>> mainstream republicans fending off tea party challenges in several states, a major battle for the heart of the gop. >> improving ties, russia and china work to go solidify their relationship and how it could have a big impact on washington. >> it's all about getting you back to work and getting you to win and play games. >> no pain, no gain. that new class action lawsuit against the nfl says the league

drugged its players. >> milking cows going high tech. cyborg's saving dairy farmers from going belly up. kathleen sebelius. >> primary elections setting the stage for high profile house and senate race this is fall. >> voters went to the polls in pennsylvania, kentucky, arkansas, georgia, idaho and oregon. >> senate minority mitch mcconnell fighting off a tea party challenge. >> in georgia, david perdue advanced to a republican run off election in that state's hotly contested election race. >> any surprises from last night's results? >> not from what we knew just a couple of days ago, but if someone six months ago were looking at outcomes, they would be shocked because some that were considered shoo in's didn't prevail. running for the democratic nominee for governor in

pennsylvania, she lost to tom wolf, who run a self-funded campaign, businessman, served in local government. her house seat opened up and there is someone who has gotten attention, the mortgage of chelsea clinton was seen as a shoo in. didn't happen. brendan boyle ran a more effective campaign. most focus is on the republican party and last night, the tea party went home unhappy. >> make me the majority leader and kentucky will lead america! >> easily beating his tea party rival, mat bevin, mitch mcconnell is gearing up for a far tougher race in the fall. >> a vote for my opponent is a vote for obamacare and the president who sold it to us on a mountain of lies.

>> grymes secured her nomination and is considered to be the democratic's best chance. >> i'm here to tell you tonight, i am not an empty dress, i am not a rubber stamp and i am not a cheerleader, i am a strong kentucky woman, an independent thinker. the decisions i make will be what's best for the people of the commonwealth of kentucky, not partisan interests. >> throughout heavily contested states who will decide who leads the senate next year, traditional candidates were beaten. kingston will face david perdue in a july gop runoff. that winner will meet michelle none, the daughter of former senator sam nun and another female candidate giving

democrats hope of a majority. >> i've been highlighting what washington can learn from georgia. i think that washington's going to learn a thing or two from our campaign. >> in arkansas, the democratic candidates won their priories. it could sway the balance of power in washington. in oregon, political newcomer won the gop nomination despite accusations of stalking an exboyfriend. she handed a mental to democrats. >> we all know that the best way to defeat a bully is to stand up to him and that is exactly what we are going to do. >> no rest for the candidates as they go on to the general election. it's already heating up. >> no rest for you, either. thank you very much. >> in our next hour, our political contributor jason johnson's going to be here to

break down last night's election results and help us measure the effect the tea party has had on the republican establishment. >> a federal judge struck down a same-sex marriage ban in pennsylvania, paving the way for same-sex couples to wed. the ruling comes a day after same-sex marriage was legalized in oregon. pennsylvania is now the 19t 19th state to legalize gay marriage, including eight other states in the northeast. >> a classified memo on drone strikes targeted at americans overseas will soon be made public. the senate votes today on the confirmation of david barren, one of the authors of that memo at a tapped by president obama to sit on the appeals court in boston. four americans killed by drone strikes overseas, only one was the specific target. >> pakistan saying precision military air strikes have killed 32 fighters on its border of

afghanistan, a strong hold of the taliban and al-qaeda members. the men targeted included senior commanders, coming weeks after the pakistani taliban ended its ceasefire. >> on tuesday, destroying a popular martian and train terminal, 118 people were killed. emergency teams still searching through the rubble and say the death toll could rise. the president jonathan condemned the attacks. we have more on who may be behind the bombings. >> the target was a busy marketplace. police say the bomb was packed in a minivan designed to cause as many deaths at possible.

>> a second blast in a truck packed with explosive less than 30 minutes later hit some of the initial response teams. >> there was a secondary explosion. every person would lay on the floor. >> a fire broke out, but gutted the bus station and badly burned many of the dead. this has been a flash point for violence in the past but has seen a few years of relative peace until now, apparently part of a violent campaign waged across the country. there's been no claim of responsibility, but this attack is suspected to of been carried out by boko haram. a president spokesman said the government remains fully committed to winning the war

against terror and will not be cowed by enemies of human progress and civilization. there was a kidnapping of over 200 school girls over a month ago. it attracted the world's attention. the french president hosted a meeting in paris on saturday where nigeria and its neighbors agreed to fight the armed group. a force is patrolling border areas and france, the united kingdom and united states committed more resources. you for the people shopping in this marketplace, those plans may not be enough. while parliament agreed to extend a state of emergency in the northeast, more than 100 people lost their lives hundreds of kilometers away. aljazeera, nigeria. >> more than 1500 people have been killed in boko haram bombings this year, most attacks have taken place in the northeastern part of the country. >> the u.s. is imposing more sanctions against russia,

putting restrictions on 12 russians for human rights violations. the list didn't include the sanctions and tie them to the crisis. the u.s. has targeted russians for human rights abuses since 2012, 18 on a list of those affected. coming up, how sanctions from the west are affecting russia. >> in romania for talks with the countries president, the u.s. is now on track to open a missile shield base in romania by next year. it is a member of nato and the european union, calling for a stronger presence in eastern europe in response to the actions by russia. 1500 troops are currently stationed in romania and moldova. >> despite growing violence in libya, new elections will take place next month on june 25. the announcement follows an attack on parliament earlier this week by a militia calling

itself the libyan national army. their stated goal is to take down what they refer to as islamist militants in libya. the u.s. is ready to evacuate the american embassy if necessary. three planes, several osprey helicopters and 250 marines are on stand by and ready to go in italy. >> a meeting between thailand's opposing political groups yield few results. martial law remains in the country. military leaders insist they are holding power only until thailand's political crisis i says resolved. >> the meeting convened by the general is the first time that we've seen leaders of parties on diametrically opposite sides coming together to hammer out a way to work together. this is in line with what the general has said his role, his intention, his purpose of

imposing martial law was. he said he wants to make the situation of peace and order in the country, so that it can begin to run properly. there was some economic figure that is came out just the other day that indicate that thailand is basically at zero economic growth as a result of the political stalemate that's been going on. there's also the issue today, as people go about the streets wondering what martial law actually means for them. there are those who are relieved that the army has taken control of security across the country, because they feel that means they won't be disturbed by demonstrations, violence and can get on to business. investors can come back, for example. at the same time, there are also those activists who are extremely worried about the fact that the law that the military has used to impose martial law

may not be a coup, as they say it is not, but at the same time, it renders the legislative judiciary and executive powerless. >> veronica pedestrian degrees is a reporting from bangkok. the army has staged 11 coups since 1932. >> an egyptian court sentencing former president mubarak to three years in prison. he was charged with embezzlement. his two sons each getting four years for the same charges, all three accused of embezzling millions to upgrade their private homes. they were ordered to reimburse the country $17 million. mubarak led egypt for more than 30 years and removed from power three years ago during the arab spring. >> firefighters battling a fire in northern arizona. it has scorched 450 hours in

slide rock park. homes and businesses have been evacuated, as many as 100 homes are threatened by the flames. a second 200-acre fire started by a burning r.v. is spreading north of phoenix. >> the hot weather fueling the fires could only get worse. we are joined by meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> we are looking long term when we say that. we have had mild relief because of temperature shift in the pattern, but the four corners region versus yesterday, this spread into portions of the southern plains, as well, that fire risk as we get here. it's a temperature drop of 10 degrees in some places, still quite hot in the southern plains, but that pattern shift and winds mean less of a fire risk. all the temperatures are coming in from april. where you see the reds around the world are places that are running above average. if you just look at the united states, some above, some below, not too significant. you look at whole continents like europe, africa and

australia being above average already this year and april tying a record for the warmest april ever, but we're already so far number six on track for having a warm year around the globe. that's going to cause us problems for places like the southwest, california, already in those drought situations. this is a place through the summer that it looks like we'll have temperatures well above average, leading to an early fire season. a lot of places, communities start to go run dry, people asked to conserve water. looks like that trend is going to continue. this is actually the reservoir that's supposed to be a water reservoir out there and that's how dry these areas are. definitely a problem heading through the summer. as we get today, already that snow pack very low. that's lending to less water resources, as well, so not great news on the kind of global scale temperature wise. >> we are really seeing that trend in full force now. nick mitch, thank you. >> hundreds of former pro

football players are taking the nfl to court over allegations of prescription drug abuse, jonathan beds reports the players say the powerful pain killers were handed out with very little in the way of medical supervision. >> it's an unprecedented lawsuit, eight retired pro football players sued the nfl in a federal court in san francisco. 500 other explayers have joined them in the suit, saying the nfl drugged them illegally with pain killers so they could keep playing in spite of injuries. >> what you have in the nfl is a bunch of a necessary they sized gladiators going out every week and the nfl putting profit before players. >> the suit it is the drugs were obtained illegally and team doctors would never tell them they had broken bones, but were given pills to hide the pain. the practice led to harmful, long term consequences,

including addiction, financial loss, mental anguish and serious medical complications. hall of famer rich chart dent is part of the suit. >> you look to the league to help one long term, it's about getting you to win and play games. >> the lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, coming less than a year after the league agreed to pay $765 million to settle claims by explayers overhead injuries. >> that's jonathan betz reporting from new york. in the suit, the former players say they were never given proper instructions about the side effects, the dangers of long term drug use or risk of addiction to pain killers. >> there is an uphill battle ahead for the man in charge of fixing the department of veterans affairs. >> allegations that some of our bravest young americans died waiting for care at v.a.

hospitals. the president's point man heading to the place it all started. critics say that is not enough. >> if you go and keep shutting down everything that's pertaining to our kids, you are saying to those badly minded folks you win, take over. >> desperate measures at an ohio elementary school, but the push to protect students has many parents calling it overkill. >> you are not married to your farm anymore. you can take care of your cows without being there 247. >> no more waking up early to milk the cows, robots taking care of it. >> nearly 2.5 million vehicles. >> not a traffic jam on the 405. it is our big number of the day and an even bigger number for general motors. neral motors. ♪

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.

>> meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> good morning, warm enough in portions of the south like houston this morning at 72. that's our cool point. you might have had to run the air conditioner all night long. chicago at 69 this morning, behind the next system, a little bit cooler, denver at 54. here's what we've had. a system off the coast has brought cooler air to the northeast, not cold, but not the warm stuff like we've had in the south where we've had that southerly flow around the high.

that's shifted, temperatures have dropped slightly here and then a cooler flow for the northwest. that's great news. all that heat last week was impacting the fire danger that we've had. what all that have does for temperatures for today, 70's in the northeast, still 80's, though as we get through the south. back to you. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> the president plans to meet behind closed doors with the secretary of veteran affairs. rob neighbors, the man the president tapped to investigate the delays at the v.a. will also be there. tracy pots joins us live from washington, d.c. do we have any heads up? do we know anything now about the president's meeting? >> not really. we do know they're going to sit down behind closed doors this morning before neighbors heads to phoenix, giving the president a briefing. top veterans group met with them yesterday, including the american legion that want a

resignation. the meetings are happening tomorrow. first, he's going to sit down with the interim director of the phoenix v.a., the person who's been in charge of cleaning up things there to find out where they are in terms of the investigation and what they're doing differently out there. i's also going to tour the v.a. out there and sit down with some of the veteran groups to really sort of get an on the ground sense of what it's been like for these veterans trying to get appointments, trying to get in to see doctors and apparently in some cases, end up on these back up list for months if they were able to get in at all. >> bring us up to date on the anger on capitol hill. >> there's a lot of frustration on capitol hill. number one, the house issued a subpoena to about 24 people in the v.a. to get documentation

back about what was nope and going on, what was the time line of what was no one about this possible falsification of records not only in phoenix, but texas, colorado and other sites, as well. they've only heard back from one person so far and one lawmaker from florida, jeff miller, said that he's frustrated and thinks that the v.a. may have something to hide, why aren't they more forthcoming, he asks, with those records. we know today the house is going to vote on a measure that would make it easier to fire people within the v.a. >> live from washington, d.c., thank you very much. >> over the past decade, increasing costs have taken a steep cost on u.s. dairy farmers. many are turning to technology to become more efficient. robots are now doing tasks that for generations have been done the old fashioned way. >> from the outside, it might seem a throwback to the past. only in the last decade, it

stopped delivering bottled milk to homes. it might seem surprising to find robots inside the farm, the farm recently decided to catapult into the future and embrace new technology to survive. >> robots, we were like hmm, how's that going to work. >> are you skeptical. >> i'm thinking hands on and cows are used to human touch and how is that going to translate. now that i have seen it in full action and i have an understanding of it, amazing. >> the 120 cows at this farm no longer rely on a farmer's schedule to get milked. when their you haar is filled and they want relief, they line up when they want day or night and hook up to the robotic milkers. everything they do is tracked, since bessy is wired, sort of. those colors around the cow's neck hold transponders, containing chips that i.d. the cow and measure how active it is. a cow's activity level drops, that's a signal it may be

significant. the herd manager would then get an alert on his phone. >> the main thing is that you're not married to your farm anymore. you can still take care of your cows and don't have to be there 24-7. farmers are switching to rot bots to milk cows. they're having a hard time finding workers. >> as farmers get more desperate for quality labor and costs rise, they are looking to combat those costs. >> their use in the u.s. is low but growing, one big factor, the technology isn't cheap. the general manager spent half a million dollars for two milking robotic systems and that isn't counting money spent to refurbish the physical structures. he was running out of options as equipment aged. >> if you didn't take action, what would have happened? >> we decided to do something or close the doors. >> since installing the technology in september, milk production has increased, bringing in more cash.

on this farm, it's helping attract a new generation of farmers. >> it really changes from the farmer doing little monotonous boring work to being able to manage the cows. i never thought we'd be able to implement this technology this fast. >> the hope is that technology will be a selling point for young workers skeptical of farm life. aljazeera. >> the number of farms around this country is dwindling. today, there are 49,000, down from 70,000 in 2003. >> an indiana man convicted of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife and recording it all with a creeling phone. >> the victim was stunned by what the judge said on sentencing day. >> he told me to forgive my attacker and then proceeded to tell my attacker that he would be going home that day. >> not a day behind bars, why the victim says the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

>> primary season, so-called super tuesday come and gone, the real test for some could be still to come. >> a texas teenager facing the possibility of life in prison because he bakes pot brownie, why the punishment could be so strict.

>> the gop establishment may have fended off primary challenges by the tea party but we'll look at how the ultra conservative tea party is impact be the way the whole party does business. >> russia and china improving relations and how america will be affected by their latest deal to get closer. >> the cost of getting a college

education and really the question is whether the degree you earn is worth the price of college these days. >> first a look at our top stories. same sex couples will soon be able to get married in pennsylvania, a judgage that the marriage ban is unconstitutional. the governor hasn't said yet if he will appeal that ruling. pennsylvania would become the 19th state to allow same-sex marriage. >> cameras were rolling when the second of two car bombs exploded in nigeria. 118 people died when the explosions collapsed, building around a marketplace and bus station. the government believes boko haram is responsible. that's the same group that abducted nearly 300 school girls. >> a classified memo allowing drones to attack an american suspect. critics say the secret documents

should be released. >> no prison final for an indiana man convicted of repeatedly drugging and rapes hug wife. >> if he's not going to prison, what exactly is his sentence? >> the judge sentenced him to eight years of house arrest. that means the convicted rapist is only allowed to be at home or at work with his whereabouts tracked by a g.p.s. device. the victim calls the sentence a "sucker punch to the gut." >> nobody can believe that a convicted rapist is sitting out. >> for three years, the 52-year-old had a system of drugging his wife, then raping her while she was unconscious. mandy learned this was happening through video she found on her husbands cell phone. she diversed him and pressed charges. >> he should spend as many years as he can probably get. i'm going to spend the rest of my life with this continually popping into my head and looking

over my shoaled. >> he was convicted of six counts, including rape and deviate behavior. >> rapists belong in prison. the audacity of this particular defendant is something that we don't normally see. >> the indiana judge did not agree and on tuesday delivered a stunning sentence, eight years house detention, no time in prison. mandy was appalled. >> at the beginning, before he ever gave the sentence to mr. weiss. he told me to forgive my attacker and when i heard that, i just couldn't believe what i was hearing. then he proceeded to tell my attacker that he would be going home that day. i was just did yo dumb founded approximate. >> this swear is speaking out because she wants to create change in the justice system. >> i want things to be different. i don't want a rapist to have the opportunity to get home detention after being convicted on six felonies.

i want them to have to serve a mandatory prison sentence. >> early they are month, a texas judge sentenced a man convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl to only 45 days in jail. recently in montana, a judge gave a 31 day sentence to a teacher convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage student. critics fear such decisions will discourage our victims from reporting rapes. >> what about the judge? did the judge give any reason for giving such a sentence? >> no, not at all. he didn't say anything in court that day and i tell hasn't commented despite the controversy. >> supreme court justice samuel alito granted a stay for a defendant with a rare medical condition that could lead to suffering from a fatal

injection. missouri's attorney general said the death warrant remains valid until midnight tonight. >> a convicted killer died in a new york prison. it was one of the most sensational murder cases in the late 1990's, she and her son were grifters who depretended irene silverman, murdering her in an attempt to steal hear town home. the body has never been found. sentenced to 120 years in prison was found dead monday night. she was 79 years old. >> a move to protect schools in ohio outraging parents, the school banning recess and all outdoor activities for the rest of the year after a rash of gun violence in the neighborhood. some say the lockdown has turned the school into a prison. >> there was a packed meeting of the school board monday night in lincoln heights as parents demanded their children be freed from lockdown and pleaded for the school doors to stay open. >> if you go and keep shutting

down everything that's pertain to go our kids, you are saying to those violent minded folk you win. take over. >> citing an increase in violence in the neighborhood, district officials imposed the lockdown nearly a week ago. every day, nearly 200 students are kept indoors. there's no outdoor recess and no extracurricular activities. the board didn't make a decision on the school's future monday, so for now, it remains open, but there are no certainties. >> i want to see the school open. i don't want to close the doors. i want to see the community step up and require all of us, the school district and village and others to make a concerted effort to improve the community to where all of us feel safe in that situation. >> school officials say they were left with no other choice but to enforce a mandatory lockdown after a pair of shootings right near here. two were shot a block away two weeks ago, and before that, a

bullet entered an empty school bus and came within inches of striking the bus driver in the head. >> district finishes are taking steps to protect students and staff. those in the community don't dispute the facts that crime is an issue, but question whether lincoln heights elementary, which is predominantly african-american is being singled out as a first step to closing it for good. >> i went to the elementary school myself as a kid. it was the same crime as it is now then. i don't know what the difference is now. >> the chief of police believe the districts may be overreacting. >> this last incident that happened two weeks ago was not directly involving the school, but as it receipts to this lockdown, i think that's unwarranted. >> police stepped up patrols, however, with less than two weeks left in the school year, the lockdown remains in effect. many in this community worry it's a sign that the battle to

save lincoln heights elementary has gust gun. >> the mayor of lincoln heights says a police officer has been stationed inside the school, but said he doesn't agree with the measure preventing kids from going outside. >> relations between the u.s. and china have taken a hit after washington accused beijing of cyber spying. china said the indictment of five men has seriously harmed relations between the two powers. it summoned the u.s. ambassador early tore beijing and warned of more actions. the u.s. charged five chinese military officers with hacking american companies to steal trade secrets. this is the first criminal hacking charge by the u.s. against specific foreign officials. >> a debate over n.s.a. spying in light of china case. beijing said the u.s. has speed on corporations around the world and calls the obama administration actions hypocritical. china said washington has its own definition of what's illegal

spying. the u.s. said it follows american law across the globe but admits local laws are not obstacles to operations. >> certain ba mourning flood victims, 40 people killed in the worst flooding in the balkans since records have been kept. village have been washed away causing hundreds of left hand slides. in one time, people's homes and livelihood have been destroyed. >> stand bags could have saved this womans house, but no one came to help. in one night, her home and her life slid away. >> i put my life savings into this house. i don't know what to tell you. the pain is just overwhelming. >> the location makes it vulnerable. it's in a valley. the river runs through it. >> in many towns and village across the balkans, the floods

took people by surprise. in just two days, this tiny river rose three meters, sending a torrent of mud and water through the heart of this community. >> the landslide destroyed bridge, cutting off many village. it's taken people's livelihoods, too. this woman shows me the fields where she farms, covered in a blanket of mud. she said nothing can grow here again for years. >> the young will leave. if the country would only help, they would stay. >> people need basics, food and drinking water. they need building material and equipment. the european union is here to see the damage and help. >> the embankments of the river have been destroyed and the surrounding rivers that have to

be rebuilt, we have problems with the water distribution and waste management. >> right now, this is the biggest threat, the hillsides are heavy with water, rain could send this unstable land down into the village. people in the balkans are mourning the dead, but the floods have also destroyed a way of life. people here say things will never be the same. aljazeera, western serbia. >> officials worry about the spread of disease across that flooded region. much of it is farmland, leaving behind numerous dead animals. >> mainstream republicans have fought or tea party challenges in primaries. the biggest came in kentucky for senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. they painted mcconnell as the face of the washington elite and not conservative enough. it didn't work.

he easily beat bevin, taking 60% of the vote with that a five way senate race is now a run i don't have between congressman jack kingston and businessman david perdue. three tea party candidates lost in that race and in idaho, congressman mike simpson beat his tea party challenger 62% to 38%. six states held primaries yesterday, the first big day of voting in an important mid term season. the next is june 3 when voters head to the poles in eight states. here to discuss yesterday's results and how it will impact the november elections is jason johnson, political science professor who joins us from atlanta this morning. thanks for being with us. let's start with what you think the main takeaway is and did any of the races surprise you? >> not really.

it was like a really, really close playoff game and then the defending champion wins anyway. i mean, most of the candidates that we expected to win actually ended up winning, no incumbents ended up losing their jobs, no huge surprises happened this super tuesday. i don't think the ground shifted that much despite how much money was spent on these early primary races. >> does the fact that mcconnell beat his challenger by a wide margin, 25 points, tell you anything about his prospects in november against allison grymes, a democratic scribbled as being formidable in the general. >> yes, she's going to be exciting. there's going to be money just falling like rain in this race, but here's the thing. it is very hard to knock off an incumbent and extremely difficult to knock out and incumbent in charge of his party. tom dash was the last time and

that was almost 10 years ago. i think mitch mcconnell is in a strong position. in most instances, even if the polls are close, this is a red state. unless the democratic governor gets heavily involved in this race, i don't think that grymes has much of a chance to knock out mcconnell. >> the last poll showed it as a pretty close race. no gop incumbent lost yesterday. some analysts say that suggests the party is veering away from the ultra conservative tea party, but there may be another way to look at this. hasn't the tea party already reshaped the establishment? >> yeah, the tea party already won. if there was ever any doubt, look at the government shutdown. you basically had 20 people in congress shut down the entire federal government for 250 million americans. i don't think it's so much that the tea party has lost.

i think they've managed to change the conversation. when you're talking about the tea party versus republicans right now, it's like hot sauce versus extra extra hot sauce. they're all conservative. most with the support of the shutdown and half want obama i am peeved. the tea party won their argument in 2010. >> let's take a look at the current co composition of the senate. republicans have 45 seats, so republicans need a gain six seats in order to take control of the senate. does the outcome of any of these primary races thus far give us a better idea of republican's chances for reclaiming the senate? >> i think maybe only in mark pryor's case, looking stronger and stronger. that's one of the places that

republicans thought they'd have a pickup. we don't know this fall did it's going to be a tsunami of republican voters or a slight trickle. i don't see nun winning the race in georgia now. i don't think necessarily grymes is going to win her race in kentucky. i just don't right now. that is where the republicans hope to gain ground or keep ground. here's a key. it's not just for the mid term elections. looking at 2016, if nun wins in georgia and grymes in kentucky, look at those states for hillary clinton to spend money in 2016. >> they would start to look purple real fast. >> let's look at the headlines making news around the world this morning. they are controversial. a comment from a british royal stirring controversy. prince charles is comparing russia's president vladimir putin to adolf hitler.

prince charles and camilla in canada for a royal tour, likening putin's behavior to hitler in the holocaust. he was talking to a jewish woman who fled the holocaust and lost relatives in poland. now he has to meet with vladimir putin later this year. >> he does meet with him next month. he's not the first one to say it. hillary clinton said the same thing in march. >> a 19-year-old in texas faces the possibility of life in prison for baking pot brownies. why such a hard indictment? the daily caller reports that it all comes down to his recipe. he used hash oil to make the brownies, which means they can use the entire weight of the brownie, making it a first degree felony. >> as opposed to the amount of the oil, it was the weight of the brownie itself. >> number thinks he is actually going to get this sentence. >> a group of teens arrested in

iran for being too happy. according to "the new york times," the dancers were sharing a homemade video dedicated to being happy. that video has been watched 165,000 times. versions have been covered in more than 140 countries, but this is the point. the teens were forced to repent on state t.v. tehran's police chief saying it was vulgar, warning the teens not to be zeussed by it. >> don't see the vulgarity here. >> they were arrested for being happy. >> two of the world's biggest powers are also neighbors. >> china and russia working together, forging a powerful new relationship and why it's cause for concern in the u.s. >> traffic is usually buzzing, right, buzzing on i95 in delaware. a different buzzing brought the highway to a stop. how millions of bees ended on

the interstate. >> hunting like the biggest beast of the jungle, it is our discovery of the day, next. >> here is a live look at fleet week, returning to new york city today. three navy ships and two coast guard cutters arriving this morning. you see one of the coast guard cutters right there. and your memorial day weekend for the military, the event dating back to 1994 didn't happen last year because of budget cuts. vél

urgency? only on al jazeera america >> a praying man advertise found in the jungles of rwanda. >> scientists labeled it the

bush tiger saying the female doesn't have wings and can't fly. she talks her prey on the jungle floor, hiding among the brush, like a tiger. they are only believed to be in one national park in rwanda. scientists are calling for protection of the fragile eco system there. the male has wings and can fly but are not aggressive hunters, instead snacking on vegetation. >> china and russia forming a new partnership, signing a 30 year deal that has china buying its natural gas from russia. the deal is politically important to president vladimir putin. he has isolated himself from the west, opposing russia's involvement in ukraine. while president putin's meeting with his chinese counterpart has been described as warm and thus system, relations in the past have been tense. in 1949, the soviet union was one of the first countries to

recognize the people's republic of china. in the 1960's, ties weakened as they viewed for supremacy in the communist world. twenty years later in 1989, the soviet president visited china, agreeing to normalize relations. in 1992, russia's president boris yeltsin visiting cline in a. the countries agreed not to target each other with nuclear weapons. in 2005, china and russia holding their first joint military exercises. 2007, both countries signing commercial deals worth $4 billion. vladimir putin saying that bilateral trade has grown since 2000 to $30 billion now. to put all of this in perspective, we're joined by the eurasia analyst at the foreign policy initiative.

good morning. >> good morning to you, del. >> what exactly do the two countries have in common. >> on the face of it, not terribly much, russia is a major energy provider and china is hungry for energy. if you look at some of the actions they've taken in the past several years, they do seem to both have an interest in the ideas of state sovereignty, of really sort of attempting to make their own way in what they see as a world order that was really set up by the west and by the united states states and that they don't have much of a pardon. they're very interested, really in making their own way and making themselves heard. >> they also seem to be allies in areas where the rest of the world seems to be completely on the other side of the fence, specifically syria, and iran. why do these two world powers see those two conflicts, those two regions of disputes so

differently than the west. >> well, you know, the thing that i just mentioned, the ideas of sovereignty come into play when we're talking about syria. if you look at vladimir putin's statements on libya, on syria, he's very concerned with the idea that western countries could go in and really do as they wish in what he says is a sovereign country. you know, russia has fought its own wars on its own territory, inside of russia, and they've been very, very bloody. from their standpoint and from the chinese standpoint, they have internal disputes with sort of separatist parties that want to fight the governments. they're worried about the same thing happening to them and feel it's important to stake a stand on that particular issue. >> the gas bill, $400 billion in net worth for china going to russia, so it was con census. it did not come about as easily

as some thought. did the crisis in ukraine affect negotiations over this particular gas bill? >> you know, i don't think that the crisis in ukraine really affected the negotiations, but i think it certainly put a bit of a necessity for russia to get this deal done very quickly. most of russia's gas is sold to countries in europe, but now they've seen what's happening in ukraine, these countries are increasingly interested in diversifying their energy portfolios, but that's going to take a long time if it ever does happen. this deal again wouldn't really send gas to china until 2019 or later. we're looking long term here. the russians are very interested in making sure that they have a much more diversified portfolio of countries that they're sending their gas to. in the event that say they are sanctioned by countries in the west and countries in the west decide not to buy russian gas

anymore, the chinese -- >> oh, sorry. joining us from washington, d.c., didn't mean to cut you off. >> no problem. >> so interesting to hear her talk about russia respecting sovereignty when it has just annexed crimea in ukraine. >> let's get a look at the weather across the u.s. nicole mitchell is back. >> we have a couple areas of rain we've been monitoring. it's through the northern tier of the country, moisture associated with all of that. with those areas, a couple places that we could see the stronger storms, south of the great lakes, a wind and hail threat. towards the mountains, could see an isolated tornado, as well as the wind and hail threat. also heavy amountses of rain is what we're doing with as this pushes through the northeast, pennsylvania watching for flood concerns because this has been so heavy so fast. watch for that. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> a busy highway interchange is

still closed because of millions of bees. a truck carrying dozens of colonies overturned on a ramp to i-95 in delaware. three separate bee keepers were called to the scene to try to scatter the stinging insects. a driver and passenger in the truck were hospitalized, though it's not clear whether it was injuries from the crash or bee stings. at least one passing driver was stung. >> at the end of our first hour, here are the stories we're following. mainstream republicans fighting challenges by tea party candidates in primary elections, eight more states heading to the polls june 3. 100 dead from twin blasts in nigeria in a crowded market. no one claimed responsibility for the attack. >> pennsylvania becomes the 19th state to legalize gay marriage. a federal judge there striking down that state's ban on such marriages. >> christians concerned about their safety in the holy land. why they say pope francis'

upcoming trip to the region increases the threat. >> we will be right back with more aljazeera america. eera america.

>> every saturday join us for exclusive, revealing, and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. abe foxman >> we'll fight for your right to be a bigot. if you are a bigot, you're gonna pay a price... >> holocaust survivor and head of the ant-defamation league.

>> there's an awful lot of hatred floating out there... >> and ending discrimination >> ...as long as the children aren't educated, it's gonna maintain... >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america >> playing defense, the white house tries to contain growing outrage over the abuse and care of our nation's veterans. >> super tuesday, the tea party shut out as the kentucky senate race front and center. >> a road block hiding in plain sight. why high cholesterol may play a critical role for thousands of couples trying to conceive. >> most indebted class ever, graduates paying a high price

for the college education. whether it's all worth it. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. a closed door meeting over growing care of veterans. the president will meet with the secretary of veterans affairs. rob nabors will also be there, heading to phoenix later today where the latest scandal erupted. >> testimony last week shed new light on the allegations of mistreatment of americans vets, a doctor claiming dozens of veterans may have died while awaiting care in phoenix. >> we couldn't get an appointment. >> absolutely infuriating, to have your son survive three combat tours to come home and to be treated like this. >> their stories are similar, long waits for doctors and medical care that contributed to the deaths of 40 veterans. the white house is dis3567ing

top aids where the cover ups came to light. >> rob nobors will be traveling to phoenix. he will meet there in phoenix. >> while there, the white house deputy chief of staff will tour the center and meet new leadership installed after allegations that the former phoenix clinic director cooked the books describing and altering wait times patients faced. the investigation into the deaths will be part of the white house push to contain the growing outrage, with more cases of widespread abuse in the care of vets reaching beyond phoenix. >> he saw me on may five, and the neurosurgeon told me they were going to schedule to see me next time november 17, wimp is a long ways away. >> that anger has also reached capitol hill. the house is expected to vote today on a bill giving veterans affairs officials greater

authority to fire those responsible at the department. >> the american people are frustrated, especially when those who have served our country in uniform have been treated the way they have and god forbid, who have perished because of the mess at the v.a. >> also heading to the hill, white thousand chief of steph dennis mcdonough. >> people cooking the books. i'm not aware other than a number of isolated cases, where there is evidence. >> the white house is standing by the former army general we are joined from washington now, what more do we know about the oval office meeting scheduled to take place today with the

president? >> it underscores how much they want to stay on top of this growing furor, this issue. this is not partisan. both democrats and republicans just up in arms over accusations about what's going on at the v.a. hospitals. "the new york times" points out that when president obama was running for office back five years ago, he made a point of saying he was going to clean up the v., make sure veterans got treated right. now he's in the midst of what could be a big scandal. >> some lawmakers are also asking publicly if the veterans affairs department has something to hide, suggest ago cover up accusation. how is the v.a. responding? >> the v.a. administrator when testifying on capitol hill keptness be we are going to do this investigation, see what comes out of it and then we will know the truth. the inspector general for the department, who is in charge of this investigation told lawmakers on capitol hill, i'm not going to rush this, we are not going to rush for judgment,

we are going to nail this thing. they are proms to look into this hole hardly and promising that of course they will release results when they know. >> you said that this meeting today that's going to be with the president himself was sort of a last minute add. i am wondering if you're hearing that the white house is starting to be concerned about whether the president himself might be affected by this scandal. >> clearly republicans will be using this as another example of how the white house has had a misstep and perhaps more. there might be criminal charges some are talking about that could result. clearly the white house in concerned. now president obama doesn't have another election to run for, but there are other democrats on ballots and he has to be mindful of that, as well. this is a, if you read the press on this for example, the opinions, they will say here's this, could be a real scandal, unlike some of the other scandals that have been brought opponens the white house, so clearly the white house is

concerned as well they should be. >> real scandal affecting real people. aljazeera's lisa stark for us in washington, lisa, thank you. >> supreme court justice samuel alito granting a stay of execution for a death row inmate in missouri. the lawyers for the man say their client has a rare medical condition that could lead to suffering, claiming blood vessels inside head and neck could rupture, causing the drugs to circulate improperly. his death warrant remains valid until midnight tonight. >> the white house is expected to release a drone memo that gave the green light to target americans suspected of terrorism. the release of the document is hoping to ease senate confirmation of david barron who wrote the paper. president obama nominated barron to fill a vacant seat in boston. a senate vote on barron's nomination is expected this week. the memo with him not be

released immediately, because officials still need time to redact classified information. >> the administration dropping the hammer imposing as you have sanctions against russian. tuesday, the treasury democratic restricting 12 russians, but the list didn't tie the sanctions to the crisis in ukraine. restrictions fall under an act which freezes the assets of people accused. in 2009, a whistle blowing russian lawyer died in prison. >> the stage is set for some high profile senate races this fall following primaries held in six states tuesday. voters went to the polls in pennsylvania, kentucky, arkansas, georgia, idaho and oregon. in georgia, david perdue, the former c.e.o. of dollar general advanced to a run off election. libby casey live in washington, d.c. lets focus on mitch mcconnell's win in the race in kentucky.

mock connell spending $9 million, his challenger spending more than $3 million. what about the fall? >> expect even bigger money spent in the general election. he'll go up against democratic secretary of state of kentuckyal lon grymes, she's half his age, won state office before and mitch mcconnell is low in voter approval in kentucky. he made his strategy clear last night, how he plans to go into the general. he's going to try to link grymes to national democratic leaders. >> my opponent is in this race because barack obama and harry reid want her in this race. there's a reason every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. it's because they know as well as we do that there isn't a dime's worth of difference, not a dime's worth of difference between a candidate who puts harry read in charge and harry reid himself. >> grymes is distancing herself

from leaders in washington and focusing on kentucky and washington gridlock, which she links measure mcconnell too. >> a run off with david perdue and jack kingston. they were running against three tea partied candidates. are we seeing support for the tea party diminishing? >> across the board, tea party candidates were largely trounced, georgia had a crowded field, three tea party backed guys, so tea party support as well as dollars were scattered and split. some of the big groups just stayed out of the states altogether. >> what's the biggest take away from the primaries? >> we saw the tea party suffer, but saw the importance of the self-funded candidate, not just in georgia where david perdue did well, but in pennsylvania, allison schwartz seemed to be a shoo in but was handily beat by

tom wolf. he went at the race with a lot of his own money and that made a big difference. >> libby casey, live as always this morning, thank you very much. >> a court in egypt sentenced former president hosni mubarek to three years in prison, convicted of embezzlement after charged with stealing public funds. his two sons got four years for the same charges. all three are accused of embezzling millions and upgrading their private homes. they were also fined $2.9 million and ordered to reimburse more than $17 million to egypt's treasury. mubarak led egypt for more than 30 years and removed from power three years ago. >> a face-to-face meeting between leaders of thigh land's opposing liberal group. martial law still in place with. leaders insist their holding power until the political crisis is resolved. the army is trying to bringbility sides together again for a thursday meeting. soldiers patrol the streets of

bangkok. >> nigeria reeling after a twin bomb attack left dozens dead in the central city on tuesday, destroying a popular market and train terminal. 118 people were killed. emergency teams are searching through rubble and say the death toll could rise. president good luck jonathan condemned the attacks, calling those responsible cruel and evil. we have more. >> it started with a death toll, four more died this morning in the hospital, and the death toll is continue to go rise, because some of the people who are injured are seriously injured. coming back to the main market, the market is still effectively a crime scene and police are combing through the rubble, trying to see whether there are any bodies left under. the blast was so powerful that

walls around houses and shops in the market collapsed. there's a huge crater where the vehicle that had the explosives was, anker rereminder of how powerful and intensive that blast was. there was a fire, and police are saying that there is the likelihood of bodies being still under the rubble. we also know that the second blast happened about 100 meters away from here, but not many people died here. most people got injured here at the time when this place was full of people, not only the traders, but also the people going in and out of the area here. >> more than 1500 people have

been killed in boko haram bombing this year. most of the attacks have taken place in the northeastern part of the country. >> venezuela talks aimed at ending protests there stalled. mediators from the union of south american states leaving empty handed tuesday. the group urgion the government and opposition leaders back to the negotiating table. officials hope for a new date for a new round of talks. >> firefighters are battling a wind whipped wildfire in northern arizona. the so-called slide fire has sovereigned about 450 acres in slide rock near sedona. homes and businesses have been evacuated and as many as 100 homes threatened by the flames. a second 200-acre fire started by a burning r.v. is also spreading north of phoenix. >> one of the reasons for those wildfires and others is the record warmth that we saw in april. >> also the lack of rain. for more, let's bring in

meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> totals definitely contributing to a fire risk in some areas again today, but it's the global temperatures that are just finally coming in from april, making april a record warm month for us. you can see, a lot of north america is kind of hit and miss, so the reds are above average, the blues are below and the deeper the color, the more so. continents like europe and africa, entire continents above average for the month of april, and hour areas, well that west coast, southwest area is already in the drought is where we saw that most significantly as we get closer to hem. tied with 2010 is the warmest record around the world and one of the 10th warmest month, which is pretty significant. it's already the sixth warmest year, if you just look january through april. >> that condition, combined with a forecast for more of that heat through the summer means these drought conditions are very likely to continue and deepen as

we head into the summer months. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> general motors announcing yet another recall, this one involving 2.4 million vehicles. the new recall involves problems of seatbelts, airbags and retention clips in several models. it affects cars and trucks from the 2009 through the 2014 model years with that g.m. recalling 13.6 million vehicles in the u.s. since the start of 2014. they'll cost the company an estimated $1.7 billion. >> hundreds of former pro football players are taking the nfl to court over allegations of precipitation drug abuse. they've joined in a federal class action suit, filed in san francisco. they say nfl teams illegally provided them with pain killers so they could play through pain, without revealing the potential health risks. some claim team doctors never told them about broken bones and gave pills to mask the pain.

>> the nba moves ahead to getting rid of clippers owner sterling. >> we have the details. >> with all sides pointing to a protracted legal struggle between the nba andster links, silver, the trained attorney has laid out a paper trail documenting sterling's transgressions. >> the nba has leveed formal charges against donald sterling in a 30 page document. among the charges, as reported by the l.a. times, the nba alleges sterling had a copy of the recording of his racist remarks before the website tmz released it. subsequently, sterling tried to persuade companion v. stiviano to lie saying she altered the recording and that it wasn't sterling heard on it. the nba also accuses clippers team penalty of falsely questioning the validity of the recording and trying to destroy

it. in his first press conference since banning sterling from the league, the nba commissioner adam silver talked about what happens next. >> under our constitution, he has until next tuesday to respond to our charge, and then a hearing will take place the following tuesday on june 3, most likely here in new york. >> are you a racist, mr. sterling. >> no, was not. >> the nba alleges that donald and shelley sterling are not estranged, despite her claims to the contrary. shelley has stated that she intends on keeping her share of the clippers even if the league successfully forces her husband out. >> the pros is set out in our constitution, something they signed on for when they became owners in the league. under the constitution, based on mr. sterling's conduct, if the owners ultimately decide that it's appropriate to terminate his franchise, all ownership is terminated. >> according to the l.a. times, an unnamed associate of donald sterling said these new

revelations are a non-issue, because the nba has the recording in full and there's been no destruction or alteration of evidence. again, this according to an sort of donald sterling. del. >> the drama continues. >> the pope is preparing for his historic trip to the holy land. the fears christians in the region face and why they believe their safety is threatened. >> nobody con believe that a convicted rapist is still out. >> a husband convicted of drugging and raping his wife gets no jail time. >> a once in a lifetime encounter with an elusive see creature.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. let's check videos captured by our citizen journalists. >> police and student demonstrators facing off in kenya over a proposed increase in fees at the university.

this was posted of foot annual of the standoff and what appears to be a tear gas canister creating the plume there. it was part of a nationwide protest. >> mother nature in the midwest in iowa, the heavy hail and sheets of rain fell. that storm part of a larger system hitting the entire region yesterday. >> a once in a lifetime encounter with the spotted eagle ray, a rather large one, veteran diver captured this footage of the animal in grand cayman. the ray was likely a younger one, since it was not as wary of her human presence, as they usually are. that's an incredibly large stingray. >> is that the stinger in the back? >> it is. it looks to be six feet. i've seen these, but that's a big one, rare, very cool. >> the pope's visit to the holy

land. we're going to talk about the threat some followers say they face. >> temperatures we can expect across the nation, nicole mitchell is back. >> already some really, really warm temperatures, as far saw the at houston, 71 and chicago 69. that's a warm swath of temperatures around 70 degrees this morning, the backside a few more 50's where that frontal boundary is. here's the pattern we have. low pressure off, a little cooler into parts of new england. we've had the high in the south shift, so night quite as hot in the southern plains. that's helping us with fire risk and that cooler weather that settled in over the west coast has been very beneficial for the fire risk, as well. i was mentioning the southern plains. we had a high fire risk yesterday, today temperatures dropping 10 degrees, still warm, 90's, but not the triple digits, so that fire risk receded a little bit more to the four corners region. watch for hot stuff, atlanta, 87 today. back to you. >> anymore mitch, thank you. >> more tension between north

and south korea today, warning shots fired. three north korean ships crossed what's called the northern limit line tuesday afternoon. the vessels returned to the northern side after 10 warning shots were fired. the borderline was drawn after the korean war, but it is not recognized at legitimate. >> china and shush are a continue to cement their relationship, signing a 30 year deal that has china buying natural gas from russia. it's politically important to vladimir putin. in recent months, the russian president isolated himself from western countries that are opposed to russia's involvement in ukraine. the gas deal has been in the works for more than a decade. >> one of the many international issues that russia and china see eye to eye on is syria. the pentagon said the regime there is moving what's left of is chemical stockpile.

a spokesperson said bashar al assad's government is start to go eliminate weapons after months of delays it blamed on security concerns. the news follows an announcement by the u.n. that syria had destroyed its entire declared stockpile, used for producing a deadly nerve gas. >> pope francis is going to be in israel sunday and in the lead up to that visit, we're looking at issues that are facing the region. aljazeera's nick schiffron reports on why christians feel threatened in the holy land. >> in northern israel, a catholic parade thanks god for protecting the image of virgin mary. today's it's these christians who feel they need protection. >> whether muslim, whether jews, more and more. >> we are afraid, because there was an escalation, very dangerous escalation. >> that is hate crimes against christians in israel. in this jerusalem church, the

words jesus is garbage was scrawled on the wall. recent graffiti threatened death to say arabs and christians and all who hate israel. in the town where jesus is thought to have lived, the top official got this level. >> you have to leave the country. >> he has lived here for more than a decade. until now, the italian priest never received a death threat or ultimatum. >> any delay could cost one pun r. hundred people killed among the christians. >> he sent the letter to the police. he accuses them of doing nothing. >> why the authority didn't pay attention to those people? why now they don't take enough steps to stop. >> the church believes the perpetrators are orthodox jews.

outside the site believed to the king david's room, they protest a rumor it will be turned over to the vatican. >> they'll start a war between jews and christians. >> an extremist helped organize this rally and defends attacks on christian, saying they often side with palestinians. >> christies siding with the enemy, siding with people that want to kill jews. they can't ask us why is their frustration against them. >> israel police must protect everyone equally and say they are trying to protect christians. >> action is being taken in the past by police operations, as well as israeli operations, also a secret security service is involved. that's how seriously we are taking and dealing with those incidents. >> the church believes this isn't only about police. the holy land top officials say

some israel schools teach hate, some israeli politicians preach exclusion. >> i'm sure we have some members in government who may be agreed with this behavior. >> the presence of the christians in the holy land could be threatened if there is no peace. >> as the pope arrives, some christians living in what they consider the holiest place on earth feel neither welcome nor protected. >> nick schiffron, aljazeera, nazareth. >> christian population is about 2%. >> a vietnam veteran in the battle of his life, fighting the u.s. government. after fleeing communist cuba, he married and raised a family. now the conflict immigration system believes he should be punished. >> a potential hurdle for those trying to bring new life into the world. how cholesterol levels affect your chances of becoming a

parent. >> unwrapping the cost of a college education for the class of 2014. the high price thousands of students across the country pay. >> a look now at our images of the day and a bull fighting match in spain's capitol of madrid. the season's controversial tradition starts in march and runs until october. that sport has existed in one form or another since the ancient days. >> looks like the bull won that one.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. >> ahead, how an indiana man avoided prison time after convicted of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife. >> a controversy in washington, d.c. after a series of bus ads

feature adolf hitler promoting the idea that islam is a danger to america. >> a federal judge struck down same-sex marriage ban in pennsylvania that paves the way for couples to we had in that state. the judge also said the state must recognize out of state marriages. the ruling comes a day after same-sex marriage was leads in oregon, pennsylvania now becomes the 19th state, joining eight others in the northeast. >> a man who spent almost his entire life in the u.s., serving in vietnam just learning he's not an american citizen and could face criminal charges. mario hernandez is going to learn his fate in jacksonville, florida. how could something like this happen? >> >> this is a scenario 50 years in the making. according to mario hernandez, immigration attorney, this is a classic example of a broken

system with rules wrapped in a maze of confusion. >> tallahassee retiree mario hernandez came to the u.s. in 1965 with his parents when the family fled cuba. since then, he's lived a normal american life, got a social security card, served three years in the army, voted in every major election since 1976 and worked for the justice democratic as a prison supervisor, only recently did he discover that he's not really a u.s. citizen. >> it's very disheartening. very disheartening. >> after he and his wife retired last year, they wanted to take a cruise to celebrate, and then they asked for a passport, so i didn't have one, went on line to look what would require to get a passport. when i was asked for your birth certificate or a certificate of naturalization. >> he realized he had neither, and in march, immigration

authorities denied his request for citizenship. now, he's lost the right to vote, cannot legally leave the country and could face charges for falsely claiming citizenship. >> we're dealing with several bureaucracies, huge bureaucracies. >> he is represented pro bono, his attorney said the law states since he served in the army during a time of hostility that he should be naturalized and more. he personally watched over the oklahoma city bombers in the 1990's. >> he supervised mcveigh and nichols. he saved bureau of prison staff from a burning bus. >> those are contributions that should be recognized by immigration services as a path to citizenship. immigration officials say they can't comment on his case. the factual is, the only immigration document he has is a parole paper. one that is given to cuban

refugees in the 1950's and 1960's that allow them to become american citizens after five years, if they filed the paperwork. neither hernandez nor his parents ever did that for him. >> i suffer every day. my family suffers, my wife, my children. >> i am fearful that my husband will be arrested tomorrow. it's scares me to death. >> what will you do? >> get with my attorney and go bond him out and we'll move on. >> when i came here, i came here with nothing, and my sisters and my parents. this country's given us a great opportunity. a great opportunity. >> the building behind me, the department of homeland security, perhaps you can see it, at any moment, mario hernandez and his wife bonita and their taken will have a meeting with the u.s. citizens and immigration

services to decide his fate. sources tell us that there will likely be no criminal charges, that is not on the plate right now. there will be no arrest, so we will expect a conclusion here in the next couple hours. we are told likely he will be given a clear path of citizenship based on his record as a u.s. veteran, also working for the united states government and being here over 50 years. del. >> he has served his country. we will see if his country serves him. robert, thank you very much. >> a federal grand jury is investigating oregon's botched health insurance exchange website, one of the biggest and most expensive on line marketplace failures in the country. oregon's governor released subpoenas from the u.s. attorney's office seeking state records related to the oregon website. oregon decided to switch to the federal website after state officials decided fixing its site would be too time consuming

and expensive. the state paid an independent contractor more than $134 million in federal funds to create the site. >> activity suspended after test tubes containing the sars virus were lost. the incident statutes in paris reported the missing vials. a full review is ordered. dysfunction was found in the way the lab handled innocentry. >> a new study claims americans are gaining weight because we now have the cheapest food in history. two out of three americans are overweight or obese. the study which will be published thursday in a cancer journal for clinicians says americans now spend the smallest share of their income on food than any other society in history. americans 20 about 25% of the disposal income on food. that is now less than 10%.

>> couples struggling to conceive may want to look closer at cholesterol levels. a new study found couples with high cholesterol may have a harder time getting pregnant than those with normal cholesterol levels. here to break down the study is the lead author. he is a senior researcher and chief of the epidemiology branch at the national in substitutes of health. he joins us from washington this morning. >> what is the connection between cholesterol levels and fertility and how significant is it? >> thank you so much for having me and good morning. what we found was not that the regular measures of cholesterol levels are associated with longer time to pregnancy, but what we call free cholesterol,

which is the outer layer of the cholesterol molecule. those who have high cholesterol, both men and women, are associated with longer time to pregnancy, which is -- >> is there a causal relationship, did you find that higher cholesterol impacts oaf res and sperm? >> no, it's reasonable to think that there is a link, but we haven't prove that had yet. >> currently in the u.s., infer tilt affects 15% of reproductive aged men and 17% of women. is the impact of high cholesterol on infer tillty?

>> when the men and women have high cholesterol levels, the time to pregnancy is much longer. >> what do you think is the best way to combat this? should cholesterol lowering drugs now be a consideration for a couple trying to ever a baby? >> well, we are not there yet. this study was not built by way of intervention, but a good diet and exercise throughout the life span, from going from childhood to adult and later in life, this should be a good remedy for a

good life. >> it's certainly not going to hurt. all right. thanks so much, doctor. >> thank you. >> the united states is facing a nationwide heroin crisis, that's the warning from secretary of state. abuse has gone up 75% in the past four years and the amount of pure heroin into the u.s. has doubled in that time. >> a mother in custody after her three small children were found dead. she was found next to her kids when officers arrived. the victims were all girls, ranging in age from two months to three years of age, she is held now on murder charges. >> an indiana man convicted of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife will not serve time in prison. >> he's going to spend his eight year sentence in the comfort of

his own home. does the victim feel this is justice? >> absolutely not. she calls the sentence a sucker punch to the gut and sends a message to rape victims to be quiet because they will not receive justice, which is why she is speaking out. this is her ex-husband. he raped his wife while she first unconscious for three years and taped it. she learned about it through video she found often his cell phone. the prosecution pushed for a 40 year prison sentence. the judge gave him house arrest. the victim said when she heard the sentencing tuesday, she was appalled. >> at the beginning, before he ever gave the sentence to him, he told me to forgive my attack. when he heard that, i couldn't believe what i was hearing. he proceeded to tell my tacker that he would be going home that day. i was just dumb founded. >> the judge never mentioned why

he set such you a light sentence in this case. she wants to change the criminal justice system and make it mandatory for all convicted rapists to serve prison time. >> democrats and republicans finding common ground on capitol hill, the house passing five bills aimed at cracking down on human trafficking. it's hard to argue over protecting vulnerable women and children. >> scenes like these are sparking bipartisan unity. >> it is easy to think sex trafficking happens outside the united states. the truth is it's happening in our own communities a understand right in our own back yards. >> hundreds of thousands of american children are trafficked each year, our kids robbed of in sense and coerced into life on the streets where they are abused. >> these bills aimed at helping children who are trafficked, many for sex. >> many come from the foster

care system or are runaways. we can make sure the agencies report to law enforcement when children go missing. >> some of u.s. citizens. others like this woman come from overseas. she left indonesia for a hotel job in new york city. instead, she was forced into prostitution. >> they put gun on my head, and i just thinkive to save my live. >> she survived and became an advocate for other women. >> after living in shadow, i thought something needs to be done. >> it's a global problem. the international labor organization says forced labor generates $150 billion in legal profits per year. victims are coerced into working on construction sites, farms as domestic servants and in the sex

industry. >> the justice democratic estimates 300,000 children are sexually exploited in the united states every year. >> netflix is expanding service in europe, the service will be available in france, germany and four our countries this year. it could bring netflix an international base larger than what already exists in the u.s. it has come with growing pains. since it first went international in 2010, its lost millions trying to get off the ground. the country hopes to be profitable by the end of the year. >> ads are turning up on city buses in washington, d.c., featuring a 1941 image of hitler. as we explain, the advertisements call on america to end financial aid to islamic countries. >> 20 of washington's buses are carrying this sign through the city streets for the next month. the message that the muslim

koran prescribes hatred of jews, together with a photo of hitler meeting an outspoken nazi ally. a high profile activist who's waged campaign against the building of masks in the u.s. says islam is a danger to america. >> it's in the koran. >> a pro palestinian group recently posted this on the city bus, but muslim civil rights groups say gellar and her allies are not only distorting islam, but advocating religious conflict. >> the hate atmosphere that they generate leads to things like vandalism of mosques and discrimination against american muslims, and it harms our society. hate is corrosive to any society

and that's what pamela gellar is promoting. >> the ads have drown disapproval but enjoy protection under the u.s. constitutions first amendment provision of freedom of speech. >> the transportation authority tried to turn down a previous set of islamic ads by the group, as public property, the buses could not be subject to political censorship. >> the council on american islamic relations response to the ads, free copy of the koran to examine the message for themselves for anyone. >> the previous ad put a quote from the koran over the burning word trade center towers. it ran on d.c. city buses in 2012. >> the class of 2014 accepting their diplomas going into the real world as one of the most in debted classes ever. >> they walk away with an average student loan debt of $30,000, raising questions about whether a higher education is

worth the financial burden. den.

chasing bail

only on al jazeera america >> i istanbul, it is 70 degrees there. >> straight ahead, the real value of shelling out thousands of dollars for a college education. i speak from experience. >> you have a great job now, but first, let's get a look at the wet weather today across the u.s. nicole mitchell is back. nicole. >> good morning. we have a boundary stretching through the midsection of the country, kind of lined up in some cases with the i-70 corridor. we can see a lot of moisture south of the great lakes and

through the course of the day along that boundary, a couple risks south of the great lakes and into the kansas-colorado area we could have isolated severe weather. with all of that, also areas of heavy rain moving through pennsylvania. enough in a short period of time, some places have picked up one or two inches. the caution is if you pick up an inch or more in an hour, we've got areas of flooding. watch for that widespread unless you get into heavy thunderstorms, a half inch to an inch of rain. >> a massive investment to bring back detroit, j.p. morgan choice is committing money to vitalize the city, lending money in the form of loans and grants for projects in specific neighborhoods, including new housing construction and rehabilitating vacant and dilapidated homes. $50 million of grants will be

spent to rid blight and help businesses grow and help workers develop new skills. >> former fed chairman ben bernanke is making big time bank news for talking about himself and his career. he made about $200,000 a year running the federal reserve but now charges between $200,000 and $400,000 per appearance, talk to go bankers and hedge fund billionaires. a report said he's poised to make millions this year from speaking engagements. >> days after marking the anniversary of brown versus board of education, the u.s. secretary of education said civil rights remain an issue at school. he spoke in tennessee, touting the state for setting an example of positive education reform. he was quick to point out that all students do not have the same access to learning tools, such as early education and the gap remains between rich and poor. he said states need to continue education reforms and pushed common core as an example.

>> is that bachelor degree really worth the price? that's the question thousands of asking as the caps and gowns are handing out this month. graduates have the distinction of being the most indebted class ever in u.s. history. in most case, they're starting salaries are low, if they can find a job. the cofounder of ourtime.org joins us. good morning, let's get right to it. in the last two decades, the costs have gone through the ceiling. in 1993 on student loan debt, close to 45% of college students graduated with loans averaging $10,000, that number soared to 70% this year with loans averaging $33,000. why has this year been so tough for college students? >> because colleges keep getting more and more expensive. they're outpacing inflation, and they're not keeping their costs in check. they keep building new facilities. they are not necessarily giving

the money that's part of their endowment to grants and college affordability. they're worried about prestige and when you're worried about prestige for runninging purposes, the spending at schools goes up and up. we're giving more and more money for federal loans. as a result, the average student is now leaving college with $30,000 of debt or more. >> are they worried about prestige with rewards to the way the parents feel or more about the way that other colleges feel about them? >> there's a lot of pressure today. if you're a high school graduate who wants to go to college, to go to the best school you can get into for the best price, a lot of schools are raising their prices in order to show that they have prestige. g.w., famously did this, because there's this u.s. news and world report ranking that often derives how schools view themselves. one of the ranking criteria on that list is how much money a

particular school spends. >> let's look at cost of college education. it has risen more than 1100% since 1998. i was stunned by this, 1100%, is the price of a bachelor's degree even worth it anymore? >> it's absolutely worth it, if you look at the life long earnings. if you're a college graduate today, you make $600,000 to a million dollars more over your lifetime. college graduates have a lower unemployment rate than high school graduates. the real question is what major is best. if you go to a college today and major in art history or sorology, you're going to have a very different type of experience than if you major in computer science. >> one of the dilemmas parents face is when they think about sending their kids to college and see the price of a college education, they have to wonder would i be better just to tacoma money, put it in a money market, and give it to them in a lump sum. >> i think ultimately, students,

young people and their families need to find what's best for them and how they save and prepare for college. i think the real issue is we need to step back and look at the way we finance college. college should be much more affordable if not free. the state of tennessee created free community college for everyone. the state of oregon has a system called pay it forward, any student can enroll for free as long as they pay back 3% of their income after graduating for up to 20 years. these are alternative financing models that are start to go work and hopefully the federal government can move us that direction. states are leading the way. >> what about the good old fashioned liberal arts education that so many of us grew up going to college wanting to be more well rounded citizens when we come out. is that now worth anything? >> i'm a liberal arts major graduate. i majored in the liberal arts

and sociology. what is beneficial is that they teach critical thinking. oftentimes, economies change and skillsets renders obsolete. if you want to be marketable to an employer over the course of decades and decades. liberal arts is your best skillset, you can evolve over time. thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> the new 9/11 museum opens to the general public today. tickets have been sold out for weeks. there are still a few available for thirds, friday and the weekend and tickets being sold on craigslist for face value or less. victim's families and first responders get in free. >> thousands of my seems have a

free pass, free admission offered to military personnel and their relatives. the so-called blue stars family will be announced today in texas. it's the fifth year in a row for the program. >> a busy highway interchange is still closed this morning because of millions of bees. a truck carrying bees overturned on i-95 in delaware. three separate beekeepers called to the scene to scatter the stinging in sects. the driver and a passenger in the truck were hospitalized. it's not clear whether it was from injuries from the crash or bee stings. one passing driver was stung. >> drone policies the white house saying today is the day that it will reveal that secret memo explaining why it believes it's ok to target and kill americans overseas. it's fueled a huge debate. we'll look at the issues behind that debate tomorrow. >> it will be redacting parts of that document. it will be interesting to see what we find out. that will do it for us this

morning. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. as always, there's more headlines and news straight ahead in two minutes, including the latest on twin explosions that left more than 100 dead in nigeria. >> we'll see you back tomorrow here starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern.

this is al jazeera. welcome to the news hour. i'm jane dutton in doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes, nigeria attacks. two bombings in two days leaves more than 100 dead as the government struggles to deal with boko haram. egypt's former president hosni mubarak is sentenced to three years behind bars. china and russia sign one of the world's biggest gas deals after ten years of tough