>> you in is it al jazeera america with a look at today's top stories. there was another deadly attack by boko haram. in south africa this is election day. opposition groups are making inroads. and in the southwest united states a new report finds virtually no accountability for u.s. border patrol agents

accused of rape or assault. >> this has been another violent and horrifying 24 hours in nigeria. a nigeriaen lawmaker said the radical group boko haram massacred hundreds of people. it happened near the border with cameroon, boko haram set shops and homes on fire with an assault that lasted nearly 12 hours. the deadly rampage came hours after nigerian police offered money for more information on the abduction of school girls last month. >> this is the carnage caused by the group boko haram killing

hundreds in the northeast on monday will worry many. residents toll the government that masked men raided the village and started firing. >> anyone sighted in that area were shot and killed. they went through the city, went through all the shops, and according to the residents they told me not less than 300 people died. >> reporter: the report may fuel public anger among concerned nigerians about the federal government's failure to curb attacks by the group. these nigerians march to the head of the arm on tuesday in the capitol to protect over the government's failure. the united states has implied that nigeria was offered help to fight the group but rejected it. nigeria's minister said that's

not true. >> i can say in the beginning the insurgency in nigeria there were local up risings within the name worframework. >> reporter: officials say boko haram are attacking the area on almost a daily basis. but now the group will be contained with international help. >> it is unfair to say that we have some how resisted assistance from the international community. all the way the government of nigeria has solicited assistance and corporation as part of the international community. >> reporter: the nigerian

ministry, which i will not commn the attack. but there is increased pressure on the government to get assistance to deal with boko haram faster. >> president obama says the united states will try and help the nigerian government find the missing girls and confront boko haram and equipment is headed to nigeria, the group sent to help is ten. how can ten do, quote, everything it can. >> reporter: one gets the feeling when listening to the pentagon outlining this program, fewer than then is the quote that they had, that there are sensitivities. this is a group based on anti-western sentiment. they said this will not be the

first part of a larger force. they point out there are 150 u.s. personnel in nigeria for areas already being worked on, security operations, 20 marines doing training exercises. but the state department at the white house point to the fact that it is more than just military that is going there as you mentioned the fact there are intelligence assets that are not available to the nigerians. law enforcement, information sharing. what the state department called inter disciplinary team. here is the state department's spokeswoman. >> we have offered assistance to the nigerian government. president jonathan accepted our offer of assistance, and we're moving swiftly to put in place a team at our embassy that can provide military law enforcement and information sharing assistance in support of niger nigeria's efforts to find and free the girls. >> officials also say that the

fbi stands ready to help with hostage negotiation, technical assistance and forensic talents--forensic assets in place to assist the nigerians to unravel this kidnapping in remote regions of the country. >> assuming this equipment is able to provide new leads and information, does th do they tht the nigerian government will act with that information? >> reporter: talking about this crisis, to trust the nigerians to do so. the american government place boko haram as a terrorist organization. there are a lot of folks who think they should have acted quicker in doing so, but the united states and nigeria have a relative good relationship. the president has visited there

in the past. bill clinton mobbed in the streets of nigeria below. i haven't heard of that coming up as an issue, david. >> thanks for that report. several members of congress went to the nigerian embassy in washington to discuss the latest security challenges after boko haram attacks. bubefore they had turned down various offers of help, but not this time. >> nigeria is humbled. they are in pain. they love their children, and they are now, as they have been, drawing the world to help them go after the thugs. let's kill the cancer. let's drag out this vile person. >> u.s. diplomats think that the boko haram tying this latest

event to the conference that the nigerian government is hosting. hundreds of foreign dignitaries, industrial leaders and business executives have gathered for the world economic forum on africa. the three-day event is supposed to shine a positive light on nigeria which is now africa's largest economy. coming up we'll take a closer look at the security challenges in nigeria and how boko haram in recent years managed to inflict so much damage. this was election day in south africa, and the votes are being counted in the first campaign since the death of nelson mandela. it is expecteanc is expected ton power, but confidence in anc especially among poorer south africas is slowly dwindling. >> polls are closed in the general election.

ballot boxes are now opened and votes are counted. election officials say the polls are generally peaceful. but after protest in some parts of south africa security forces make sure they're clearly visible at polling stations on voting day. some say they're tired waiting for the government to provide basic services. she is voting for the first type. she hopes conditions in her community changes. >> when you are asleep at night, criminals will sometimes rape. >> reporter: officials will stay deployed staying in hot spots. but it does not scare those determined to vote, a right many died for during apartheid.

>> some people told us they will continue burning public property until government deals with unemployment and poverty. 20 years after apartheid ended the poor are growing impatient. >> that's exactly what this government should not want, what it should be trying to counter by calming the mood, and ashoring people that delivery will happen. that delivery is not just a social service like health and education, sanitation, house, etc. but also delivery of an economy that is growing of jobs that were promised a long time ago. >> people say being poor is hard. they want what mean people who take for granted. they hope the vote makes a difference. al jazeera, south africa. >> european leaders said today they're working on another road map for the negotiations in the ukraine crisis. there was high profile and conflicting accounts about the russian troops along the

ukrainian border. russian president vladimir putin said he has pulled back from russian areas. but nato tracking russian movements say that they have not budged. president putin said that the regional vote should be delayed. he wanthe ukrainian military gep for the worse. nick spicer reports. >> reporter: the government is looking ahead and size a need for a stronger fighting force. helping protesters train. there aren't enough bullets to practice training today.

they're holding their ground during the most violent crackdown which killed over is hundred protesters. >> the people who were fighting here have valuable national military experience. that's why they should join the national guard. right now they need people with such military experience. it's something that we did not have before. >> reporter: the armed forces are broke. the interim government accuses the previous administration for tastealing much of its budget. they are asking for contributions by sending to this number. >> reporter: here on the outskirts of ke kiev they're demanding barricades. this retiree is helping the

regular highway police. they're searching for weapons and pay special attention for cars with license plates that show that they're coming from parts of ukraine where there is violence. >> i'm here to protect my motherland and the government is doing nothing, so we have to do it ourselves. i have two kids and a grandchild. >> the government said its volunteers are under the orders of a sovereign government, allowed to bear arms by the constitution. but civilians elsewhere in the country, those opposed to the current leaders say they, too, need to establish law and order, setting the stage for what some fear could become a civil war. >> a new report from an immigration advocacy group said there is virtually no accountability of border patrol agents involved in abuse. on a 809 complaints of sexual and verbal abuse. it does not list which

complaints were true but it does show that no action was taken. paul beban with more. >> reporter: that's right. this report is out from the american immigration council. it's called no action taken. that's really the headline here from january 2009 to januar january 2012 they obtained these records of more than 800 cases taking place within a hundred miles of the u.s.-mexico border, and what they found is that 97% of the time the vast majority of the time the u.s. border patrol took no action in response to complaints of abuse by its agents. let's break that number down a little bit here. so if 40% of these cases are still under investigation, some of them more than three years old now. but in the other 60% the border patrol has processed, no action taken. 97% of the time in those cases, that's the 58.3% number.

that means 13 case where is they have taken any action at all. the border patrol has a suspension rate of 0.1%. that is just one single agent who was suspended for excessive use of force. now it's worth noting that 44 times since 2010 the border patrol has responded with excessive force with rock-throwing incidents and killed ten people. that's in addition to other deaths at the hands of the border patrol. >> any information about the reports related to rape or sexual abuse? >> that's a very small number. the vast majority are related to physical abuse or excessive use of force. that's nearly 80%. unspecified abuse. verbal abuse, very small percentage related to sexual abuse, which they call inappropriate touching.

>> any response to this report? >> reporter: we reached out today and they sent us a verbal response. i'll read you part of it. now officials say there is not a systemic problem. they say they have a system in place to review these allegations, but critics say they don't. they said that the agency has grown too fast. the agents are not sufficiently changed and they need oversight and critics still very hot on the heals of the border patrol. >> paul, thank you. and today's power politics the first fight card has been set for this fall's congressional midterm elections, and it's coming in north carolina. the state features a battle that may determine which party controls the u.s. senate. democrat kay hagin is considered one of the most vulnerable democrats in 2014.

last night establishment republicans got the hagen opponent they wanted in tom tillis, who overcame two tea party challengers. >> the it's not the end of the primaries, it's the beginning of the primary mission, which is the mission all along, that is to beat kay hagin and make harry reid irrelevant. >> rand paul was trying to demonstrate strength i in a presidential campaign. paul campaigned hard in north carolina for greg branen and referred to the g.o.p. establishment as leviatho. leviathon i in the old testament refers to a sea monster. renée elmers faced a tea party challenger who repeatedly took

issue with her openness to bipartisan immigration reform, and elmers cruised to victory with 60% of the vote. no. kansas the governor's race there just got a bit more interesting. close associates to brownback because of lobbying actives. over the past three years brownback has been trying to consolidate control over the g.o.p. and republican party lobbyists. brownback who is up for election denies any wrongdoing. bob johnson has now apologized for saying he would rather see another terrorist attack than continue to submit to airport searches by the tsa. after that statement he said,

quote: finally there is news from toronto mayor rob ford. these picks surfaced showing ford allegedly smoking crack yet again. ford is now in rehab and apparently he loves it. he told the toronto sun, quote, rehab is amazing. it reminds me of football camp kind of like the washington redskins camp i went to as a kid. let's all hope that the rehab camp has a better record of success than the washington redskins. ford went on to say that he's continuing his run for election. watch out, toronto, ford is coming back and he may be clean. that's today's power politics. coming up, the hollywood

protest against the sultan of brunei. we'll take a look at the wealthy sultan and review some of his financial dealings. also climate change is causing new risk in the southwest. drought is contributing to the spread of a dangerous disease. ♪ what is this place?

where are we? this is where we bring together reliably fast internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system. only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before.

>> dozens of hollywood celebrities are asking people to boboycott a los angeles hotel. we go to the man at the center of the battle. >> reporter: he's an interesting man. part of the trouble people have difficulty knowing where brunei is, but i do. i spent the day looking at the map. what if i said borneo, would that help? probably not. here is borneo and this little strip of land are brunei.

here now is the absolute monarch of the state of brunei. he's one of the richest men in the world. here he is, the sultan and prime minister since 1967. he's a man who has made billions and billions of dollars with oil and gas exploration. his 1800 room palace is considered the largest private residence and also pretty gaudy as you can see. to be honest with you, brunei really did not feature on the international stage until oil was first found there. they smelled it back in 1926 when they escalated in 1929. the sultan won indians for his country in 1984, and look at what happened three years later, wow, he's suddenly the world's richest man, $40 billion is what he's worth. a bit less now. it's rumored that he loaned cash to allow the egyptian he were al

fayad to buy the department stores in 1980s. pop star michael jackson was made $17 million to play at his birthday party. whitney houston was given a blank check and told to fill it in with what she thought they was worth. she filled it in for $7 billion. meanwhile, back at home, the sultan's people live under the rules of strict islamic sharia law. we're not judging, we're just saying. >> that was a terrific report, john terrett, thank you.

michael jackson and whitney houston, who knew. the drought in the winner status is helping to spread an illness. the number of cases have gone up dramatically over the last 15 years. melissa chan has more now from california. >> reporter: the sun beats down over the parched land in the third dry year in california, and the weather has brought unexpected consequences. for virginia, it first felt like the through, but then she started walking slower, feeling confused and found herself unable to communicate. >> we were discussing one of our relatives' sons who place baseball. she said, who plays goose ball. i said i don't know, who is goose ball. we talked to her daughter about it, and we thought that she had a stroke. >> reporter: it wasn't a stroke.

it was a disease caused by fungus. it appears in the american southwest and the number of cases have shot up from 2,000 in 1998 to more than 22,000 i in 2011. the wind out here picks up the dust carrying the fungal spores, and with one breath when you walk by its possible to contract valley fever. just one air-borne spore kicked up from the soil can cause valley fever. some scientists say that climate change and the new bus dust bows increased infection. most at risk are farm workers. it will come and go in weeks, but for a few it will become a lifelong illness. >> some will go on to chronic

infection. it may go on as chronic lung disease, it's very destructive. they'll lose a lot of lung. it requires two anti-fungal medications for severe cases. >> you've lost permanently ten pounds in body weight, and i would say it's mostly muscle. she's not anywhere as near as strong as she used to be. and you get confused. >> but at least i know when i get confused. that's good. >> reporter: they still wonder where virginia got sick. she feels tired much of the time. and for her the battle with valley fever will never be completely over. melissa chan, al jazeera, california. >> boko haram has admitted to

kidnakidnapping hundreds of gir, and they slaughtered more. we'll hear more on what the united states is doing to help the nigerian government. also following a string of attacks, the u.s. state department has decided to close the doors at one of its embassies. we'll explain where and why up next.

>> i'm joe berlinger this is the system i'd like to think of this show as a watch dog about the system... to make sure justice is being served. with our personal liberties taken away from us,

it better be done the right way. is justice really for all? >> returning to our top stories. fighters from the boko haram radical group killed hundreds in a town in my jee nigeria. the attack comes as the nigerian police offer more money for information on the kidnapped girls. the united states is sending a

team of military advisers to nigeria to help with the search. jay jay green joins us. ten military personnel, we're sending military equipment and communication equipment, how is this going to turn out. they need intelligence, diplomacy and assistance in terms of hostage negotiations tactics and they need to put all of this capacity together under their umbrella and execute this because this is a tremendously delicate separation they're facinthey're--delicate operation they're facing. they'll need to put this together as one big operation but it's led by the need to have expert intelligence advise and

train as the u.s. plan for helping them just as they do any other nation in africa at this point. in this kind of situation. but this is a very special situation because of the size, strength and reputation of boko haram. >> and there are a number of western analysts who have been pointing out that boko haram has more weapons and can outbegun the nigerian military, is that true? >> reporter: that is true. when you look at images all over the media, you see tanks, advanced weapons, and the president himself said boko haram is getting help from inside his government. he can't figure out who is helping them, but what they're doing is providing funds, assistance to them, and with these funds and assistance they're able to buy and purchase these kinds of sophisticated weapons, some of which is better than what the nigerian army is working with, and that is a real

part of the mystery about this whole process. where are they getting it, how is it getting to them, and how are they being trained with these particular pieces of weapon. >> does part that have explain perhaps why the u.s. government has been tepid in that perhaps it's difficult for the obama administration to put personnel and equipment in nigeria when it even seems that the nigerian government and military at times because they're outgunned is reluctant or has been reluctant to fight boko haram? >> reporter: you nailed it, david. that's exactly what the issue is. the main part of the problem for the nigerians at this point is tri-fold. one, they can't figure out where exactly we co-ha where boko hars holding these girls. they have an idea they can't just go in there. they feel like if they go in there then the girls most assuredly would be killed. the third thing, what do they

do? not to just sit around and do nothing because the world is casting a very harsh spotlight on them at this point. what they've asked and the u.s. has offered on many occasions in the past to help nigeria with a number of tell against matters but they turned it down on most occasions. but they recognize now that this is one of those situations where they need the best of the best to help them with this situation. the u.s. will provide this team. i understand that they have already started to put together, they'll help them get to the heart of the issue, figure out what to do, figure out what the right tactics are, when it's a good time to do these things, and exactly how they should pull this off. >> those tactics in nigeria is a carrot and stick approach, the stick being the u.s. helping to root out boko haram, but the carrot being the money that the nigerian police have offered for information that might lead to

the perpetrators of the kidnapping. could that be effective? >> certainly. it's one of the main things, one of the main tools that they have working for them. when you look at terror organizations, drug organizations, you always have people in it for the money at least to some degree. so there are going to be people who are going to bite on this reward because it can help them enrich themselves to do what it is that they want to do. now mind you, $300,000 is a heck of a lot of money in that part of the world. and this is something that people who work in organizations, who are part of organizations like this recognize as part of the reason why they're in the organization in the first place, to enrich themselves. so if there is an opportunity for them to turn their backs on their comrades and make some money to, indeed, give them the opportunity to seek and to pursue their own ideals, they'll do it. it happens all the time in criminal organizations. and, indeed, boko haram is a

large criminal organization. >> jj green, thanks for being with us. we appreciate the help. >> reporter: pleasure. >> these sorts of kidnaps are no stranger. >> reporter: the protests are growing to find the young nigerian school girls, teenagers, whose only crime was trying to get an education. at amnesty international offices in washington, d.c. they fear the girls are facing daily violence, including sexual violence. >> i'm very concerned about their safety and i'm concerned about the near 300 girls who have been missing for three weeks with no action to release them. >> reporter: another group, women for women international are on the ground in nigeria and

seven other countries working to empower women. those they help are rattled even though they are not in the area where the girls were taken. >> devastation and frustration, as you can imagine, for all people in nigeria. it is incredibly frustrating to see that this is happening and not being able to move quickly and do something themselves. >> reporter: the kidnapping of so many young women at the same time from the same place has caught the world's attention. >> i really hope that this unfortunate incident and what's happening now will open people's eyes to what people are facing every day, the violence against women and girls that is all too common. >> reporter: they found that 35% of women worldwide have experienced abuse by their partner or sexual violence by someone other than think partner.

they call violence against women a global health problem of epidemic proportions. >> sexual violence has gone hand in hand with conflicts and wars, but in the early 1990's after this systemic rape of tens of thousands of women in bosnia such violence became an official war crime, a crime against humanity. >> we've seen people taken to international courts because of their perpetration of sexual violence in war situations. 40 years ago that would not have been agible. >> reporter: but that's a start. these group say to end sexual violence against women requires cultural changes, education, economic opportunity and raising the status of women. no easy task in many countries. for now the international outcry is focused firmly on the kidnapped school girls and the effort to find them. lisa stark, al jazeera, washington. >> the united states is temporarily closing its embassy

in yemen. it's a precaution after a string of recent attacks in the area. this comes as the yemeni government cracks down on al-qaeda. we have reports from the yemeni capitol. >> reporter: yemens, army commanders, they claim to have captured al-qaeda. the minister of defense seen here known as majo in known al-a strongholds. in the mountains al-qaeda has an extensive network of hideouts. this is also an area where the group enjoys huge support and protection by powerful tribal leaders. the army said it is determined to defeat al-qaeda. >> we're tightening the noose around al-qaeda fighters, but we're not fighting against a regular army.

al-qaeda is using guerrilla war tactics. >> reporter: but it's a delicate mission for the yemeni government. security forces have been weakened by years of divisions, instability and internal armed conflicts. now the military relies heavily on u.s. drone attacks, but in a country like yemen foreign support is wildly seen as an attack on islam. >> if foreign troops are deployed popular support will withdraw significantly. we know the americans don't want peace for yemen. >> reporter: this isn't yemen's first war against al-qaeda. each time the government has claimed victory, but months later al-qaeda and the arabian peninsula, al-qaeda's most active branch in the world, would emerge stronger and more organized. al-qaeda has become a major source of concern not only for

yemeni but also saudi arabia, and the u.s. who is worried that al-qaeda could destabilize the whole region. >> in india polling has now closed. the phase of voting after national elections turn violent. there is nine phases in total, and one booth in kashmir was hit by an explosion. no another event police used tear gas. nearly two hundred parliamentary seats are up for grabs. in syria, activists say 600 wounded fighters were among evacuees as part of the deal brokered by the united nations. rebels released pro-government hostages they had been holding in other cities. syria is said to be holding

president elections next month. vietnam is accusing china of intentionally ramming two of its ships in the southern seas. it's all related to a territorial fight over the water way which china has an oil rig. six people on board the vietnamese ships were injured. this comes weeks after president obama warned china to respect the sovereignty of the region or face possibly sanctions. china has not responded to today's allegations. in thailand the country's prime minister has been removed from office. the country's constitutional court said that prime minister shinawatra abused her power. bangkok could face the loss of billion dollars of dollars in touristourism. >> she was the youngest prime minister and first woman to hold the office, a successful business woman from a powerful

dynasty. her leadership has been crippled by civil conflict and a pack of campaign protests to topple her. dithailandher brother now livese accused of corruption. the family's political power base is among the rural poor, the so-called red shirt movement, they see the elites including the courts, as prejudiced against them. street clashes became more violent. more than 20 people were killed. she called for fresh elections to shore up her legitimacy, but they were annulled and rescheduled for this july. her removal from office will create a dangerous political vacuum, which is likely to see more protests on the streets,

and will do little to end thailand's ongoing political turmoil. al jazeera, bangkok. >> back in the united states a texas inmate wants his execution delayed. maria in es "p" ferre has more on that. >> reporter: lawyers for a death row inmate in texas is trying to delay his execution. attorneys for robert campbell said they don't want a repeat of the botched execution in oklahoma. they want the source of the drugs used on tuesday. in rhode island, an update on the injured acrobats who fell during a circus stunt this week. two of the eight performers have spinal cord injuries. doctors don't know whether they'll ever be able to walk again. some of the women will need physical therapy for months. one of the performers says she wants to get back in the circus ring. the performers fell about

20 feet when a piece of equipment failed during a human chandelier act. the feds are cracking down on synthetic drug makers. they have served search and arrest warrants in 25 states including homes, warehouses and smoke shops. the drug enforcement argues administration are going after manufacturers of synthetic dru drugs. on the heels of a controversial law that goes into effect july 1st in mississippi. robert ray reports. >> reporter: joslyn and karla are happily married and living in jackson, mississippi. >> federally i'm married. state-wise i'm single. >> reporter: they have two biological daughters, and while the women got married in maine, mississippi doesn't recognize them as a couple.

>> i've been told i'm going to hell. i've been told all kinds of things. >> reporter: they're worried they'll have even fewer rights after july 1st when the mississippi religious freedom restoration act goes into effect. the law protects residents from any mississippi laws that might violate their right to practice their faith. critics say it opens the door of discriminating against gays. >> i think we're being governed by people who don't represent us any more. >> reporter: we reached out to numerous lawmakers who support the new law. no one responded to our request on camera. but we did manage to get ahold of one by phone. state representative andy gibson who helped to push the bill forward. >> in order to tell the story fairly we need to get lawmakers who voted on camera to talk about this. it's hard to tell-- >> yes, you got a job, but we're not in session. we won't be until the end of

january. >> can i ask you one more question? are you--are your views anti-gay and lesbian? what's your take? >> i'm not sure what you're asking. >> are you anti-gay and lesbian? [ chuckling ] >> um, how do we--i don't know where that question is coming from. i don't know how to answer that question except to say i don't believe in that lifestyle. >> mississippi lawmakers are also facing opposition to the law from some business owners. miles an houmitchell moore, a st christian has a support campaign saying if you're buying we are selling. >> straight, gay, christian, atheist, whatever, they're all business owners and they're

saying, we're supporting you as well. >> reporter: major joslyn and karla, the fight has only begun. >> i think mississippi, i think we're starting to stand up a lot more than we ever have, liberal, progressive people, african-americans, poor people, lgbt people, everyone. >> reporter: several couples are planning on suing the state of mississippi because of this law. in the words of joslyn, if equality can happen here, and, s a good thing across new york. >> imagine receiving a drone from the government in the mail. that's exactly what happened to one new yorker. he posted images of parts of the drone he received in the mill mail this week. the delivery was a mistake. it was intended for a nooa scientist. scientists used put uma drone to

spy on nature, and that drone cost $350,000. >> i have to say that i'm envious this past couple of weeks amid-from all the babies supplies we got from ups was a 25-pound bag of dog food. we don't have a dog. if we had gotten a drone, that would have been more useful. >> reporter: yes, doin dog food, drone. >> the education in america, scores show that children are not getting the math skills they need. the numbers and what they mean coming up. across the border >> it was heart wrenching... >> now see how it changed the lives of the people involved. >> i didn't go back to the person that i was before i left... >> an emotional borderland reunion >> this trip was personal to me... this is real... >> long held beliefs >>...illegal in mexico too.. >> learn the language! come here... >>...most ridiculous thing i've heard in my life >> tested by hard lived truths... >> these migrants are being

exploited >> beyond borderland... only on al jazeera america

>> president obama traveled to arkansas to get a first-hand look at the devastation caused by last month's deadly trends. after touring the damage the president said the things he saw

made a big impact on him. >> the federal government will be right here until we get these communities rebuilt. because when something like this happens to a wonderful community like this one, it happens to all of us. we've got to be there for them. >> just west of little rock the president met with victims, local officials and emergency personnel. 15 people died there when tornadoes ripped through area. another tornado leveled a different part of the town three years ago. ago. there is some troubling new news today about our nation's classrooms. only about a quarter of high school seniors are scoring in math. but they are doing better at reading. >> the good news is that the high school graduation rate is at its highest level yet.

the bad news, most seniors don't have the math and reading skills that they need for college and work. testing 90,000 public and private high school seniors last year in math. only 26% of them scored with what they call a proficient level which is the same as grade level. that's a little higher than 2005 when this test was first used, but it's at the same as the last round in 2009. the students are a little stronger in reading, 38% were at least proficient. that's the same seniors did back in 2009. 13 states reported their scores on a state level, and in both math and reading. this is how they did, arkansas, tennessee and west virginia saw their scores the worse. massachusetts and connecticut ranked best in both. we thought we would give you an example of the questions that stumped the kids the most. 60% of them got this one wrong. what is 16 to the one-half power cubed. >> dear lord, that's algae bra,

right? i'm going to say 512. >> well, that's a good guess, and i don't mean to put any pressure on you, but morgan got this right at 4:00. >> what did she say? >> she said 64. yeah, i'm not good at math. >> did she chart it out or did she cheat. >> michael claims she googled it. maybe she did it in her head. i never would have gotten that right. >> how did we get that? >> the square root of four and then cube it, 64. >> thank you. nintendo said it will not cave to pressure to include gay characters in its new game. the outrage of social media is next. coming up at 7:00 p.m. eastern, "real money with ali velshi." >> coming up on "real money" my look at middle class with one woman and man's budget balancing act and the toll its taking on

their relationship. andalland alibaba may have a loo with your future. that's next on "real money."

>> on the next talk to al jazeera lawyer david boies gives surprising insight intos his most historic case bush vs. gore and tells of his relentless fight for civil rights >> this is the defining issue today... >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america

>> the defensive end made headlines when he announced he was gay. he said he hopes the decision will inspire other young athletes. >> i just feel like because i came out and i was the first one to do it, i think i could be a beacon for others young athletes who may be gay or maybe not, i think i can be a beacon for those people. >> he was the scc defensive player of the year and was offered the arthur ashe courage award. fans are reacting urging

nintendo to include ga them. >> reporter: the characters are called miis, the little avatars. they used the hashtag mii quality. asking the company to include same sex characters. >> i want to be able to marry my relive mii, but i can't do that. this situation would not be as big of a deal if it weren't for the fact that relationships and marriage are a huge part of the game. the relationships and interaction coupled with their relationship to their life makes this game so appealing. >> reporter: nintendo said that it was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game and the company is not trying to provide social commentary, but people are sounding off about their recent announcement. one writes it is social

commentary not to include gay characters. jesse rights, how about if you don't advertise the game for everyone if it's just for straight people. just a suggestion. amy writes, nintendo, the company that we grew up with has not grown up with us. there are some people who agree with this decision. now i spoke to the person who started the inequality campaign. he said he's not going to boycott it. he said that the more that it sells the more that they'll get one to lgbt users. >> thanks. filming has just wrapped on the first hollywood movie shot in cuba since the revelation. "papa" is about earnest hemmingway. the movie is the first movie made in cuba.

"papa" is considered a documentary because it depicts real-life events which allowed it's producers to get an embargo exemption. that's it for al jazeera america, i'm david shuster. "real money with ali velshi" is next. >> look out am dan and ebay, alibabi is coming for pup i'll tell but a company that most americans have never heard of could one day dominate e commerce across the globe. also middle class families who live in fear. you'll meet a hard-working husband and wife who struggle to keep their head above water, and i'll help them find solutions. dump your electric company and buy a batte