aljazeera.com/ajamstream. ♪ >> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters in new york these are the stories we're following for you. key primary races taking place across the country, some veteran republicans trying to hold on to their seats in congress. newcomers are hoping for upsets. there is a debate on net neutrality on capitol hill. and you might have to pay a little more for your morning cup of joe a new disease is crippling some coffee growers and you could pay the price. ♪

today is this primary's season super tuesday. the busiest day of the year so far. the biggest races featuring tea party candidates challenging the republican establishment. libby casey is in washington, d.c. what are some of the key races we're watching that could lead to a power shift. >> yeah, four senate races in play today and that's important because republicans need only six seats to take control of the u.s. senate. the biggest one both in terms of national view, but also because it's very symbolic is mitch mcconnell, defending his seat against a tea party louisville businessman matt bevin. mitch mcconnell is way ahead.

he has run a very successful and well-funded campaign. and this is definitely going to be one to watch. other races, oregon has a battle for the republican nominee. monica webby is a republican that many here in washington are excited about. she is a woman. she is a doctor, and provides viewpoints that people are eager to follow. she has got a challenger, a state congressman who is accusing her of not being conservative enough on abortion. also recent accusations of her stalking an ex-boyfriend has come up. and sarah palin calls a fellow momma grizzly. >> and there is also that hotly contested governor's race in pennsylvania.

>> that's right. this is a democratic contest. allison schwartz, a congress woman from pennsylvania was seen as almost a shoe in even though democrats were really hungry to get a role in this race, but the incumbent is very unpopular in pennsylvania. however schwartz was not in the lead going into today's voting. tom wolf has pored a ton of his own money into his campaign, and he is in the lead. it has been an interesting race to watch. allison schwartz and other rsz trying to get out attack ads now. >> and speaking of the numbers at the poll, how will that effect things today? >> you know, del, it's a primary of a non-presidential election year. there's a bit of voter apathy. there's not a lot of incentive for everyone to go out and vote. so everyone across these six

states are trying to get people to come out and support them. what are they passionate about. allison schwartz has been running pro-obamacare ads. so a lot of this may be decided by how many people get motivated to take the time out of their days and go to the polls. another hot topic is net neutrality. tom wheeler testifying before a house committee. proposed changes could create a faster net. that means that internet companies would charge companies like netflix and amazon more for their service and in turn they could charge you more. >> there is only one internet. there's not a fast internet and a slow internet. there's not special services internet, and non-.

there is one internet. and the -- when the consumer buys access to the internet, they are buying access to the full internet. and that's what our rules attempt to protect. >> congress would have to agree to the new proposal in order for the fcc to implement changes. >> in thailand the military is denying that a coup is underway. the army chief saying the movement was needed to restore stability. >> reporter: as thais woke up on tuesday and headed out to school and work, most were just finding out that they now live under marshall law. >> translator: in order to keep peace and order efficiently and bring peace back to the people of every group quickly, i hereby exercise the right under the

marshall law act, 1914, to invoke marshall law nationwide. >> reporter: several more announcements were made as the day unfolded giving military commanders more power. soldiers took over the peace and stability area. >> translator: i hope all parties and factions find a political solution soon. the next step is to try to bring rival parties to talk in peace. there can't be talks if there's no peace. if there's still movements provocation and instigation towards violence. >> reporter: ten television stations were told to stop broadcasting. dnn was one of them. >> translator: when i saw the soldiers walking in, as i am a red shirt member, and we have fought for democracy, we wanted

to disobey them, but this is the law. i think we have to play by the rules and be cautious. >> reporter: and the yellow shirts will continue with their protests peacefully. the army's presence on the streets of bangkok is light. but at this point no one really knows how long they are going to have to stay on the streets or if more troops will have to be called in. the army has insisted that this is not a coup, but a move to prevent more violence. >> not quite a coup yet, because we have a caretaker government. but the authority will shift to the military. now we have no longer the administrative center, so it depends now going forward in the coming days what kind of resolution the army has in mind. >> reporter: and the army commandinger is keeping his options open. simply saying marshall law will

remain in place for as long as it takes. . in ukraine pro-russian and government forces once again exchanging gunfire this time in the city of slaviansk. russia is condemning what it calls an escalation in violence in that region. fighting began late last week when ukrainian forces moved in to protect a tv tower. and ukraine's richest man is calling for an end to what he calls mutiny in the east. meanwhile ukrainians are going to the polls to elect a new president on sunday. many believe that pro-russian forces will try to disrupt the voting. nick spicer has more from kiev. >> reporter: she talks toy cars in russian. she is a ukrainian citizen, but an ethnic russian as his her

husband. they are the kind of people vladimir putin says need defending. an idea she laughs away. she and her husband are both voting for the lead candidate who wants a united ukraine closer to europe not russia. >> we want to change ukraine. we want things to be as they are in europe, open and honest. we don't want to return to the soviet system and the rhetoric i used to hear from my parents. >> reporter: the killing of protesters are seen as a turning point, and sunday's election as a chance to rally the nation. >> what you really have is patriotic ukrainians who speak russian, and you have all of these missiontures, you have five or six major religions in

the mix. and the only thing that can hold the country together is a civic identity. >> savic identity in which voting is the most important act, especially if the new participate will be recognized as legitimate across the country. but the armed men in the east have stolen voting ballots and intimidated poll workers. this man from the donetsk region says he will head home to vote on sunday if he can. if many voters are kept away, the challenge for the new president will be showing citizens that he or she is working for them and for a more stable, peaceful ukraine. there is a rescue taking place off of the coast of italy. italy's navy trying to rescue two fishing boats that are

packed with migrants one of them full of children. 300 people are on board those boats. in nigeria police are saying they are going to tighten security around boarding schools. schools have been a target throughout boko haram's campaign. local business leaders joining the government to provide funds for the new security measures. and also in nigeria we are hearing reports that at least 40 people are dead following twin blasts in the city of joes. mohammed do we believe these explosions are the work of boko haram? >> reporter: well, del, they haven't claimed responsibility yet, but all suspicion is the

group boko haram is behind this blood. it was near the main market in joes a time when many were on the streets. also adjacent to where the blast happened is the main bus and railway terminal for the town, and after the blast, [ inaudible ] huge part of the bus back, and police could be [ inaudible ] social media carrying and transporting bodies that were bombed beyond recognition. it's not the first time boko haram have targeted joes, but also what we know is that joes is the capitol of the volatile state which is where the muslims and christians meet and sectarian violence has been the order of the day in the past.

>> boko haram has been warning that there would be more attacks and now it has happened. is there a sense in nigeria that the government is powerless to stop this group? >> well, the government has gotten a lot of criticism on how it has handled -- or it is going to handle the kidnapping of the 276 girls as well as the rescue mission in which it's trying to bring them back to their parents, but also the whole boko haram issue since it began in the early 2002, and the president has been under immense pressure. the security agencies have been under immense pressure and criticism that they have not handled the issue very well. and all the while, boko haram seems to be getting stronger and stronger. 48 hours ago it was in the northwest, and then in the northeast, and now it's at the center of nigeria, and they seem

to be fighting against the notion that has been created that boko haram is a nigerian phenomenon [ inaudible ] the capitol. >> mohammed thank you very much. the government in bosnia declaring a day of mourning today. 39 people died from flooding in the bakkens. there is news video showing them air lifting a baby. this is the fifth day that those teams are in bosnia helping with the rescue efforts. a half million people have been forced from their homes. coming up coffee shops across america could be raising their prices, farmers battling a

disease of their crops.

the u.s. is reporting an increase in synthetic drug use. 300 new substances appearing in more than 90 countries around the world. >> reporter: this street in manhattan is known for its smoke shops, selling products such as cigarettes, glass pipes and rolling papers, we sent in two al jazeera producers to see if they can find something unlikely on display.

k2, spice, molly, bath salts, stimulants and hallucinogenics. but lately they are not easy to find. two weeks ago the drug enforcement administration launched major raids across 28 states in the u.s. agents arrested 150 people and seized $20 million in cash and assets linked to the synthetic drug's market. but the agency is up against an unfamiliar enemy. >> this is the new frontier. this is a challenge we haven't seen historically. these drugs are every changing and ever evolving. >> reporter: up to 300 new synthetic drugs have emerged

mainly in china. once the drugs are made they are easily bought and delivered by the net. a report shows huge increases in psycho active drugs around the world. new supplies have emerged from west africa and the americas feeding into asia. the un highlights the growing use of unknown chemical cocktails. if someone has bad reaction, medical staff don't know what they are dealing with, and therefore, can't treat the patient. >> reporter: the dea says taking the drugs is like playing a game of russian roulette. but there are no shortage of drug users willing to take the risk. and the government is stepping up its efforts to help save your morning cup of joe. it's called coffee rust and it

is costing more than a billion dollars of damage. >> reporter: supplies of connoisseur grade coffee are threatened and the price of a gourmet cup may be on the rise as a coffee killing fungus sweeps through the farms of central america. the disease has been spreading for three years. >> it's really quite devastating. we're looking at over a billion dollars in economic impact. and these are small farmers living on the edge of poverty anyway. >> reporter: the crops scientists hope to develop fungus resistant coffee trees. in los angeles this coffee company specializes in coasting small batches of the finest coffee available. much of them from central america. he says the small scale coffee growers will deeply worried and

so is he. >> i look at us as the coffee industries are stewards of the product that the farmer produce, and when something like this threatens to devastate them, it devastates all of us. >> reporter: at this coffee shop prices are already inching up. washington's chief concern is not so much for high-end coffee drinkers here, as it is for the spread of instability and drug trafficking in south america. >> reporter: mark firestein said . . . if the fungus isn't brought under control, future coffee

yields in guatemala, honduras, panama, and costa rica could drop as much as 40%. >> if more people slip into poverty then there will be an increase in crime. i think there is already an increase of my migration from the farms into the cities. >> reporter: prices jumped to a two-year high earlier this month. and coming up on al jazeera america, millions of us love the hot sauce siracha, but a town in texas loves it so much they want the company to move there. if i told you that a free ten-second test

could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment.

we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! he has a phaser! it's not a phaser! it's my phone! he can use his voice to control the tv. you can use your woice? my voice. your woice. my voice. "vuh," voice. his voice. your woice? look. watch sci-fi. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. today is this primary season's super tuesday, the busiest primary day of the year so far. voters are casting their ballots

in six different states. the chairman of the fcc testifying today about proposed internet fast lanes. that means internet providers could character companies more money for faster service. in tern they could charge consumers even more. there were dead lynn twin explosions in a city in nigeria, gilling at least 40 people. it has been the area of sectarian violence between christians and muslims in that country. they head a memorial in moore, oklahoma today. it has been a year since a tornado tore through that city. more than 1,000 shelters have been built since that tornado struck. more than 20 people died in the disaster, close to 400 were injured. ♪

and i'm meteorologist dave warren, we are look at the upper level pattern here, showing where areasover low-pressure are, and this is influencing the temperatures here. cooler across the northeast. and you might notice from washington, d.c. up through boston, temperatures have dropped just a bit. warming up considerably here across the southern plains. this ridge develops, and eventually the humidity across the gulf of new mexico, and that will put the chance of rain in the forecast toward the end of the week. and then a welcome change from the heat we had here last week, temperatures have dropped a bit. some light rain or even snow. there this is some snow coming down across the see areas there, but not really effecting the southern plains where the temperatures continue to climb. record temperatures again in

this area. not all that hot across the southwest, temperatures just trying to get up to about 60 or 70 degrees. here is this area of rain and snow moving south. then you get into this red flag warning, not for the snow, but the heat and wind. it's very dry and windy, and temperatures climbing close to 100 degrees again with very low relative humidity. the red flag warning is in effect, high temperatures here climbing in to the triple double digits. the hot air is here for another day and then cooler air will move in. temperatures 60s to 80s. there is the front. and the cooler air will start to spread to the east. the temperatures climb just a a

bit from d.c. up to boston. but there is a chance of thunderstorms both tomorrow and thursday before the cool air moves in. del? >> dave warren thank you very much. there is a war heating up over hot sauce. california that says they want to give the hot sauce the boot. and texas where they like it hot. heidi zhou castro reports. >> reporter: let's give a toast to denton, and a toast to sriracha, if you have got a bottle told her up. >> reporter: denton, texas a small town with a big taste for sriracha hot sauce. >> i put it on everything i eat. >> reporter: this city councilman said when he heard the town where the sauce was

produced was declaring the smell a public knew sense, he wanted to get on board. >> we love it. >> reporter: hundreds attended a pepper rally to show them that texas would welcome sriracha with open arms and mouth. >> if you look at an aerial photograph of their current factory, it is nestled right in the middle of neighborhoods. here they will be miles away from the closest neighborhoods. >> reporter: he says that will spare his residents from suffering the burning eyes and throat that the california residents complained of. >> there is no new sense issue here. we have been in the plant. we have been outside the plant. right up next to where the chiles will being grinded and

produced and there's no issue. >> >> reporter: but not everyone in denton is convinced. sarah burke says denton should do more research. >> i think if there's any risk of not being able to stay outside and kids enjoy the outdoors and adults the same that will be a problem. >> reporter: perhaps the greatest challenge to luring them here to denton is the lack of a local agriculture industry here. right now this 14-acre community garden is the closest thing to it. >> reporter: the ceo has said he has no desire to leave his california home, but if irwin dale forces their hand -- >> it eaches hot, and texans like spicy food. >> reporter: the message from texas is clear. heidi zhou castro, denton, texas, al jazeera.

>> thank you for watching al jazeera america. 101 east is next. and a reminder for updates throughout the day all you have to do is go to aljazeera.com, where the news continues 24 hours aday, 7 days a week, non-stop. china's one child policy has quoted controversy, from accusations of the state confiscating children, to forced abortions. today it is being blamed for a declining fertility rate and a major gender imbalance,