scene drawn with sand. chalk drawing on the sidewalk. he likes the fact that it disappears at the end of the day when the tide comes n that's

pretty. keep it here.

>> here are tonight's top stories. an oklahoma prison official said that a drug cocktail given to a death row prisoner failed to quickly kill him. prisoner died of an parent heart attack. a second is postponed. polling stations will be open in iraq in a few hours. holding the first national election since 2011. security in iraq is a concern. 17 people were injured in two bombings in baghdad today. 28 seats for iraq's parliament. eastern ukraine is surviving more violence today. in the hands of the pro russian activists. the president said that the police chief should be fired. fans are gathered at the staples center, and the clippers

are ready to play, but the owner, donald sterling be there. he's banned for life from the nba, and he is forced to pay a $2.8 million fine for racist comments. "america tonight" with joie chen is next. check out aljazeera.com. moapu >> on "america tonight" - surviving the storm. a second round batters the south - ripping open homes, communities and old wounds. for mississippi another reminder of a dark day when the tornados pushed through tupelo. and a push from the top - colleges urged to act to stop sex crimes on campus. >> i was told that rape was like a football game,