we depend on you, >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> the stream. next on al jazeera america and join the conversation online @ajamstream. this is al jazeera america. i am thomas drayden in new york. let's get you caught up on the top stories this hour. a promise of total war, leaders vow to aggressively go after boko haram and find what they call the al-qaeda of west africa. the real al-qaeda on the run in yemen. video you won't see anywhere else of government forces bombarding al-qaeda positions fighting fire with fire, with the men and women who battle wiped fires are learning in california state-of-the-art lab. in a painful recovery. washington illinois six months

after it was devastated by a tornado. millions of dollars are needed to fix the town, but there is no federal help. good to have you with us. we begin tonight in france where world leaders gather to discuss the expanding threat posed by islamic extremists boko haram. diplomats from africa, the u.s. and across europe arriving in paris vowing to work together to find and rescue more than 200 kidnapped nigerian school girls heads of state express concern about suggestions al-qaeda is linked to boko haram. for more, we head to paris and al jazeera's tim friend. >> a tastyly -- hastily called sum mer grappling with an insurmountable problem. the leaders gathered in paris to

declare what they call total war on boko haram, there was news of anothertac across the border in cameroon. >> military preparation, especially in lake chad. >> lots of talk of solidarity. these leaders have a long way to go in combatting boko haram. the president admitted they were a surprisingly efficient fighting force. almost nothing in the from the summit about the abducted group of school girls in nigeria that parked the latest crisis. leaders have no idea where they are exchange deal is ruled out for the military rescue operation fraught with new danger. >> it would do no good to go to

the region? >> the interest is to locate the girls, where they are. these girls are not held in chibok. why would the president go to chibok. if the president goes to chibok today, it does not solve any problem. >> the leaders need better cross border cooperation. encompassing a threat from a group withproven al-qaeda links. they head home with a problem unresolved. tim friend, al jazeera,. more on the attack in camerron tim just mentioned. fighters struck a chinese company located in the northern part. country on friday. at the top chinese nationals are missing. the engineering company is working hydro power projects. the fear is the kidnapped workers will be held for ransom. >> a group monitoring human

rights administration has harsh words for the obama administration. awe lawyer told me it was only recently when the white house began listening to the group's concerns. i am annual obege briefed congress last week. >> the congress of the u.s. has been way ahead of the executive with regard to the situation in nigeria. we have had a lot of interest from congress in the last couple of years. it was the executive turning deaf ears to our warnings about boko haram. what has happened this week, though, there are a lot more offices paying attention to us. you don't walk into an office and mention boko haram and get blank stares. you see people who are

passionate about the subject. >> he spent three weeks in nigeria on a fact-finding mission and said a better way to care for victims is needed. france has a alcohol younger connection to africa. what happens in the area could be critical they are training soldiers. more from simon mcgregor wood. >> lush countryside about as far from the sar harrah as you can get. these french troops are gearing up for their new mission. blackhawk helicopter did simulate dropping small teams in remote locations. this is a french artillery regiments taking mortgage arizona as well on display, the

helicopter, french made and packed with the latest weaponry just as they did in marly last year. french troops will seek out an enemy across thousands of remote desert according to the performering, the threat is growing. terrorism in africa is a global threat. we intervened in march tloeshing ensure not just marchley execute and regional security but our own security. security in marchley means security of west africa, france and europe as well. the french military say new diplomat is it designed to prevent armed groups linked to al-qaeda from rearming, regrouping and destable using the region once more. they say it's about containment, not solving a problem and they admitted they could be on the ground for many years to come. >> the sfreshing already already have military presence. this will expand couper terrorism basis with chad, nijer

and ivory coast. host governments are said to welcome the move and fran kwaz regardlon appears to have the backing at home for a long term commitment. >> we understand contrary to the americans it's not just about the victory. you need to also make sure that the phase goes well. you need to stabilize. you need to stim around for a long time. the french calculate it carries minimal risk casualties have been light so far and despite spending cuts, it's something they can afford for now but as with any military operation there that had a a vaguely defined goal it's harder to know when to pull them out. sigh mon mac gregoriwood eastern france. >> libya has declared a knowfy zone forces loyal to a former

ult reasonean flew armed militias in benghazi. 43 people were killed and more than 100 injured in yesterday's attacks. the government says the they are outlaw outlawed. before running during the 201011 uprising that topelled muammar gadaffi. he warnings more fighting may be ahead. more troops are a short flight away from libya. the pentagon is beefing up in lit. with un80 marines were moved to a naval air station. government forces in theforth week of an offensive against al-qaeda. it's a fight that is backed by the u.s. the most visible sign comes in the form of drone strikes why i amen received $87 million from assistance in the state government and

$161 million from the pentagon to train and equip yemeni forces. the yemeni government is reporting progress in the south. to the front lines. there is the town of azan in yemen province. fighter jets, rocket launchers are shelling al-qaeda positions here the army says these are fighters killed in the offensive. these are bumpingers and tunnels dug by al-qaeda to move safely in the front line. the armed group retreated leaving behind weapons and explosive devices ready to be used in suicide bombings. security forces say they have stopped many revenge attacks and intercepted cars backpacked wit explosives in the capitol soma. >> we have defeated al-qaeda in this area.

fighters have fled. we will make sure terrorists will never be able to return here now, this is where the army is concentrating efforts hoping al-qaeda last stronghold. a final mission to recapture the town. >> al-qaeda fighters say they are muslims but they kill our people the government is weak in these areas. tribesmen have the final say that irsupport is crucial for the government to win its fight. it's been three weeks since the military offensebsive. it's a matter of days before it restores control. they have retreated to remote areas. a little more than a week before

elections in egypt, a bomb has exploded near a campaign event in cairo. security officials say three people were wounded. the bomb went out off 59 a campaign event in support of former military leader abde abdel al-sisi. more anger over the worst mining disaster in the history of turkey as protesters faced off with police police used plastic pellets and water can options to control a crowd of about 200 demonstrators. the protests came hours after officials announced the final death told of 301 miners in s a soma. the government designs nemings was at the root. funerals are being held near the scene of the mine explosion. the mining company says an unexplained build up led to the fire. presidents are clablaming the government for privatizing state controlled mines turning them

over to politically connected businessmen concerned with maximizing profits. fire fighters are gathering control several fires have been burning in san diego county since tuesday. most are now contained. some people are returning home as evacuation orders are lifted lease lease a bernard, what is the latest in the what can you tell us? a lot of progress today. lied winds and low temperatures helped. we haven't seen any flames at all. we haven't seen any smoking. we see a lot of road blocks as we drive through san diego county. almost everywhere you turn, there are areas that are closed off fire fighters are concerned about these spots. they don't want to let residents back in just yet. they are making exceptions for those who have lost everything to go behind these lines and take a look. we went along with one couple.

dan and susan eubanks returns to their home of 32 years. devastation and did you say belief we had to see it for ourselves especially before our kids get here. >> they grew up in the house. >> they say it was a three-story house, three kids and seven grandkids filled it with laughter. we have our family, dan u banks says 7 other homes have been lost on this remote hillside. this was the cocos fire, nearly one of a dozen that have burned nearly 20,000 acres in san diego county according to cal fire. the u banks were permitted to take a look at their lot. few can get past the road blocks blocks. he stayed in his home to the last minute. >> i wanted to stay but i didn't want my wife to worry about it. we both left. >> he said he is frustrated he can't get back in. he is waiting by the roadblock. other evacuees are at a red

cross shelter in the local high school. the fires have been mostly contained. fire fighting is less grauling now but the recovery will be intention. dan eubanks is an architect by profession. >> this is the last job i didn't want to do, you know, but he said he will. he wouldn't consider living anywhere else. >> we hear that from a lot of people whoive in these areas. they would not consider living anywhere else they say they do what they can, create defensible space around their homes, not not to light campires. they can't control the behavior of others. thomas we know there have wen 3 arson arrests. >> they are simply amazing. i do have to ask: how is the fire fight going at camp pendelton? >> that was the last one they were most focused on today. it's about 25% contained.

there were evacuation orders there for some of the military housing units. some have been lifted so they have the advantage of fighting those fires. >> the lisa, thank you. coming up on al jazeera america, studying wildfires. what scientists are learning that could help fire fighters on the front lines. >> that's at the bottom of the hour. plus new laws are aimed at getting kids to eat healthier foods. why some schools in california say it's lead to go a lot of waste and costing them money 60 years since the supreme court decided separate was not equal. i will speak to an education expert about the fight against segregation and schools and what still needs to be done.

welcome back. today marks 60 years since the supreme court's historic brown versus board of education decision. it was a landmark case in 1954 that desegregated public schools. 13 parents from kansas filed suit against the top eke a, kansas board of education.

in the ruling, the justices unanimously said the idea of separate but equal schools is unconstation tultal. camika is a historian. good to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> as we reflect on this anniversary, sixty years, this land mark decision, how did brow versus board of education change the nation? >> well, you know, i think it was the first time that we had a policy to say segregation was actually a federal policy to say segregation was not okay. and when you talk about, you know, african-americans being used to local state federal government sort of not protecting their rights, protecting their lives, their schools, you know, it was a very symbolic event that happened. unfortunately, i don't think that we have seen the changes that maybe people hoped there would be.

but, you know, it was definitely a very important decision. >> as we talk about those changes, as you may know, yesterday, first lady michelle obama said many young people in america are going to school largely with kids who look just like them and that too often, those schools aren't equal especially ones attended by students of color. do you agree with here? >> i do. >> how so? >> well, you know, 60 years later, there is an article that recently came out talking about how now our housing policy has become education policy. so, you know, you have communities are stratified by race, by income levels and when people are attending neighborhood schools, that means those schools are also stratified, separated by race, by income levels. we don't have some of the overt racism racism we had in 1954 when this ruling came down but, you know, when we look at schools and cities in philadelphia, in chicago, in new orleans, in, you know, in new

york,nies, in la, and in places across the south, you definitely see what some scholarships called a resegregation . >> i am familiar. >> what we are having now. >> familiar with the school district of philadelphia we see many black and latino students not graduating. what's behind this? >> i don't -- not graduating. i think there are a lot of things behind -- >> the gradration rate is low. >> i don't know. for me, he would have to that you can about what resources and not just money. i think money is important but, also, what energy, what investment, what is happening, how much excitement, how much exitment is being shown to the school district in philadelphia. i would say it's very little actually over the last 40 years or more. >> do you think people felt brown versus board of education

would be, if you will, a magic bullet to solving societal issues? >> i think we are always looking for that but yog that's going to come with policy. but until we who practice policy can implement those policies in ways that we show the spirit and of the policy, i don't think there are any magic bullets. >> that was my next question. what will it take to get all of our students back on track? >> i think that, you know, i think policy is really important. i don't ever want to suggest that our education policy doesn't matter. it does. but i think that people, individuals who implement policies are going to have to switch sort of how we implement those policies in order to get our students back on track. i think that, you know, our

practices leave a lot to be desired in terms of how we work with students, how we place educators, where we place educators, how we fund schools. um, school closure is a policy that is happening in a lot of districts around the country right now, especially in under resourced districts. that's something that i don't see as helping, you know, to get students on track. i see it as disruptive. >> 60 years, we have dom a long way, a long way to go. appreciate your time. thank you. ? >> let's talk about donaldstering because he is fighting back. the embattled owner of the l.a. clippers is rejecting a lifetime ban imposed by the nba. he is refusing to pay a $2.5 million fine. jason belzer, a sports law professor at rutgers university discusses the legitimacy of sterling's legal argument. >> if he refuses to pay, he thinks he didn't violate an agreement, he can sue them for that. i roncally, by not paying the $2.5 million, in a way, he is

violating the by laws. so he is almost shooting himself in the foot by arguing he doesn't have to pay it but at the same time, he is not arguing he is view lathing it. >> sterling was fined and banned for life wasafter he was heard making racist remarks. the nba's 29 owners have taken steps to force him to sell the franchise. he has owned the clippers for 33 years. schools across the country are true can to include more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. lau los angeles schools are also losing money. >> from trays to trash. usual it's gross >> at hundreds of schools across los angeles, this is what throwing away up to $80,000 a day of food looks like. >> i feel a lot of kids throwing away most of the healthy foods like bananas. >> over one school year, that's

$14.4 million. >> this is not okay. >> david binkel, director of food services for l a. unified school skoo district said he can do little to stop it. they require students to take three fruit items, one fruit or vemtable otherwise districts won't get reimbursed for meals. students are forced to take foods even if they don't want it and will throw it away. >> we believe in health and nutrition. federal law prohibits them to take it off campuses. in an effort to reduce waste schools have set up share

stables. others can eat it throughout the day. but a lot of food is ending up in the trash. >> david bink he will says this is happening at schools across the country. this is a national issue. >> the reality is it is created because the students aren't liking what's being served to them. >> marla kaplan is a representative with the school nutrition association, a lobbying group representing 55,000 school food providers. >> i think the requirement to having students take three items, i am okay with that. i think we would like a little bit more flexibility. for instance, a plum, a popular item with chirp, we can't serve it because a plum isn't a half a cup and in order to meet a half acup, we can't afford two plums. the u.s. department of agriculture which rungs the

national school lunch program declined our request but cited a harvard school of public health study that looked at four schools over four days and found that the new standards did not result in increased food waste. david binkel says that that's not what he has seen at la unified and even before the new regulations were finalized, binkel issued a 31-page report calling on the usda first to do away with the three item requirement and... >> second what we would like to see is the allowance at the federal level in a policy memo or something very xwibling to happen to be able to allow the children to take the food away from the meal program for after school or something that they could put in their backpack to take home with them. >> school districts have a lot on that you are plate when it comes to serving lunch to 31 million students each day. getting them to eat it. >> sometimes it gives me a tummy

ache. >> hard to swallow. >> los angeles. >> president obama intends to nominate san antonio mayor julian castro as secretary of hud. he is considered a rising star in the democratic party. the times says castro would replace shean donovan who would take over as the director of the office of management and budget. the white how did has not confirmed those moves. the center for disease. has recommended truvada, proven to stop the spread of i hopefection among those with unproeltd sex with others with high rusk. it is said to be 99% effective but the pill doesn't protect people from contracting other stds. join us this evening at 8:00 p.m. for a deeper look at how the drug works and the issues that surround it. >> that's 5:00 o'clock pacific right here on al jazeera.

coming up next, preparing for a dangerous wildfire season. what scientists are learning from experiments in a lab. it's been a year since a powerful tornado tore through the city. now, the clean-up cost is threatening to bankrupt a community.

welcome back. i am thomas drayden. world leaders gathered in paris to discuss threats posed by the effects tremist group boko haram. they left the meeting with a pledge to launch a total war on the group that kidnapped more than 200 nigerian school girls. the heads of state expressed concern about what they call an apparent al-qaeda link to boko haram. police used plastic pellets to control room a crowd in turkey after officials announced the final death toll in the worst mining disaster in the country's history. 301 miners were killed when a mine collapsed that led to an

underground fire and explosion in soma emergency crews are gaining control of the wildfires in southern california. then fighting multiple blazes in san diego for days. now, the flames are contained. residents are returning home as evacuation orders are lifted. as the latest string of wildfires are brought under control, scientists are preparing for the next one. rob reynolds reports. >> a wall of flame leaps high into the aranda bluz arrested of sparks spins as scientists probe the secrets of what one of humanities oldest toolses and it's immem memorial enemy: fire. this is the u.s. forest services state-of-the high art fire research lab in riverside, california where a university of california scientists and their students are busy gathering fire data. >> marco prinsecash overseas it.

>> we are trying to help firefighters to plan. so for that, we have a controlled fire under controls conditioned and we are looking how fires spreads, how fast it spreads and we are hoping that that information will eventually bea of use to fire fighters. >> sensors in the fire record millions of data points for analysis. slower wind speeds make smaller fireses. in this experiment they didn't reach the upper canopy of vegtable. higher wind speeds create mini infernos. by the time the experiments are finished, the laptops researchers used are covered in ash big wildfires are on the increase across the western u.s., scientists say, in part because of dryer conditions, higher temperatures due to climate change. >> this year's fire season has

started early with we had sprite drought turns forests into tinderboxes. >> forest service dave wise says the laboratory research will augment fire fighters' practice can tick cal experience. >> these experiments will let us describe what fire does from a fundamental standpoint with equations and really understanding the complexity of fire. >> one thing is certain: fire will always be with us. >> it is a force that can never be eliminated, but it can be better understood. >> could save lives. rob reynolds, al jazeera, riverside, california. >> rebecca stevenson joining us now with the weather. i would imagine all of that thick black smoke is having an impact on air quality. >> it has brought it down low but we have seen some improvement in the air quality in parts of the coastal california areas. moderate air quality in large portions along the inline

coastline inland to the valleys. we have unhealthy for sensitive groups, meaning folks that have asthma or breathing issues will have problems along the border where that particular area exists. we have smoke and particulate matter in the air. winds are not quite strong enough to blow it away quite yet calmer along the coastline. good news for the fire near carlsbad. up towards san fan cisco wind gusts here, air quality, good for san francisco. not so much where the wild ures are. humidity going up along the coast slowly working inland as you look at new mexico and into arizona, you will see humidity in the single digits. we will correct for that to vary more moisture starting to come in this is a water vapor satellite. showing you moisture in the air

and the white in the green. in the hazard area, red flag warning which tells professionals dry outside. we have winds and hot temperatures no longer record highs here definitely good news a slow cooldown right now. it's 78 in los angeles, but we have 102 in phoenix. we still have some very hot weather outside. the forecast as we look toward nevada, las vegas, slowly get the trend downwards when it comes to temperatures. the middle of the week, we will see the temperatures ticking back up again watching low pressure where it gets away into the west. showers for the pacific northwest showers coming through parts of the plain states into the midwest. right. we talk about sunday and we are still hot in places like phoenix.

this trend will be hot. >> 101. just a moment. six months ago today, a late season tornado tore through the city of washington, illinois. 600 homes were leveled. another 400 were damaged. as a community bounces back, diane ester brobrook shows us of the obstacles is the clean-up costs. >> throughout washington, illinois, you can hear progress. homes are going up everywhere, many next to those still bearing scars from the ef 4 thoorn plowed through here last november. >> this will be our front entry. laura lile cox is building a ranch style home where her 2-story house stood. >> how much did shurmings cover? >> the basic house, everything. >> while washington is on the mend, the financial pain of the tornado still lingers. residences and businesses got roughly 28 million in federal disaster aid. city governments got nothing.

it spent $12 million clearing away debris and faces other costs it's going to be cut out. >> the mayor gary manier says thousands of cracks and curbs need fixing. >> that will be expensive. >> a thousand? >> probably 4,000. >> there are disintegrating sidewalks and potholes that need repair along with a sewer system, costs manier fears could bankrupt washington. it could be 26 million. it doesn't take a math genius to figure out it could. >> when i will know initially applied to the federal emergency agency for aid, it estimated the tornado caused $6 million of damage to nine counties. >> amount was far below the $17.8 milli $17.8 million threshold required by a government formula so aid was rejected. the state appealed the decision putting the damage closer to

$21 million. fema rejected the request a second time saying the impact was not beyond the capabilities of the state and the affected local governments to necessitate additional federal assistance. >> i was disappointed. i am over it. >> mannier thinks insurance and state funds will cover some costs but not everything. the payor doesn't want to raise property taxes to pay for this recovery because he is afraid it could discourage some from rebuilding in a town where only about half of the 600 people who lost homes have applied for building permits. >> something on the fence saying, i am going to build or not rebuild, if i raise your property tax, you will probably make the decision to live in the next city over. >> loralie cox quality higher taxes are inevitable but is rebuilding anyway. >> you are okay with that? >> i am particularly when i see taxes at that time work. >> she is confident washington can emerge from the physical and financial storm and put this

difficult chapter behind it. diane esterwrong, washington illinois. >> the defense minister and deputy prime minister of laos were among those killed in a plane crash near the country's capitol. at least 5 people are beloved to have died. being operated when it went down by a wooded area. this is the second plane crash in the country in less than a year. last fall, 49 people dried in a crash in southern laos. in south korea, thousands gathered for a candle ite vigil horning the you victims of a sunken ferry. some held signs demonstrators called on officials to begin a special be investigation into the disaster. india's election of modi yesterday inspired celebrations all throughout the country. the new prime minister gave

several victory speeches in his home state promising a government that will work for all indians. modi was in new delhi to address supporters who came out in droves to create him. morahman has more. >> at the headquarters in new delhi, the sweeping victory stunned this nation. newspapers are describing this as momentous. many are just coming to terms with the enormity of this historic moment in indian politics. >> the numbers we achieve in this election were expected. i was shocked. it's down to modi. >> i think corruption is the first priority. if you tackle corruption, inflation will come down and make life easier for everyone. the prime minister minister's

office was his prize. the bjp is awash, thousands lined the rufz. young and old trying to get a glimpse of their country's leader. he won an outright majority, the first politician to do so since 1984. it was a moment to savor and reflect on. security is tight around modi. since his victory, a new cordon of security surrounds him. he won't have as much freedom as he did during the election campaign. indian as has seen two prime ministers assassinated in the past. they will continue to celebrate their victory. behind the scenes, ministers are being appointed and the final formation of the government finalized. >> straight ahead on al jazeera america, more violence in

eastern ukraine where the prime minister is saying today withholding his country together. an island of prosperity in po post-recession europe where voters could impose the highest minimum wage in the world. nigh,

a smarter start to your day. mornings on al jazeera america sdmrfrnling a second round of ukraine peace talks today as residents of eastern ukraine experience another day of violence. ukraine's foreign minister is calling for the u.s. to impose tougher sanctions on russia. he says russia is waging a had you haden war. paul brennan has more from slovyansk in eastern ukraine. >> the residents of andreavka were swoen by the sounds of explosion and gunfire. in .1 skirmish, it seems they had stabbed a separatist position around a train carriage. elsewhere, the sounds of mortar bombardments as was the anger of the people here.

>> we will not be pushed out of here. this is our motherland. our children and grandchildren are living and will continue to live here. why do they come here? why are they shooting at peaceful people. people can no longer live in andreevka. >> a broad co less of regional governors have convened a second round of a national dialogue sponsored by the osce. the separatist leadership which controls donetsk, luhansk and slovyansk are refusing to participate. kiev won't sit down with people it calls terrorists. within kiev, ukraine's acting prime minister remained upbeat. >> i am fully convinced distinguished ambassadors, my prime minister, we will succeed. we wi well overcom all of these difficulties. and we will become stronger than we are today. >> the separatist stronghold of slovyansk, it is a sorry site.

shuterred windows, half empty stores and worried people. >> when this is happening here, i don't know who to telephone for help. they are killing us. our own army. >> the marketplace, of course, is the place where you deal, where you trade, but there is no expectation here at least for an imminent deal with the kiev government. there is the fervent desire for stability for peace, but there is no appetite for reconciliation. paul brennan, argues, slovyansk. >> record flooding has swamped the balkans in sush i can't, some people were stuck on top of their homes waiting for help. more than 15,000 people have been evacuated. the storms have trig earned more than 200 landslides and killed 5 people. in bosnia, 11 people have been killed and more than 10:00 told to leave homes. bosnia and serbia appealed for international help after declaring a state of emergency. it is the worst flood to hit the area in more than 100 years. the battle to raise the minimum

wage has been front and center here in the u.s. but it's an issue that also affects workers abroad. in switzerland, voters are krring a referendum that would raise the minimum wage to $25 an hour. >> that's the highest in the world. ezenine mazeri reports. >> this restaurant is one of many new businesses that have opened up in recent years. employees here already earn around $3,700 a month. the owners say they can't afford to pay people more. >> the question we ask ourself is if the customer would be ready to pay that price because when we have to pay for that, we have to raise the prices for coffee, for a he cup of copy. >> many european nations are struggling with unemployment and debt, switzerland, which is not in the eu remains an island of

prosperity with unemployment at only 4%. the debate over the referendum has exposed the reality that not everyone is enjoying the benefits. >> this is how most people get around on the tram that a single ticket costs about $5. there may be lower taxes but the high cost of food, rent and insurance make this one of the most expensive countries in the world to live. >> in the poorer sub issues, life can be difficult. many people who live here are migrant workers paid less than the proposed minimum wage. for those small businesses like this, they would have to make cuts if its introduced. most people agree it would be a fairer system. >> they have to buy clothes. everything is getting from year to year more expensive. they need to get -- everyone needs to get a good salary. >> some politicians and business

leaders say a yes vote would lead to job cuts and companies employing abroad. switzerla switzerland's biggest trade union says that's scaremongering. a minimum wage would benefit the country, not damage it. >> right now, a lot of people who don't make enough money have to go to the state, have to collect benefits just to pay their rent at the end of the month and that's basically taxpayers subsidizing the companies who don't want to pay their employees enough. >> most of the poles suggest the minimum wage will be rejected. in the past, the swiss have taken the employer's side in refer endums. en if the law is not passed, there will be another referendum on a basic income for all swiss whe whether they work or not. al jazeera, zurich. >> film makers hoping to make it big know getting the big break can be almost impossible. more and more, they are going

for a different way of getting movies out. al jazeera phil lavelle results from the canne film festival. >>. >> big names, big scandal, the big apple, but no big screen for "welcome to new york." this film is become dominique strauss-khan. it's being released exclusively on the internet, an ever popular tactic for directors, it seems diy is in this year. this is partly to do with power. movie makers find themselves beholden to film distributors because they are hugely influential. by controlling how movies are released, they manage to regain some of the power and save money in the process. this all ties in with our insatiable demand to have everything now, now, now. the impatience brought about by technology because, remember, if a film is released in a cinema, you have to physically go there to see it. if it's released online, all you

need is one of these or, say, one of these. and you can enjoy it wherever you may be. >> star trek may be a big screen hit. star wreck enjoyed its success thanks to the net. this is the next generation and as far as its concerned, the web is the only way to go. >> do you have a direct connection to your fans? been working with the fans for ages. do you know exactly the way? do you know exactly how to sell the film to your fans? and giving the access there, is it the best way to? it serves the best, the film, itself. >> this thing. >> economics was released in theaters but not before viewers had a chance to buy and watch it online. there is a real push at cannes this year to bring power to the pixel, putting the makers in control room albeit with a healthy warning. >> the fact you put something online doesn't mean anyone is going to see it whatsoever. you have to have a good story and film or a good piece of work or something that has an

interest, an audience. >> sky got an exclusive online release and was so popular, the seek we will is now in productionquel is now in produc the big budget block busters may stick to the old way of doing things. to the smallest, there is nothing to lose bu helping themselves. phil lavelle at the cannes film festival. >> there were some great motor vehicles to look out for? >> a cool movie called map to the stars" by david kronenberg. he is a master of world cinema that has robert patterson from the twilight moves and julian moore. boy, that movie they mentioned, "welcome to new york," that's the story of dominique strauss-khan, the disgraced you candidate by able ferrar and it has de pardu.

who knows that that will look like? >> it is going on until may 25th. straight ahead on al jazeera america, flying high in the utah did he seert budding scientists shooting rockets to win a big prize from nasa. running to keep the dream alive, we will tell you if california chrome still has a shot at the triple crown.

tomorrow-a-will debut an 8-part series examining the u.s. legal system. the show's host told us why he feels it's an important series. >> we just spent a year looking into the criminal justice system because we have problems in our prison system. there are extreme racial inequitties. there are too many wrongful convictions. there are problems with how evidence is gathered. there are problems with policing strategy. we do have a great justice system, but sometimes the system runs off of the rails and that's

what this series is about, is shining a light on injustice. mainly the series focuses on those systemic problems that land people in prison. sometimes, people are guilty but the sentence doesn't match the crime. and sometimes, people are put in prison for things that they shouldn't be in prison for. and it's due to things like the phenomenon of false confessions, counter intuitive to think someone would falsely confess to a crime. it happens more often than you think. 1 in 3 african americans in this country can expect to go to prison sometime in their life time. >> doesn't mean they are bad fem. it means there are pleasing strategies and social economic strategies in place that trap people of color and people lower on the socioeconomic scale. the prison population incarceration rate has gone through the roof in the last two decades. over 700%. we are a country that has 5% of

the world's population and yet, 25% of the world's prison population. the police generally do the right thing. prosecutors generally do the right thing but with the advent of dna technology, so many people have been exonerated for crimes they didn't committee. i think we as can a country have become sensitized to wrongful convictions happen. there are huge problems that need to be addressed. >> the system well joe berlinger, here on al jazeera america. young rocket scientists are competing in nassau's student launch contest. they are carrying science and engineering experiments almost a mile high into the sky. nasa officials say the research will be used in future design of space launch stems.

heneys are a part of every support. what do you do if the patient is a high-profile horse? today's preakness stakes, all eyes were on californiachrome, more specifically on the colt's throat. the could have hea-- the cough heard around the horse racing world. >> it is fitting a horse in contention feet triple crown is treated like royalty. california chrome travels first class all the way arriving in baltimore for the preakness by way of air horse one, having him deplane backwards for extra precaution. why the fuss? it's a million dollar business in evening your name in history is notedes. only 11 horses have managed to sweep all three races and the last to do it dates all the way back to 1978. california chrome has won five straight races and came in as a 3 to 5 favorite.

b he developed a splaul blist ner his throat, it became known as the cough heard around the world. the trainer says he is being treated with glycer inand walt but with a $1.5 million purse at stake and a potential crown in the future, everything is magnified and all eyes are focused on california chrome and the preakness. jessica taff, al jazeera. >> after all of that how did he do? crossed the finish line moments ago. he wins big, now in position to be the first horse to win the triple crown since afern driver's license 36 years ago. he wins the other didby, today, the preakness, the next and final test, the belmont stakes

on june 7th. thomas drayden in new york. i will be back with another hour of news at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 p.m. pacific. stay tuned. fault lines starts right now. >> the mountains of west virginia have provided generations with jobs in coal. but on january 9th, 2014, the state woke up to an example of the costs of it's industrial economy. a tank containing a chemical used the process of coal production had leaked its