good morning to you and wilk to al jazeera america live from new york city. i am morgan radford. here are today's top stories. it's voting day as people in eastern ukraine decide whether they should become independent, and the search continues for the missing nigerian school girls, but now, military experts are worried about what else boko haram might have done. a tornado rips through missouri destroying a small community.

three it will,000 polling stations. separatists are holding a refer endsum vote on self rule in the regions of donetsk and luhansk. the west is calling it i will legitimate. ukraine said it could result in the self disstruction of those votes. they have a population of 6 and a half million people but residents living in areas under separate test rule are the ones voting today. meanwhile, ukraine's acts president says today's referendum is a step into the abyss. the country's parliament stipulates only the president actually has the right to determine whether or not to hold a referendum. we many western countries have denounced it. putin called on a referendum. >> here in, in the eastern area of central donetsk has seen brisk business all morning.

you can see the registrars behind me. people queui, ng up, registering and signing for their ballot paper they then take and pus in this prospects box in the middle of the room. i haven't seen a single "no" vote yet. those pieces of paper have a tick in the box that says da, that is "yes." that is do they want self-rule for this region? now, although the international community insists this ballot is illegal, the acting president in kyiv, said this votes means the people are stepping into the abyss. it is not so easy to dismiss the sentiment we have been hearing. people want peace, stability. they want a new relationship with the governments in kyiv. they are not happy with that. web dismiss the gun men and the people, the sentiment being expressed here is genuine and heart-felt. i don't think it can be ignored. >> .20 people real dead after an attack in northern iraq and it happened on a military barracks

outside of the city of asul. police say some of the killings happened execution-style and the troops were in charge of a pipeline. government troops have retaken the city of homo. syrian news agency say most of the rebel troops have left the area and hundreds of residents are returning to their homes as the syrian army regains control. the withdrawal is all part of a deal between the government and the opposition, which also allows the rebels a safe exit. more than 150,000 people have been killed since the start of the syrian crisis in early 2011. a nigerian military expert said grandfather before may haveplationed lapped mines where teams are searching for 276 school girls who are missing. the search for the girls who were kidnapped almost a month ago has focused on the nearby forest forest. >> that's a known boko haram hideout.

earlier today i spoke to our correspondent about the ongoing rescue operation >> reporter: the nigerian military had been all along tight-lipped about the nature of the rescue and search operation saying they are not going to be providing running commentary on an ongoing security operation. what we do know, though, is that they have sent soldiers from at least two army divisions spreading across the area. it is very vast area. i have travel to northeastern nigeria, myself. it's very bushy, very remote. it is not by any chance an easy terrain in terms of asearch and rescue operation. these fighters are from that area. they know that bush inside/out. now, the number of girls is quite a large number. there have been reports that they broke them up into small groups and perhaps had taken some across the border into kameroon and niger but go"goodlk john that" says it is the fi

firegerian air force and the border control room who have heightened up patrols a difficult search and rescue operation. we have seen, of course, the involvement of these international law enforcement experts from the united states and the u.k. >> the 300 girls who were initially kidnapped, nigerian officials say about 50 of them esc aid. now, two of those girls are speaking out. kayla mcgee has their story >> reporter: for these mothers in northern nigeria, desperate to get their daughters back, the grief is raw and matched by raising anger. they came together to press the government to find the more than 270 school girls snatched by boko haram nearly a month ago. and to hear some of the girls who managed to escape revisit a harrowing or deal. >> translator: when they came in, they asked us to gather at one point. then they started asking for the location of the engine block. we told them we did not know.

they threatened to kill us if we didn't tell them. >> another girl gave an emotional account of how they decided to run for their lives. when we got to the bush, they asked us to get out of the cards. i told my friend that it's better to be killed than taken to a place we did not know. we got out of the car and started running. >> the families still hoping to see their daughters runner home are calling for more government action. . >> this woman asked the crowd what they want. the chorus answered please help us. we want other children found. the world's largest bloc 50 islamist countries say they disavow it. they have been left to wait for anguish. now, with boko haram threatening to sell the girls into slavery, their desperation cannot be contained. caitlin mcgee, al jazeera.

>> philippine and u.s. forces conducted military exercises today just outside of manilla. it's all part of 10-day exercises promoting the military relationship between the two countries and over 5,000 troops participated testing the combat ness of mayor time tlehreat. it allows for more u.s. troops on philippine basis in response to the sea disputes with china. meanwhile, china has another sea dispute with vietnam. about 200 vietnamese people marched outside the chinese embassy in hanoi protesting an oil rig positioned in an area that's claimed by both countries. tension between the two nations increased last week when vietnam and china both positioned severalships right near the disputed parasaille islands. they say china destroyed eight ships and wounded six people. >> clean-up crews are helping out parts of missouri after a

pair of toranados to have roofs off homes and flipped over cars. residents of one town said the tornado just got larger as it got closer. so far, no injuries are being reported. ebony dion has been tracking those toranados. ebony, are people in missouri in the clear now? >> not at all. in fact, the repeat performance, today it looks like toranados more likely than yesterday. yesterday, we saw up to 11 reports. so we are watching this all kind of unfolding as we go through the day. right now, we are looking at the warmth and it continues to build in advance of a cold front that's going to continue to shift slowly off to the east. we wanted to show you where the jet stream lies because it's right in here where we are going to be watching for the turning of winds with height. we have that southerly flow coming in, winds from the south and then the jet stream, it's kind of lifting up to the north forming that ridge. we have a deep trough across the west. it's right here in this area, shaded in red where we could see rotating thunderstorms developing. super cells and so that, of course, could certainly spawn a

few tornados as we get into the rest of the afternoon and evening, especially once we get those temperatures to really heat up. right now, i am watching a batch of rain that has continued to move through parts of nebraska on into minnesota. right now, no severe thunderstorm warnings or watches in are in effect at this time. we could see storms redeveloping as we go through the day. we did have a severe thunderstorm watch here that has since expired within the last ten minutes or so. on the back side of it, we have the much colder air in place. here across texas and oklahoma, en northward into conditions where skies are clear, you can see that southerly flow, lots of warm, moist air helping these storms through the afternoon. morgan? >> awaiting audiwed

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primetime news. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> stories that impact the world, affect the nation and touch your life. >> i'm back. i'm not going anywhere this time. >> only on al jazeera america. >> al-qaeda linked fighters are executed another attack in yemen where 11 soldiers were killed in mukula. the attack is seen as retaliation for the enemy army's removing the fighters. a surge of violence hit the country in recent days. we are joined live. hashim, what can you tell us about this latest violence? >> reporter: we know so far, the suicide bomber drove a car with explosives into the building of the military police

killing 11 soldiers and injuring 18 people. part of that building was destroyed and search is underway for people buried under the rebel. there has been no claim of responsibility so far. many people think the only group with the capability is to launch such attack is al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula or aqua which is listed by the us as the most active of al-qaeda franchises outside of afghanistan and pakistan. it launched many attacks in that same area in the past, 2002. it launched a spectacular attack against french and it killed western tourists in the area and over the last few months, it launched many, many attacks against security forces in that same area. >> attack came hours after an attack here in the capitol on a military checkpoint near the presidential palace. we are talking basically about an area that is supposed to be secu

secure. not far from there, people are pretty much concerned about al-qaeda taking the fight to the heart of the capitol sanaa. >> yes, ma'am eveni forces say al-qaeda fighters are retreating but how is the government's offensive faring? >> the government says basically they have significant military gains. what we know so far is that the army has regained control of two major al-qaeda strongholds. apart from the that, little is known about the massive military operation, but today, the army issued a statement saying that they are pretty much concerned that al-qaeda operatives might be retreating to neighboring areas. we are talking about areas which are controlled by the tribes and where the army does not have that much control. this is why people are pretty much concerned and this is

exactly what al-qaeda did in the past in yemen. the they retreat, go back to the mountains and vast desert lands, seek assistance from disgruntled tribesmen and launch attacks. they did it in 2008, 2011 and also 2012. >> thank you for being with us today. the 249th pick in the 2014 n.f.l. draft, the st. louis rams select michael sams, defensive end, missouri. >> lots of cheers in the room. history was made at the n.f.l. draft as michael samz became the first openly gay n.f.l. draft pick. al jazeera jessica taft joins us with more on this landmark moment? >> you know, the more i start watching the rams, i see they are more ahead of the curve in anybody else in the diversity column in the n.f.l. because drafting michael sams in the 7th round made the former missouri

tiger the first openly gay player selected in the n.f.l. draft but the rams were also the first franchise to sign an african-american player giving kenny washington a deal in 1946. that was a year before jackie robinson made history with the brooklyn dodgers. they said he was hon -- the coach said he was proud to be part ofhit. it was an emotional one for the defensive end. for michael sam, the weight of the moment was overwhelming. it was the realization of a life-long dream and one he got to share with his boyfriend. when the dust settled, the sec's defensive player reached out to his new n.f.l. family tweeting a picture of himself proudly displaying the team game and thanks to the rams and the whole city of st. louis, he tweeted. i am going to use every ounce of this to achieve greatness. meanwhile, his teams were quick to welcome him with open arms as well. robert quin saying, welcome to the squad@mikesamfootball. >> a former ram, eric dickerson

congratulated the defensivee ends saying welcome to the rams family. other teams, a fell om game of throwner being drafted. >> his brother chris plays for st. louis but not all reaction as you would imagine was positive. miami dolfins stacy don joins was pushed to tweet omg and horrible. >> safe to say jones isn't the only one with that type of reaction. no doubt, that will get more scrutiny for freedom of speech from any team like the dolf ingraham's organization which has had so much scandal around it when they had the bullying issue. so essentially, that was the only one we saw publically. there is a lot more of that going on. right now, for the most part, everything positive, especially on the ramirez's side of things. >> why is the rams such a good fit for sam? >> it helps proximity. the defensive player of the year. the missouri. it's st. louis missouri. >> he has a built-in fan base.

his coach, geoff fisher is a guy who is no nonsense. you can play, if you can play, you are going to play. and he said that his team is very mature. so this is a team that is not going to have the issues like we just saw, like we saw with the dolphi in. s in that organization with the bullying scandal they had. >> you say if you can play, he is going to put you in. but come on. this is a pretty high profile player. was any of this political? >> you know, i think you could argue it both ways. it's hard to tell but for the most part, he is a good player. sec player of the year. the struggle he is going to have, he is going to have to make the team. he didn't have a good combine and he could have gone, they say, he fits around, he went to the 7th round and most guys that are defensive players of the year usually are first-round picks. he is one of the smallest league in the position. if he is going to play, it might be at a different position. he is going to have to prove he has the chops to be there. he is in an environment where it

will be welcome where they will give him every chance. >> looks like a bright future ahead. thank you for joining us. uh-huh. the 100th anniversary of mother's day that was founded to gulf civil war mothers time to mourn their fallen sons. today there is one mother in florida emerging as a gun control advocate after her son was shot and killed. natasha reports on the woman who says she will always be jordan's mom. >> too hard and too much, you know, effort for him to make up the bed every morning. >> the little quirks moms always know stick in a mild when a child is gone. they said her son, jordan davis was meticulous about his appearance. he wanted everything to match from his hat to his shoes. she says he didn't smile for the first six months of his life but after that, he never stopped smiling until the day he was killed in 2012 after a dispute over loud music. >> but i know that he's fine,

and i know that he's not suffering. >> lucy mcbath will always call herself jordan's mom but now there is an ache attached to that title that will never subside. in february, a jifr in jacksonville florida deadlocked on the first degree murder charge against the defendant in jofrdan's death, michael dunn. the state attorney plans to try him again. >> it's like a dark cloud that hangs over our heads, you know, it's something we have to think about every single day of our lives. >> since her son's deaths, macbath has stepped into the spotlight as a gun control advocate. last mall, she testified before a senate judiciary schmidt investigating the impact of stand your ground laws. they allow people to defend themselves if if he they'llt feel they are in danger. dunn said he feared for his life before he shot jordan. during her testimony, macbath refuted that. >> an angry man who owned a gun

kept it close at hand and chose to demonstrate unbridled hatred .1 balmy evening for reasons i will never understand. these laws empowered his prejudice beliefs and subsequent rage over my son's own life, his liberty and pursuit of happiness happiness. the role of crusading activist is not something she ever envisioned. now, she can't imagine doing anything else? >> i feel a responsibility now to protect others, to keep the same thing, that very thing, from happening to others. >> she says jordan is speaking through her, guiding her. >> everything that i have been praying for jordan over the years, all of the protection i wanted him to have, all of the love i wanted him to have, everything i wanted to give him, god has given him that tenfold. >> in jordan's room sits a photo taken for mother's day long

before the holiday became a painful reminder of a loss no mother should have to bear. natasha ganame, miami.

good morning. welcome back to al jazeera america. live from new york. i am morgan radford. today's top stories. kyiv voters head to the poles in parts of eastern ukraine, the ukrainian government and the u.s. say it's illegitimate. trying to find hundredses of missing school girls. french intelligence experts arrived on saturday to join british and american teams in the rescue effort. a pair of to your knowledge swept through missouri destroying hundreds of homes and toppling power lines. a look at that. there is a threat of more tornados coming today. for more on that, we turn on our meteorologist, eboni deon. >> we will see this threat extending not just for today but into the beginning of the work week as well. so, spring is definitely here we are seeing the effects of it. this is when we start to get

contrasting weather conditions. right here, this is a look at what we are expecting rain and thunderstorm activity. it's in this area shaded in red where the storm predipings center out a warning. this is an area where we will see tornados developing with some of those strong to even severe storms in the day and it stretches from texas into michigan. as an area of low pressure continues to move out of the four corners and lift northward, we are going to be dealing with that warm moist flow of air that has continued over the last several days. dew points in the 70s across the southern plains. we will see numbers increasing across the midwest as well. so there is lots of moisture already in place. now, on the back side of this system, we have a colder air from the north already changed over to snow into the denver colorado area. we started off with light rain this morning but now the snow is falling as you take a look a little further north into wyoming. we have snow showers as well. along i-80 it has been clothes

across the scheyenne area movin out of nebraska. so conditions really kind of deteriorating here as that wintry weather set out. we have a number of winter weather advisories posted across much of colorado. it does include denver and winter weather advisories as well. higher elevations. on monday, we will have the rain and thunderstorm activity around. our severe weather shifts a little further east. we will see rain moving across the lower mississippi valley. dallas will start to be included in that stlet for at least some strong to severe storms on monday. now, as far as temperatures go, today, we are feeling the heat across parts of texas where mid 90s are expected in lubbock but right along the southwest coast, we are expecting to see those temperatures getting even hotter throughout the work week. morgan? >> thanks so much, eboni. almost 70 years after the end of world war ii, a u.s. collection of nazi art is causing a stir. too dangerous to return to germany but making it public could help viewers understand how propaganda is used.

al jazeera has more >> reporter: these are the things you would expect the u.s. to have, the u.s. war experience abroad but a few steps away, the subject matter transforms. >> one of the main issues with this particular piece is that you look at the skull and crossbones, you look at the individual's collar badge. >> signifies the ss. it's a very direct message glorifying the ss. >> this piece is one of 456 german works held at a u.s. army base outside washington, d.c. under the terms of the potsdam agreement on the. >> under the agreement, they weren't returned if they were determined overt propaganda or other nazi insignia or depicted nazi leaders. >> the argument is this has lost its artistic privileges because

of the subject matter and message. curetan contrasts art commission with the nazis with the u.s. for mass consumption. >> that's not what you are seeing in the painting of the gis on below the scene of the american b-17 coming in, engines on fire. it's firing flares. they indicate that there is wounded on board. >> the u.s. authorities, the champ uponing of artistic freedom was the message, not the specific work. a strategy that continued into the cold war. >> for the allies, i think it was important to show the difference between these regimes, what they stood for. >> the u.s. holocaust memorial museum has organized exhibitions of nazi art. seen within the context of the horror of nazism, the curatoor says it retains some value. >> it's important for these objects to be preserved and

available for display in the proper circumstances. you have to look at the consequences that caused deaths of 55 million people. when you look at the art work, you have to examine what role does it play. >> german authorities in the u.s. don't seem too concerned about getting any of it back. when contacted about the collection, the german embassy in washington declined to comment. the official consensus appears to be that this cache of historical artifacts should remain locked up in a virginia warehouse. al jazeera, virginia. >> one of paris's musems is getting a makeover, the entrance to the louvre will have the sglooemings update in 25 years. it was designed to accommodate 4.5 million visitors a year. since then, attendance has doubled. listening post featuring south

africa's elections is coming up next. for news updates go to aljazeera.com. hello. i am richard againstberg. you are at the "listening post." in the new south africa, the media is a big part of the story. click bait, those teasing head lines you hate yourself for clicking on. the russian media have marched to the kremlin's beat. theye