shake-up. hez roll at the top of the veterans affair agency as secretary eric shinnseki stops down. >> donald sterling is not going down without a fight, now suing the nba for a billion dollars. >> the fund mental principles of the international order are being changed. >> tough talk from secretary of defense, chuck hagel. he accuses china of flingsing

its muscle over asian neighbors, destabilizing the entire region. >> we think they should address the problem. >> the community at odds with one of its long-time employers. why it says the coal company is refusing to clean up its contamination. >> good morning. welcome to al jazeera america. i am john henry smith. the white house is trying to figure out how to get the veterans affairs department back on track. friday, the president nominated an interim secretary after eric shinseki resigned. the deputy secretary sloan gibson will take over until president obama nominates a new chief. shi shinseki was under pressure after a new report showed the va was covering up long wait times. >> a report of how the scandal unfolded. >> a few minutes ago, secretary shinseki offered me his resignation. with considerable regret, i accepted. >> until friday morning, eric

shinseki was head of the va. several weeks ago, reports said phoenix va hospital was lie to go headquarters about how long patients had to wait to see a doctor, partly so managers could win bonuses and promotions. forty people died waiting for an appointment. at the time, shinseki said he thought the cover-up was eyelated. more veterans from across the country claimed it was happening to them, too. then cayman interim audit, which said phoenix problems were much more serious than people thought. seventeen 00 people called for appointments and had never been scheduled. >> led shinseki to apologize to veterans on friday. >> we are charactering each of the 1700 veterans waiting for appointments to bring them the care they need and deserve and we will continue to accelerate access to care for veterans nationwide who need it, utilizing care both in and outside of va. >> but it was too late. even though they like and respect shinseki, more and more

democrats and republicans spent the week calling for his head. the president admitted that in an election year, politics were a factor. >> we occupy a not just ant environment that calls for management fixes. we have also got to deal with congress and you guys and i think rick's judgment that he could not carry out the next stages of reform without being a distraction, himself. so my assessment was, unfortunately, that he was right. >> president obama may have made a change at the top of the va but it will take more than that to fix both the problems at the agency. the questions about the president's management skills. rosalind jordan al jazeera, washington. the interim secretary sloan gibson previously served as president of the united services

organization. it's a nonprofit that tries to lift the spirits of american troops and their families. coming up later in the show, we will bring in a guest to talk about the future of the va and the challenges ahead for gibson. eric shinnseki is not the only white house official leading his post. white house press secretary jay carney stepped down after serving three years on the job, carney will officially leave his post in mid-june. he says he wants to devote more time to his family. josh ernst will place carney as the public face of the administration. he is the top deputy and has worked for the president since the 2008 campaign. mean chile, the administration is trying to shift its attention toward new energy regulations. president obama devoted his weekly address to a plan to cut carbon pollution. the new guidelines target harmful emissions from power plans that put thousands of american lives at risk. >> this week, we are unveiling these proposed guidelines which will cut down on the carbon

pollution, smog and soot that threaten the health of the most vulnerable americans including children and the elderly. in just the first year these standards go into effect, up to 100,000 asthma attacks and 2100 heart attacks will be avoided. those numbers will go up from there. the new regulations will be announced on monday, but they won't be finalized until next year. states will have -- will then have another year to create their own plans for compliance. they will be given a grace period for up to six years. authorities in sant a barbara county say they did not know the young man behind a shooting rampage there owned firearms. this despite three interactions with police. elliott rodger legally purchased guns, something authorities could have discovered by searching law enforcement data basis. his most receipt interaction with the police was a month ago when officials responded to a call about his mental health.

the 22-year-old went on a rampage in isla vista killing six and injuring a dozen others. coming up in the 8:00 o'clock hour, we will speak with richard martinez. his son, visit fer, was one of the victims killed last week. an american has been identified as the man who carried out a suicide attack in syria almost a week ago. on friday, the state department confirmed the identity of monar mohammed absalhad. they say he targeted syrian government forces on sunday while driving a truck filled with explosives. he is the first american believed to have been involved in such attacks since the start of the syrian civil war three years ago. u.s. defense secretary says peace is at stake in the south and east china sea. chuck hagle is calling out china he is currently in singapore for a 3-day asian security summit. scott hideler reports on the

pentagon's chief speech. >> u.s. defense, chuck hagle using blunt language in dealing with china and what he sees as possible destabilization of the regi region. he thinks what they are doing is something that could impact the international community. >> china has called the south china sea a sea of peace, africaned and cooperation. >> that's what it should be in recent months, china has undertaken destabilizing unilateral actions asserting its claims in the south china sea -- >> in his speech, the defense secretary broad en out from the territory dispute in southeast asia as well as the east china sea. he talked about thailand and the united states's concern over the military coup over the last two weeks and what that could mean for the population in thailand. >> also respond when nations retreat from the democracy, as in thailand we urge the royal

thai armed forces to release those who have been detained in expression of free expression and move immediately to restore power to the people of thailand through free and fair e legs. >> secretary of defense hagel underlined the united states pivot or rebalancing to asia as it draws down forces in afghanistan and earlier in iraq. they are looking to the united states to have a bigger footprint in the region that includes diplomatically and militarily. he underlined the military shifting of forces. sixty percent of air force and navy will operate out of this region in just six years, underlining how important the add miles per hourstration sees this region. as you just heard, secretary hagel is condemning coup leaders and calling for immediate elections thailand's military said it won't be returning for democratic rule saying it needs that time to implement reforms. al jazeera's veronica pedrosa traveled to prime

ministerstinstin to get reaction to the military shinn to. >> the posters say it all. this is a town loyal to the brother and sister who were both once prime ministers of thailand. it's a personal matter for noyt who sold snacks here for deck it's a and watched customers go up including ling yuck sinowat. she is part of the pro-tuxan group, part of the alliance known as the red shirts. detained by the mass arrests that followed the military coup. >> we have to wait and see if the army general who staged the coup can deliver what he promises on pri bringing people together with no colors of shirts. i would noter how he can make it happen. >> there are hardly any soldiers to be seen in shanghai's streets. life in taiwan's second biggest

city goes on. scratch the surface and the nature of the political battle becomes apparent. >> the military here in the heartland of support for shinawatra has refused to say how many people they have actually detained as part of the crackdown. >> still, the military's going ahead with a seemingly contradictory campaign. they are offering basic medical services to people in so-called red villages. nobody seems very enthusiastic. no medical notes are taken nor follow-up offered. >> as a udd supporter, i will be watching to see what will happen in the next three to six months. we would like to see if what he actually delivers is worth the military coup. >> no one but the general now in charge knows whether scenes like this will be repeated in the city. protests shut down. media shut down, and unknown numbers arrested for unknown

reasons. veronica pedrosa, thailand. >> on friday, the military commander gave his first televised address attempting to reassure citizens. the general warped any protest against the coup would only slow progress further. police in india are searching for more suspects in connection with the gang rape and murder of two teen angio girls. so far, five men, including two police officers have been arrested. state officials have fired another two officers for not investigating when the father came to report his missing daughter the government set up a fast-track court to deal with the case. human rights activists say rape isn't taken seriously by indian officials. and malaysian officials are searching for suspects for the sexual assault on a teenager there. at least 13 men have been taken into custody following allegations that a 15-year-old girl was raped by 38 men in the

northern state of kelantan. they are investigating reports her 17-year-old friend may also have been raped. crain's president elect will share the diplomatic stage with pompom next week. the two leaders will greet each other during other during obama's visit.

>> thing take shelter when the mortars start raining down. it's the families here who are most at risk. the russians have said that the ukrainian government in its latest military offense responsive breaking the geneva convention, failing to protect the lives of civilians. evidence here that the mortar barrages are random, not aimed at military targets. this is a maternity hospital. the nurses shoulder me the deadly slapnal blown through the wards after an attack thursday night. it was a miracle that nobody was killed here the barrage of shells sent deadly shards of glass everywhere. one nurse showed me the

becausement where the children were led to take shelter as the mortars fell around the hospital. we found a mother nursing her newborn baby, terrified after hearing the renewed shelling we witnessed as we entered the town. >> of course, we are afraid, especially when our own army is attacking us. they are surrounding us. >> several hundred children have already been evacuated. the streets are emptying. the sense of fear overwhelming. david chatter, slovyansk. >> later this week, president obama, crain's president elect and vladimir putin will all be in france to attend the 70th anniversary of world war ii's d day. white house officials say there are no plans on a formal meeting between obama and putin. the head of the election commission in malawi insists the voting process there has been free and fair. the country's out going

president indicates she feels otherwise. the main opposition candidate won elections in the tiny south african nation. the electoral commission had asked for a month extension before declaring the results. the country's high court refused the delay and ordered the commission to make the snoinsment on friday. the out going president says the vote was rigged. big names from wall street and the sports world are under investigation by the f.b.i. and the sec this morning. federal officials are looking into allegations of insider trading involving billionaire investor paul ikon, phil mikelson and billy walters. they reportedly made several timely trades in 2011, one of which was color objection. authorities are now investigating if icahn tipped the two off to the plan to buy the company which, ultimately failed. the "new york times" says officials haven't found any clear evidence of insider trading during a two-year

investigation. the other stock in question involves trades made by walters and mikelson on deen foods. icahn has no known ties that. icahn says he never divulged insider information. the nba has accepted a move to sell the los angeles clippers. donald sterling's ex-wife said she signed a contract to unload the team he will rake in more than 1500% return on the 12.5 million he paid for the team in 1981. >> the price tag? $2,000,000,000. the buyer: steve baumer. >> means the meeting which was scheduled for june 3rd is now cancelled. shelly sterling and the trust agreed not to sue the nba and to compensate the nba against lawsuits from others including donald sterling. mean while, we have learned from donald's sterling's attorney today he is filing a suit against the nba for

$1,000,000,000 in damages. the lawsuit is reportedly over his lifetime ban and terminating his ownership. he is also s. >> michael, the nba banned sterling for life and fined him two and a half million dollar foraysist remarks he made last month. a volcano in indonesia is causing chaos over the skies of australia. it has been spewing ash since friday. >> that's affecting air travel in and out of the australian city of darlin. flights to the island of bali have been cancelled. officials say it could be days before services return to normal. well, there is some dangerous weather in the united states. we will look at the saturday forecast. eboni dion is here with that. >> another active weekend. the threat of flash flooding we will the strong to severe storms. tracking both. they are in two different areas.

for those of you planning on traveling today, you might want to hold off if you are traveling here along the gulf coast. >> that's where we will see heavy downpours. we are watching parts of the upper midwest for that threat of strong to severe storms. right now, here across the southeast, rain not to widespread. we are dealing with an upper level circulation bringing in some gulf of mexico moisture in and around the new orleans area and around gulfport. this is the area of concern for possible flash floodings only to watch here closely through this weekend, we can see anywhere from one, outwards to two inches. you know the ground is saturated thanks to the recent rain we have seen in this area. we will be watching that as all of this moisture continues to lift up to the north where we have rain a little bit heavier here across the dakotas and in central and northern areas of minnesota. hear very slow go as that warm moist airflow will continue throughout the day helping to give fuel to some of the storms that will be developing in advance of a frontal boundary. we are going to be dealing with this front kind of stalling out.

so not a lot of movement. so this entire area across the dakotas into minnesota and western great lakes will be an area of concern, really over the next 48 hours. we will be watching it very closely mainly dealing with the threat of large hail as well as damaging wins but we also can't rule out a few isolated tornados. >> ebony dion thank you very much. we will see you soon. police may have had an opportunity to stop last week's deadly rampage, according to new reports that say they never checked to see if the killer had guns. and this may look like fun and games, but this dance party is about a serious issue. why it's bringing cops and kids together. >> this is just happening. these people are just going through and. >> a man's house is raided. his business shut down all because he was selling ecigarettes. his case could impact sales around the world.

legal activity. >> story in a moment. first, a look at what temperatures we will see across the nation today. meteorologist eboni dion is here with the numbers. >> it's going to be somewhat of a cool day across the northeast but will gradually get into the warmer air as we get into the weekend. >> stealing it sandy hook signs. police say andrew true love took the signs because he believed

the massacre was a hoax. they add truelove had a troubled past and an extensive criminal record. police officers in dallas are headed back to school. it's part of a new anti-bullying exam pain that helps teach life skills to more than 1200 kids. heidi jo castro takes a new look. >> how many of y'all are ready for the end of school? these 4th graders at wilmer hutchinson's elementary school will head into summer break with a few lifelessons freshly learned. >> what did officer farmer teach you? trust worthiness. good. >> dallas police officers have spent six weeks teaching these kids about responsibility, integrity and bullying prevention. the idea born of the police department is to have students see officers as confidantes and role models who stand up against bullying. >> statistically speaking, you

probably have about 10% of the kids that actually do bully. you have about 10 to 20% that get bull lshingd. so you also have that group, 60 to 80% of the kids who see it happening and don't do anything to step in. so those are the kids we are trying to reach. >> martin is one of those kids. >> very best represent caring. >> caring is kind of like treating someone in a way they will like it. if you do it often, they could tell the counselors and teachers. >> thank you so. >> he says he has learned to tell a trusted adult. >> i would need to tell my counselor, my principal, my vice principal or my teacher and even my parents. >> it's real simple. just say stop. because most bullies, they are not going to keep doing it after somebody tells them to stop. it's a sense of empowerment for a kid.

>> to drag home the message, a dance-off to celebrate each other's quirks and differences. ♪ happy ♪. >> the feeling becomes infectious. >> who is ready? in the end, the faces say it all. this is one summer send-off that these kids won't soon forget with some wisdom that will hopefully last even longer. heidi jo castro, al jazeera, dallas. . >> thanks, heidi. figures show 1 in 7 kids in grades k through 12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying. environmental activists from the group greenpeace were shipped out of an oil rig zone in the arctic on friday. norway's coast guard towed away the group's ship trying to stop a group from drilling in the bearing sea. they say it is close to a rare

species of polar bears. the u.s. estimates the arctic may hold 13% of the world's undiscovered oil and 30% of its gas. >> britain is boosting their gdp statistics this year by including illegal activities. prostitution and drug sales add about $17,000,000,000 to the u.k. economy. those numbers are based on estimates. the british government already counts illegal alcohol sales and tobacco smuggling even though most engaged in it don't pay taxes, they spend the money on taxable purchases. >> not everyone agrees with eric shinnseki's resignation. some say he is taking a fall for a broken system that will take much more than a leadership change to fix. trying to end wrongful convictions of innocent people. one simple step investigators can matake to make sure they ha the right suspect. >> 5 million people drink from

this water. >> concern from people who live around a coal plant. they say nothing is being done about chemicals detected in their groundwater years ago.

welcome back. i am john henry smith. these are our top stories at this hour. u.s. defense secretary is warning china against taking aggressivetions in the south and east china sea. chuck hagel says the u.s. will not look the other way when china ignores the international rules. he says china is destabilizing the region. a leadership shake-up in the veterans affairs department, the deputy secretary of temporarily taking over after eric shinseki resigned friday. the va has been under fire. hospital staff covered up wait times and dozens of veterans died while waiting for care.

the obama administration shifts its attention towards new energy regulations. president obama devoted his weekly address to a plan to cut carbon pollution. the new guidelines target harmful plugs from power plants that put thousands of american lives at risk. coal ash, the toxic waste that comes from a coal power plant has contaminated more than 200 water sites across 37 states in the u.s. one place struggling with contamination is watigan, illinois. a report: residents are worried the dangerous waste could threaten their drinking water. >> you know, everything from right to the east to the south, it's beautiful. it's amazing. so once i turn a little north, you know, there is this big eyesore on the lakefront, and that's the coal plant. >> dolcey artes is talking about the generating station, a relic

of arkansas ticket tour and people say long outdated environmental prices. testing by the plant's previous owners turned up chemical found in groundwater. >> they say not to worry about it. it's not going to get to the drinking water. but, you know, over 5 million people drink from this water. >> the low-income, largely minority community 40 miles north of chicago was once a shopping destination for people from chicago's northshore community. >> that's changed. mary fran troha is a community activist. >> it looks like a death zone, desolate. and other than the little harbor, pier, yacht club, there really isn't too much. can't even afford to have lifeguards at the beach any more. >> in 2012, the illinois environmental protection agency issued violation notices citing a arsnic, bor on. n and chloride and other chemicals leaching. >> the plant's new owner told us

via e-mail that it disputes the state's conclusion saying the wakegan plant is winged by the johns manville super fund site and a boiler and tannery to the west. >> we will continue to work to iepa to determine a source of these metals and chemical did.

>> groundwater have a 1 in 50 chance of getting cancer from the contaminated water. the director of american vetera veterans, an add voc casey group is did he haefendingeric shinse saying he is a scapegoat saying he is worried it could shift the spotlight away from the real problems. >> initially, i think it's going to have a negative effect because now that he's gone, the focus is going to probably go away mediawise from the va. you know, some people will say general shinseki resigned. problem solved. nothing else to see here move

on. but that's just the beginning. the whole system needs reform. the culture needs change. >> but that culture of cover-ups has been ongoing for years. it first started with va hospitals had an influx of vietnam, iraq and afghanistan war veterans. in 2005 federal auditors found numbers were not being entered correctly. by 2010, there were reports the va was using gaming strategies to hide treatment delays. in 2012, a va official told congress he wasn't sure how to force workers to enter the data correctly. joining us to discuss shinseki's registration is mike lions, retired army major and senior fellow at the truman national security department. major lions, thank you for joining us. was the resignation of eric shinseki, was that a necessary step, or would it have been better if he stuck around?

>> it became a necessary step in the political environment we are in right now but i think the legacy of eric shinseki will be positive. top to bottom, he improved things like drawdown of veterans homelessness. he had a tremendous impact on post-911 and gi benefits. over one million soldiers have taken advantage of that. he wasn't able to get out of his office and understand the problems that were taking place at these healthcare and these facilities and was unaware of the systemic problems that's probably unacceptable for a leader at that level. >> there was a loud clamor for him to step down. was he the fall guy here? >> in some ways, he was. but again, this is a huge bureaucracy, $150 billion company, 1700 facilities throughout the country, over 300,000 employees. i mean this is a tough job. he's a tough guy, retired fouru-star general. when things don't happen to the level t they weren't happening, unfortunately, the leader does bear that responsibility. >> the interim report released by the inspector general

revealed the average weight time for veterans was about 115 days while the hospitals record claim the wait time was about 24 days. now, we understand that the main problem to solve is cutting that wait time down to size. but is the accurate reporting of such numbers, is that something that the interim director can take care of immediately. >> they have got to go after those two things. number 1, that and the scheduling issue. >> that's when a veteran asks for an appointment to happen and when that appointment actually happens. >> gap has to be closed significantly. we can't have veterans waiting three and four months for an appointment that could be somewhat critical for their healthcare. >> that's the number 1 thing i have they have to go after. the second thing is the va backlog. there is a list of individuals who are waiting for adjudication for whether they get into the system at all. in some cases, that's over a year. i mean again, completely unsatisfactory. someone waiting for over a year to determine whether they even have a veterans's benefits. >> really, the main problem:

how long is it going to take to solve it in your estimation. >> it will take three things: a revamp of the people, the talent they have at the va system. it's going to take looking closely at the processes they have. even admitted the systemic problems that exist in the organization. they've got to come up about new metrics to measure success or not and last thing is technology. they have to ensure that the technology for this kind of large company is going to take them through the next 20 to 40 years from a technology perspective. if this was another company, they would be making that reinvestment looking over the horizon. unfortunately, we have not had that visionary leader in the va that looks over the horizon to determine what are the needs of veterans going to be 5 to 10 years from now. >> it sounds like there will be a culture change. there were people trying to improve their careers? >> no question. i think that's one of the other places where general shinseki failed. i think whoever takes over will have to be inspirational as well, provide that cultural change, make it completely unsatisfactory to have an organization that doesn't support veterans. >> should be -- everybody should be waking up every day and

understanding their primary job is to move that mission forward. >> major mike lyons, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> videotaped confessions are often used but they are one of the leading causeds for wrongful convictions. a closer look at one project that's using dna to overturn wrongful convictions. >> it was a brief moment. >> i falsely admitted to murder and rape of a high school classmate. >> in 1990, he was only 16. a murder investigation of a routine age girl consumed his small new york town. police quickly focused on him. after a seven-hour interrogation without his parents, he confessed. >> i remember -- i remember falsely telling them that there was -- there was an argument and that i that i tackled her, took

off her bra and hit her over the head with a gator aid bott bottle they wore me down. >> it september him to prison for 16 years, all of which could have been avoided, he feels, if the jury had seen the confession. >> i think that it would have been clear to them that, you know, that i was fearful, that i was -- that i was worn down, that they played a lot of psychological games with me. i was an emotional mess. >> activists say it happens all to often. nearly a quarter of recently overturned classes included false confessions. >> these procedures that the officers have been trained to utilize are so forceful, so aggressive, so psychologically manipulative that they get bad guys to confess but they also get, you know, innocent people to confess as well. >> yet across much of the country, officers do not record suspect interviews.

>> sir, you are free to go. >> a string of recent exonerations has further raised states to require taped investigations. >> i think it's a matter of time before it is a national fen on mon. >> a dna test pointed to a convicted murderer who is confession was recorded. >> do you recognize yourself back then? >> barely. it's shocking how young and vulnerable i was. >> he works to free others in jail wrongfully convicted by their own words. >> jonathan betz, access, new york. >> dna evidence is not fool-proof. arningsz is taking a look at the justice system in "the system" with joe berlinger. this week, the focus is on

flawed bruce other. a whistle was blown on the crime lab for, forensic procedures. 17 years later, the verdicts of dozens of cases are called into question. one is that of willie manning, a man convicted of double murder in 1994. his case is highlighted in part 3 of al jazeera's special series, "the system with joe berlinger". >> thousands of convictions have been called into question including 27 death row cases. the case of willie jerome manning was one of them. he was sentenced to death in 1992 for the murder of two college students in starkville, mississippi. hair found in the victim's hair was analyzed by the fbi crime lab. >> hair evidence had a significant impact on the case because that was the only physical evidence that put willie hanning in that car. his execution was set for

may 7th. we received these letters from the fbi calling into question f forensic questioning about hair and bal istics. we received the first letter on may 2nd. the second letter on hair on may 4th. we received the last letter less than 12 hours away from the scheduled execution. and asked the court to reopen the case. it was at that point that the court finally, staid the execution. >> part 3 of the system with joe berling jer airs sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6 pacific. epsew sewed 3. >> hunt for hidden cash, 10, 20 and $100 could be yours if you can crack the twitter clues. an anonymous donor leaving money around san francisco bay and los angeles. the mystery man has been tweeting clues and using the handle "athiddencash.

so far he has given away more than $5,000. the real estate investor told a los angeles t.v. station he hopes this project will inspire others to pay it forward. >> the concern over ecigarettes has a group of leading scientist calling foul. they are asking they not be classified as tobacco. in the u.s. and in several countries, al jazeera andrew thomas points on moves in australia to shut the entire ecigarette industry down before it takes off. >> vincent had no warning his home was about to be raided. the half dozen officials who turned up in black s.u.v.s stormed straight in. >> it was like i was watching some cop show, and i was in it. and this is just happening. these people are just going through all of my things and tipping my house upsidedown they were looking for ecigarettes. he was selling them through his

small business. he was accused of breaking a law originally brought in to stop the cigarette style sweets to children. no toy, food or other product sold, the law says can resemble a cigarette. he was initially acquitted but health officials appealed and won. his business was shut down. around the world, ecigarette use is growing fast. boutique shops in france, social gatherings like this one in sydney. some smokers say ecigarettes help them quit tobacco. others say it may make the culture of smoking worryingly acceptable. >> a likely thing that happens when you go other to ecigarettes is that you keep on smoking cigarettes and you smoke e cigarettes as well. so you dual use. and that is not a good thing because many people who do that might otherwise quit all together. >> this week, though, 50 health

professionals wrote to the world health organization urging it not to act too fast benefits e cigarettes which they called a significant health innovation. for australia, that letter may have been written too late. though he hopes to appeal, if the case against van herden stans stands, the ecigarette industry will be shut down as the debate is camping fire. >> australia has a history of setting the pause on tobacco legislation. it was one of the first cult trees to ban smoking in public places and the first country to insist on plain packaging for cigarettes. >> that's why what happens here with ecigarettes will be watched closely. if australia effectively bans them, other countries may follow. andrew thomas, al jazeera, darlin some market analysts say the sale of e cigarettes and other vapor products could over take traditional tobacco sales within the next six years. president obama is taking on the issue of head injuries in youth sports. he says parents and coaches need to be aware of the risks.

he also put some responsibility on the kids, themselves. ♪ over here ♪ over there. ♪. >> marking an historic event by taking a step back in time. an american singing trio gets set to perform on normal andy beach to mark 70 years since d day. >> areas that are already soaked, i will show you where wet weather could lead to flooding.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i am john henry smith. in just a moment, the white house taking up the issue of concussions in youth sports. first, let's get a look at where the rain may fall across the country today. eboni deon is here with that. >> it is a stormy start to the day across the big easy. >> that's where the rain is coming down this morning active

weather taking plates here right now, it's pretty widespread. as we put our radar in motion, you can see spin in the atmosphere bringing up from the gulf of mexico moisture right around new orleans. >> that's where we are seeing the bulk of the action. as we head a little further north, we are dealing with heavier down pours more isolated here coming into the panhandle of oklahoma and texas. we need the rainfall here it's going to make for some messy travel conditions. we definitely will benefit from that rain. here across the upper midwest, the rain has been heavy. some areas have already seen over two inches of rain as we get through this weekend, we could see an additional two to three inches of rain along with severe storms. we will watch this area very closely heading out on sunday. the rain is further east. we are also watching the tropics. hurricane season starts tomorrow and it's this area of showers and storms we will monitor for possible developments. >> keep the umbrellas at the ready. thank you so much. president obama is taking on the issue of concussions in youth supports.

ez spoke this week about a need for athletes and coaches to pay attention to the risks. >> we have to change a culture that says, "you suck it up." identifying a concussion and being able to self diagnose that this is -- this is something that i need to take care of doesn't make you weak. it means you are strong. >> nearly 250,000 young people visit emergency rooms each year with brain injuries. here with us to discuss the growing safety concern surrounding youth concussions is sean pampalon in dallas. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you for being here. the ncaa and the defense department have committed $30 million to create a concussion database while the nfl has pledged another 25 million over three years to promote youth sports safety. how effective do you expect these initiatives to be. >> in a culture that, you know, we just saw the los angeles

clippers being sold for $2,000,000,000, and television contracts are in the billions of dollars, i think that if you are going to look at a $25 million investment over a three-year period, that's like a $2 tip on a $50 tab. i don't really see anything about that other than, you know, it's something that they are putting some money in to, but nowhere near enough to actually create effective change. >> you just used the c world, culture. the president said we have to change the culture that says quote, "suck it up." is any money enough to affect a culture change at all levels of sports that needs to happen. >> we mentioned we need to self diagnose. i think it's a fallacy to assume that someone who is con cussed can actually be clear headed and right headed enough to actually, you know, make an effective diagnosis. a lot of medical personell villa

hard time. they are not concussed. >> awareness is important. if you are severely concussed, the people around you would have a better idea of your condition than you would. i don't know if that makes any sense to me. >> if people he is asking to self diagnose also really want to play and they really would rather not be taken out of the game. understandable. the n.f.l. has made rules changes limiting contact, moving up kick-offs, et cetera but these reforms are harder to find at the college, high school and youth levels. what changes do you think should be made at lower levels of football to make the game safer? >> i guess that was a conference that was about an hour long. i watched it. at no point during the discussion did anyone ever mention the appropriate ages to actually play ball. there was a soccer player on the panel and he mentioned his doctor, dr. robert cantu was present but he published a book a couple of years ago saying specifically that children under

the age of 14 because of the unformed brain should not participate in contact sports. and that was not spoken of at all. i mean the common theme throughout that press conference, throughout that summit was education and awareness but prevention really never entered the equation. and rule changes were not entered -- entering into the equation. it was about coaches being able to diagnose it, parental awareness. okay, so we are aware. what do we do about it? >> you have about 30 seconds left. to what degree would you say there is any hysteria? ball and hockey? is it really that dangerous? number of people, including myself, play the sport and at this point, no worse for wear. >> i understand that. the numbers are not astronomical. but, you know, i am in dallas right now covering a retired players convention and one of the things i have noticed is they no longer laugh about the contact. they no longer laugh about when

they were quote, unquote dinged. it's serious. and, you know, a lot of people have long-term ramifications. it's not just about concussive episodes. it's the repetitive head trauma that is really challenging the future of football. and that was once again was never mentioned from the summit. no one ever talked about self-concussive blows. >> sean pamphilon, thank you for your time? >> thank you. >> june marks the 70th anniversary of d day. thousands will travel to normal andy france to mark the allied invasion. a trio from denver will be there paying tribute to the veterans and heros. jim huli has the story. >> amy, christy, marnei. >> they go by the name "revelry 3" ♪ the chattanooga choo choo".

>> you could say these women were born in the wrong generation. ♪ over there. ♪ over there. over there. ♪ send the word other there >> their music was a journey back in time when men went to war, women worked in factories and the andrews sang back then the andrews sister's swing sounds and rhythms dominated the dance halls. ♪ the boogie wooingie ♪. >> it will revive that tradition. >> we have not had a musical genre that has tied our country together as this music did during that time. >> i would say we had the arms. >> before their shows, the women primp to make sure they have every detail of the andrews sisters down pat. >> it used to take me at least an hour. now, i've got it down to 40, 45

minutes. >> do you ever worry that what you do up on stage may be considered just a little geeky? >> well, yeah. i mean i go out in my pin curls. you would not believe the look. >> for revelry 3, their shows incorporate the look and they are about the letters. >> i hope you think of me as often as i think of you. >> each performance includes letters home, some a all too real. >> my great uncle died in the battle of the bulge. we have all of his letters and pictures and things that he sent home and i pulled one of his lines out of his letters for one of them that i read. >> that connection only as to the bond these women say they feel for their audience when they take the stage. >> we are very honored to be able to represent the united states and allied forces. it is overwhelming. and i think waterproof mascara is going to have to be in order.

>> 70 years later, the voices of reveille 3 will replace the sound of battle at norm normand denver. . >> at the end of our first hour, here is what we are following this morning. president obama addressing climate change in his weekly address. mr. obama saying now, by the epa will cut dangerous pollution and make the planet cleaner for future generations. secretary of defense chuck hagel called out china for cyber spying and for causing tension with vietnam in the south china sea. veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki has resigned. he had been under pressure to do so since the scandal erupted overweight times at va hospitals. also ahead in our neck hour, richard martinez will join us. he lost his son, christopher, in last week's deadly rampage in santa barbara. since then, he has become quite

out spoken on gun violence in america. >> severe storms are possible in parts of the midwest. i will pin point the areas at risk. >> i am back with you in two and a half minutes when al jazeera america continues. >> tonight on tech know. >> tonight on tech know. >> we probably ought to put the >> we probably ought to put the goggles on now. goggles on now. >> visionary technology. >> visionary technology. >> these goggles will help >> these goggles will help surgeons detect tumors that are surgeons detect tumors that are less than one millimeter in less than one millimeter in size. size. >> life changing. >> life changing. >> these have the potential to >> these have the potential to revolutionize the way that we revolutionize the way that we approach patients with mini approach patients with mini cancers. cancers. >> tech know, every saturday go >> tech know, every saturday go where science meets humanity. where science meets humanity. >> this is some of the best >> this is some of the best driving i've every done, even driving i've every done, even though i can't see. though i can't see. >> tech know. >> tech know. >> we're here in the vortex. >> we're here in the vortex. >> tonight, 7:30 eastern. >> tonight, 7:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. only on al jazeera america.

>> al jazeera america presents >> al jazeera america presents the system with joe burlinger the system with joe burlinger >> the dna testing shows that >> the dna testing shows that these are not his hairs these are not his hairs >> unreliable forensics >> unreliable forensics >> the problem the bureaus got >> the problem the bureaus got is they fail, it's a is they fail, it's a big, big deal... big, big deal... >> convicted of unspeakable >> convicted of unspeakable

crimes crimes did flawed lab work take away did flawed lab work take away their freedom? their freedom? >> i was 18 when i went in... >> i was 18 when i went in... when i came out i was 50... when i came out i was 50... you don't get it back... you don't get it back... >> shocking truths revealed >> shocking truths revealed >> the system >> the system with joe burlinger with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america only on al jazeera america ♪ in just the first year that these standards go into effect, up to 100,000 asthma attacks and 2100 heart attacks will be avoided. >> an attempt to help americans breathe a little easier, president obama's new push to cut down carbon pollution. his son, chris, died in the santa barbara killing spree. he is quickly becoming an activist for gun control. this morning, richard martinez joins us live. we are asking him what he can do to prevent other parents from living his nightmare.

one of the biggest names on wall street now the subject of an insider trading investigation. while carl icahn is being mentioned alongside phil mikelson. >> should makes a mistake. should that follow them their whole lights? you're right to be forgotten on the worldwide web. the neumann data that puts google in a position to determine your fate online. >> this week, we are unveiling these proposed guidelines which will cut down on the carbon pollution, smog and soot that threaten the health of the most vulnerable americans, including children and the elderly. >> president obama pushing a new plan to help clean up the air we breathe. welcome back to al jazeera america. i am john henry smith live in new york. it's been a busy week for president obama with not one but two of his 7 ario staff members resigning. now, the white house is trying to shift attention towards new energy regulations with new guidelines that target harmful

emissions. randall pinkston is live in washington, d.c. president obama announced a new set of regulations that will have major impact on the coal industry. what is the president's objective with all of this? >> reporter: well, ultimately, the objective is to get cleaner and an energy. the president pointing out 40% of the carbon emissions come from power plants, and so what he wants to do is to put in new rules and regulations, new epa rules and regulations to reduce that. he points out that the industry has been involved in drawing up these regulations, but the president does anticipate some opposition from people who think there is just too much government regulation. >> now, special interests and their allies in congress will claim that these guidelines will kill jobs and crush the economy. >> let's face it. >> that's what they always say. but every time america has set clear rules and better standards for our air, our water and our

children's health, the warnings of the cynics and the naysayers have been wrong. they warn that doing something about the smog choking our cities and acid rain choking our i lakes would kill business. the acid rain was cut dram dramatically and tower economy kept growing. >> as the president anticipated in the republican response from mike enzy, they predict 800,000 jobs will be eliminated once the regulations go into effect. enzy calls it death by regulation and accuses the obama regulation of slow-walking efforts to build out that famous and contro versial pipeline which will bring more oil into the country. so, the debate continues. john? >> randall, for weeks, there were calls for shinseki's resignation. the president seemed to stand by him. sh shinseki indicated he would stay

on the job until yesterday. what happened? >> well, being a former va secretary, eric shinseki had indeed insisted he was making progress and that he could do the job. he issued this poignant apology yesterday morning in his final speech as the va secretary to a veterans organization. but president obama said that he accepted shinseki's resignation because shinseki, himself, had decided he didn't want to -- he could no longer do the job. he would be a distraction. if you think back about a week ago the president set the stage for this when he was asked: will you ask shinseki to resign? and the president said as long as rick thinks he is doing a good job. i am sure if he doesn't think he will do a good job, rick will leave. something happened in the oval office to indicate ric had decided it was time to go.

>> let's move on to another resignation at the whitehouse, press secretary jay carney. was that a surprise? >> it was a surprise to the public. but not to president obama who said that carney had come to him sometime last month to say that he wanted to move out, move to the next phase of his life. exactly what that's going to be, we don't know. carney is one of the longest serving press secretaries since the clinton administration. i don't know if he tops the service marlin fitswater back in the bush 41 administration. he had been the press secretary for president reagan and stayed over for george herbert walker bush. but in any event, carney has been there a long time. the president pointed out they developed a great friendship. he wished him we will. he has appointed carney's deputy to replace him. ernst who has actually been in the running for the press secretary job before. he's been with obama since the

iowa caucuses and now he will be his principal spokesman. >> randall pinkston in washington, thank you so much for your time this morning. big names from wall street and the sports world are under investigation by the f.b.i. and the sec this morning. federal officials are looking into allegations of insider trading involving billionaire investor carl icahn, pro golfer phil mikelson and billy walters, reportedly making timely trades, one of which was color objection. authorities are investigating if icahn tipped the two men off to his plan to buy the company which ultimately failed. the new york times says officials haven't found any clear evidence of insider trading during a two-year investigation. the other stock in question involves trades made by walters and mikelson in 2012 on deen foods. icahn has no known ties to that company. icahn says he is unaware of any federal investigation and that he has never divulged insider n

information. t the nba accepted a move to sell the laclippers. donald sterling's est trained wife said she signed to unclosed the team. t the price tag, $2,000,000,000. donald sterling will be raking in more than 1500% return on the 12 and a half million he paid for the team back in 1981. the nba has banned him for life and fined him 2 and a half million dollar for making raceit remarks last month. an american has been identified as the man who carried out a suicide attack in syria almost a week ago. on friday, the state department confirmed the identity of mohammed abasala. officials say the florida resident targeted syrian government forces on sunday while driving a truck filled with explosives. he's the first american believed to have been involved in such attacks since the start of the syrian civil war three years

ago. >> obviously, there has been a range of reports. you know how concerned we are about foreign fighters in general. >> that's something we are watching closely. >> last week, president obama said the u.s. will increase awe cystance to syrian opposition forces calling the war there a counter-terrorism challenge. mexico has a new weapon in its fight against crime. police have launched a new helicopter servito cut rising c rates. officials say the chopper helps them catch crooks faster. rachel levin reports on how the officers are putting the new tool to use. >> reporter: it's the eye in the sky, latest effort by police in the state of mexico to hunt down and capture criminals. from hundreds of meters above, these police officers monitor neighborhoods for suspicious activity. >> before we started these flyovers, criminals would escape, scale walls and rooftops. when we arrived on the scene, it was too late. with these helicopters, we can

pick up their trail and arrest them. >> the pilots are in constant radio contact with officers at the command center. the officers on the ground monitor city streets with the help of hundreds of security cameras. whenever they suspect a crime, the pilots are called in to back up the operation. homicides are down 12% on a national level. but not in the state of mexico. in the first two months of this year, murders rose from 303 to 374. extortions and kidnappings are up dramatically. some government officials believe the spike in violence could be a result of cartels looking for new territory as the government tries to push them out in the neighboring state. the surge in crime worries mayors like this one who approved the plan to use helicopters. >> we are seeing killings and kidnappings that we didn't see before in the state of mexico. so we are trying to take those preventative measures so it

doesn't spread to other cities. >> the plan was announced to send in additional military and federal forces. but extra boots on the ground may not be enough to curb the violence. >> it is important for the federation to help out the state of mexico government because, on the one hand, federal forces are well-trained, well-paid, and well-organized. they work wetogether. the only way crime levels will fall is through the reform of the municipal and state police departments an especially of the judiciary. >> for these officers, fighting crime from the sky not only gives them a new perspective but always powerful tool they hope will eventually make their city safer. rachel levin, al jazeera, the state of mexico. protesters in the central african republic are demanding the resignation of the country's interim president after a new

round of sectarian violence there. the protest came on the heels of an attack last week by a group of christian youth that destroyed one of the last mosques in monge, after muslim rebels launched an attack on the catholic church in the city. fighting between both sides since march of last year led to a mass exodus. about a quarter of the central african republic's population is displaced. in california a drastic move to save water because of an ongoing drought. the states ordered nearly 3,000 residents in sacramento valley to stop pumping water from streams. it's the biggest restriction in decades. as al jazeera's in stead of knee stanton reports, there are some residents who are exempt from following the rules. >> that's causing some friction. >> reporter: in the middle of the desert 60 miles outside of los angeles, what you waater ii and farmers are flourishing.

u jebbing nemeker owns this alfalfa farm, a far cry from many drought stricken farms further north. >> i wish they didn't have to go through this. >> reporter: californians have been fighting over water for more than half a century. thanks to special designations by the by the state.

this is one of four pumps that pull water from an underground well to irrigate crops. with an unlimited water source, this farm has been largely unaffected by the drought. still, eugene nemeker who is self reporting monito is self reporting. >> it seems logical we know how much water is being used. >> with the drought expected to continue, the battle over california's most precious resource will rage on. stephanie stanton, al jazeera, lancaster, california. last week, the senate unanimously passed a drought relief bill to aid those in california who have been economically impacted by the water shortage. there is not even any significant rain in the new

future for california. meteorologist eboni dion has a look at the forecast. >> that's right, john. i wish i had better news. we have been seeing quite a bit of rain, just not in the areas needed. we have seen a little bit of rain across parts of the enter mountain west across colorado and parts of texas, we have gotten in on the rain. eastern areas of texas where the drought areas remain here over off of the western and northern portion of the state. if we look at california, see much of the state dealing with severe to exceptional drought conditions and form, there is no rain in sight. high pressure is keeping it dry here so any rain we are going to see is doing fob well inland. the dry well will persist as we go through the weekend. there are a few areas of concer concern we are watching today. around louisiana into mississippi and even intramz as we get through the weekend. this morning, though, it's new orleans that really is the acti activespot with the rain that's coming down. stronger storms off of the gulf coast. mariners may want to be aware of that.

and flash flooding, an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain will fall here this moisture will continue to lift fwho north w ward. mainly as we get into the afternoon and evening action dakotas and this is angarea where going to have to watch the next 48 hours for the strong storms that could even spawn a few isolated tornados but mainly wind and hail. >> send some rain california's way. eboni dion, thank you so much. google is accepting requests from europeans who want to be forgotten online. the move follows a ruling by the european court of justice that people have the right to have certain links about them removed. as roxanna reports, critics say it will limit freedom of expression. >> europeans who want to be forgotten online now have a chance by filling out this form on google. on this page, google explains it's obeying a ruling by the european court of justice earlier this month. the court said people can ask search engines to remove results about them that are deaned inadequate, irrelevant or

excessive. this is how the form works. go to google's website. put your name here, e-mail address here and the links you want removed here in a box below, you explain why you want those links removed. they are supposed to be either irrelevant, out dated or otherwise inappropriate. and below here, you need to up load a photo id, give your electronic signature and then hit submit. >> google says people, not computers, will go through each request, a process the company admits will not be easy. in a statement, google told us the court's ruling requires google to make difficult judgments about an individual's right to be forgotten and the public's right to know. supporters of the court's ruling argue, google has a responsibility to protect people's privacy, but the decision also has many opponents. >> someone makes a mistake when they are young, that follows them their whole lives. whenever you google them, maybe not. the way it's set up right now, people are coming out of the woodwork with these takedown

commands including a pedophile who wants news of his arrest removed, doctors who want poor reviews taken down. >> the internet needs some regulations but critics say it was not thought out. they say the ruling will allow oppressive regimes and rulers. >> the best way to counteract bad speech is to add more speech i think is what this country says and a lot of other people would agree with. >> roxanna saberi, al jazeera. >> google is setting up a seven-person advice occur committee to look at the ethical aspects of this process and the information will only disappear from searches made in europe. well, it is a bastion for average joes in the middle of america's most expensive city. >> we are fighting for everybody who lives here we are fighting for everybody who has middle class affordable housing in new york city. >> an apartment complex, home to the middle class since the 1940s now residents are digging in their heels for a battle that's

being waged in cities across the country. . >> they call it the motor city, but i don't know if this is exactly what they had in mind. how a group known as the mower gang is taking it upon themselves to take back detroit.

anger on the streets of rio de janero. hundreds of people including teachers are calling for more funding to improve public services. rallies are being held almost every day. brazilians upset with the billions being spent on hosting the ball match. welcome back to al jazeera america. i am john henry smith. the group known as the detroit mower gang in just a moment but first, meteorologist eboni dion is here. >> john, we are talking about the temperatures. it will stay cool across areas of the northeast especially as you get into northern areas of new england where we are now starting to see more of a north and northeasterly wind flow. >> will keep our temperatures into the lower and mid 60s around boston into portland pretty nice and average around new york city with a high of 74,

a bit warmer as you get into the capital with the high up to 79. we will see a warming trend over the next couple of days. by monday, in boston, high temperatures will climb into the low 80s. we just have a few more days before the warmth returns. we are filling in here across the southeast with highs in the mid- to upper 80s. it's going to be another warm one even in parts of the upper midwest. john, back to you. >> eboni dion, thanks so much. since the 1940s, an apartment complex in new york city has been home to thousands of middle class residents but whether it is stay affordable is in doubt. there are signs of a potential sale of the property. tenants are trying to stop that from happening as al jazeera's mary snow explains they say it's not just about them. it's about the middle class. >> now, we already have 32 registrants. yes. >> susan steinberg is gearing up for a fight to hold on to a ref jopling for the middle class in new york city. at stake, an 80 acre middle class housing project called

stiveson town peter cooper village. it's a complex of more than 11,000 apartments that's home to 25,000 residents. but with fears of a potential sale, steinberg and fellow tenants worry the affordable housing that's allowed them to live here for decades will be wiped out. >> we are fighting for everybody who lives here we are fighting for for everybody. >> deregulating more rents will be a prior to for any owner? >> it's a question of how

quickly they can do so. >> in 2006, during the real estate boon, this complex sold for a record $54,000,000,000. but the buyers eventually ran out of money and lendsors took control. >> they thought they could raise rents by turning unit to market rate much mover quickly than most people have ever done. >> developer tishman spire and private firm blackrockperd in the deal that failed. a commercial real estate investment firm is in control. it did not respond to a request for comment on a move it made that is seen as a first step in a potential sale. meantime, bloomberg reports private equity firm fortress investment group is preparing a bid worth $47,000,000,000. one urban development expert said, stakes are high for new york city if stuveson town and peter cooper village lose affordability. >> it would be cat strafedic.

i don't want to sound dramatic but it is. we have been losing middle class housing for several years. >> as for steinberg and the other tenants, their hopes hinge on new york city's bill d de blasio's push for affordable houses. >> his program is to preserve middle class affordability, we are the poster child. stuvesan town is the poster child. >> it's already discussions with lenders in tenants in hopes of reaching a joint agreement. well, it was a record-breaking day in australia, more than 300 climbers from away the world loaded up on the sydney harbor bridge making it the most people ever to shimmy up a brimming in one shot. climbers broke another record for the most flags flown on a bridge. the event was organized by rotary international. the group is trying to raise awareness about polio. >> a little effort goes a long

way in bankrupt detroit. >> effort is coming from a group of volume up tear landscapers as bici on-lieri reports the mower gang is maintaining parks the city can't afford to. >> they call themselves the detroit mower gang. it's a group of volunteer landscapers who spend one night every other week mowing, trimming and cleaning some of detroits most neglected public parks. tom nordon started the group four years ago. he and his crew haven't slowed down since. >> kids will come out and play on the swings and that type of thing. that's very satisfying because you know before you got there, they had no place to play. and after you left, they did. >> the bankrupt city has more than 300 parks but can only afford to maintain about half of them. the result: parks overwhelmed by overgrown grass and trash, communicatety landmarks people once flocked to have become places to avoid.

>> it was pretty bad. it wasn't well kept at all. >> rhonda smith, a mother of three, says her neighborhood park began to deteriorate when budget cuts forced the city to stop maintaining it a few years ago. the city eventually resumed taking care of it. during the gap, the mower gang rolled in and smith was thankful >> when services are lost, it let's you know there is a ram in a bush. there is someone there to be able to step up and make things happen. we don't have to sit back and wait for the city to provide services that we can take the reins ourselves. >> volunteers will spend hours working on this one project. they are driven to take on grass and weeds and some of the -- in some of detroit's toughest neighborhoods. many of them don't even live here. >> jim kaufman travels over an hourto just to help out. >> i see the bankruptcy, the awareness that that has caused

as an opportunity for us, the people that live here, to turn this thing around. >> in 2013, detroit maintained 25 parks. >> number has since jumped to 150. last april, the city launched an adopt a park program. so far community groups and businesses have made commitments to maintain over isn't detroit parks. >> there is a certain satisfaction in a job well done and sometimes you have to pay to make that happen. >> for the detroit mower gang, there is still a lot more ground to cover. bici on-liere, detroit. >> in 2013, the city of destroy closed a total of 50 parks throughout the city. >> last week's killing spree in california reigniting a fierce debate. the father of one of the victims has become somewhat of a gun-control activist since the tragedy that took his son's life. richard martinez joins us live just ahead. we will ask him what he thinks he can do to stop these type of

senseless killings. >> gray area, depression. >> that's not the only problem for tourists in moscow. why there is no love for russia on trip add viewsors new list of urban vacation destinations.

welcome back to sarkese. i am john henry smith live in new york. thrust into the national spotlight by a family tragedy in just a few minutes, we will speak with richard martinez, the father of chris martinez. chris was one of six people shot and killed last week when gunman elliott rodger we want on a killing spree in santa barbara, california. richard is becoming a new face for gun control in america. he joins us live just 10 minutes from now. >> but first, ukraine's

president elect, petro poroshenko will share the stage with president obama next week. they will greet each other during obama's visit to policyland. the try designed to affirm america's security commitment. a tough stanchion assays david shader reports, et cetera vowing more military action against separatists in the east. >> it's these men ukraine's president elect has vowed to punish. the contigent of separatist fighters defending the town of slovyansk against kiev's assault who brought down a military helicopter with a surface to air missile killing 14 soldiers including a senior general: within minutes of the al jazeera team arriving, a salvo of seven mortar shells was fired on the town. above the bear decades, the flags of both russia and the

self-declaried republic. the fighters here are becoming batt battle hardened. they have built bunkers. they can take shelter when the mortars start raining down. it's the families here who are most at risk. the russians have said that the ukrainian government and its latest military offensive is breaking the geneva the basement. >> we found a mother nursing her newborn baby, terrified after

hearing the renewed shelling we witnessed as we entered the town. . >> of course, we are afraid, especially when our own army is stacking us. they are surrounding us. >> several hundred children have already been evacuated. the streets are emptying. the sense of fear, overwhelming. david shader, al jazeera, slovyansk. president obama, poreshenko and vladimir putin will all be in france later this week to attend the seventyth anniversary of world war ii's d day. white house officials say there are no plans on a formal meeting between obama and putin. well, today is world no tobacco day intended to encourage a 24-hour period of taking away from all forms of tobacco. russia is banning smoking while dining is something of a tradition here and restaurant owners fear the new law will cause significant financial

loss. statistics show russia is the second largest tobacco market in the world after china. well, expensive and unfriendly, two words you do not want to hear about your city from a travel website but that's just the kind of damming assessment of moscow, trip add viewsor dished out. in russia, and in the capitol with reaction. >> reporter: it may boast some of the most recognizable sites in the world but moscow is not popular with globetrotters, it seems. in a host of categories, friendliness, taxis, value for money and hotels, moscow came botom in trip advisor's list of 37 urban tourist destinations. >> in moscow, there are some challenges, for one, the alf bed >> which is incomprehensible to many citizens of the world. then there is the almost constant diabolical traffic and

how are you supposed to get across these roads anyway? the helpfulness of tokyo helped it to the top of the charts. new york's great nightlife propelled it to second. barcelona came third. with so many seemingly superior dest neighborhoods we were surprised to find any foreigners on moscow's red square square at all. but there were plenty, and dispute a few gripes by and large, they were happy. >> people are friendly, tried to speak english as much as we can and we managed. >> outside of the city center and the gray area, it's depressing. but if you enter the inner circle, it changes. everything is nice. you see people cleaning. it's beautiful here. >> soviet communim was suspicious of outsiders. russia had 74 years of it. >> that's a difficult legacy to overcome. new projects like a revamped gorky park are making the urban

landscape more attractive and a younger, more angolophon generation is doing its part to help. >> not too many speak english. muscovites have started traveling, also. so we kind of understand tourists who come to moscow. >> moscow may not be the easiest destination for foreigners but it is improving. anyway, who said travel was supposed to be easy? al jazeera, moscow. >> moscow was given a thumbs down in a survey that policied 54,000 travelers. in the last hour, we introduced you to a man wrongfully convicted. dna evidence helped to free him from prison after 16 years. forensic science isn't always full proof. jacob ward reports on why sometimes, the guilty and innocent get mixed up. >> for insic science is deeply flawed. in 2009, the national academies

of science issued a scathing report that said the techniques for leaking finger prints and hair had never been scientifically value dated. it recommended creation of an independent federal research lab that sets national standards. >> hasn't happened. an even cutting-edge dna analysis hasn't been validated in the sort of rigorous open way that science owes demands. the f.b.i. which overseas the national dna database called cod codis does not allow it to be used by defense lawyers or researchers. only by prosecutors and law enforcement and even then, selectively. >> we wouldn't have, per se, access to it. we would be able to send a known dna sab dna sample from on profile from a crime scene, send it to the department of justice. they would be able to access it. to see if it cross references with another sample. >> bica barlow gave up a career in silence to become a public defender. she says most dna samples

submitted are incomplete sdmrfrp they are not robust. they are called partial which means that there is a lot of missing information and conclusions are being drawn that someone matches based upon these really marginal samples. >> here is how incomplete dna can point to the wrong person. a trulinique dna profile consists of at least 13 locations mapped on your dna. but often, labs don't map that many, either because they only have partial samples or because they save time or money testing fewer locations. in 2006, arizona revealed that out of 65,000 dna samples in its database, each representing a convicted offender, a dna profile of 9 locations brought back 122 matching people. this was one of the only studies of its kind and was compelled by a court order. any one of those 122 people could be incorrectly matched to incomplete crime scene dna. with 10 base payers, that number

was still too high. 20 matches out of 65 ,000. incomplete dna is used as evidence all the time. while arizona had only 65,000 people in its database, california's now holds 1.4 million convicted offenders. and even an exact d inform a match doesn't always identify the guilty party. i hope vet gators at the scene of a 2012 homicide in san jose california discovered a stranger's dna on the deceased. they identify add former convict, lucas anderson. >> but on the night in question, lucas anderson was here at valley medical center in san jose being treated for alcohol poisoning. so how could his dna have made its way from the hospital where he was unconscious to a murder scene? >> the ambulance that transported lucas from san jose to valley med to be treated for the alcohol intoxication was then the ambulance that responded to the homicide.

the pulse ox omty, the thing that goes on your finger to measure oxygen levels was put on lucas's finger and at the scene of the crime was on the victim's finger. the dna was transferred in that method. >> lucas anderson did five months in maximum security c confinement based upon dna evidence that put him at the scene of a crime he was nowhere near. >> problems with dna evidence first came to light in 1997 after an f.b.i. agent blew the whistle on a federal crime lab. the agent described what he called a pattern of flawed forensic that led to verdict being overturned in hundreds of cases. many from one agent in particular. it's also the focus of part 2 of al jazeera's "the system" with joe berlinger. >> my uncle was an agent in the laboratory. he was an agent's agent. when you looked at hum, you said, this is the kind of guy i want to be like. two examiners from the lab in florida came to me and said,

you've got to stop this guy, michael malone. >> from doing what? >> over inferring the hair data. we tracked all of malone's cases, about 1836 of them. he testified false, false and misleading. >> many of michael malone's cases are still being litigated today. part 3 of "the system" with joe berlinger airs 9:00 p.m. sunday eastern and 6:00 p.m. pacific. >> two men whose face were determined by the f.b.i. hair analysis. authorities in santa barbara county say they did not know the young man behind a shooting rampage there ownedfire a ways, this despite three interactions with police. elliott rodger legally purchased guns leading up to the shooting spree last week, something authorities could have discovered by searching law enforcement data basis. his most receipt interaction with police was a month ago when officials responded to a call

about his mental health. the 22-year-old went on a rampage until isla vista killing six and in generaling a dozen others. richard martinez joins us now for our weekend conversation. his 20-year-old son, visit f christopher, was shot and killed in that attack last week. mr. martinez, on behalf of everyone here at al jazeera, we are so sorry for your loss. as a parent, i can only imagine how devastating this week has been for you. have you even had time to grieve in the way you and your family would like to given what a whirlwin week this has been for you? >> well, i think we all handle our grief in different ways. his mother is devastated. she is not able to -- you know, i am dealing with it by activity. and in a way, i am just, you know, pushing back the -- i don't want to just do nothing

and sit around and think about it. i want to do something. people know that's what i have been doing. >> absolutely, you have. >> keeping myself busy just helps me feel like i am doing something. i want to try to have some good come out of this. >> mr. martinez, elliott rodger was found with three semi automatic weapons, 400 rounds of unused ammunition and since the incident, you have called out irresponsible politicians and the nra. is your ultimate goal to see gun ownership banned in this country? >> no. but that's not what i said. i said craven irresponsible. you left out the "craven" part. i grew up on a farm. i had guns. i was a military policeman in the army. i carried a gun. a gun is a tool. with any tool, if you know how to use the tool, you have an

appropriate purpose for the tool and you treat it with respect, i got no problem. what i have a problem with, if you are a farmer or a ranch living in wyoming, you've got cattle, you need a rifle. you got wolves that will kill your sheep, you need -- it's a tool, an appropriate tool for the purpose, the need that the person has. i don't even have a problem with people owning a handgun if they feel the need for self protection in their home. i don't have a problem with that. but you don't need three guns. you don't need 400 rounds. you don't need a rifle in the city. it serves no purpose. we don't let people keep nuclear bombs in their basements. why? because it's not reasonable. i don't have a problem with responsib responsible gun owners that have a reasonable need for the -- have some articulable need for the we hope and choose the appropriate weapon for the purpose. i don't have a problem with

that. but this kid with mental health issues has three firearms and 400 arms is unreasonable. and everyone knows it. the reason why people are paying attention to me is because mario cuomo, i keep attributing this to him. i will just say it. my recollection of what he said was: there is nothing as powerful as a good idea clearly stated. but he's mistaken. >> that's not correct. what it should be is there is nothing as powerful as a good idea clearly stated with passion, conviction and sincerity. >> that's the most powerful message that a person can make. now, i find myself sitting here and, you know, who would think a

week ago, you know, i would give anything not to be here. i mean anything. i would rather be dead, myself. >> i understand. >> than have my son gone. i mean just let me fin issue. the reason you are interested in me right now is because of the speech i originally gave at the sheriff substation. when i gave that speech, you know, i talked -- i don't know how long i talked. less than three minutes, i am sure. from that one speech, you can't -- people were beating down my door trying to talk to me. i couldn't believe it. but i have had a chance to think about it a little bit longer and i understand why. i know why. >> one speech generated so much interest. >> you touched a nerve? >> no. no. that's not it. it's because people see so -- people are starved for authenticity in public discourse.

they rarely see -- they rarely see somebody express themselves clear clearly, honestly, and with emotion, you know. and that is what gave it power. >> is the reason why i am able to get 20,000 people to stand and do what i want. you know, people -- i had a reporter ask me: how does it feel to get 20,000 people to do what you want just by raising your hand? well, i have two points on that. first, i don't care. i don't care about doing it. what i care about is that what they do after wards. i ask them to do tape things. i ask them either to send postcards or to do hash tags. if -- you know, the day after, i was at breakfast and i was

asking -- i asked the young staff at the hotel i was staying at what check on the hash tags, at that time, there were about 3,000 hash tags. and i was discouraged because it doesn't matter if i am giving a powerful speech and the audience is reacting to me and i see them moving up and down or cheering me, giving me a standing ovation, that's nothing in and of itself. >> sure. >> unless -- unless they do something after i spoke. otherwise, it's just entertainment. but, i am plead to tell you today that the last time i checked, and that was like maybe two days ago, the hash tags were at 68 million. >> 68 million? >> 68 million. the postcards, i have asked for to congress are at 1.25 million. and let me just tell you this. >> sure? >> if you look at the speech i gave. i will let you ask your question.

>> to piggyback on that. you talk about an achievement to get 68 million hash tags and all of the post cavs. unfortunately, we have seen plenty of these mass shootings before. in columbine, the colorado theatre and sandyhook. these issues, they got a lot of air play, a lot of discussion right after the event, but ultimately the needle in washington did not move anywhere in the vicinity of real action. are these efforts you are taking, do you think they will actually spur some action at this point? this time around? >> i don't know. all i can tell you is that i have lost the only thing i care about. well, i care about this now. i mean why i didn't care about this before? you know, i didn't care about it before because the same reason everybody else thinks. i am asking myself, why didn't i?

i know after, i think, the today's show interview or maybe during the today's show interview, the reporter said to me: i have never seen anybody like you, he said. i have been to all of these events. i have never seen a parent be able to express themselves as clearly as you are able to do. is it because you are an attorney? i said, yes. and that's true in part. but what he didn't follow up with or even know is that i have political experience. i have dealt with the press. i have given speeches. i have gotten -- i have written speeches. i know -- >> mr. martinez, i'm sorry to cut you off. we have to take a break. please stay with us. we are going to come back to this discussion after we take a quick break.

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mr. a martinez, this week, california legislators introduced a bill to create a gun violence restraining order that would allow people to get someo get guns out of hands. is that a positive step. >> i believe so. i am familiar with that legislation. yes. >> have you been contacted by any politicians? and if so, what did they have to say to you? >> well, the answer is yes. and at different stages, they have approached me in different ways. initially, you know, they were calling to offer condolences and you was telling them to basically leave me alone. i wasn't interested in their sympathy or condolences.

i wanted them to go back there and do something. more recently, i had some of the same people i told to go away try to approach me again. and i am giving them an opportunity to explain themselves now. but i am meeting with some in the next few days. >> at the white -- >> has the white house contacted you? >> no, but, you know, i hope they've got better things to do than charactering me. but, you know... >> you have been in touch with family members of some of the children and faculty killed at the sandy hook elementary. are you planning on working with them going forward? >> yes. >> what's the nature of their -- have they reached out with, i imagine they have reached out with well wishes and support. has that been the nature so far, or have they had advice?

what has it been? >> yes. oh, yeah. i mean everybody has just really been so nice. i mean, you know, because i came very early on to the idea that i -- my initial thing was i didn't want to talk about my son. i mean when i finished the speech at the sheriff's deputy substation, i was intended to leave. and i was just surrounded by the press and they began asking questions and they were like personal questions to talk about my son. and then at some point, i felt, you know, these are strangers asking about my boy. and i just said, no. >> that's it. and in the car driving back, my brother had read the book "columbine" which was written by mr. collin who had researched and written about the columbine incident. he said, my brother said, you know, you can't, as much as you

don't really want to talk about your personal life in public or maybe not share things about christopher, you need to do it because if you don't put a -- if the shooter gets -- if the shooter is all the public knows in these situations and the victims are just numbers, then people aren't going to care. you know, and my brother told me, you've got to step up and share with the world what they lost. otherwise, nothing is going to happen. it's just another number. and so, we talked about it. and, you know, karen, chris's mom, just, you know, she made one appearance at one of these things and she just -- the first one, "good morning america" and she is devastated, you know. and she just, this is my way of handling it, and i am... >> in fact, in fact, sir. i'm sorry to cut you off. in fact, sir, is this going to be your calling, your life going

forward? for the rest of your life, can you see yourself involved in trying to make sure no other family has to go through this? >> well, i am -- well, the answer is, yes. i mean, you know, i have got -- i refuse to believe that this is hopeless. you know, i heard what you said about, you know, the nra just, you know, blocking everything single thing and but, you know, even if -- you know, these things have -- i have worked like i said before in politics, and you get, sometimes, a cumulative thing. you know, i am building already on what other people have done. >> okay. >> i have been in contact with other groups, and they are educating me. >> mr. martinez, i am very sorry to have to cut you off here. >> yes. >> thank you for joining us. you, as the father of a 20-year-old shooting victim, visit fer ross michaels-martinez, we feel for you. we are so sorry for your loss. i wish you the best in your

efforts to salvage something good from something so very, very bad. thank you for your time. coming up tomorrow, what could be a breakthrough in dentistry. lasers have been successfully used to regrow teeth in lab rats. how long before they are put to use on humans? we will talk to a lead author tomorrow. these are not his hairs these are not his hairs >> unreliable forensics >> unreliable forensics >> the problem the bureaus got >> the problem the bureaus got is they fail, it's a is they fail, it's a big, big deal... big, big deal... >> convicted of unspeakable >> convicted of unspeakable crimes crimes did flawed lab work take away did flawed lab work take away their freedom? their freedom? >> i was 18 when i went in... >> i was 18 when i went in... when i came out i was 50... when i came out i was 50... you don't get it back... you don't get it back... >> shocking truths revealed >> shocking truths revealed >> the system >> the system with joe burlinger with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america only on al jazeera america