>> 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 >> it was like somebody ripped off the side of the road. >> no one stop road creating flooding, buckling roads, inundating holes and stranding thousands. >> an oil tanker derailed, leaks and catches fire. the white house is reviewing new safety measures. >> may day rallies, riot police clashing with protestors in

rallies across the globe. >> new laws prosecuting women for assault if they use drugs while pregnant. >> how bad is the storm system spawning devastating tornadoes across the west and southwest now wreaking havoc along the eastern seaboard. this is a live look at rock creek park in washington, d.c., it empties into the potomac, normally a small stream at this time of year, but right now is more of a raging river. >> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. the florida panhandle slammed with heavy rains and as you can see, massive flooding. >> officials are calling it the worst flooding for that region in 30 years. >> the storm system bringing heavy flooding to the carolinas and up the east coast of washington, d.c. as we just saw a moment ago and new york city. >> we are outside grand central

station. some area saw record flooding rains and flooding. it is not raining where you are right now. >> it was certainly raining throughout the night here up until we got on the air here. but it's especially bad down south as you saw, especially pensacola florida. at one point yesterday, there were five-inch it is of rain that fell in just one hour, truly incredible. more rain fell in the panhandle in the past 24 hours than during all of hurricane ivan more than a decade ago, but not just down south, it's all the way up the east coast into new york city. you are talking about roads giving way and tens of thousands of people without power. >> dangerous floodwaters swallowing entire communities in the florida panhandle. the rushing water ripping apart roads, stranding drivers and flooding homes. >> we have been through tropical storms and hurricanes, ivan and

dennis back-to-back in 2004 and 2005 and we still did not have this much water. >> in pensacola, 20 inches of rain hit the area in just 24 hours. some people ditched their cars for canoes, rescuers pulled people from rooftops. children saved by boat. >> all my memory, all my baby's things, everything i own is again. >> in alabama, firefighters carried an elderly woman to safety after her car was struck in rising waters. in washington d.c., a driver trapped on a bridge had to be rescued by raft. the relentless rain proved too much for an entire block of a baltimore street that collapsed, sending several parked cars into a ravine. >> the sidewalk's gone, the cars are gone and everything just fell. it was like somebody came by and ripped off the side of the road. >> first responders in new

jersey helped stranded drivers and in new york city, residents of queens are drowning with flooded basements and streets. >> the whole street was flooded in like three, four seconds flat, it was flooded. i got no electric, everything went out, everything's flooded. i had to get out. >> also in new york city, a small mud slide last night dumped about 50 feet worth of an embankment, including dirt and debris on to a commuter train track, it dumped about 30 feet down on to the track which you can imagine is causing concern for folks who are commuting into the city here like grand central station. >> thank you very much. those pictures are incredible. >> astounding. that storm system caused thousands of flight delays. >> i speak from personal experience, spent the entire evening with my wife stuck in bull less airport. let's turn to nicole mitchell, it has been a mess up and down

the east coast because of all of these storms. >> absolutely. we were looking alter da. the street view is pretty clear looking at her. this is looking down and you can see how much the mist, we've got a quarter mile visibility if you're going horizontally, but verily the ceilings, the low level of the clouds in the base of the clouds only 200 feet behalf the surface. you get farther up, harder to see because of the mist. imagine bang pilot trying to land, it's an instrument day and the planes have to be spaced farther outer. it takes a lot more time to get those planes in and out. usually when we're seeing delays this early in the morning, laguardia already coming in with two hours posted especially trying to arrive. it's going to be slower getting in trying to land. other places that i think will come up pretty quick on that list, new york, philadelphia, j.f.k. and possibly d.c. airports, as well, also impacted

by the general slowness across the east coast. watch for that today. it's going to be one of our problem spots. here's where that system is. not only does those bans of rain but the very low clouds are causing problems with the travel this morning. the system is clearing outer, so not much heavy rain. still getting half a foot of rain in isolated spots. we still have all the flood causes up, a lot of people reporting very slow commutes this morning and don't go where you can't see the water, sometimes the road is washed out underneath. the front still extending southward during the course of the day. as this clears out into portions of central florida, we could still be seeing some of that rain, so we're still very concerned about places that are still saturated. >> pack a lunch, because those snacks aren't cheap.

>> the storms have left behind a trail of destruction, at least 37 people have died. one area hit particularly hard, louisville, mississippi. homes were flattened, neighborhoods reduced to rubble. robert ray met one family returning to find out what was left. >> for the first time, michelle is seeing what 200-mile per hour winds can do. >> mama! >> michelle was set to return from a contract job in alaska this weekend. her family was planning to welcome her home with a party. instead, five bedrooms gone, three generations homeless. >> where am i going to stay, daddy? where am i going to stay? >> you're going to have a place

to stay. >> officials still don't know how many homes were damaged. the destruction rolls on for miles. the result of a storm system that killed nine people in this town alone. michelle's grown son was sleeping when the tornado struck, she and her mother, kay, feel god saved him from becoming one of the deceased. >> he survived afghanistan, getting hurt over there and survived, he's been out two years, july will be two years, and then this, he survived this. >> i have to ask, how do you pull together to be able to say i'm going to rebuild and stay in mississippi after this? >> mississippi is my home. i'll be 46 years old tomorrow. happy birthday to me, huh? >> happy birthday. happy birthday. this is my home, my family is

here, and i've always dreamed of having a house that had everybody in it, and i lost everything, but i can get it back. >> a family determined not to pull up stakes, because their roots are so firmly planted here. robert ray, aljazeera, louisville mississippi. >> nine tornadoes struck mississippi this week. >> flooding may be to blame for a gas explosion at a jail near pensacola, two confirmed dead. 100 injured in the blast including inmates and prison employees, about 600 inmates are at that prison. those not injured were moved to other jails. >> the white house is set to review new rules for transporting rail by oil. a train derailment in virginia sparked a massive fire, 13 tankers of a train jumped the

tracks plunging into the james river. buildings were evacuated until the flames were controlled. this is the second incident involving scx trains in the past year. hours later, the white house received new safety recommendations for transporting oil. >> back-to-back rallies at an indian train station willing one, injury nine others, the train stopped at the train station, and bombs went off. authorities believe they were detonated by a mobile device. india is in the middle of that nine phase election. police are unsure if the attack is related to the election. >> china's president is vowing to fight terrorism after a deadly train attack there. two bombs exploded and a large gang attacked passengers with knives. three were killed. two of those killed were people behind the attack. eighty people were injured, unclear at this hour who the

attackers were. authorities are pointing fingers at the ethnic minty that says the government limits their religion and culture. >> russia's military attache detained in kiev as a spy for moscow. the government is helpless against militias taking away government buildings. the military is on full alert for a possible russian invasion. we are in donetsk, eastern ukraine. what can you tell us about the expulsion of this military attache? >> we don't have much details except for what the interim government said in kiev, that he had gone beyond his mandate as a diplomat in this country and carried out duties that looked more like espionage rather than diplomacy.

he has been expelled but no deadline given to leave the country. we don't knee if he is still here or actually left. nor have we heard comments from moscow. >> officials said they believe some of the militants in the east are being coordinated and funded by moscow he. are you seeing changes on the ground where you are in donetsk that would suggest a full scale invasion by russian forces is possible or imminent? >> well, the changes we're seeing on the ground are that more and more buildings are being seized by the self defense units and the pro russian protestors. kiev is losing grasp on eastern ukraine quite rapidry especially the last 48 hours. a massive russian invasion being eminent, we don't see that at

this stage. coordination of these groups, they call them here little green men from city to city and town to town, but you don't get an impression that an invasion is imminent, certainly not on the streets. we see what we see, o but theres a sense of normalcy in the city. >> an independent review promised of the executions after a botched lethal injection this week. witnesses say the man died from an apparent heart attack 40 minutes after the procedure started. the governor said the review will look into the cause of death and whether the department followed current protocol. it will include recommend is as for future executions. >> i believe the death penalty is an appropriate response and punishment to those who commit heinous crimes against their fellow men and women.

>> opponents of the death penalty say there is a nationwide shortage of execution drugs and states can't guarantee that the injections they use will deliver a swift and humane death. oklahoma was using a new cocktail for the execution. >> in ohio, the governor granting clemency to an inmate scheduled to be executed later this month. he was accused of killing a police produce venter, but the parole board said his co-defendant took responsibility for the shooting. the board recommended mercy, the governor reduced his sentence to life without parole. >> embattled l.a. clippers owner donald sterling, team owners will take the first step to force him to sell his team. >> we have all the details. john, no shortage of people lining up to buy this team. >> correct, you are. but first the nba has to get their ducks in a row. the first step toward forcing sterlings hand happens today with a conference call between

10 other team owners to decide how to proceed. silver is working to get three quarters of nba owners, 22 in all, to vote in favor of forcing sterling out. some remain mum, but sacramento teams owner said sterling needs to go. >> these teams really belong to the fans and to the players. we owners are simply custodians. i suspect commissioner will get the votes he seeks. >> david geffen and oracle founder will look to run the team with oprah winfrey rounding out the pressure, employed may whether and p. diddy have also been named.

>> according to yahoo sports, the nba players union is not in favor of mrs. sterling taking over for her husband. >> coming up, we'll hear from a couple of the potential suiters for the clippers. oprah winfrey has a very personal reason to purchase the clippers. >> you get a team, you get a team. everybody gets a team. >> the labor movement brings millions out into the streets, but in some places, the annual event is taking on a different meaning this year. >> there's a new law in one state punishing pregnant women who use drugs. some worry this legislation will hurt more than it helps. >> $11.2 billion, that's our big number of the day. >> it's what we all pitched in for, trying to rescue a struggling american industry.

>> safing one of the detroit big three and what it costs the u.s. government, that's today's big

number, and it's big, $11.2 billion, it's the total loss from the general motors bailout. >> that figure includes more than $10 billion in g.m. shares sold in december and a write off on its $26 million investment. the government rescued g.m. and chrysler from bankruptcy, spending $50 billion on that bailout package. >> at that point, it made the treasury democratic the majority owner of the automakers, the center for automotive research said it saved 1.5 million jobs. >> america's reign as the worlds biggest economy could be coming to an end, china now on track to overtake the u.s., happening sometime this year. the forecast is based on beijing's purchasing power and currency power is much stronger than exchange rates show. it would be 60% the size of the u.s. economy based on market exchange rates.

beijing's economy will surpass the u.s. by the early 2020s, china reject that go report. >> today is the first of may and for most of us, just another day on the calendar. for many, it sparks an annual rallying cry for the working class, may day kicking off around the world. hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demand higher wages and better health care. protestors say their fears in thailand, the philippines and malaysia have better living standards. in athens, it's business at usual, organized strikes to public services, including. transportation and riot police gearing up for clashes with demonstrators. >> in turkey, demonstrators clashing with police, protestors want to hold their may day rallies there but the government banned protests in the square. we have more. >> demonstrators and police have clashed in several

neighborhoods, demonstrators tried to march to the square. the please prevented them using tear gas and water cannon. the government is preventing unions from using the square as a venue for the may day rally and provided an alternative venue. it cited security concerns. according to the union, it is their right to demonstrate whenever and wherever they want. this is really part of an ongoing political struggle in this country, divisions within turkish society. this is not just about a may day rally. the government does have its critics, it was democratically elected. it won the elections. critics argue it is abusing its power. those in the streets have told us they feel silenced. they want to be express their demands. this was supposed to be a day

when workers mark labor day, but it's showing, really, the growing divide, the polarization in turkish society. the security forces out in force, more than 30,000 police officers deployed, all roads leading to the square sealed. public transport has been suspended. the government is bent on preventing any may day rally here. really, this is a symbolic square for the unions, a traditional rallying point for the laborers over many years, but really after the protests last year where we saw an anti-government protest movement emerge, the government does not want a repeat of that. for the government, the square is a symbol of state authority. >> reporting from istanbul. >> the president knocking senate republicans for blocking a bill to raise the federal minimum wage in the u.s.

from $7.25 to $10.10. departments failed to get the votes to open the debate. republicans arguing it would have hurt business and cost the economy thousands of jobs. democrats saying raising pay would lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty. >> public outrage in months of mass protest foreseeing venezuela's president to raise the minimum wage there. it is the second increase in that country this year as it struggles with mushrooming inflation rates and widespread shortages of basic goods. we report from caracas. >> the president wants to protect the people's quality of life, and so he's raised the minimum wage and pensions by 30%. >> the increase will protect the workers from capitalism and their rights to employment stability. >> the government had already raised wages by 10% in january, and four times last year. it plans to continue increasing

salaries throughout the year. >> it's very positive, because it's the first time the government has taken continuous measures in such a short period. previous governments only raise salaries when they remember to. >> now people will make the equivalent of $675 per month. >> a 30% increase sounds high, but the economy mainly works around the black market, so what people will be getting in the end is an extra $67 per month. >> many people say the wages increase makes no difference. >> it's a joke, like everything this government does. what food can you buy without money? >> the inflation rate the highest in the world, critics say the race is dangerous. >> this measure partially compensates the deterioration and ability to buy, but it's worse to raise the minimum wages

continuously. that could lead to hyper inflation, showing the government has lost control. >> the manager of this shoe shop in central caracas says since prices are controlled, this new increase in wages will strain businesses. >> sales are very, very low. it feels like a miracle to sell a little bit and now we have to pay employees more while we sell less. >> while people are getting more money in their pockets, the price of things are going up at a much faster speed. >> the president struggled to maintain public confidence since taking power last april. his approval rating down to 36% with much broader support for the opposition, 48%. >> taking a live look now at what is usually a small creek in washington, d.c.'s rock creek argue. it clearly looks like a raging river this morning. >> i know that creek very well. i took that bridge when i went to work for a decade and it was

a creek, but the temperatures across the country today are at least going to show signs of improvement. here's nicole mitchell. >> a lot of people are focused on the rain this morning, but stepping out the door in the northeast, while you're dodging puddles and streams, be very careful with the flooding weighs. you might notice it is a couple degrees warmer. new york city at 58 right now, that's a warmer morning temperatures than our high the last couple days. behind this front, though, temperatures are cool, places like the southern plains or mississippi valley, memphis, you felt cooler temperatures and drier air, so it's comfortable. you need the light jacket in the morning. up the coastline, 70's today, that's warmer for the northeast. minneapolis at 50, but we're getting toward the weekend, so temperatures are going to nudge a little warmer and a lot drier weather, not for everyone, but consistently for the next couple of days as the storm system moves out.

>> you promise it's going to last. >> it's spring. wait a couple minute, it will change, right? >> nicole, thank you very much. >> secretary of state john kerry hoping to broker peace in south sudan. >> what's at stake for the u.s. in ending the bloodshed plaguing that central african nation. >> it sounds like it could work at face value, a new law punishing women who take drugs while pregnant. some say it could backfire. >> how does it feel to own a piece of music history? >> handwritten lyrics from one of bob dylan's most famous songs goes up for sale.

>> good morning. welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> ahead, what secretary of

state john kerry's trip to africa means to south sudan peace talks. >> women allowed to be prosecuted for fetal assault if they take drugs while pregnant, both sides of the heated debate. >> these are the prize winning images that are telling stories around the world. >> first, a look at our top stories this morning, the storm front spawning tornadoes across 13 states also brought heavy rain and flooding. rods were washed out from florida to new jersey and new york. people had to be rescued from cars a understand homes as the floodwaters rose. the severe weather threat continues today through the central atlantic and northeast states. >> a freight train jumping the tracks in lynchburg, virginia, some bursting into flames. this is the second incident involving csx trains hog r. hauling crude.

the white house set no safety records for oil transport. >> in kiev, the countries government admits it is losing control over rebel held areas in the east. they also say they believe russia is preparing for an invasion of the country. meanwhile, the i.m.s. approved a $17 billion loan to ukraine. >> secretary of state john kerry and his african counter parts trying to figure out how to bring peace to south suzanne, meeting with leaders in the capitol of ethiopia. u.s. want the african union to send peacekeeping troops and penalties to be issued to fighters on both sides. we report on the origins of the civil war. >> the tone of the political conflict was set when the president addressed the media wearing military fatigues. the government's claim that the former vice president had attempted a coup on september 15 was never proved, but the political conflict rapidly

escalated into a military conflict and then became an ethnic one. the president is from the dinka tribe. whether the political divide happened, people began to choose sides along ethnic lines. the political fracture split the army with 70% of soldiers joining the rebel movement. it wasn't long before command of the rebel forces from the bush. the president was quick to send his army in support, but most believe without him it would have fallen to the rebels. ethnic violence spread across the country witness the tribes turned on one another. whole cities were burned to the ground and there were acts of savagery condemned by rights groups. patients were shot in their beds. more than 200 people were massacred as they hid inside a

mosque. more than a million people have fled homes as the conflict began. ate thousand are living in u.n. bases around the country. wherever the displaced have found themselves, they face hunger, disease and long term dependency on aid. the release of prisoners could mean progress. >> now that they're released, it is possible that there could be some progress towards ending this increasingly brutal conflict. aljazeera, south sudan. >> john timon is the director of africa programs, mr. timon, are you convinced it is getting the attention from washington it deserves especially after the

massacre? >> this is getting high level attention around the world, not just in washington. i don't think this is a problem of awareness. this is a problem of what levers can the international community pull to affect outcomes on the ground, because we have two parties who fancy their chances right now on the battlefield and they think they can get advantage on the battlefield that will translate to the negotiating table. as long as that's the equation for them, it makes it difficult for the international community to affect those outcomes. >> we had a guest here who complained that when we saw similar images in libya and ukraine, members of the senate took to the floor and demanded action, but when it was south sudan, silence. your reaction. >> well, i can see where that argument comes from. i think a lot of people are very frustrated, policy makers around the globe, as to how to get to

these two leaders, the president and former president, and how to change their calculations. i don't think some sort of international intervention is on the table here, but there really is a good deal of attention that's going to this. it's not so much why don't people care, it's how can we change their behavior and so far, we're coming up empty. >> how will john kerry's presence at the peace talks be received given the recent threat of u.s. sanctions? >> i think the symbolism of his direct involvement is going to be a good thing, and i suspect there may be conversations about those sanctions and how they can be most impactful. a lot depends on the region, on neighboring countries. it's good to hear secretary kerry is meeting with their leaders. in many ways, they have the most influence over what's going on in kenya, ethiopia, uganda, they

have a long history with the folks fighting and could be really impactful here. >> is a mentioned earlier, there was that who you and cry following the situation in syria, ukraine and libya about boots on the ground. would boots on the ground in sudan help? >> well, we are looking at the prospect of some sort of regional intervention or peace keeping force that could be added to the united nations force, who is already there, so there are in some ways boots on the ground already and there are discussions about how to beef that up, but the fact that there are already u.n. peacekeepers on the ground and all this is happening says something about the limits of those interventions. >> if you had your wish list, if you could say i have a magic button and i could say what i wanted to say, what would you say to the white house, what would you say to congress needs to be done to reverse the course

we're seeing in south sudan? >> well, i think the people who need to be listening are not so much in the u.s. or in other fortune capitals. the people who need to listen are those in south sudan and those two leaders in particular. i think what they need to hear is that they helped to bring this country into existence almost three years ago and that was a joyous thing and massive achievement, but only a few years later, they're running it into the ground, and that is going to be their legacy if this doesn't stop soon. >> john, thank you very much. >> a controversial new law signed this week by tennessee governor is the first in the country to authorize the arrest and incarceration of women who use illegal drugs while pregnant. opponents argue those penalties could keep expectant mothers from seeking prenatal care. the law would allow women to avoid charges if they enter a

state treatment program. in 2013, it became the first state to require medical centers to report the births of drug dependent babies. according to the department of health, there were 921 greg democrat births in 2013. so far this year, there have been already 253. >> joining us now is representative terry lynn weaver, she sponsored the bill in the tennessee house. she joins us from nashville this morning. representative weaver, thank you for coming on aljazeera. if i'm addicted to drugs and pregnant and i know if i go to the doctor for a check up i may be turned into the police, i'm probably not going to the doctor. have you thought about how this law could discourage pregnant women from seeking medical care and hurt the developing fetus. >> good morning, stephanie and thank you for having me on your program. yes. ma'am i have put a lot of thought into it as has the

governor and my colleagues here in the state. tennessee has a lot of things to offer, it's a beautiful place to come visit and a beautiful place to live, however we are number one in the nation for the amounts of babies being born addicted to drugs. house bill 1295 offers help and the opportunity for women to defeat and get help from drugs, and so we -- this program or this drug -- excuse me, this bill will probably affect anywhere from 300 to 340 women, and so, it's a piece of legislation gotten offers treatment in a drug program. >> right -- >> and -- >> there are some conservatives in your state that worry this law will have the unintended consequence of women decide to go abort their pregnancies

instead of dealing with the consequence of dealing with a crime. does your allow undermine your own goal of protecting life as you describe it? >> i have been to drug facilities where the drug programs for these ladies are seeking treatment, and i will tell you that again, this bill deals with illegal narcotics. these are women whose mindset are on their next drug fix. they are not even able to make decisions. house bill 1295 will again offer redemption, it will offer hope, it will be able to place these women in drug facilities. our drug courts here in tennessee are very successful, stephanie. i've been to the graduation service of these drug programs, and it's very encouraging to see lives changed. house bill 1295 gives these ladies an opportunity to get their life back and get their

children back and again, their charges are removed from them when they successfully complete the program, so again, it's a bill that works with another piece of legislation we passed -- >> right, the safe harbor act. >> yes. >> does this mean that a woman who drinks too much alcohol or chain smokes should be liable to prosecution, too? what if she takes for example, legal pain killers? >> this, again, this bill does not deal with cigarettes, it does not deal with alcohol. it deals with illegal narcotics. >> but is there a difference? fetal alcohol syndrome, some would argue is a much more difficult problem to tackle than neonatal asmens syndrome, which is what your bill is talking about. >> i'm a mother, i don't know if you're a mother. >> i am. >> and i'm also a grandmother, and so when i found out that i was going to give a child, birth

a child, i wouldn't even drink coffee, so again, the baby inside the womb has no choice. a baby inside the womb ingests whatever the mother puts inside, so it's just alarming that these numbers keep increasing. i'm not saying house bill 1295 is the miracle bill, obviously not, but i will say it has helped many women in the state of tennessee. in fact, it was law before 2012, and we were ail to place ladies in drug programs that offered treatment, and it was -- it's a good thing. we're going to continue to monitor it, we're going to continue to watch this legislation. it has a two year window and we will be able to pick up data to see just how well the bill is working. >> with the statistics are no

doubt staggering and disturbing. we so appreciate your time, representative. >> here with the other side of the debate is the founder and executive director of national advocates for pregnant women. good morning. to say that your blood was boiling as you were watching that interview might be the understatement. what did you disagree with and why. >> this is a law that isn't only about women who use illegal drugs. it's a very broad law, which really is to say that if i'm becoming pregnant, doctors ought to say to patients in tennessee, you nowment become eligible for prosecution for the crime of fetal assault. >> i think what you heard stephanie asking is a very legitimate point, if a mother is dependent on some type of narcotic, why shouldn't a doctor be able to take measures to protect the unborn fetus? >> well as the american academy

of pediatrics say of course the doctors and mothers themselves want to take measures. those measures are not putting a prosecutor in the prenatal exam room or delivery room to decide whether what your care was appropriate and what care you should have going forward. >> if this bill isn't the solution, what do you propose? people argue that i don't like what you're doing but people say what is the alternative, what do you propose? >> two things. many physicians and prosecutors and drug court judges absolutely have no training in what addiction is, who the women are who suffer from it. these are not women who don't care about their babies. mothers who have addictions overwhelmingly care about and love their children and do seek care. you cannot create treatment by throwing people in jail. one of the things, if i may, that was of concern, this statute does not protect you from arrest if you're in treatment. it's called an fixative defense, you get arrested and then you can argue that the treatment you

saw the or are getting could prevent you from going to jail. we call the drug treatment court in nashville and said do you allow people who are already in the people, not pregnant women or mothers, people who have actually committed crimes, do you allow them to get the treatment that is known to be best for narcotics addiction and they said no. >> but the question always has to be asked, what about the baby? i have held these babies in my arms, some addicted to crack when they're born. who protects them? >> well, best people to protect them are their own mothers and you cannot -- but. >> let me finish -- >> there is very little argument, some people addicted to substances do not have the mental capacity to even make a decision one way or the other other than trying to find the next fix. >> well that's a wonderful stereotype. it does not -- >> it's not a stereotype -- >> >> it's a fact for some people with mental illness and a fact

for people in difficult circumstances, but it is not the typical mother of any kind, and more importantly, if you threaten women with arrest, the last thing they're going to do is ask for help. if you tell them that by being honest with your doctor, you could go to jail, and if you enter maintenance treatment which is what the office of national drug control policy says is best for babies and pregnant women, under this law, you still go to jail, because what they're saying is number one, drug courts will not refer people to the treatment that's best for babies, and number two, if you're in that treatment, it's not a defense, because it's a treatment that's ongoing. if they're right, if health care for pregnant women and people who have health problems is best addressed by prosecutors, then we should have diabetes courts and pregnancy courts and high blood pressure courts, so that we can ensure that people get the treatment they need because somebody is standing over them. >> you want this done away with

completely. >> absolutely, there is no role for prosecution in prenature care. >> no middle ground. >> middle ground is health care. that's what the american pediatrics and national drug control policy, addiction is a health problem. pregnancy is a health condition. you do not make people healthier saying we're going to put you in jail if you don't get treatment that for many people is not available in the first place. >> it is sensitive on both sides. >> leader jerry adams has been arrested for the abduction and murder of a widowed mother of 10. before being arrested, he said he had nothing to do with the killing of the woman. adams described his arrest as a voluntary prearranged interview. the irish republican army admitted to killing her in 1999

at the time she was killed, the i.r.a. suspected her of providing information about their group to british military units stationed in northern ireland. >> toronto mayor rob ford taking a break from office for a stint in rehab. he has been dogged by controversial headlines of drug addiction. >> montana supreme court dumpion that decision to sentence a high schoolteacher to 30 days in jail for the rape of that 14-year-old student. the judge in the case first suggested that the girl was partially to blame because she looked older than her age. he has since apologized. she committed suicide before that trial. >> he could now be resentenced to more than two years. >> a lot of people upset about

that. >> on a lighter note and i mean notes literally, get your wallets out, the original notes to bob dylan's groundbreaking tune "like a rolling stain" going to auction. you can see him trying to find rhymes to stone, including al capone. >> i know that song by heart. my roommate played it in college every single morning. >> they think it's going to be $2 million. >> i won't be bidding. good luck, bob dylan. >> the teen accepted at all ivy league colleges, the senior is going to be packing his bags this fall. he is going to yale. >> we should remember his name, because i think he's going to be somebody. he already is. he said he chose yale because they have a great music program. he plays the violin, if you recall and he wants to be some sort of physician and of course yale has a great bio medical

department. >> we have not heard the last of him. >> homeowners surrounded by filth with nowhere to go. >> the stench is really horrible. >> why something needs to be done about this landfill, even though they're the ones who moved there. >> spinning in space. nasa learning about the day in the life of a planet. it's our discovery of the day.

on al jazeera america >> today's discovery is something dump researchers have learned about, a planet 65 light years from earth, this planet, a gas giant is still relatively young, only about 20 million years old. >> i remember back in those

days, black and white t.v. spins at 65,000 miles per hour, faster than any planet in our solar system. it rotates more than 50 times faster than the earth. they don't call it a gas giant for nothing. it has 3,000 times mass of earth and is 16 times wider. >> despite its size, a full day lasts just eight hours. how do they know so much? >> those of us born way back then keep track of these things. >> families are living next door to a giant landfill. >> first, a look at the wet weather today across the u.s. today, no huge gas giants on this planet. >> the rotation is so fast, i'm getting dizzy, like going to the fair. >> we are going to see this broad front through the coastline still very wet. back behind that is an area of

low pressure. you can pick out that circulation getting closer. this has been an area of flooding, but this northern part of the midwest, a couple of days was snow and it's been rain for a couple of days. the northeast, slow clearing. there's going to be a couple of bans, but not the persistent rain like yesterday. there are flood concerns, so be very careful in those areas. the frontal boundary in through florida could cause problems for a couple of days ahead where we are saturated. >> not out of the woods. >> imagine waking up to the pungent smell of garbage every day. that's what it's like for tens of thousands of residents in mumbai. they said the government promised to remove the landfill when they bought their homes 10 years ago, but it keeps growing. we look at the option to say clean the site. >> collectioning the trash to be

taken to a landfill, but like most cities in india, it's a process that still doesn't keep the area clean, leaving many garbage piles like this a common site in neighborhoods. for people living here, it's become a health hazard. >> move around without covering our noses, because the stench is really horrible. >> these residents say when their homes were built in 2000 foreshew assured that this landfill would move, but instead, it's grown by 2500 metric tons a day, one third of mumbai's daily waste. people refuse to leave, saying the location is ideal, but the garbage makes it difficult. >> it smells even worse than it looks, even a slight breeze pushes the stench across this whole area. residents say this isn't even the worst of it. >> scrap pickers burn garbage, adding to the health problems

people here face. >> the proximity is very less and the smoke dense. >> some say the solution is ending the landfill system. natural bacteria breaks down garbage a to recycle the waste into reusable com post. operating in 43 sites across india, the methods aren't used here because of the costs involved. he says it is sort sighted when compared to future costs. >> the waste which is accumulated will cost five times more. it's a lose-lose situation rather than a win-win situation. >> the city said their problem is they are stuck in a 25 year contract with private companies to clean the landfill in a similar manner. three years into the contract, officials are doubting the

private companies capabilities. >> there is a deficiency compared to technology of the capabilities to put them on the ground and run them efficiently. >> residents say the contracts should be canceled for a better solution. that won't happen anytime soon, leaving people here feeling as if the city's garbage problem is being dumped on them. aljazeera, mumbai. >> they create 7500 tons of garbage every day. >> that severe weather spawning tornadoes across 13 states now bringing flooding to the east coast. >> ukraine preparing for an invasion by russia. the i.m.f. approving a $17 billion loan package for the country. n.b.a. owners are trying to force donald sterling to sell the l.a. clippers. they plan on meeting today. >> people around the world

taking to the streets for may day demonstration, calling for a better life for the middle class. we'll see the fight some here in the u.s. are waging for better pay. >> the aljazeera morning news continues. dell and i are back with you in just two minutes. >> the debate that divides america, unites the critics, a reason to watch al jazeera america the standout television event borderland, is gritty honesty. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on down here, the only way to find out, is to see it yourselves. >> taking viewers beyond the debate. >> don't miss al jazeera america's critically acclaimed series borderland on al jazeera america also available on demand

>> severe weather, torrential rain causing widespread flooding, collapsing roads and leeing people stranded from florida to new york. >> an oil tanker derails, leaks and catches fire. the white house reviewing how feels is transported. >> ukrainian troops stage military exercises and it is kiev kicks out russias military

attache. >> millions take to the streets to rally across the globe. >> the storm system that spawned tornadoes now wreaking havoc on the gulf coast and eastern seaboard. >> the florida panhandle and southern alabama getting slammed with heavy rains and massive flooding. officials are calling its the worst flooding for that region in 30 years. >> further north, that storm causing one lane on a street in baltimore to collapse altogether. you see it there in the middle, police saying no one was injured. >> in new york city, the weather is impacting morning's commute. area roads and highways were shut down due to flooding. >> there is relief in the forecast as that system is now starting to break apart, moving further north. >> it's been range all morning in new york city, but it's really in the south that has

seen the record-setting rainfall. at one point yesterday in pensacola, they saw five inches of rain in one hour. not just the south, it's all up and down the east coast, and heavy rains have really been causing roads to give way and collapse, and cutting off power to tens of thousands of people. >> dangerous floodwaters swallowing entire communities in the florida panhandle, the rushing water ripping aparts roads, stranding drivers and flooding homes. >> weaver been through tropical storms and hurricanes like ivan and dennis back-to-back

a decade ago, but not just down 2005 and we still did not have this much water. >> in pensacola, 20 inches of rain hit the area in just 24 hours. some people ditched their cars for canoes, rescuers pulled people from rooftops. children saved by boat. >> all my memory, all my baby's things, everything i own is gone. >> in alabama, firefighters carried an elderly woman to safety after her car was struck in rising waters. in washington d.c., a driver trapped on a bridge had to be rescued by raft. the relentless rain proved too much for an entire block of a baltimore street that collapsed, sending several parked cars into a ravine. >> the sidewalk's gone, the cars are gone and everything just fell. it was like somebody came by and ripped off the side of the road. >> first responders in new jersey helped stranded drivers and in new york city, residents of queens are drowning with flooded basements and streets. >> the whole street was flooded in like three, four seconds flat, it was flooded. i got no electric, everything went out, everything's flooded. i had to get out. >> heavy rain in new york,

commuters have flooded train tracks having problems from new jersey trains coming into the city and in the yonkers area, a mud slide dumped dirt and debris on to the tracks there, so you've got people still really affected, a lot of people, because of this storm system. >> nice to see the fact there's nobody behind her with umbrellas. >> it is still a problem in many parts of the country, as meteorologist nicole mitchell is about to tell us. where is this storm heading? is it weakening? >> it's slowly moving out. you mentioned no umbrellas, i would still have it handy. it's not going to be theent stuff like yesterday, but keep the rain jackets and umbrellas handy. you can see the visibility doesn't look bad. looking down on this, look at that cloud layer. it's as low, the base of the cloud layer being reported at 200 feet, so, you know, once you

break out of that, you can see the red line, but this is causing problems with flights today. instead of being able to see the runway, everything is instrumentation, because there's still so much moisture in the area. also there are spots of fog with all of this, so a couple different problems. what that's doing, you to have space out the planes more when you have really low clouds, meaning laguardia's been running two hours late, j.f.k.30 minutes. i would say all of east coast cities, watch for them to ripple effect through the day because of the weather. this is a broad system, showers stretching back into the midwest, temperatures have dropped, so much rain, we are talking about pensacola, over five inches of rain in one hour from tuesday evening, that's more rain in one hour than some parts of california got all of last year. that's how significant this is. we're very saturated.

there's more rain across the area and five and six inches of rain up the east coast. as this moves out, any little bit is adding to the flood be we already have. take it very easy on the roads this morning. >> congress is taking a moment this morning to remember the victims of those deadly tornadoes we've been reporting on. lawmakers from arkansas, mississippi, oklahoma and alabama lead ago moment of silence, also thanking rescuers and those who supported victims and their families, 36 people died since sunday. >> coming up, we're going to show you why victims of those tornadoes aren't looking now to secure those homes once they are rebuilt, instead looking elsewhere for shelter when the next storm hits. >> the white house is set to review new rules for transporting oil by rail. a train derailment in virginia sparked a massive fire. 13 tankers jumped the tracks,

some plunging into the james river and are leaking oil. buildings were evacuated. this is the second incident involving csx trains in the past year. hours later, the white house received new safety recommendations for transporting oil. >> parts of southern california under a fire watch as wildfire rages out of control in san bernadino. firefighters say the fire burning 1,000 acres. one home damaged, another 1600 evacuated. classes at high schools in the area are canceled today. high winds up to 70 miles per hour expected through friday. >> tens of thousands of travelers strand understand for hours at five los angeles area airports over a computer glitch, flights resumed after midnight, nearly 10 hours after the technical problems began. lines of planes stacked up for an hour and a half while federal

aviation administration officials worked to fix the problem. at l.a.x. alone, 50 departing and arriving flights were canceled and 455 others delayed. >> russia's military attache forced to leaf the country, now held in kiev accused of spying for moscow. ukraine's acting president said security forces are helpless against pro russian militias taking over government buildings in eastern ukraine. this is military there on full alert for possible russian invasion. we are in donetsk. what is the significance of that military attache expelled from moscow? >> >> according to the government in kiev, he was going beyond his diplomatic duties and carrying out espionage duties as they put it. we haven't heard reaction from

moscow. we don't know if he is in country or not. the government didn't give a deadline for him to leave. it is significant in the sense that it's part of this continues the deterioration of relations between moscow and kiev. now, according to the government, he would have had some roll of coordinating actions here in the west by these russian protestors. would it have an impact that he left or not? i don't think so. these people are taking over building after building, kiev's grasp in this region is diminishing by the day. i don't think that one person would change that at this stage. >> the russian president, vladimir putin saying that getting ukrainian troops out of the eastern regions there will help defuse the cries. he told that that german chancellor angela merkel. what are they saying about that. >> >> oppositions have hardened since the government in kiev

announced more than onces it was going to carry out this anti terror operation, announce said a relaunch and a second phase. that's when the deaths happened here and the positions hardened. can the ukrainian military just pull out? i don't think so, because at the same time, the interim government needs to be showing it's supporters that it's able to carry out something, and able to at least try to put some law and order in this part of the country, which will be very difficult. >> thank you very much. >> the situation in ukraine is expected to top the agenda as german chancellor angela merkel arrives in washington today for two days of meetings. tonight, she will dine with u.s. senators, tomorrow meet with president obama. german officials say she will discuss the possibility of further sanctions against russia with the president. >> there are new concerns this morning that some of the

victimses of the south korean ferry accident may never be found. a victim was found more than a mile from where the ferry went under. more victims may have drifted from the wreckage, netting placed around the site, trying to prevent bodies from drifting away, but the strong currents may have pulled some out into the open sea. eighty of still missing. >> families of the victims of missing malaysia airlines flight 370 are told there is little news left in the search for the jet. company officials have been holding frequent updates with families at centers, but with few leads in the nearly two month long search, both centers will close next week. the airlines say it's sympathetic to the hardship of the families and doing what it can to ease their pain. they will keep in touch through phone calls, messages and face-to-face meetings. >> back-to-back blasts in india, killing one and injuring nine

others. a train stopped at the train station where bombs went off. authorities believe they were detonated by a mobile device, india right now in the middle of a nine phase election, police unsure if that attack is related to the election. >> china's president is vowing to fight terrorism after a deadly train attack, two bombs exploded and a large gang attacked passengers with knives. three people were killed and china's state media is reporting that two dead were people behind the attack. about 80 people were injured. it is unclear who the attackers were, but chinese authorities point the finger at an ethnic minority that says the government limits they're religion and culture. >> police in ireland arresting jerry adams and questions him about one of northern ireland's high profile murders in 1972. adams maintains he is innocent.

>> jerry adams is being questioned over the murder of a woman 42 years ago. jane mcconnville was shot dead by members of the irish republican army in 1972, her body found on a beach in 2003. the irish republican army suspected she had been an in former. the murder investigation had been revived lately after the release of interviews with former members of the northern irish republican movement and the testimony from a formeri r.a. bomber. adams said he's innocent and reds this statement: >> during the 1980's, adams was a leading republican politician. during the height of the northern ireland conflict. a peace deal known as the good

friday agreement was signed in 1998 to end decades of violence between catholics and protestants. adams is now a member of the irish parliament. investigators have made arrests before in this murder case, but adams is the most significant one so far. nicole johnston, aljazeera. >> the murder was one of 15 in which the victims became known as the disappeared. seven of those victims have never been found. >> secretary of state john kerry and his african counterparts are trying to figure out how to bring peace to south sudan this morning. kerry met with leaders in the capitol of ethiopia. u.s. officials want peacekeeping troops deployed from the u.n. and penalties against fighters on both sides. >> two details after nba commissioner adam silver band the l.a. clippers owner donald sterling from life, the team owners are taking steps to force

him to sell the team. >> dell and steph, that first step toward forcing donald sterling happens today with the conference call between 10 other team owners and commissioner adam silver to decide on the logistics of convening a vote of all of the league owners about sterling's status. should this team become available, suitors are lining up. >> i am banning mr. sterling for life. >> donald sterling may be banned for life, but for now, the billionaire still owns the clippers. now some heavy hitters may be interested in a piece of the franchise should the remaining 29 clubs force him to sell. a trio comprised of former talk show oprah winfrey, david geffen and larry ellison confirmed interest in buying the organization. geppen said he would run the

team, something oprah winfrey is not interested in doing. she has one motive for the involvement. she thinks it would be an important thing for an important black american to own another franchise. they will face as i have competition from other bidders, including floyd mayweather. >> me and my team do want to buy the clippers and we can afford the clip jeers another is sterling's wife rochelle, but lawsuits detailing her own history of racist remarks and actions, yahoo sports reporting the nba players union is not in favor of mrs. sterling taking over for her husband. >> the clippers valid at $475 million may suddenly be a hot commodity, but first, 75% of nba team owners need to vote sterling out, something kings owner expects will happen.

>> these teams really belong to the fans and players. we owners are simply custodians. i expect commissioner seller will get the support he seeks. >> well, the owners will vote and it is believed it will be nab must to out of the sterling. six owners have confirmed as much. >> those owners came around fast. >> absolutely, because you know there were some, mark cuban on the fence, he's certainly come around. >> if oprah buys the team, you know what the team colors will be? >> enlighten us. >> the color purple. >> protestors around the world taking to the streets for the annual may day rallies. these violent clashes as protestors rally for a better life.

>> a decision following another video of the takano mayor in a compromising condition. >> an explosion as a refinery, that and other videos captured by our citizen journalists around the world. the performance review.

that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business.

let's get a check of the videos captured by citizens around the world. >> nigeria demanding action from the government following the disappearance of 230 students from a northern village, most girls. instagram user capturing this demonstration as the women call for the girls to be brought back home. you may recall they were taken two weeks ago by armed men believed to be part of a militant group. >> management at an oil refinery in ghana say supply will not be affected following a deadly blast there earlier this week. that is video from it. a smoke cloud rising, people running from the scene. one was killed in the explosion.

>> the heavens providing this for people in new zealand, a beautiful display lighting up the night sky. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. up next, the rallies taking place around the world today and the violence that's erupted from may day demonstrations. >> first let's check temperatures around the nation today. things appear to be getting warmer. >> a little bit. now that that front has gone through, some places have dropped but now that the front has gone through, things will warm back up. the coastline pretty mild, new york at 58, milder than the temperatures the last couple of days, so finally warm air has surged northward. denver at 37 this morning, plenty of cool air. temperatures will nudge a little warmer. memphis at 67 for today, very warm into the southwest, and dry. that fire danger is going up

with temperatures. we'll have places in 80's and 90s. in friday, more of the same in the southwest, temperatures closer to 60 and rain moves into the midwest, so that will be a nice change of pace that we have. a little bit of a quieter weekend for a lot of the country in store. >> all right, we'll take that. thank you. >> millions of americans signing up for health care under the affordable care act, but not everyone is covered because most people have paid premiums. as of april 15, only 67% of enrollees ever paid their first month installment. it is attributed to late enrollments. it is unlikely that the marketplace will have everyone paying when all is said and done. >> president obama is knocking senate republicans for blocking a bill to raise the minimum wage, raising it from $7.25 to

$10.10 by 2016. democrats failed to get the necessary votes to open debate. republicans argue it would be a bust for business and cost the economy thousands of jobs. democrats say it would lift a million people out of poverty. >> for most of us, it's another day on the calendar, but for millions around the world, an annual calendarlying cry for the working class. indonesia, hundreds of thousands take to the streets, protestors say they're pierce in thailand, the mill teens and malaysia have better living standards. >> unions planned organized strikes to public services, including public transportation and riot police gearing up for clashes with demonstrators. >> in turkey, demonstrators clashing with police near the city's historic square. protestors want to hold may day

rallies there but the government banned protests. >> police and demonstrators clashed in several neighborhoods. trying to march to the square. the police prevented them using tear gas and water cannons. the government is preventing unions from using the square as a venue for the may day rally and provided an alternative venue. it cited security concerns. according to the union, it is their right to demonstrate wherever and whenever they want, so this is really part of an ongoing political struggle in this country. divisions within turkish society, this is not just about a may day rally. the government does have its critics, defense democratically elected, still popular, won the local elections just a few weeks ago. it's critics believe it has been abusing its power and those who have taken to the streets have told us that they feel that they are silenced.

they want to express their demands. this was supposed to be a day when workers mark labor day. it's showing really the growing divide, the polarization in turkish society, but the security forces are out in force, more than 30,000 police officers deployed, all roads leading to the square have been sealed. public transport has been suspended, so the government is bent on preventing any may day rally here and really, this is a symbolic square. for the unions, it's a traditional rallying point for the laborers over many years, but really after the protests, last year, where we saw an anti-government protest movement emerge, the government does not want a repeat of that. for the government, the square is a symbol of state authority. >> that is aljazeera reporting from istanbul. >> several u.s. cities also

gearing up for may day protests, the rallying cry nationwide will be 15 now and on to the on going wage battle. we have more on why seattle that become the focus of the debate. >> it was a rallying cry on the campaign trail for seattle mayor he had murray and the main issue for newly elected city council member of the socialist alternative party. >> in this system, the market is god and everything is sacrificed at the altar of profit. >> the service employees international union active in the campaign last fall that brought a $15 minimum wage to 1500 workers is also the major organizing force behind the 15 now campaign in seattle. in both cases, the union keeping a lo profile, preferring a more grassroots image for the movement, an understandable strategy and missed opportunity for labor, says author and

professor jake rosenthal. >> there's a grass roots component. it takes support and resources to do these things. there's no shame in coming out and saying that was us. >> as workers rally on may day around the world, it is no surprise here in seattle, the voices for 15 now will be the loudest. >> i think the $15 and hour idea makes a great slogan but not necessarily great policy once you get into the details. >> seattle's city council is studying the question now. if there's no deal, the proposed 60% minimum wage hike will likely go before voters in some form this fall. as political columnist sees it, seattle with a booming business sector and a long history of labor battles and compromises is a city that can afford the debate. >> i don't think there's a consensus in seattle that capital. >> is a bad thing. i think that -- i don't think most people are socialists, but

i do think they think capitalism could be a heck of a lot fairer. >> reporting from seattle. last year, may day protestors damaged and broke windows and 17 were arrested. >> ukraine's military on high alert today, bracing for a possible invasion by russia. the preparations they are making and the likelihood moscow will escalate tensions in eastern ukraine further. >> people across the southern u.s. working to rebuild, following a series of tornadoes. the safety feature they are spending their money on instead of strengthening their homes. >> and more than 20,000 prisoners across egypt going on strike, the fight they are waging against that country's interim government and they are doing so from behind bars. >> a look now at our images of the day and some of the powerful scenes that took top honors at the 16th until press photo

competition. we'll talk to the contest chairman.

>> people in central and southern united states right now are cleaning up after tornadoes. some of pay ago price to keep their families safe from the next twister. >> troubled toronto mayor rob ford in the news again says he's changing his life. we'll talk about what it means for his future. >> first ukraine -- >> we want to talk about storms bringing rain and some severe flooding among the hardest hit areas the washington maryland and virginia area. one of the roads in baltimore collapsed, sending cars into a

ravine. widespread damage across the east coast, a spokesperson from the rockville maryland rescue services speaks to us. good morning. >> good morning. >> we saw rock creek park already over the banks, major artery going into the nation's capitol. what are you seeing? >> yesterday we had four or five inches of rain in a relatively short period of time. montgomery county hard hit, just northwest of washington, d.c., 500 square miles, a million people and we ended up having -- it's quite a few nobody of water rescues, people stranded in cars and so fort. in a relatively brief period yesterday afternoon, we responded to 15 water rescues, people stranded, rescued about a dozen people or so. it's pretty busy in those areas,

the areas right around washington, d.c., metropolitan area. >> one area hard hit is great falls and along the potomac in maryland. what does the potomac look like? >> some of the creeks have reached flood stage, the river just blow the flood stage, double what it normally is, normally four feet at the great falls or little falls, actually, and about eight or fine feet now. water comes down from western maryland and pennsylvania and takes a couple days until we see the full brunt of all the storm. it is rising, not too much of a problem for us, but we have localized urban flooding as a result of the trib tears that go into the potomac.

>> thousands of people as we have been pointing out cleaning up after the storm tore across much of the country. one hard hit area is hit always this time of year, known as tornado alley. that is where the warm air always meets that cold front. why many residents are now investing in bunkers rather than trying to make their current homes safer. >> most homes stand little chance of staying in one piece in the face of a tornado in mayflower. here in arc argue and many states, the danger associated with powerful twisters are well known. how do you keep your family safe? >> i don't come with a chandelier now. >> the storm shelter manufacturer has brisk business. his bunkers start from $300,000 and customers come from across the country.

>> tornadoes make victims out of everybody. i have farmers to doctors and everything in between, really. >> don, how are you doing? >> don thomas is one considering investing in a shelter. it's money he could use to make his home more resistant to storms. like many residents, he think this is a wiser investment. >> a brick home, you know, if it gets a direct hit, you know, like f4 or f5, it's going to be history most of the time, you know, and i'm sold on a storm shelter, mists. >> homes in arkansas are legally built to with stand winds up to 140 kilometers an hour. making them stronger takes time and a bigger investment. >> one of the other reasons people don't build homes stronger is they know the chances of experiencing catastrophic damage are fairly remote. engineers say there are cheaper and more effective ways of making homes stronger. >> a metal clip can be attached

between the roof member and the wall to help tie the two together. >> engineer jim carr showed us solutions to building a better home but said money is often the deciding factor when people rebuild. >> i think it's the cost of economics, with economics being a part of the people's expenses, anything that you add to the cost is going to knock people out of the housing market. >> despite the hard ache and loss of life, people are already getting ready to rebuild. many of these houses won't come back any stronger. instead, residents are more likely to buy shelters that save lives and money. aljazeera, mayflower, arkansas. >> ukraine has ordered russia's military attache in kiev to leave the country, accused of spying for moscow. the ukraine acting penalty said security forces are helpless

against pro russia militias who have taken over government buildings. ukraine's military is preparing for similar attacks in other parts of the country. >> from what weaver seen here in central kiev, armored personnel carriers bringing snipers and special forces into the building as a drilled orchestrated as much for the cameras that you can see here, gathered around the place for reassurance for the general public as it is for the protection of the believe itself. the acting president warned that provocation and the possibility of diversions would be raised during the four day holiday. clearly the security services are taking no chances, we've seen snipers deploy into the building, guards on all the doors, loaded gun here as we can see. the reality is that the warning that the acting president has put out what the provocations that we've seen in the east must not be allowed to spread to the

other areas, frankly that includes here in kiev. they are animate that places like owe did he say is a here in kiev are just as much as risk as denetsk. >> we are senior fellow for russia who specializes in russian military. thanks for being with us this morning. is what we are seeing in eastern ukraine a demonstration of russian military prowess. are we seeing a subtle invasion by russian forces like we saw in crimea? >> absolutely. crimea was an act of war, an invasion, occupation and annexation and what we see in eastern ukraine is equally abinvasion by other means. >> has it been easy as in the

case in crimea for special russian forces because the populations in those places are supportive of those russian troops? >> not really, the population by every polling measure we have is not particularly supportive of the russian troops. what russia did is that it has prepared this operation for years in a infiltrated its own people into the area, inserted people into ukrainian intelligence, police and military services and used a combination of those people to incite violence. public support has not been that breath. >> after russia fought georgias forces in 2008, it overhauled its military. has it become vastly more effective, is that what we are witnessing now in ukraine. >> to some degree, it has become effective. we are witnessing not just an improved military with critical units that have been trained

very intensely for this kind of operation, going back many years even before 2008, but more important is that russia is now using innovative tactical and concepts not used in georgia, now displayed in crimea and eastern on you crane. >> some of these concepts called asymmetric are the same types of things that the u.s. military would like to transform into. how would the russian military stack up against nato forces? >> first of all, the u.s. military has been conducting its own brand of asymmetric operations for 13 years since we began in afghanistan in 2001, if not earlier. if russia were to go up against nato and the russians themselves know this, it would be no contest, russia would be defeated. the problem with nato is not capable as political will. >> ukraine is not a nato member.

let me ask you this. did u.s. intelligence miss the signs in crimea and are we seeing the same unfold in eastern ukraine? >> according to newspaper reports, we had seven to 10 days of warning in crimea and they were unable to come to an assessment. i think it's not only an intelligence failure, but a resounding policy failure on the part of the administration, as well. >> what would your policy prescription be for this situation, mr. blank? >> right now? >> yes. >> first of all, since the administration has ruled out military forces, they're not going to send military assistance to ukraine in form of forces, i would have given the ukrainians the weapons and training they needed right from the start, actually from the start, i would have had ukraine have it nato to be a peace keeper in ukraine and crimea and that probably would have ended

things. we need to send weapons, training and much more rigorous sanctions upon the russian economy. what has been done to date, although has some significance is by no means sufficient to deter the russian government from doing what it can, and if the purpose is to change mr. putin's calculus as the president has said, it's been a failure. >> steven blank senior, senior fellow for russia foreign policy council in washington, thank you very much. >> a school hit by a barrel bomb on wednesday, 19 people killed in aleppo, syria. those victims mainly children between the aimings of 12 and 13. president bashar al assad's forces have been dropping those barrel bombs on rebel held parts of that city for months. >> there are also reports that the syrian government attacked rebel-held positions with chlorine gas. the syrian government denies the

claims. the international chemical weapons watchdog group will send in investigators. if true, it would be a violation of the chemical weapons treaty the government signed last year when it agreed to destroy its chemical weapons stockpiles. >> they are pushing forward to enforce sharia law in that country. a three part plan out allows homosexual, and makes prayer illegal. >> aljazeera continues to demand medical assistance for a journalist on a hunger strike. his weight dropped from 238 pounds to 163. an egyptian prosecutor on

saturday will decide whether to free the three aljazeera english journalists or extend detention. all three have been jailed since last august. >> more than 20,000 prisoners in egypt going on a hunger strike, saying nerve subject the to poor prison conditions and unfairly held by the military backed government there. >> from well outside the prison gates, the chants of protest can be clearly heard. down with the regime, they chant, down with military rule. this is the prison in the coastal city of alexandria, one more than 40 facilities caught up in a mass prisoner protest. >> we have started our hunger strike now, plus decided not to go out for exercise. we won't be attending any court sessions, nor stand before any prosecutors. >> they allege appalling prison

conditions as well as daily torture. in this repair footage smug would out of egypt's high security prisons, prisoners showed poor basic facilities, including a lack of beds, access to water, proper lighting and overcrowding. here 16 prisoners are crammed into a cell meant for four. in a statement prisoners say 23,000 inmates are refusing food, including doctors, engineers, teachers, scientists, women and children. they object to the lack of access to justice, including the mass trials of opponents, but the military backed interim regime. court decisions like this one on monday, family members were in shock when a court handed down death sentences to 683 supporters of the muslim brotherhood. although the government says the rulings are open to appeal, families aren't pinning their

homes on them a being overturned, calling for a day of fasting and solidarity. this young woman holds a banner reading freedom for my father. >> we aren't scared. we support you, dad. we are all behind you. don't be afraid. >> the mass protests appear to have already hit resistance. a number of prisoners were reportedly injured when security forces tried to force them to attend court. that's not deterred the prisoners or their supporters. there might have been little response to their protest thus far, but they hope the hunger strike of thousands will draw the attention they seek. >> as many as 30,000 people, including children have been put in prison since mohamed morsi's ouster in july. >> america's reign as the worlds biggest economy could be coming to an end. the world bank said china is on

track to overtake the u and it could happen this year, the forecast based on beijing's purchasing power. it's currency is much stronger than exchange rates show. it is 60% the size of the u.s. economy based on market exchange rates. the economy will pass the u.s. in sheer size by the early 2020's. china rejected the world bank report. >> the wall street journal reports that at&t is making a bid for direct tv, a merger worth at least $40 billion. it would create a media company that could rival comcast and time warner if the merger gets approved. it is the second largest pay t.v. provider in the u.s. behind comcast, atna is number two in mobile phones behind verizon. >> colorado looking at ledge station warning consumers of the dangers of edible marijuana, looking at a safe serving size to a labeling system on cookies to canneddies.

the push follows those two high profile deaths in recent weeks involving pot in fused foods. >> it looks so innocent on the shelves. you forget it is a drug. >> what it takes to win tress photo of the year.

>> embattled toronto mayor ford taking a break for a stint in rehab. dogged by controversial images of him smoking crack. his lawyers say ford is ready to get help and will take time off the campaign trail. >> hopefully he is at this point

ready to get help. straight ahead, a look at images that have captured our attention and probably yours over the last year. >> the weather across the nation today, another wet one. >> capturing a lot of attention with the weather the last couple of days. first the severe weather especially sunday into monday and then all the flooding rain through the south and up through the east coast. you can see on the backside of this a spiral of low pressure that's kept things cold and rainy into the midwest. up and down the coastline, less of a risk for near storms, but watch for isolated thunderstorms. this front through florida, the rest of the region will clear out. the cold rain, we're watching that in illinois, you could see that. that will slowly lift. in the east coast, also slowly moving out of the, it's going to take time through the day. watch today and tomorrow still under all that flooding.

>> it is one of the oldest cliches in the business, a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case that doesn't begin to measure up. take a look, two victims embraces in the collapse, a mother hiding her children as gunman open fire in kenya in september, they are just two of the 143 prize winning images from the 57 annual world press photo competition currently on exhibition at direction he will university. jerry knight chaired the jury. you've done this now for the last four years. how is this one different? >> well, this year, i think the results of the competition were very different. what some of the photographs the jury were looking for, the images we were seeking were a little different to previous years. >> gary, i want to show you the photo that you all selected as

taking top honors, done by analogy graphic. why did you choose this particular photo? >> the award is global. not only are the entries coming from all over the world, but the judges represents the media from all over the world. we were really looking for something that was universal, that wasn't just interesting to an audience that was local. this photograph deals with african migrants, here shown on the border of somalia. this photograph we felt is a very emotional picture, a picture that was the beginning of a dialogue rather than a terminal picture beyond which there was nowhere to go -- >> it shows that we are now connected to our cell phones in

ways like never seen before. >> absolutely, and using them to communicate to reach out to people far away, people who probably hadn't heard from you for a long time, people help you go on the rest of your journey. we felt this had universal appeal and beautifully executed. >> this shows a blast at the moment of impact. describe what we are seeing right now. >> a group of rebels had attacked a government position, one member killed and the photographer was following the rebels. the rebels fired an r.p.g. around a corner, and immediately a tank returned fire, and what you see there is the reuters photographer capturing the instant when the tank shell exploded. >> a lot of the photos that you looked at captured the power of nature. we want to show you one that was

taken during typhoon haiyan in the philippines, capturing so much in such a single image. i still look at this and find something new each time i see it. >> it's an extraordinary image. we are very mindful of the way the photographer had represented this natural disaster, and rather than photographing people as passive victims, in this case, he'd photographed them taking control, do something for the community, rescuing artifacts from the church. it's an extraordinary, very beautiful image. >> do you feel as a judge that you need to represent the biggest news stories of the year or are you selecting photos merely on their artistic and journalistic merits? >> the judges decided that our job wasn't to determine the most important stories of the year. there are many, many important

stories, some missing from the competition like turkey and the ukraine. we felt our job was to reward the photograph, the photographers of the photographs that best represented many of the most important stories of the world, and it's very difficult to determine what is important, what's different, what's important to people in china or africa is very different to what's important to people in the middle east or the united states, for example. so we really allowed the photographers to bring to us extraordinary work and we just determined who we thought had done the best job of retching the stories that they photographed. >> i do not envy your task. gary knight, chairman of this year's jury and cofounder of the seven photos agency. the 2014 world press exhibit opened in amsterdam two weeks ago, goes on tour in 45 countries. it is currently state side and runs through may 21.

>> that is worth a trip to phillie. >> a long island high school student made news when he was accepted by all eight ivy league college has made his choice, to attend yale. the senior picked that school because of its music program. he plays the raiola and sings. he plans on studying music and medicine. he looks forward to singing in one of yale's many a da pella groups and playing in the orchestra. >> what's a paint colored ghetto? >> a service job, waitressing, health care, they're kind of all the jobs that we can't outsource because they involve personal service and those are very, very, very disproportionately female. >> tomorrow morning at this same

time, we'll have another portion of my interview with gloria steinham. >> that's going to do it for this edition of aljazeera america. have a great monday -- it's not monday -- have a great thursday morning. [ laughter ] ali velshi, a yearlong series, america's vanishing middle class... >> i'm on a mission, that i have to keep this business going... >> three families struggling every day >> we had to pull the whole retirement fund... >> real stories... real people... real advice... >> you need to pay the water bill, if you don't pay it, we're shutting your water off in a half hour >> how will you survive? >> the stakes are so high... >> america's middle class: rebuilding the dream on real money with ali velshi on al jazeera america

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt

only on al jazeera america >> hello, welcome to this news hour. we have our top stairs. talks between the south sudanese government and rebels restart. >> police in turkey blocked may day protestors from reaching the square. >> a lead-in figure at northern ireland's republican movement arrested in connection with a murder. >> a u.n. body recommending to