welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are the stories we are following for you. is juniors. >> an admission of the boko haram terrorists, holding those nigerian school request gicials.

less there has now been a claim of responsibility in connection with those kidnapped school girls in nigeria. the armed radical group boko haram is now taking credit. the abductions have triggered international outrage. the video obtained by afp, the leader of boko haram says they kidnapped the girls from their boarding school three weeks ago. hes theren to sell them as slaves. nigeria's president is under fire, for not doing enough to set them free. al jazeera, yvonne ndege reports from abuja. >> why the rescue effort has so far failed. some church goers are planning

overnight vigils, until the girls are found. >> i have a daughter i have a son, it's painful. if i should put myself in the shoos of the parents painful. >> reporter: the missing girls. >> what we would can request is maximum cooperation from the guidance, because up to this the time, they have not been able to come clearly to judge yet to return. >> reporter: news of the abductions have spread around the world. accused the nigerian government of mishandling the effort. >> has the might of the entire military of the country. he has financial resources at

his disposal. and he can make things happen if he actually wants to make things happen. so there shouldn't be any excuses. >> reporter: people have been protesting in london too. there's a global social media drive under the hashtag #bringbackourgirls, from international celebrities. >> it's wrong. they need to be found and returned to their families safely as soon as possible. >> reporter: public anger has been fueled by the conflicting figures from different levels of government about how many girls have been affected. the anger is, because other girls have been attacked before. that is despite billions of dollars being spent on fighting the group. meanwhile the military insists there's an ongoing effort to

free the girls. i asked when the presidential committee on the abductions is expected to report back, despite all the international pressure a presidential spokesperson would only say soon, yvonne ndege, al jazeera, abuja. >> go to our website, the other acts of violence that are being blamed on the group, go to our website, aljazeera.com and click on international for the latest headlines. more fighting in the ukrainian city of slovyansk. a military helicopter has been shot down but the pilot survived. government forces are on the ground advancing and surrounding the city, one of the main strong holds of those separatists. nick spicer has more from kyiv. >> reporter: ukraine's interior minister says it all started on an attack on

ukrainian forces. checkpoints across slovyansk quickly changing hands, confusion reigns. emergency services are forced to stop outside the barricades with wounded coming to them. tanks roll through the city. with the flag of self styled republic of donetske. 800 militia men. >> the if they storm i have a sharpened shovel and i'll come out with it. we are unarmed. people will come out. my wife will come out who is russian by the way. >> they say things on tv like they don't plan to attack us but they keep the troops. your they keeping them here? simply for us to kill each other? our people are killing each other!

>> reporter: ukraine's president said just a few days ago that the government felt helpless. now it's engaged in a show of force fraught with risk. if there are many casualties, especially civilians that can further stoke resentment. ukrainian forces are storming toirdz th -- towards the center. nick spicer al jazeera kyiv. >> also, there's been more falout from the deadly fire at oodessa. clashes with pro-government demonstrators. fired and investigation has been launched, both actions following accusations that authorities did at any time do enough to try and stop the violence. during his visit, the prime

minister suggesting russia had a hand if that clash waging a new type of war. >> it seems to me that the entire world is facing a new kind of war. this is the new war. with the military with no insignia on their uniforms, with agents that have well organized terrorist plot network, with a political and diplomatic pressure on ukraine. with the tough and rude russian propaganda, with ukrainian sentiments and not only ukrainian and with a real threat to global security. >> ukraine is now said to be accepting specialty forces into odessa, flowers and candle et cetera outside the ukrainian embassy, for those pro-russian

separatists who divide in odessa. mudslide killed hundreds of people in afghanistan, government officials say that area will become a mass grave. 700 families are now displaced. as doc of dominic cane reports, workers are trying to provide aid to the survivors. >> since friday the survivors of the landslide have been living in tents. tensions have risen so high that on monday morning there were reports of gun fire and some of the people made homeless have still received no help. >> translator: six members of my family are under the mud. we are living under a tent that we made ourselves. we haven't received any tent or any blankets or food yet. >> others have complained about

the government response to the disaster. >> translator: after the landslide we are in huge misery. in the past three days we have received no assistance and the women and children in this area are so being ill. no one has shown any sympathy for us. >> on monday, a local member of the afghan parliament came to see the devastation himself. he handed out money for some of the needy. access by roads is almost nonexistent. >> we are working with the government to try to develop a solution that with it mitigate the risk of a future disaster like this. this is an area, a region of afghanistan that's very prone to these natural disasters be they landslides or flooding as we've also seen in northern provinces over the past few days. >> the afghan government has said it has enough resources to

be able to deal with the disaster itself. but in this buried village the people are less sure. dominic cane, al jazeera. >> a fast-moving wiemple wildfis supposed to be a controlled burn. national guard helicopters now helping to battle the blaze, although officials say the wildfire is 75% contained, it threatsens homes near guthrie, oklahoma. jonathan thomas reports. >> he raced to get to his family in guthrie. >> what street i can go down to remove to get to them. >> unwinnable battle against the wildfire driven by winds of up to 30 miles per hour, and fueled by lots of dry brush.

it started late sunday afternoon and has so far blackened nearly 4,000 acres. >> once we get daylight and we can get out and on foot on the accurate number of homes lost we'll update our numbers accordingly. six was the number we were able to count before dark last night. >> reporter: fire officials confirmed that a life has been lost in the inferno. a 56-year-old man who was found in his trailer after he refused to heed evacuation warnings. >> it is initially started by a controlled burn. we do meet the drought requirement now but we've only met it for about three weeks. >> chief low harlow, says the rn is expected this week but it

won't come today. >> we have hot spots flaring up but for the most part we do have control of this thing. three of the four sides are contained, the north side i'm not going to say is 100% contained yet. >> with ten fire departments battling the blaze, all emanuel could do is wait to get to his family. >> heartbroken. hopefully they can get out of there from evacuation. >> john henry smith, al jazeera. >> eboni deon, that hot weather complicating things there. >> we are going to keep this very stagnant weather pattern in place until we get at least into the middle of the week. record heat. temperatures soaring well above average. we're going to be dealing with temperatures at least rivaling old records. northern texas on into oklahoma. high pressure is in full control. that's what's giving away to the dry conditions, although we have

a little bit of a flow coming in from the gulf, not enough to pump in moisture. southwest winds helping to fuel those dry vegetation and brush that's out there, that could certainly help to spread the fire so it's even bringing in a drier air mass. as far as temperatures go tribute-digit heat is expected. oklahoma city we could shatter our old record of 94°. winds are gusting, upwards to nearly 30 miles per hour around oklahoma city from the south. no red flag warning in effect now but del i'm sure the weather service will be upgrading those conditions pretty soon. >> thank you. the supreme court has decision 5-4 came down in favor of the any prayer goes policy in the town of breece, new york. two residents sued the town, claimed the frequent credit

prayers amounted to the are being acceptance of christianity. >> what's happening to these mice that show surprising results. and also a virus is hurting the avocado crops across florida, scientists are trying to find a cure.

>> chairman ceo and president of target stepping down. tens of millions of customers had their credit and debit numbers stolen. an interim ceo will replace him. u.n. says the church violated an international treaty against maltreatment. a board has now been appointed by the pope to develop clear

protocols to hold people accountable for sexual abuse. a full council expected on may 23rd. ponce de leon looked for it. now a group has claimed to have found it. it's no longer a fountain. >> the effects of aging are largely unavoidable. our ability to remember things decreases and the structure of our brains become set, our muscles lose their tone. but now three separate studies from the united states have shed light on a possible way of stopping, even reversing these changes and it all comes down to blood. researchers took blood from young mice and gave it to younger animals. they then tested them, and found learned faster than older mice. also developed stronger connections between neurons, the

basis for learning and memory. it's unknown what products in the blood are having the effects, gdf 11 is thought to be the compound. taken from younger mice and injected in older animals. >> when we corrected that deficiency, we could actually verse these changes that occur within the heart. blood is full of all kinds of things and trying to narrow down what might be the responsible factor was going to be a big challenge. >> the scientists looking at gdf 11 say human trials of the protein are at least three years away. they all warn against individuals trying to arrange their transfusion of young blood because there could be side effects but do say their discoveries show promise and could one day help in development of treatments to

combat age related illnesses. >> terek badgeley reporting. all of the family members who had close contact with the patient with mers tested negative for virus. the cdc says the man lives and works in saudi arabia and comes to the u.s. to visit his family. about 100 people have died from that virus around the world. there is no vaccine or no cure for mers. something to think about on this cinco de mayo, the next time you dip a chip in guacamole, natasha guinane has the story. >> the avocado is called a superfood. best enjoyed as bac guacamole.

making it an taco rico for the last three years. she takes pride of the fact that people recognize her recipe. >> a lot of people tell me that it's really good. >> from the plate of guacamole and tortilla chips on south beach to south florida is just an hour drive. here burned stumped, gravestones of disease killed by laurel will, spread by ambrosia beetles. the fungus has destroyed about 50 trees a day. trees fight off the fungus but die in the process. >> it walls off the fungus and kills itself.

>> the fungal disease is opportunistic. avocado tree roots natal cot wi o anoer. th provide an easy pathway for laurel will to march through a grove tree by tree. there's no cure. professor jonathan crane with university of florida institute of food and agricultural sciences says no one should panic yet. scientists are researching ways to decrease the threat, to florida's $54 million a year avocado industry. >> our entomologists have several trials out right out where they attract beetles to the trap and it attracts the beetles. we're hoping in the not too distance future we'll offer that as a strategy in the growth. >> crane says it will be a decade before scientists will grow avocado trees genetically

resistant to will. natasha guinane, al jazeera, miami. >> president obama holding a reception for cinco de mayo. commemorating the war against france, in the 1850s. introducing classical plusk to kids. how the new world symphony is inspiring the next generation of musicians.

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. >> we are following breaking news coming out of ohio. there are reports of an active shooter at the veterans medical center in dayton. hospital is in lock down. they do not say if shots were fired. we'll bring you more information

as it becomes available. making news this hour. the armed radical group boko haram, taking are responsibility for the kidnapped girtle. he is now threatening to sell them as slaves. in afghanistan, some family members still digging for survivors after that mudslide that killed hundreds of people. but the government says the area will now become a mass grave that mudslide happened in the village of avi barik on friday. aa fast-moving wildfire has killed one person forcing a thousand others from their homes. that fire which has bender 3,000 acres was supposed to be a controlled burn. in the age of smartphones and google the performing arts i.t. would be safe to say has taken a hit. after all you don't see kids with violins attached to their ear buds but in miami there is one group trying to bring classical music back to their

midst. andy gallagher reports. >> you could do a lot worse than drop in to a rehearsal with new world symphony. some of the most gifted musicians on the planet, and this group one of the most prestigious. the next few years they will spend refining their skills before joining orchestras and ensembles. if you can't get in the performances are shown on a giant outdoor projector screen and the talent of the musicians are not just restricted to the inside of this multimillion dollar facility. >> good. >> when he's not studying the clarinet brad whitfield teaches students at the high school in liberty city. it's one of miami's poorest neighborhoods and brad says it's a vital part of his studies. >> to me, it's a cer concert ofy

nerves. to give back not only to your community but to really to everyone. it's all about, about sharing something with people. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: music programs in state funded schools in the u.s. are often the first to face cuts as budgets tighten. but at this high school the band is thriving and its director says their partnership with the symphony has been a big help. >> this is very important for the growth of our band and our music organization. over the years you can see the difference in the amount of love for music that these students have grown to have. >> and in this, this band will get to perform on miami beach. its experience with their muse sitions have kept em-- musicians have kept them going. >> it's been a great experience. >> reporter: the new world symphony then continues to pull

in the crowds, impresswith its musical prowess. these musicians are also trying to keep classical music alive. andy gallagher, al jazeera, miami, florida. >> it's going to be another scorcher across the southern plains. across much of the great lakes region, temperatures are staying in check at or a little bit below where we typically would see our numbers this year. only 50s around chicago but the heat is on. in texas we circulate hit 93 in dallas, 102 in oklahoma city. that could shatter our old record of 93 for day. around the great lakes we too will be feeling the warmth as we get into later in the week. around washington, d.c. could see some late day showers, high of 67, 70 on tuesday, still near

70 on wednesday. later this week, temperatures will soar well into the mid and upper 80s. little bit of a disturbance moving in here across virginia that will bring us a few showers around d.c. but much of the country stays quiet and dry all thanks oa ridge of high pressure that is firmly in control. northwest this will be our activity spot in the next few days, won't be into wednesday and thursday where we'll get much needed moisture across the southern plains, fires are already ongoing, wet weather, underway, threat of severe weather as well. del. >> eboni deon, thank you very much. we want to update you on the breaking news out of ohio. the situation in dayton appears to be over. a suspect is in custody. one person in the va medical center in dayton appears to be injured, injury nonlife

threatening. the tiff shooter situation in dayton, ohio is often e-over. we want to thank you for watching al jazeera america, i'm del walters. "techknow" is next, featuring space technology. you can check us out at aljazeera.com. i'm phil torres here to talk about innovations that can change lives. we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity and we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out our team of hard core nerds. kyle hill is an engineer. tonight, sharks, long feared for their ferocity, how they can protect us. the secret in in their skin. rachelle oldmixon is a ne