deliveries in new york and los angeles. more needs to be done to bring in revenue and cut costs but to do that successfully cropping hasuccessfully, congresshas got. that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi. have a great weekend. good evening, everyone, this is al jazeera, america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. chaos in your next question. and russia's president takes a victory lap in crimea. the search a u.s. team now looking for hundreds of kidnapped nigeria girls. gun fights in an al-qaeda strong hold.

and dodging dangerous debris out in space. ♪ >> and movie music. a weekend revival of one of hollywood's most recognizable riffs. ♪ a day of defiance in ukraine, vladimir putin made a dramatic appearance in the newly annexed region of crimea. he was there for eventing celebrating the end of world war ii. at the same time ukraine saw some of the most intense fighting so far between pro-russian rebels and progovernment forces. it happened in donetsk where people are about to vote on their independence. >> reporter: the fire burned well into the afternoon. the police building near the

center of the city had clearly been hit by heavy caliber weapons. on the ground. traces of blood. and bodies. at least two still there, this one a policeman. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: this is amateur video that we collected at the scene. what happened here is extremely unclear. a ferocious fire fight no doubt. but nobody seems to know who was shooting at who or why. according to official reports from the governments units of ukraine's national guard moved in after 60 people armed with automatic weapons tried to seize the police building. they apparently fought with police inside the building. eyewitness accounts are a little different. this man said he was afraid of reprisal and didn't want to be identified. >> translator: there were police

in our building. they refused to follow ordered, and that's why the national guard attacked. >> reporter: witnesses said as the national guard retreated they were followed by an angry crowd, so they starting shooting into the crowd. a broken down armored vehicle was seen being toe -- towed away by citizens. ukrainian police and soldiers kept close watch outside the city. >> jennifer glasse joining us now. >> john the pro-russian separatists say they are going ahead with the referendum on sunday to declare themselves

independent. on sunday this school in the eastern yushg city of donetsk will become a polling station. >> translator: we think that everything is ready. we don't have the ballot boxes in place yet, but today and tomorrow we have meetings to prepare. >> reporter: the cities of slaviansk and [ inaudible ] will hold a vote too. russian president vladimir putin called on the vote to be delayed but the separatists are going ahead anyone. ukrainian officials are concerned the poll will be used to lay the future ground work with russia. a repeat of the vote in march when the poll was followed by the declaration of independence. first there are logistics, printing all of the ballots and finding polling places.

it's not even clear who clear who controls the voters lists. >> translator: it's only be used as propaganda by russia. >> reporter: ukrainian security services released this video. they said they are not ready for the vote. the man in moscow telling him to make up the votes. >> the usc will certainly not recognize a referendum of this kind. obviously if it goes ahead it will create facts on the ground that we'll have to deal with. personally i don't think it's a good idea in this moment. >> reporter: the separatedists don't control the entire territory just many government buildings, and it's unclear how

widespread the vote can be. and we're not sure what the outcome the people there are hoping for whether they will try to declare independence or use it as an excuse to get closer to moscow. >> so we have sunday's vote in donetsk. how is that going to effect ukraine's upcoming presidential election? >> that is the real concern. the aim is to get a government in to kiev that can be recognized by the rest of the world. moscow has repeatedly refused to recognize the interim government. they are hoping the election will bring legitimacy to the government in ukraine. >> jennifer thank you. almost two months ago people in the region of crimea voted to leave ukraine and become part of

russia. today vladimir putin came to crimea to commemorate the end of world war ii. >> reporter: sailing past russian warships president vladimir putin arrived, and as expected he alluded to russia's annexation of crimea just two months ago. >> translator: i'm sure that 2014 will go down into the annals of our whole country when the nations living here firmly decided to become part of russia. >> reporter: he also received a helicopter and jet parade. and earlier in the day a march watched by 10s of thousands of people. victory day is a big deal across russia, but here they are also celebrating 70 years since the

soviet army liberated from the nazis. many spectators drew parallels by the push by some to break away as well. >> translator: now i understand what they felt during their victory day and when peace returns to ukraine, we'll celebrate their victory day. >> reporter: this man served in world war ii. he is proud people remember the era, but he is thinking about more recent represents here. >> translator: crimea became russian without the use of any force. there have been stories about people with arms. it's all nonsense. >> reporter: for russians victory day is a chance to commemorate the defeat of fascism. many people believe a similar struggle is underway in ukraine. and the appearance of their president made this occasion especially important. matthew schmidt is a

professor of national security at new haven and joins us tonight villa skype. he has been appointed as a monitor to oversee the up coming elections in ukraine. welcome. >> thank you. >> what is your reaction to vladimir putin's dramatic appearance in crimea? >> it was a victory lap. it was great optics for him back home. it puffed him up to the public in russia, and a finger to the government in kiev. >> you have been selected as an election monitor. what are the biggest challenges of this upcoming vote? >> well, i think the challenge is going to be to have the vote come off in the east and the south of ukraine with the same level of rigor that is going to come off in the west of ukraine. i think it will be very difficult for the provisional government to do right now.

given the situation in cities like slaviansk. >> well, how do you do it? how do you pull off a safe vote in ukraine now? >> i'm not sure. i think you just try to do your best. >> okay. vladimir putin said that he backs the upcoming elections as a step in the right direction. do you really believe he's going to respect the results of the election? >> i'm not sure. if you watch putin closely what he does in every case is leaves his options open. so for instance, in calling for a delay in this referendum in the donetsk people's republic. he has bought the option to either accept or reject on his timetable. i think he'll wait and see what the situation looks like and decide if the candidate who wins is someone he can work with, or if he thinks he can get more by calling a legitimate election.

>> you have seen this violence in eastern ukraine. tell us how you would categorize it. i believe you told your producers it's the essence of modern war fair. >> yeah, the russians have a word for it, which means something like masked war fair. you have [ inaudible ] special forces and russian intelligence agents and you have locals who are exmilitary, and exspecial forces and military contacts all working in concert with a certain portion of the population that is in fact a willing participate -- presidentant. if you remember they waited and delayed and tried everything they could not to do that, and now they have to. and as we can see in places like

odessa or slaviansk, the results haven't been very good for them. >> clearly the fighting goes on and the conflict continues. matthew thank you very much. >> absolutely. a major development in the south sudan conflict. the president has signed a ceasefire with the rebel leader. the ceasefire should take effect within 24 hours. both parties agree that a transitional government offers the best chance for the country to move forward. the un has accused both sides of crimes against humanity. 5 million people are in need of aid, and we're going to have much more on what the ceasefire means and what happens next in south sudan coming up at the bottom of the hour. the nigerian military was warned in advance of a boko haram attack that resulted in the mass kidnapping of schoolgirls.

two politicians have told al jazeera security force were given at least a two-hour warning but did not act. >> reporter: could this have been avoided? sources have told al jazeera, and amnesty international that nigeria's government ignored warning that left boek ka haram free to kidnap over 200 girls. >> they were outgunned and the number of boko haram fighters who attacked the town, and they had to flee for their lives together with some villagers. and that's a shocking revelation. we have been repeatedly calling on the nigeriian authorities to provide adequate security, especially for schools, because the schools have become vulnerable targets in the last

couple of years. >> reporter: the government's response has lead to protests across the country. specialists from the u.s. and uk are now in nigeria to help with the search. the nigeriian government says it will investigate claims the military ignored warnings of an attack. if the claims are substantiated it will likely deepen pup lick outrage. retired army major mike lyons joining us from new york. what is your reaction that the police had two-hour warning that this might have taken place? >> it's really no surprise. the nigeriian military is not very professional. they got up against a force that they felt they couldn't do anything with, and basically

decided to save their own lives. it's a the act of a third-world country and the kind of military they have. >> secretary of state john kerry took to social media today to talk about nigeria. someone asked about the u.s.'s efforts to help nigeria's search and kerry tweeted this . . . what is he talking about sophisticated counter terrorism efforts? >> this is a good example of the u.s.'s use of soft power. learning what we did in iraq and afghanistan. the first mission the military will do there is try to take down this boko haram network. get its arms around it, and blanket the area with regards to communications. and the second thing will be an accessment of the situation, see what kind of military assets we'll see. for example, drones.

drones would be a tremendous resource to the nigeriian government. they could survey the land and report back. >> what about spy satellites? >> they are not fast enough? they won't give you that real time information. we have this capable to get in there real time, and fly 24-7. in the old days we might do that with pilots. >> what about the -- is there a national conflict between, you know, who is running the operation? obviously it's in nigeria, if the united states comes in, what is the relationship there between the u.s. and the nigeriian military? >> i think the u.s. has to be very careful not to get on in any way that suggest that there are boots on the ground. this is probably a face-saving operation for the president and government there. we cannot get involved with

anything, because if we get a conflict down there, i think it could lead to really bad consequences >> what sort of capabilities do they have? >> not much. it's not any level of professional military was lost long ago in a civil war, and now you see the situation you have, where they basically retreat in a situation where they failed to protect their own citizens. they don't have a lot of capabilities, we have to give this soft power to them and hopefully they will use it. >> thank you very much. >> yes. coming up next the president goes shopping for support for his energy program. and italy's former prime minister begins community service. what will he be doing?

before today no american president had ever been inside a wal-mart. president obama is the first. he visited a california store today to push solar energy. he is using executive action bypassing congress to try to lower energy costs and create at least 60,000 new jobs. we get more from mike viqueira.

>> it's a another example of president obama going around congress to enact his agenda. the president announcing moves to promote solar energy. among them, $2 billion to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings. support for training programs at community colleges around the country. and new standards for electric motors. he is also encouraging the use of solar power in public housing where the federal government has a stake, and touting the increased use of solar in major american businesses like wal-mart. he spoke at a wal-mart where he hit republicans one more time. >> unfortunately inside of washington we have still got some climate deniers who shout

loud, but they are wasting everybody's time on seat l -- a settled debate. >> but he received some backlash, they say the low wages at wal-mart fly in the face of another one of his agendas. the white house promised back in august that they were going to put solar panels on the roof here of the white house. they produced a video to announce that those solar panels are now online. the 2000 presidential election between george w. bush andal -- al gore eventually ended up at the supreme court. i asked david boys what he thought was at stake. >> the leader of the free world was at stake. and that was a pretty important

decision and maybe more important than we realized at the time. i think in addition what was at stake was the way our democracy works, whether you are going to have judicial intervention to stop a vote count. remember what happened here was that under florida law, people are entitled to a recount in a close election, and what happened here is the supreme court 5 to 4 stopped that recount. and they stopped the recount even before they had an argument. but they stopped the recount even before they had argument on the case, and one of the things that the majority judges said was we want to stop the recount because if the recount shows that vice president gore is the winner, then that will undermine

the legitimacy of george bush's presidency. which obviously was true, but some would argue that also undermined the legitimacy of the electoral process. >> join us for my conversation with david saturday 5:00 eastern time, 2:00 pacific. times are still tough for many working class americans. wages are stagnant especially for the youngest workers. >> reporter: brian has had no luck looking for a job. >> i have been looking very hard to find a job and i have put in so many applications at this point, and gotten virtually no responses. >> reporter: he now lives with his mother.

>> i felt bad for him, you know. i have always raised him to be very independent. and it's hard to do that if you can't support yourself. >> my mom has been wonderful. without her support, i mean -- i might -- dare i say i may be homeless at this point. because my mom has been so supportive. she has allowed me to stay here virtually rent free. >> reporter: he wonders and worries about the future. he has heard the prediction that millennials will be the first generation in u.s. history to do worse than their parents. while parts of the country have started to recover from the financial crisis, the sacramento area is not one of them, and continues to struggle with an unemployment rate higher than the national average. it floats between 8 to 9% here

and for millennials, those between the ages of 18 and 31, it's even worse. almost 20% of them have no jobs in the sacramento region. and almost 40% now live with their parents. the damage with be permanent. >> for example, young people who enter the labor market during the recession have lower wages and higher unemployment rates. >> reporter: for the past two decades the labor markets here have trended apart from cities like san francisco, and the recession has made this difference more dramatic and more poignant. >> but the upside is that young people tend to be a mobile bunch, and they can easily relocate to a better labor market. so my suggestion is if you are a young person in a city like sacramento, look around. consider moving to san francisco, the jobs here are

plentiful, and your career will benefit in the long run. >> reporter: that's exactly what he decided to do. apply for jobs in san francisco. and that's when we got the call, finally for a job interview in customer service, proving at least for him that there is better luck in the bay area. coming up next, migrants seeking asylum italy they say their living conditions are worse in rome than the countries they fled. and tonight a ceasefire is announced in south sudan, but can the ceasefire hold?

♪ this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. and we have a lot to get to this half hour.

ceasefire in south sudan, the break through announced by that country's president and the rebel commander. a look at whether the long bloody conflict could really be over. trash in space, hundreds of thousands of man made objects orbiting the earth now nasa has a plan to do something about it. ♪ >> and the magic of fantasia, a special performance brings back one of the instruments used in the original disney recording. all of those stories are coming up. but fist the top stories. >> russia's president, vladimir putin visited crimea today tens of thousands of people came out for putin's speech and other festivities commemorating russia's defeat of the nazis at the end of world war ii. thu state department called the visit provocative and unnecessary. another ukrainian region is looking to follow crimea's lead.

on sunday they plan to vote for independence from ukraine. today there was violence in the port city between pro-russia profesters and ukrainian forces. it's unclear how many people were killed. in nigeria new evidence that the military was warned of boko haram's plan to kidnap hundreds of girls but did nothing to stop it. people protested across the country today, angry with the nigeriian government's response. and a team of british experts, security experts there now going to be helping teams from america to try to find these girls again. >> thank you very much richelle. the break through tonight in the violent conflict in south sudan. the country's president as

agreed to a ceasefire with the rebel leader. the violence has killed thousands, and more than a million people have fled their homes. yesterday the united nations issued a report accusing both sides of committing crimes against humanity. the ceasefire is set to take effect within 24 hours. mark blanchard -- lauren is in washington, d.c. tonight. welcome. >> thank you very much. >> how important was this meeting today? >> it's very important as you pointed out it's the first time they have met since the fighting broke out in mid-december. and it may be the key meeting that we have been looking for. it is something that secretary kerry was pushing for. i think the devil will be in the

details. of course as you pointed out, the ceasefire takes effect in about 24 hours, and then they are going to work out the details of a more permanent ceasefire. there are some regional monitors still on the ground, but they have to deploy more of them and make sure this ceasefire holds. to put it into perspective there was a cessation of hostilities that was signed back in january -- >> why didn't that work? >> it was almost immediately violated. and these two sides have been fighting basically over a number of strategic towns. state capitols, two of which are in two oil-producing states in the country. and in the course of that fighting, major atrocities have been committed on both sides. >> is there any sign that this ceasefire is different? >> well, it was signed by the two leaders, so it certainly holds them to account. whereas before it was just teams

sent to ethiopia by both sides. but it's not entirely clear they are entirely control their forces. the fighting has split the military, literally in half. a number of solders have deserted on both sides. and both sides have had to resort to using militias that may or may not be under the control of these two leaders. >> what do we hope will be different with the transitional government? >> that's what everybody is asking. the leaders were in a government together before this all started. that government split up back in july of last year when the president fired the vice president along and with a number of other ministers in the cabinet and really created a rift within the ruling party. we're probably going to see a number of those individuals potentially come back into the

government it's not clear whether the president and former vice president will sort of keep those roles, but the composition of the new government we have yet to see. we have yet to see what will happen with the two individuals, and whether or not the two leaders may try to include them in any sort of post agreement government. >> we do these stories and talk about violence that has killed thousands, talk about a conflict that has caused millions of people to flee their homes. but can you give us a little more perspective, incite into how much violence, and the sort of violence? >> journalists have not had a lot of visibility into the fighting. it has been very unsafe. you had more than 75,000 people that fled to un peace keeping

bases. bases that weren't set up to house displaced people. and the un has really struggled to make sure they can protect those people. and so i think those people are really wondering who is going to protect us in the context of what is to come with a possible transitional government. we don't even know how many people have been killed in this conflict so far. there are estimates of 10,000, but that's really just a guesstimate. >> thank you, lauren. >> thanks so much. in south africa the final ballots for the country's general election has been tall lived. the ruling party clenched more than 60% of the total votes. the vote guarantee the president a second five-year term. the ruling party has won every post apartheid election. . in yemen suspected al-qaeda gunmen launched an on the

presidential palace. the white house considers yemen a crucial battleground. >> reporter: gunmen opened fire near the presidential palace, then the attack, the intelligence headquarters. four soldiers and three gunmen were killed. they same they intercepted a car full of explosives. they deplayed many policemen and stoerlsd control the situation. there are concerns that al-qaeda might take the battle to the heart of the capitol. today the minister of defense was on his way to tour areas that the army recently captured and his convoy came under attack. this is a clear indicator that al-qaeda, although they have

lost some significant areas, but they still have the know how, the intelligence, and the manpower to launch spectacular attacks against the u2 forces. now al-qaeda gunmen operating in yemen are considered the group's most active unit. many refugees trying to escape syria are making their way to europe. >> reporter: this man and his family fled the war in syria over a year ago. he came to live and work in tripoli. but he says it is unsafe. >> translator: i'll keep trying to reach europe whatever it

costs. even fit means my children and i die. i pray that we live in dignity, or die together. i'm not going back to triply, i have had enough. >> translator: we are putting our blood in our hands here and in syria. let us die and god will have mercy on us. >> reporter: they are not alone. about 140 syrians were caught last week while waiting for the smuggler's boat. they refuse to talk, hiding their faces because they fear for their families in syria. they fled the fighting in their country. some paid smugglers $1,000 hoping to get asylum in europe. most of them know they can drown on their journey. this man said he will take his little girl and pregnant wife with him. these illegal immigrants are now being released. they have been kept here for

four days, now they are released of signing a piece of paper that guarantees they will not attempt to cross to europe again. this is the town of choice for smugglers. it's the nearest point to italy. the crossing to lampedusa takes less than ten hours, depending on the hour. >> translator: we don't have official numbers but between 600 to 700 illegal immigrants a day reach italy. this is causing a problem for us, because it could impact our security. the government and the eu need to do more to stop it. >> reporter: as these syrians are set free, some of them are probably planning their next attempt to reach europe and start a new life. last year, more than 40,000 migrants from north africa landed on it taitalian shores, t

many of those migrants say they feel lost. nick schifrin reports. >> reporter: look at this street. look again. now consider this is rome. in one of the world's great cities, and one of the wealthiest countries, asylum seekers lives here are worse than when they fled. everyone here is from aare treeia, they left behind terrible violence looking for a better life. >> we don't have any real place to either sleep. this is not a life. it is bad. >> reporter: his room is about 160 square feet. he shares it with four people. he has lived here for almost five years ever since a harrowing 72-hour boat ride across the mediterranean. >> every night at 2:00 we go [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: the island of lampedusa has always been

migrants most appealing target. it's the closest entry way to europe. only 70 miles from the african coast. but last october, a boat like this one, full of people dreaming of a european future capsized. nearly 400 died. pope francis made migrant deaths a rallying crowd. he urged the world to see the immigrant as our neighbor. >> translator: i needed to come here to pray, to carry out a gesture of closeness. >> reporter: today the coast guard is intercepting more boats, and fewer are dying. survivors are offered asylum, but many are refusing so they can try to move on to a country they consider more welcoming. >> reporter: how long will you stay? >> anywhere but other countries. >> reporter: he accepted asylum, he said that was just the beginning of his problems. >> they are not integrated in

the society, that's why we can't get a job, we can't communicate, and can't survive. >> reporter: instead of the slum, he and about 450 migrants occupy this building. it used to be a government office, but then it was abandoned until these families moved in to every single room. he tried to flee. but under european law, because he landed in italy, every country he asked for asylum, rejected him, and threw him in jail. >> reporter: how many jails in europe have you had to go to? he works a few hours a week as a gardner, unable to achieve his dream.

and so they are stuck. they can't change their lives here, but they are not allowed to leave. nick schifrin, al jazeera, rome. al jazeera america has been taking a closer look at the immigration issue in the united states. in our series borderland six americans retraced the steps of migrants who died trying to get to the us. borderland airs on sunday night, 9:00 eastern time, 6:00 pacific. in thailand thousands of protesters marched their way to the capitol today trying to force their way into a government come pound. police used tear gas on the protesters, and some were injured. earlier this week a court ordered the prime minister to leave office after convicting her of abuse of power. it's time to head to washington, d.c., joie chen standing by to tell us what is coming up on

"america tonight." >> coming up on "america tonight," checking in on who is checking out of a hollywood hot spot and an icon. the beverly hills hotel. outraged by the rule of the hotel's owner. we're going to go behind the scenes tonight to tell the story about where the protest really started and the less than celeb back story. we'll hear more about this hollywood blockbuster at the top of the hour on "america tonight." italy's former prime minister has begun serving his sentence for tax fraud. he has been ordered to a year of community service. he was given a four year sentence, but three years were cut because of italy's amnesty law. he will work at the hospice once

a week. coming up space debris, nasa has a plan to avoid a real life nightmare. plus -- ♪ >> the well-known sounds of fan stay -- fantasia.

good evening, i'm meteorologist kevin corriveau, last night we brought you images of flooding across parts of

dallas, as well as tornados in minnesota. tonight the severe weather threat as lessened, but we're still doing with quite a bit of activity. i want to show you this really large band of rain showers we're dealing with. one of the biggest threats this evening is going to be the amount of rain we get especially here along the gulf coast. in pensacola, we saw 20 inches of rain. we're not going to be seeing that in this area tonight. we are going to be seeing anywhere between 3 to 5 inches of rain. the areas in green are flooder warnings and watches. we're watching what is happening in texas. thunderstorms are popping up just to the south of dallas. down here towards san antonio and parts of houston that has been a major problem. we'll be seeing severe weather

continue for the next couple of hours.

>> it's stuck. >> man down! man down! ♪ >> this is a scene from "gravity" a wild one, exactly what members of congress are trying to avoid. lawmakers heard testimony from a panel of space experts about the very real problem of debris in space. and for more on the mission to clean up space and keep satellites and shuttles safe here is jake ward. >> folks, i'm here to tell you that space is a mess. right now there are 70 entities, spy agencies, companies, whatever, operating more than 1100 satellites around the earth. the department of defense is the air traffic controller of the satellite industry. and that's a really tough gig.

two satellites smacked into each other, creating at least 2,000 pieces of debris. the dod had to track all of that and warn others. right now there are perhaps 23,000 pieces of debris like that. any of them could destroy a satellite. plus there are an estimated 500,000 more pieces of space debris that are smaller than 4 inches, but we're just guessing about that. what we have arrived at is called the kesler effect, it's the moment when the density of objects in space are so great that any one collision could set off a cascade of collisions. so this meeting is designed to start thinking about spreading out the responsibility of tracking all of this stuff, and

looking into clean up technologies, things like the laser broom that would use optic bursts to knock satellites out of their orbit so they would fall into the atmosphere and burn up. right now there is a satellite up there that is a big dead coffin. estimated to float around up there for as long as 150 years. it's just going to be there. and increasingly what we think of as space is becoming very crowded and pretty soon we're going to need to figure out how to manage it and clean it up. dozens of countries require labels on genetically modified foods, the u.s. is not one of them, but one state is taking tlaed on this issue. >> reporter: with this signature. >> it's a law. >> governor peter [ inaudible ] made vermont the first state in the nation to require labels on

genetically modified foods. >> we are proinformation. vermont gets it right with this bill. >> reporter: grocery manufacturers association estimates that 70 to 80% of the foods that we eat in the u.s. contain genetically modified ingredients. >> as we have said from the start, if we're going to label and go down that path, we would have much preferred to continue with a national uniform system. >> reporter: but there is no national system, so some states have taken it upon themselves to pass their own laws. attempts in california and washington state have failed but they succeeded in maine and connecticut. but those laws won't take effect until a certain number of other nearby states also adopt the bill. 64 other countries require

labeling. the world health organization hasn't said whether genetically modified foods are safe. they say they need to be assessed on a case by case basis. opponents say gmo's may harm the environment and the people who eat them. both supporters and critics of gmo's expect vermont to be sued over its knew law. >> that's roxana saberi reporting. now a tribute to the film fantasia. the colorado symphony is playing music from the film along with the movie, and there's special something about the performance. and paul beban explains. ♪ >> reporter: it's a an iconic moment of movic magic, mickey mouse brings a broom to life and

puts it to work. ♪ >> reporter: bouncing along on the most famous base clarinet riff ever played. ♪ >> reporter: when colorado symphony's clarinetest andy steves hits that note, he's making music on a piece of history. >> it was manufactured in 1935, purchased by leon lester who started playing with the philadelphia orchestra in 1936. this is a very special horn. >> reporter: leon lester played this base clarinet on the original fantasia sound track in 1940. in 1972 a man named don ambler would become the second owner. >> leon wanted to sell but

wanted a audition process. leon was so impressed with how careful he was, and he won the audition. >> reporter: he was later become his teacher. he was a man devoted to his craft and his hundreds of students. when he passed away stephens and others fathered to remember their beloved mentor. >> i had no idea at this gathering that the last event was don's base was being presented to me, and i was absolutely floored, and it was quite an emotional moment for me. it's almost as if this instrument has a spirit. it's like -- there's an entity in here, and you just need to bring it out. >> and you mentioned that you think about don really every time you play it. >> every time. all of my other teachers that

have passed away, and i believe we honor them by doing what they loved to do. >> reporter: don died a year ago friday, but his legacy lives on through his student, his instrument, and the music they make for all of us. ♪ >> paul beban, al jazeera, denver. coming up all new tonight on our newscast 11:00 eastern time. how inkjet printers are effecting counterfeit money. and what you don't know about boko haram. we'll have our special report. 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific time. our freeze frame today comes out of russia. a victory day march through the streets of st. petersburg. tens of thousands of people carrying portraits of their relatives that fought inward

two. the headlines are coming up next.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey.

here are tonight's top stories. russia's president visited crimea today, the state department called the visit provacative and unnecessary. tens of thousands of people came out for putin's speech, parades and an air show. they were commemorating russia's defeat of the nazis at the end of world war ii. it has been nearly two months since crimea left ukraine and planned to join russia. today there was violence in an eastern city between pro-russian and progovernment protesters. and british and american teams joined in the search to find nigeriian kidnapped girls. suspected al-qaeda gunmen opened

fire in yemen today striking a car carrying the nation's defense minister. those are the headlines. i'm richelle carey. "america tonight" is up next with joie chen. and check out our website, aljazeera.com. attacks,. >> o"america tonight," under the gun. being be balbuquerque citizens e into their own hands. hollywood's big easy celebritiessleb --biggest celeb. what is behind this loild