this is al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton in new york. let's get you caught up on the top stories this hour. record flooding stretching across three countries, homes under water, lives swept away. tens of thousands evacuated. the struggle for those in south-east europe. explosion, gunfire and smoke. libya's political chaos turns violent. who is in control? what is expected next? stopping the flames.

san diego's wild fires are controlled, but what next a billion deal that changes the way millions watch tv. good to have you with us. the worst floods in decades are devastating the balkans. more than three dozens are confirmed dead. authoriti authorities expect it to rise. thousands have been forced from their homes, stretching from croatia, bosnia and serbia. in croatia hundreds of soldiers have been helping residents flee the waters. the worst-hit arse are east in bosnia. police describe a tsunami of water. it is concerned the water could dislodge landmines planted during the civil war. the prime minister says the situation is catastrophic,

threatening their biggest power plant. we go there. >> reporter: in the air and on the ground the priority is to get to the old and the sick. this is 88-year-old woman. we meet her after she was rescued by the serbian army. she tells us her house was submerged under 1.5 metres of water. she was alone, without food and drinking water. this is a massive logistical operation that is threatening to overwhelm serbia's emergency services. the serbian prime minister says the damage will cost the country billions of dollars. volunteers joined the operation here. this man is a personal trainer from belgrade. he is here to rescue those left behind. >> we'll go to the front of the

building and rescue them. >> reporter: how many do you think are left? >> we don't know. we are going to see. >> reporter: it's not clear how many died here. every official we asked tells you wills they have to -- tells us that they have to wait for the waters to recede to see the damage. some of the water is pulling back, but there are still many houses completely submerged by the flooding. there are many people who are waiting to be rescued. this man would not give us his name. he said he saw dead bodies, is angry at the authorities for not arriving earlier. >> they came too late. we have no warning about what happens. the down is destroyed. it's sad for us. we have no food and nowhere to live. >> reporter: in bosnia another menace hides upped the rubble -- under the rubble. land mines from the war. the fear is the floods are

washing away river banks, unearthing booby traps. and the country's biggest power station is under threat. capacity at the plant has been cut. waters have reached the basement of the plant. a shutdown will blackout most of the country. for now it's stopped rainingment but the wore -- raining. but the worry is there could be a certainly from the drena river in botania. the ground is saturated. people wonder where will all that water go. developing tonight - at&t formally great to buy direct tv for $48.5 billion. the two companies approved the deal today. direct tv is the largest satellite tv provider in the u.s. with more than 20 million subscribers. it will have to be approved by

regulators who are expected to scrutinise the deal. we invite you to join us at 8:00 pm eastern as we break down what the merger means for you. tonight on al jazeera america. heightened tensions over oil and gas in the south china sea. china is evacuating nationals in a dispute over shipping lanes used by both countries to send food and electronics to the united states. scores were injured when anti-china protests turned deadly in vietnam. they were the first to be evacuated. anger sparked when china moved an oil rig to part of the south china sea claimed by hanoi. adrian brown reports from beijing. >> reporter: after days of often violent anti-chinese protests vietnamese authorities appear to contain disturbances. police broke up the protest in ho chi minh city. demonstrators are angry over china's refusal to halt its deep

sea oil operations in waters claimed by vietnam. >> translation: the intention today was to show support for the government's efforts to chase the chinese rig from our waters. >> reporter: the squirm irs in the waters have been going on for almost two weeks, and the worry is that it could get out of control. like china, vietnam's government is also communist and tend to keep a lid on dissent. it was unable to stop days of violence in a third of the country's provinces. some attacked chinese-run factories. many were taiwanese owned, a distinction lost on the rioters. the trouble began after china moved an oil rig to the parasol islandsle further south beijing is involved with the philippines over the spratly islands. for now, the focus for china's government is getting nationals

out of vietnam. the government is sending warships to speed up the efforts. >> translation: we are sending experienced people to vietnam. >> reporter: more than 3,000 chinese citizens fled the country, worried about the economic fall out, vietnam's government is promising to protect investors - china and taiwan are among the biggest. whether they remain so is in doubt. the response of china's government to the attack on citizens have been restrained. there's no counter demonstrations and there could be a good reason - authorities are unwilling to allow protests close to the anniversary of the student led protests almost 25 years ago. to give you a better understanding of the area, the south china sea stretches from singapore in the south to taiwan in the north-east. it's a huge source of natural gas. brunei, china, indonesia,

malaysia philippines and vietnam are drilling in arse -- in arse within their boundaries. china claims this area, and india, which is not on the map, said it will support vietnam in a dispute against china. mr wu, assess choopa is moving simultaneously on several fronts that should concern the u.s. >> the important thing for us is for sure, the passage of international shipping through that area. what china has claimed is host of the south china sea up to the door substance of each of the countries -- door steps of each of the countries. in recent period chinese have not only increased the public commitment of the south china

seas, they have increased, introduced an air defense zone in the east china sea that cowers the i would say under dispute. that was wayne wu, president of the institute on south-east asia on the situation in south-east asia. heavily armed gunmen stormed libya's building in parliament in tripoli. gunmen shut down the streets. former general khalifa haftar is claiming responsibility for the attack. he says his libyan national army is committed to wiping out militia groups that have been assassinating prominent leaders. we have this report from tripoli. >> reporter: it was a brazen attack against the general national congress. witnesses near the area said that fighters who are members of the brigade stormed the general

national congress. there were sounds of heavy fire, heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and plumes of smoke. in respect a number of cars set ablaze. after the attack ended there were clashes in other parts of the capital. the situation remained very, very tense. we understand that this attack is related to the unrest that is taking place in benghazi. the attackers claimed that they were loyal to the retired general khalifa haftar. general khalifa haftar declared an open war on what he called armed militias and terrorist groups that are based in benghazi. he said he is waging an open war. now, when it comes to the libyan government, khalifa haftar and his forces are staging a coup against the legitimate and elected body that is the general national congress. >> yemen is launching its biggest crackdown on al qaeda,

but wants outside help to pay for the operation. we spoke with yemen's foreign minister about the country's campaign against al qaeda. yemen's southern provinces are batter grounds. a large military operation against al qaeda is under way. the army is making gains. it has recaptured areas, where the fight establishes a state of their owners with a leader, a judiciary, and an army. yemen's foreign minister says his government will not let. destabilize the nation's political transition. >> al qaeda has created a threat for the transition itself. second, of course, it's been a threat to the stability of human rights for us, from point of view of economic development.

the government could not stand and watch. >> reporter: these soldiers are celebrating recent victories. yemen's army has been divided and weakened by years of instability and conflict. it is under pressure to win the latest battle. that requires huge resources, which impoverished yemen cannot afford. >> i look at the operations on yemen's budget and military. it's beyond, really, yemen's abilities. yet we are continuing with these actions in order to preserve the safety of our citizens and security of the country. we hope that knowing the magnitude of the challenge that we face, that we get more support. >> reporter: the fight is mostly led by these fighters.

neighbouring saudi arabia and the u.s. say they'll step in one way or the tort help defeat one -- other to help defeat one of al qaeda's affiliates. yemen's president says they are in an open war with al qaeda, a war that may be costly. officials are frustrated. they have been expecting the international community to deliver substantial financial and military support at this critical moment for the country. turkish authorities detained 25 people in connection with the worst mining disaster in the country's history. three were arrested. executives of the mining company are among those vetted for the deaths -- investigated for the deaths of more than 300 workers. it triggered days of protest across the country. ahead - wild fires dying down in southern california,

it's the start of what could be a long fire season. the studies connecting the outbreak to climate change. [ chanting ] supporters of an occupy wall street activist fighting to keep her out of gaol. a plea for mercy from the jury that convicted her. across the .

a plea for mercy from the jur>> california. tens of thousands of residents preparing to return home after raging wildfires drove them out. firefighters near san diego are trying to guard the area. the winds that fuelled the wild fires are expected to pick back up. they are blamed for a death, and burnt through more than 20,000 acres, destroying dozens of homes. three studies linked wild fires to global warming one include the government's national climbs assessment. the studies conclude that ongoing manmade climate change

will lead to frequent wildfires and conclude that the fire season will start early in theier. since 1984 the five worse fire years have been in the last decade. one thing we no is the weather played a major factor in fighting the fires. rebecca stevens is joining us more on the forecast. >> we have temperatures spiking in the south-west. the good news is that we are seeing the temperatures cooling. a cooling trend rarely kicking in along the coastline. as we get into the temperatures for parts of arizona. it's hot, but a few degrees cooler than it was. here is the problem. wild fires is not always started by man, but mother nature, in the way of lightening strikes. as we look at the west and where the drought is impacting - the extreme being in california - but we have drought through

oregon, washington and idaho. this is where we don't want to see much in the way of wildfire starts from dry lightening. it won't be dry, but we have a lot of lightening strikes. as we have a storm system moving through there's plenty of showers. in places like washington and idaho, there's rain reports anywhere from two tenths of an inch to over an inch. a lot of rain with the storms rolling through now. keep an eye because there is a lot of lightening here. the problem is that these storms will be shifting gradually south and east. so as it moves into the dry hot air, we'll have some powerful thunder storms, and the rain will not necessarily hit the ground. it will evaporate cause winds and enhance fires started by lightening. we'll watch the south-west. our forecast through the day and tonight will be for the thunder storms to focus parts of montana

and into the dakotas. as we get to wednesday we expect to see a problem as part of arizona and northern new mexico into texas. try conditions and the tomorrows coming in. there'll be a lot of lightening, dry lightening. wind now - you can see gusty in parts of southern california. but they are slowly easing as we get into the evening hours. we'll monitor the conditions throughout the course of the week. news we don't want to hear, making it tough for firefighters there's a third confirmed case of the deadly m.e.r.s. virus. an illinois man tested positive two weeks after the first case was diagnosed. it's believed the two men were in a meeting for 40 minutes. infectious disease experts stein morse says m.e.r.s. may have the same origin as s.a.r.s. >> we think the most likely original source is a bat.

that is not entirely settled, but there's good evidence s.a.r.s., the related virus, it's different. but still a related virus in the same family. in asia, came from a little bat, and was passed on to humans and other animals, and we think that here, too, we've been able to find or my colleagues have been able to find a strain in bats. how it gets from the bats to the human is the next question. >> it's the first time it appears to have jumped from one human to another on u.s. soil a jury found occupy wall street activist it's illy mcmillan guilty of striking an officer. it has been said in this report

that she is the victim. >> reporter: they came by the dozens to show support for a fellow activist in gaol on rikers island. occupy wall street protestors cecile mcmillan was quted of struking -- convicted of striking a protestor, she faces seven years in pruften. this shows -- prison. this shows the incident. mcmill job says it was a reflective rehabilitation to her right breast being grabbed and has photos of her hand-shaped bruise to prove it. the prosecutor accused mcmillan of lying. >> stephanie is 5 foot 4, 120 pound female, and officer bobbt, ll is 6 foot 200 pound officer, and he is fully capable of grabbing someone to the point of leaving a bruise, and that is where it comes from.

>> mc million and supporters -- mcmillan and supporters claim she was a victim of brutality. >> photographer stacy was in there that night. >> it looked like an army of police force of it was one of the most frightening things i have seen. >> the lense was pointed at mcmillan, capturing the pictures. >> this first one is an officer trying to make a stand. she is screaming. the mouth is open. she looks like she's in pain. she has lost her ability to hold herself up. the third one - he's got her arm crossed back and feet - her tip toes are touching the floor and that's all. her head is over her body, and the last one he's trying to get her to sit down and she doesn't now how to do that, she's in so much pain and unconscious. photographs that i took were

admitted as evidence in court, and i testified on her behalf. >> she was never charged in the incident. she awaits a sentence in gaol, writing to supporters, backed no a -- packed into a room with 45 women: . >> freedom is something that people who convicted her want for her two. nine of 12 wrote to the judge asking that they do community service. saying it serves no purpose to sicily or society. her future is out of her hands. >> a judge in the criminal term of manhattan hand down the sentence on monday. other activists promised to be here in solidarity. the future of the 25-year-old faces behind bars - it's one she'll have to face alone. tonight al jazeera america will debut an 8-part series

examining the u.s. legal system called "the system." part one focuses on false confessions. >> i have done a lot of cases involving false confessions. this has a special twist. >> there was not a false configures. there was not a configures at all. -- confession at all. kirsten did not confess to this crime. instead, she claims she was raped in a parking lot in los angeles, and defended herself by stabbing her attacker. she told a counsellor about the incident. when a homeless man was dead and mutilated in a dumpster on the other side of town, the counsellor called las vegas homicide. >> when the detectives came to her house, she thought they were questioning her about her being a victim of a rape, an attempted

rape, a violent crime. she was led to believe by her silence that they were talking about the same case. that is a big travesty we invite you to join us for "the s "the statement of claim" premiering tonight. gun crime has been a problem for years in chicago. it's been on the decline thanks to a place push to take firearms off the streets. a catholic priest is stepping in to help by offering a reward he hopes is hard for gang members to refuses. >> reporter: this survived as a haven for the fauthful. its mission changed to include fighting violence on the streets. >> it's easier in this community to buy a gun than a computer. >> to change that father is taking an unusual tact. offering a $5,000 reword for information leading to the raft

of someone selling illegal guns. >> i want to get one gun run are and throw the books at him. and pay off the reward and get that out there so that we can make an example. >> week after week chicago police show off guns they have taken off the streets. it's a dent in an endless supply. >> the guns don't come through mr big. there's not one person that funnels a million firearms. they come from drebs and drabs. in 2013, the chicago seized more than 1600 firearms. so far officers recovered 2100, on the poor south and west side, it sounds like a lot of money. ben, a member of the gangster disciples, doubts the bounty will work. >> i hope there'll be money to bury you, that's what is going

to happen. >> street justice aside. father says he handed out the reward before, and the top cop stands by him. >> when it comes to the issue of firearms, he's in the right place. anything he can do to support us stopping guns hitting the streets, i support. a reward for gun runners can help us. >> once they see someone that could go to gaol, once we set an example, it starts a ripple effect. it's not the end all, it's part of the an. >> part of the answer in a place where dath is a daily occurrence. coming up n on al jazeera america dash -- - fundament up with the nige have -- fed up with the nijan government. resist departments may launch

their own search for the girls how a film-maker in exile got help from hundreds of sources in his own country.

welcome back to al jazeera america. let's get you caught up on the top stories - the ball caps are reeling from the -- balkans are reeling from the worst floods to hit in decades. three dozens have been killed. thousands have been forced to evacuate. authorities in serbia scramble to protect the power plant from rising waters. heightened tensions over oil and gas. choinees nationals -- chinese nationals are vacuated from vietnam after protests turned deadly, anger sparked as china moved an oil rig into contested water.

people died in tripoli. gunmen stormed the parliament building, after attacking with aircraft weapons and grenades. general khalifa haftar claimed responsibility saying he's wiping out militia groups. west african leaders say they are coming together to fight a war against boko haram. they kidnapped more than 200 nigerian school girls. this weekend western leaders met with heads of state from nigeria, and four other african nations to coordinator a response. many say the nigerian government is not doing enough to bring them home. we have this report. >> reporter: this is the senator for borno state, the epicentre of most of boko haram's attacks in recent years. he says he was unhappy with how the government is handling the crisis. >> i felt disgusted. i feel very, very bad. for a country like nigeria, who has a lot of resources, a lot of

mann power, a lot of army, you know, and they cannot contain a small group. >> reporter: but for the security forces, it rnts a new -- represents a new challenge that they are struggling to cope with. at times they are outgunned something that the senator says should not happen given how well funded the nigerian army is. >> between 2012 and 2013 we gave them about 1.5 trillion, which france lates to about $ -- translates to about $10 billion. if they were given just a quarter of that money, i am sure there wouldn't have been a complaint of lack of equipment to fight. >> reporter: for now boko haram

continues its campaign of violence almost unhindered. it killed thousands. the last month abduction of 270 school girls from the small village by the group that gripped global tanks. the war could be taking on a diplomatic tanks. at the summit in paris, nigeria, chad, niger and cameroon agreed to share intelligence and coordinate their action. >> boko haram will no long are find safe haven in chad, niger or cameroon. it means that the jountness that this particular part creates enables the various nations to work together and recognising that boko haram is an international phenomenon and needs to be stopped. >> reporter: while many nigerians support the outcome of

the paris summit, they believe the threat of boko haram will disappear only when the government reuses poverty and unemployment in the country. west african leaders want to work on intelligence and border i am sure. i asked the deputy director of the african programme at the international crisis group about the approach. >> the intelligence hearing will help in terms of identifying where the girls are kept. we maintain though that there is no military solution to the problem and the solution lies with nigeria's political elite. they need to support a comprehensive approach. they have the resources and the mann power to address the problem if they want to. the problem is that they have not generated the political will to do so at this time. ab sent that, support from the west will be squandered as it

has been in the past. >> the extreme poverty in the nearby nigeria led people to sympathise with boko haram or join the group's ranks. >> the husband of a pregnant sued niece woman sentenced to death says he'll appeal the ruling. mair yam was accused of abandoning islam. a judge ruled she should be hanged. >> considering i'm app american citizen, i'm disappointed with the decision since the beginning of the case. at the start i reported it to them. they didn't take interest. they came late, the intervention was late. >> amnesty international says the woman was raised as an orthodox christian, her mother's religion, because she grew up without her father. her case was the first heard in sudan. the ruling will be announced thursday. >> ukrainians prepare to go to

the polls in the elections. man in the east don't support the vote. at a pro-russian rally the leader says a presidential poll will not happen on his rush. >> in the russian speaking easement, campaigning ahead of an election is under way. sprattists occupying -- separatists occupying state buildings declared an independent republic say people here are not going to vote. the newly appointed prime minister of the donetsk people's republic say those tasked with organising the vote are quitting. >> people are just leaving all the so-called polling stations, the election commissions and going whom. there's no pressure -- going home. there's no pressure on them. the elections are not interesting to anybody. >> the moscow born and raised leader told me his troops will not use force. according to an election monitoring group, they are trying to do just that.

>> 10 people come to the commission. they come with guns and said that now in donetsk you have - it is the territory of the donetsk republic, and it is illegal to organise president election of ukraine. >> reporter: six out of 22 electoral offices have been shut down in the donetsk region. we found one. the sign says that the electoral commission responsible for the city's center polling district is not working. the gates are not locked. there's no one inside. >> while looking for someone to speak to, we found a sign with the flag. donetsk people's republic. it says the offices inside have been sealed. the volatility of this region is

not unnoticed. fears offer the vote are not oozily batted away -- oozly batted away. >> i'm worried about my safety, there could be provocation, some using force. >> for us, this people's republic doesn't make sense. the central election commission says it's prepared, with thousands of monitors on standby, and is urging people to vote. a poll shows that in the east more than 32% of people plan on staying home and 31% are not sure who they'll vote for or whether they'll vote at all. it stokes fears that unrest could continue past election day. [ chanting ] crimean tartars mashed the anniversa

anniversary. tar tars gathered at the mosque. community leaders led procedures for those that died when they were sent to central asia between 1944 and 1947. they called for autonomous status within russia in order to protect their rights. >> in greece, exit polls showed gains for leftist candidates for incum pants in local elections. they are seen by many as a test of the prime minister's government. greece has been in a recession for six years, more than a quarter of the population is unemployed. the economic conditions led to the rise of the potion party. observers say that victories for the candidates could send an anti-austerity message to the administration. voters showed concern for the nation's economy. more than three-quarters of voters related is proposal to create the highest minimum wage. it would have given workers 22

swiss franks, equivalent to $25 per hour. polls showed concerned that it would lead to unemployment, and the closing of small businesses in sri lanka celebrations have been held to mark the end of its civil war five years ago. military parades were part of the festivities. the u.n. estimates that 100,000 died in the war. relatives say they have not seen or been allowed to pay the respects. this report shows wounds have not been healed. >> reporter: five years after the defeat of the tamil tigers by the sri lankan military the victory parades continue. in the southern cities, the rural heart land of the senningalees community tens of thousands flock to catch a glimpse of their heroes. they founded a positive note in their address. >> translation: what has been built is a new county.

hindley street easier to make decisions when we have unity. decisions without unity is temporary. that is why some try to deprive us of unity in peace. >> reporter: the president is under pressure to address aless that his -- allegations that his troops committed war crimes, allegations he denied. the government is proud of its post-war achievements, rehabilitation, reconstruction and economic development. the president's government, who runs the defense military told al jazeera of the chance on the military front. >> we have drawn the military. we have the army stationed inside the barracks, strategically located, that we have to do because of the security. >> that announcement should be reassuring. not everyone is convinced. the president said the military parade is a celebration of the victory of peace, and not a celebration of the victory of

war. for hundreds of people in the war torn north and east. suffering conditions as they await news of missing loved ones. i met this group in the northern towns. each with a missing husband or son. >> translation: we went and handed them over. they were loaded on to buses and tan in front of our ob -- taken in nof our own -- front of our own side. are we supposed to move forward. that tamil tiger lost a leg of. >> if there's a problem they'll find people like us and ask were you there, did you see. if there's an issue, they pick on us. >> reporter: offer the past five years government poured billions into the war zone. tamils say winning them over will take more than building roads and railways. giving them space to grieve the dead will be a start.

north korea officials issued a rare public apology after a building collapse is believed to have killed hundreds. a 23 storey apartment building under construction collapsed in pyongyang last week. officials say 92 families had moved in. irresponsible construction caused the collapse. officials expressed profound consolation and apology, but did not say how many casualty yes they suffered. >> lebanon's president is calling for hezbollah to pull out of syria, it is's that they are fouling sectarian sentences in a war-ravaged company. the story of the war came to the cannes film festival, a movie including more than 1,000 cleanse. "silverwatered is directed by a film-maker in exclil and shot by a journalist.

[ gun fire ] >> reporter: these images emerge from syria on a daily basis. on the news, on tv scroops, and now -- screens, and now on the big screen at the cannes film festival. "silvered water" was directed from afar. the maker cut together 1,000 internet videos from exile in paris. one day he got to talking to a woman in homes. this is the result. i start to feel i'm back into syria, that this virtual window became real, deep, beautiful. she became, you know, my homeland. and after i discover yes for me, she is a metaphor of syria. >> this is a movie that brings

the viewer closer to the daily horrors of life in a war-torn country. it features scopes of rape, death. but also resilience. >> reporter: you are going back to syria? >> yes. >> reporter: are you scared? >> even if i die there, it's not - not the same. >> reporter: these are people that have lost everything except their dignity. she carries with her a bag of soil wherever she goes, a piece of homs. it's important to have a piece of it with you at all times. >> the message is the broken can change. there's no language, there is no way to describe what i feel. >> reporter: her house no longer stands, her home will never

leave her. israel announced that it will confiscate nearly 7,000 acres of palestine land. it's a move that raised concerned for many palestine landowners in the wang. now -- west bank. now they are taking their case to court claiming this fake documents have been used to seize the land. >> reporter: this was home to 50 families before vacuated. many insisted they bout the land from palestinians like this man's father, a claim denied. >> translation: they said the land was sold to a palestinian middle manned, that my father sold him the land. it's not true. they say they have my father's signature. >> reporter: he says his father

couldn't sign it, he was illiterate and on that day he was on his death bed. palestinian records show the middle man did not exist. it's not the only one. this 2003 lees was declared a formry. the palestine man that allegedly sold the land died 50 years prior. israely settlers insist they buy it locally, some palestinians take the money and dedemi it later to -- deny it later it to save face and lie. >> part of the problem is palestinian owners feel flattened in a life-threatening situation where if they are found out to be selling land to jewish people, they could be killed. >> an organization says it's true. israeli settlers are accused of

using false documentation as a tactic, even if it moons the truth is revealed later. >> you see that is works. the claims. they are not real. it helps them to have another six months, another year for that person to be evacuated. which is what is happening now. with five igstructures -- illegal structures sit on his land. he said it's more that property, it's about family. >> it's an instalment to the dead and the living, because the dead can't defend themselves. >> translation: he says that he will not give up - land and honour are the same. pope francis will visit the holy land on saturday, travelling with a rabbi and muslim leader. we'll bring you more in "the week ahead", at 8:30, 5:30 pacific. america's amazing

infrastructure. you heard how bad bridges and roads are. what about dams? plus, what a group of scientists hope to do with a satellite in space. vé

president obama urged congress to authorise funding to repair the nation's infrastructure. roads and bridges are in node of upgrades. the president didn't include america's dams this his address. le average aim. -- the average age of the country's 84,000 vans is 52 years - many need repairs. allen schauffler went to find out what is wrong with one dam, and what it will take to fix it. >> reporter: there's trouble at this dam, deep in the concrete

of a pier, there's a crack. >> you can tell something is wrong. >> reporter: engineers believe improperly cured concrete and mathematical areas during construction willed to weak possess in the spill way, cracking on a seam because of the pressure of all the water. >> a fracture 65 feet wide, gaping open about two inches, with water flowing into it. when we reduced the water elvaugs, it -- vasion it set the -- elvaghts it set the pier in place. >> reporter: 70 miles of this has been dry. fruit growers are scrambling to make do. nelson expanded pipes to reach the lowered river, added a pump and generator to water the crops. it's a lot of extra money.

>> it is, but you have to have water. there's no get around that. i have water going up to the farm, that's what counts. >> the dam is operating far below capacity with repair costs pegged at more than $60 million the bd rock apping -- bedrock anchoring is needed across the spill ways, not just the cracked one. grant countied it will be late fall before the pitch is finished and the water can be raised to normal levels. since the soviets put spud nick into orbit dozens of nations launched satellites into space. many have run out of power or burnt up in the atmosphere. a group of amateur enthusiasts tried to revive one of them. >> there's a forgotten sat lute out there, and a few every day people want to get it back. in 1978 n.a.s.a. launched a

satellite to study the points where the earth and sun cancel the pull. in 1983 n.a.s.a. repurposed the same satellite to be the first spacecraft to intercept a comet. an amazing piece of improvisation. once it did that, it was forgotten and it drifted further from earth and was given up from. litre this summer it will orbit back to earth, and this week a volunteer team will establish ongoing contact with it, and control of the spacecraft. think of them as a sal vim team. if they -- salvage fam. if they get ic 3 up and running they'll be in control of a satellite for educational purposes. getting it run is no joke. they have to build a silulation of the language that n.a.s.a. suicide.

telemetry looks like a taxi receipt. it's jibberish. if they spack the language, the -- spack the language, the arrest is easier. most of the instruments were fuptioning and there's -- funking and there's enough power to achieve a course change of 40 degrees. at that point they'll have a public science lab in the sky ready for a student that wants a demmsful our -- glimpse of our planet or what is behind it. coming up next - they are a gateway to the past for a new generation. how museums are changing to appeal to children.

welcome back. more than 100 countries celebrate international museum day. museums can be a great way to learn about cultures around the world. getting kids excite about learning is not easy. we have this report from london on museums reinventing themselves for a new generation.

>> reporter: it's 5:15, early evening and a body discovered in london, who did the murder is a mystery and the april in the petrie museum. >> i'd like to come back. >> i like to see things. >> young adults ab sent among the museum-going population. institutes try hard to get them through the door. while they were full of glass cases and silence, touching forbidden, now there's music, technology and live habitat. about 5.5 million people visit the natural history museum every year - about 22,000 a day. despite the crowds here and at museums like it around the world, it's a battle to keep the punters interested. >> we are a free museum. you don't have to pay. >> britain's deposit sponsors some moususeums so they are freo

visit. they have to draw a wide awedions in return. >> they have the opportunity to meet scientists and see 80 million speaks mems for themselves, get the hands on those objects through handling activities. across london there's plenty to handle. after a 5-year restoration after being ravaged by fire - the director says it's more than a museum, it's a visitor experience, with a turn offer of $6.4 million. >> we invite people to comment. we do exit surveys, tracking surveys. focus group work to get a sense of what people want. research is a key part of the arsenal to keep an audience coming back for more. cool. that will do it for this hour. thank you for joining us. i'm thomas drayton in new york. i'll be back with another hour

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