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 >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. video from boko haram claiming the group abducted the nigerian school girls. the ukrainian helicopter shot down in slovyansk, and high winds make it difficult to put out an oklahoma wildfire.

>> the armed radical group boko haram claiming responsibility for abducting school girls. the leader of boko haram said that they kidnapped the girls from their boarding school three weeks ago. now they're threatening to sell them at slaves. >> reporter: nigerians praying for the kidnapped girls to be found. there is pressure on the president. he has set up a committee to investigate how the abductions took place, and why the rescue effort has so far failed. some church goers are planning overnight vigils until the girls are found.

>> i have daughters, i have a son, this is painful. if i put myself in the shoes of their parents. >> reporter: onstate tv the president said this on the missing girls. >> we believe that we'll get them out. what we request is more cooperation from the parents of these girls. up to them time they have not been able to clearly give the police accounts. >> reporter: news of the abductions have spread around the world. these protesters in washington, d.c. accuse the nigerian government of mishandling the rescue effort. >> he has financial resources at

his disposal, and he could make it happen if he wants to. >> reporter: people have been protesting in london, too. there is a global social media drive under the harsh ta #free . >> they need to be found in terms of their family as soon as possible. >> reporter: public anger is being fueled by the conflicting figures with different levels of government about how many girls have been affected. schools have been attacked before. in february 59 students were killed by boko haram in a school nearby, that despite millions of dollars being spent fighting the group. >> reporter: operation free the girls won't give up details for what it calls security reasons.

i asked when if they expected to report back. despite all the international pressure, a spokesperson would only say soon. al jazeera, my jeer gentleman. >> there has been heavy fighting in slovyansk. a military helicopter had been shot down, but the pilot has survived. there are also reports of four ukrainian troops who have been killed and 30 others wounded. nick schifrin hanick spicer has. >> reporter: it all started with an attack of ukrainian forces. with check points across slovyansk quickly changing hands. the wounded coming, tanks roll through the city, some with the

flag of the self-styled republic of slovyansk. not all support the pro-russian movement. >> if they storm honestly i have a sharpened shovel at home and i'll come out with it. i don't have a machine gun. i asked, but they wouldn't give it to me. we have very few weapons, we're unarmed. welcome out. my wife will come who, who is russian, by the way. >> they say things on tv that they don't plan to attack us, but they have the troops. why do they have them here, so our people will kill each other? our people are killing each other. >> reporter: the government felt helpless. now it is engaged in a show of force fraught with risk. if there are many casualties that can only further stoke resentment. ukrainian troops move towards

the city officer. protesters have reinforced barricades and continue to demand a referendum. nick spicer, al jazeera, kiev. >> there has been more fallout in odessa. 40 pro russian protesters were killed when they took shelter inside the building. meanwhile ukraine's interim prime minister yatsenyuk went to odessa to finish the injured in that plays. odessa's police chief has been fired. during the visit, the prime minister suggesting that russia had a role in those clashes, waging a new type of war. >> it seems to me that the entire world is facing a new type of war. this is a new war. with the military with no insignia on its uniforms, with agents that have well-organized

terrorist plot networks, with the political and diplomatic pressure on ukraine, with the tough russian propaganda it is playing on ukraine, and not just the ukrainians. it's a real threat to the global security. >> ukraine is said to be sending special force nooss into odessao try to gain control. no. afghanistan some family members are still searching for survivors after that mudslide killed hundreds of people. government officials are now saying that that area will become a mass grave. the mud slide happened on friday. about 700 families are

displaced, aid groups are bringing shelter and water into that village. a fast-moving wildfire in oklahoma leaves one dead and forcing others from their homes, national helicopters are now fighting the fire. officials say it's 75% contained, it still threatens another 150 homes, and john henry smith has that. >> reporter: when emmanuel thomas saw the smoke 32 miles away from where he was in oklahoma city he raced to get to his family in guthrie. >> they were calling me letting me know which streets i could get down, but everyone was shut off when i got here. >> reporter: they had been winning a unwithinnible bible with winds up to 32 mph and fueled by dry brush. so far it's blackened 4,000 acres. >> once we have daylight, right

now we're still at six confirmed. >> do you expect that average to increase? >> definitely. >> reporter: a light had also been loss in the inferno. a 56-year-old man found in his trailer home. about a thousand of his neighbors did heed the order enough away from the fire that was set on purpose. >> it was initially started from a control burn. we are not under a burn ban. we do meet the requirements by the letter of the law. we do mee meet the drought requirement now, but we've only met it for three weeks. >> reporter: part of the reason for the no burn ban is because of a weather forecast calling for a rain, but that rain won't come today. >> we still have hot spots flaring up, but for the most part we have control of this thing. i'll say 75% containment. i won't say it's 100% contained

yet. >> reporter: with more than 10 fire departments battling the blaze, all emmanuel thomas could do is wait. >> heartbroken. hopefully they can get out under the evacuation. >> reporter: let's turn to eboni deon to see if we're going to see a break in the scorching conditions. >> meteorologist: the conditions are ripe, now these are some of the factors that help spread wildfires quickly. the gusting winds and then low humidity values, low moisture and then factor in the heat and then we'll see fires persisting across this area until we get into the latter part of the we

week. the dry air mass comes in, while we don't have a red light warning, conditions are ripe, and we're seeing those fire weather watches just further west. i won't be surprised if we start seeing that expand a little further east because temperatures today up to 102 in oklahoma city, and we could see temperatures go up in guthrie. >> thank you very much. no. australia experts taking a look at satellite data in the search of the missing malaysia flight 370. they want to make sure that crews are searching the right place. they're searching a remote patch of the indian ocean. all 239 people are said to be dead. in south korea, new

regulations for passenger ships. 260 bodies have now been recovered from the sunken ferry. under regulations passenger i.d.s will be checked by the ship's operators and there will be better control to entrances at ports. in 2001 researchers recorded interviews with former politicians on both sides of the conflict in northern ireland. those interviews implicated several leaders, adams was picked up and jailed in connection with a murder that took place 40 years ago. after four days he was released without charge but his detention is opening old wounds. >> it all looked like it would end in a stand off. a convoy carrying jerry adams oh

to freedom. it went on for several minutes. but a short way away the real adams convoy was racing away making their way to best fast. jerry adams arrived a hero to his supporters, and immediately addressed accusations about the ira murder of gene mcconvil in 1972. >> i'm consideration that there is there. i've worked for the return of others killed in the conflict. >> reporter: he went on to talk about a dark side in northern

ireland that had no interest in peace. >> i'i want to live in a peacefl ireland based on equality. i never associated myself with the ira and i never will. but i'm glad that we have created a democratic way forward for everyone. the ira is gone. finished. >> reporter: mr. adams told his press conference here that he wrote much of his statement in his cell. he criticized so the called boston college tape recordings that led to the most recent allegations describing them as dubious accusations from disgruntled individuals. >> if they think that a trial is justified and in the public

interest they will proceed. al jazeera, belfast. >> the oscar pistorius murder trial, calling it's fourth witness to the stand. he was the fourth person that pistorius called. he tried to revive steamcamp in the last hours of her death. >> he was a young man walking down the stairs with a young lady in his arms, and the scene you see the expression on his face, the expression of sorrow, the expression of pain. he's crying. he's asking god to help him.

>> pistorius faces 25 years to life. he's been charged with premeditated murder. offering prayers at government meetings, the 5-4 coming down in the anti-prayer policy in new york making prayers legal. it was a narrow victory for the town saying that the tow prayert town meetings violated their rights. what was done to mice that has shown surprising results. in may a stroke awareness month while stroke victims are adults we'll meet a ten-year-old who said she had one before she was born.

>> the move comes few months

after the massive data breach. millions had their credit and debit cards information stolen. the united nations is grilling members of the vatican over the issue of global sexual abuse in geneva. the u.n. saying the church violated a treaty against torture. vatican said that that treaty only applies to vatican city. they're developing clear protocols to hold people accountable of abuse. well, the spanish explorer ponce deleon looked for it, and now researchers have found it. "it" is the found of youth, and it is no long arreser a found. >> the effects of aging is avoidable. our ability to remember things decreases and the structure of our brains become set, our

muscles lose their tone. now three separate studies have shed light on stopping and even reversing these changes. it all comes down to blood. researchers took blood from young mice and gave it to older animals. they tested them and found that they made fewer errors in escaping from a maze and learned faster than other older mice. they developed stronger corrections between neurons. it's not clear what compound in the blood is having this effect but earlier research points to a natural occurring blood protein called gdf 11. therblood from young mice was injected into older animals. >> the older animals had the level substance equivalent to young animals, we could reverse the change in the heart.

blood is full of all kinds of things, and trying to narrow down what might be the responsible factor is going to be a big challenge. >> reporter: the scientists say human trials of the protein are three years away. they all warn against individuals trying to arrange their own transfusions of youngblood blood becausyoungbloe side-effects but it could one day help in treatments of age-related illnesses. the spread of polio now a global health concern, the agency said that conflicts in countries like pakistan lead to the spread of the disease. well, may is stroke awareness month. 75% of americans who suffer from strokes are over the age 65. did you know the strokes are also one of the leading killers of children? diane estherbrook talked to a

10-year-old girl who had a stroke before she was born. >> it's tough telling the ten-year-old twins apart, but they are as different as they are alike. shay is the artistic one, reese is the math wiz. >> i find it strange that i can explain this. >> reporter: but something else makes reese different from they are twin. the stroke she inexplicably suffered inside her mother's womb. >> i thought this happened to people who were over 65, had a heart disease or some other underlying condition. >> reporter: while strokes mostly affect adults they do happen in roughly 1,000 u.s. births each year. half of the children who survive are left with some sort of permanent disability. >> we won't know after the stroke what the outcomes are

going to be, so we have to prepare families with the possibility that their child might be left with life lone disabilities. >> reporter: she couldn't crawl or use her right hand. she was also slow to talk. intensive therapy at an easter seals rehabilitation center has helped reese overcome weakness on her right side. but her leg gives her trouble as her bones and muscles grow. she works on balance, strengthening her ankle and flexibility. >> reporter: reese started coming here for occupational rehabilitation since 14-month-old. her mother estimates that she has logged 1,000 hours in rehabilitation so far. she has had trouble keeping up

with her friends on the playground. >> i cannot go fast. >> these are all pictures of children who have had stroke. >> reporter: support groups have helped the family cope but christine winchester said that the stroke affects their lives daily. >> the other day i was talking with her between, and she wasn't there. she said, mom, i caused reese's stroke. my heart broke. >> reporter: christine said the stroke has made reese a tougher kid who will likely become a much stronger adult. diane estherbrook, illinois. >> coming up on al jazeera america, after sitting in a museum for decades one of the world's largest steam locomotives takes to the rails again. more on that in just a moment.

>> welcome back. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. boko haram claiming

responsibility for the abduction of those nigerian school girls. they kidnapped the girls three weeks ago, and now he's threatening to sell them as slaves. a wildfire in oklahoma forcing a thousand from their homes. it was supposed to be a controlled burn. and in afghanistan some family members still searching for survivors after that mudslide killed hundreds of people. but government officials are now saying that area will become a mass grave. the mudslide happened on friday. >> good monday to you. i'm meteorologist eboni deon. we're taking a look at the temperatures with a dividing line with temperatures in the mid 70s at this hour. we'll continue to feel the heat

building here across the southern plains, this is an area where we'll see temperatures climbing in the 90s, and possibly getting warmer than that. so a lot of records are in jeopardy for today and on into our tuesday as well. the heat will be sticking around. good news for those who have lived across the northern tier this heat will be expanded making it's way to the north and east, and temperatures warming up well above average. for those of you in chicago it will stay on the cooler side. mid 50s that will be about it. temperatures will at least get in the mid 60s. this is closer to normal. by the time we get into the middle of the week we'll need to watch the skies, we're expecting highs near 80 dress on wednesday with thunderstorms, and then by thursday, 86 degrees. so don't be worried that warmth is going to make it into the area. for now it's quiet around chicago but we do have rain showers spreading east to the

wisconsin area. the northwest is unsettled throughout the weekend. we have that persistent onshore flow. so around the seattle area unfortunately it looks like it will stay soggy at least for a the next 48 hours. then we'll finally catch a break. the bulk of the country dry with a ridge of high pressure that will keep us on the quiet side, unfortunately, where we could see the rainfall. we're not going to see that wednesday in thursday. the middle of the country will get more active, and we'll be watching the threat of strong to severe storms throughout the week. >> thank you very much. one of the largest steam locomotives is on the rails again. it has been sitting on in a museum for half a century. it's a rare design from the 1940's. now it's being moved from california to wyoming so it can be restored to run on natural

gasoline. choo choo charlie will be happy. we thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters from new york. a reminder that you can check us out 4 hours a day seven days a week by going to www.aljazeera.com. m is next. thanks for watching. >> you're sick. you take the medicine meant to cure your illness. that's what we do. but with increasing regular layerty the medicine won't work. the . thi it's the "inside story."