>> sometimes witnesses get it right >> when you have an eyewitness to say i saw him do it, that is the best evidence. >> and sometimes sometimes they don't >> no one is listening to us... george is innocent... >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america > this is al jazeera america live from new york city. tony harris with a look at the front area. army sergeant bowe bergdahl is free after five years capture. some says it goes against the policy never to negotiate with terrorists. a look at the five freed taliban, and where they are now. jobs, and the how's speak are says it will cost.

minimum wage set to rise to $15. five taliban fighters held at the guantanamo bay in cuba for years have been exchanged for one american prisoner bowe bergdahl. republicans accuse the obama administration of violating laws regarding transfers and settling a dangerous precedent. the white house fought back today. >> prisoner exchanges are not uncommon in armed con flicts. without getting into specific assurances they included a travel ban, information sharing on detainees between united states and qatar, and allowed

the defense secretary chuck hagel and the security team to determine that the threat by the detainees to the states would be mitigated, and the transfer was in the u.s. national security interest. >> among those denouncing the swap is hamid karzai - said to be angry about the deal. randall pinkston joins us from washington. what other rehabilitations have -- reactions have we heard? >> a lot of criticisms from the chairman of the house, mike rogers, and a member of the senate armed committee, senator lindsay graham. at a point in his past he served as a military lawyer with the air forcers knows a little about military affairs and says what the president did is wrong. in a series of tweets he said:

in another tweet he says: referring to the five senior members captured on the battlefield during the war that developed after september 11th. senator graham, undoubtedly among others, will call for investigations into the military's action. sergeant bowe bergdahl is in the hospital in germany, the largest military hospital outside of the united states. doctors sha he's being -- say he's being treated for, among other things, nutritional issues, and did not release other information, citing privacy concerns. some veterans are speaking out about the release. what are they saying? >> this has been bubbling around

on the internet, for months, if not years. some veterans are saying that sergeant bowe bergdahl walked away, deserted his post, placed himself in a position to be captured by the taliban, and some say he should be brought up on charges under the military code of justice. the white house secretary was asked about the issue and pointed out that that was in the domain of the department of defense. all marts will be investigated -- matters will be investigated. it's not been proven. sergeant bowe bergdahl is entitled to the rights of other citizens - innocence until proven guilty. now the focus is on his health and wellbeing, and providing information about the conditions that he witnessed during his five years of captivity with the taliban. he may be un of a few americans that had been to enclaves and areas that the taliban control in eastern afghanistan along the

frontier province where it's believed he may have been held. >> thank you. the five taliban leaders freed as part of a deal to secure sergeant bowe bergdahl's release may have arrived in qatar. a picture of a convoy was shown. it stops to meet a taliban delegation. the prisoners will spend the first year of freedom in qatar. it's not clear what restrictions they'll face. sergeant bowe bergdahl is recovering at a military hospital in germany, freed after five years in captivity. now people in the town of hail, y, idaho are waiting for berg to come home. allen schauffler is live there for us. how is the town reacting to the news of this long-awaited

release? >> reporter: as you might expect there's high spirits, big smiles and a lot of yellow ribbon in hailey idaho. around the country and world sergeant bowe bergdahl may be the well-known prisoner of war, the last prisoner of war in afghanistan, and a lightening rod of political controversy. here in this town of 7900 in southern idaho, he's the home town kid, the boy that went away to war and ended up in the hands. ar carny network, held in pakistan under who knows what conditions for five years. he's the home town kid they want back. people are delighted that he's made the first few steps from captivity to idaho. when he may come back here, we don't know. people here pomoseley are

ex-stackic -- mostly are ecstatic that he's on the way. there has been allegations that some of bowe bergdahl's fellow soldiers made. has there been reaction to those comments in hale yes. >> reporter: we have asked a lot of people about this, what about the controversy, what about the questions vouching his capture, what the the way he was released and the swap for five high-level taliban figures. i've talked to nobody here who is willing to discuss those things at length. they say "look, that is for someone else to deal with. they are happy with that and let's let it go." if there are people that agree, as he's been accused, of being is deserter, or those that accuse him of being a traitor,

and doing this on purpose. if they are here, i have not run into them. i have run into a lot of focus. i'll talk to you, but i'm not talking about that say the folks. they want to deal with bowe bergdahl coming home. >> makes sense. allan schauffler in idaho. we want to mention that al jazeera america's parent company is based in qatar, and this channel is financed in part by the country's government. the obama government took a step towards climate change, cutting power emissions from plants, leading to a huge political and legal battle. it always does. lisa stark joins us. give us the details of what the e.p.a. announced today. >> reporter: this takes aim at power plants, particularly coal-fired power plants. there are about 600 of them, contributing to a third of the emissions in the atmosphere. under the plan, the emissions

would have to be cut by 30% by 2030. it's based on a level in 2005. we are part-way there. this would lead to health benefits, preventing 6600 premature deaths. they claim that bills would drop by 8% because of energy innovation and efficiency. geena mccarthy unveiled the proposal saying it would protect the health and the environment. >> although we limit pollutants like mercury, arsenic, sulphur, currently there's no limits on carbon pollution from power plants, our nation's largest sources. for the sake of our family's health and kids future, we have a moral obliges to act on climate. >> mccarthy says this would be

equal to taking two-thirds of all the cars and trucks off the road. if this proposal goes into effect, the e.p.a. estimates in 2030 we'd have 30% of energy from coal. now we get 40%, and a lot of controversy over this. you can expect lawsuits, congress is talking about legislation to stop it. >> some of the critics say it could cut jobs - familiar refrain. what has been the response - what has it been in washington? >> it is a familiar refrain, as you mentioned. the chamber of commerce estimates it could cost the economy $50 million. the proposal is nuts, says speaker of the house john boehner, that it will shift jobs overseas. the environmental group say it could create jobs, creating energy innovation and jobs in

the energy sector. it will play out in capitol hill and the courts. lisa stark in washington, thank you. now that the e.p.a. announced its new rule, what will it take to implement it. jacob ward joins us from san francisco. there's a federal effort to four states to give up reliance on coal. what other forms of energy are available right now? >> well, that is the - this could be the straw that breaks the back of coal. no one will build a coal-fired plant in the united states. really, states are given the flexibility to find their own way to these goals. the most effective way to get there, everyone agrees, is renewables. solar and wind are important. they were nearby and expensive ways of producing electricity. we have seen solar power drop by 99% in terms of costs in 1973, and the adoption of it is on the

rise. in the first quarter of this year we saw 75% more solar power than last year. solar and wind is the ascendant forms of energy. >> what is the scientific community's take on this. generally speaking, is this a plan that could potentially stiffle economic growth? >> i think an interesting way to look at it is to think about, for instance, germany, which is europe's largest economy. on a sunday in may of this year, sunday, may 11th on a windy, sunny day, that country put out 74% of its electricity via renewable energy. the country gets 25% of its power from solar, wind and hydro. it puts out the vast majority of energy that way. no one can say anything bad about germany's economy. if you compare it to california,

a cutting-edge state when it comes to climate action and new rules, california gets 22% from energy. it's one of these things where it doesn't seem reasonable to say that this is going to stifle the economy. as lisa mentioned, there'll be the opportunity, as the e.p.a. said, to create new jobs based on these rules. >> talk about the timing. how aggressive is the plan in scientific terms? >> that's a question. by the time that scientists get together and achieve consensus that this is a problem, the problem is upon us. i think in five years we'll turn around and say, you know what, 2030 is too far away, the technology is too big, too present. we'll change the timetable and move it up. good to see you, jake ward in san francisco. the supreme court ruled that congress did not mean to

authorise prosecutions of minor crimes under a chemical weapons treaty. the justice system through out the conviction of a woman who used harmful chemicals to attack her husband's mistress. carr owl bond was tried -- carol bond was tried under is 1999 law. the chief justice said the laws are sufficient enough to deal with a woman in a love triangle. in power politics, this summer is an image building time for someone wanting to run for president. a candidate got a boost. david shuster joins us with more. >> reporter: ted cruz got the tanks and buzz that he'll need to assemble a presidential campaign. after speaking to the republican leadership conference, he won the straw poll, taking 30% of those that voted.

he beat out other speakers, including rand paul. and texas governor rick perry. he appeared on a talk show, where he got headlines for blasting the obama administration prisoner swap with the taliban. >> i do not think the way to deal with terrorists is through releasing other violent terrorists. >> the 2016 presidential field is going to be a crowded one. at the same conference, herman kain gave an indication that he would join the field. in 2012 he was accused of sexual harassment. here is part of his speech this weekend. >> the liberals thought they had shut be up. i'm back. [ laughs ] [ cheering and applause ] >> i'm back.

>> herman kain, fan of "potter gist ii", he pulled it off better than most people. in the 2014 congressional midterm elections, a battle between the tea party and republican establishment is about to play out in mississippi senate primary. a republican seeking a seventh term, facing chris mc-daniel. four mc-daniel supporters were found photographing his opponents wife in a nursing home. this race is a toss up. waiting in the wings is travis childers, the democratic nominee for the senate seat. if childers opponent is mc-daniel. democrats will celebrate. republicans will have heartburn.

he as a record of inflammatory and racist statements that could make him u.n. electable. it the senate seat goes to a republican, the majority goes up. in the race for a congressional seat. matt rowsen dale campaigns against a federal government with power. he released an ad featuring him shooting down a government drone. [ ♪ music ] [ gun fire ] >>. >> the federal government is too big and powerful. >> well, a few days going rowsen dale told a host that he misses the days when montana had no speed limit much. >> this is where i need to be. where people will be held responsible for their actions, but they'll have the freedom to live through it. >> that's excitingment do you

have the open speed limit there? >> no, they do not. it's an example of federal overreach. >> montana's highway speed limit is 75 miles per hour. never mind rowsen dale's argument that the federal government shouldn't be able to set conditions. studies find speed limits save lives and increase fuel efficiency. montana is known as the last great place - perhaps one can ad for fireball politicsment. >> always entertaining. coming up, we go live to seattle where it's set to become the first to implement a $15 per hour minimum wage. a computer hacker accused of leading a global reign to still millions of dollars. back in a moment.

so it was an up and down day on wall street. stocks fell, but rose after correcting manufacturing numbers came out. well, some change - better numbers came out.

the dow rose, s&p hit a high. nasdaq fell. seattle is to become the first the state in united states to raise the minimum wage to $15. tania moseley joins us. i have two questions in one. is the council expected to approve the plan. if so, how long might it take to phase in the wage for seattle businesses. >> well, the answer is yes. the mayor made the announcement on this ambitious deal last month. council members have been meeting as recent as last friday looking offer the bill, making amendments. yes, they are expected to pass this ambitious $15 an hour deal. one of the amendments, the softer launches, is to make it take place beginning in april, instead of january. there'll be a facing in. the companies that have under

500 employees will have up to seven years with a slow phasing in starting at $11. those companies with more than 500 employees have up to three years. >> how are residents and businesses reacted to this? >> so, initially when this was announced many of the smaller business owners say this will put us under. the city council worked with the amendments to make it a softer blow with the phasing in. as far as residents, folks working minimum wage, they are happy. you might be able to hear behind me, there's a party getting started. after the council makes a vote, they are expected to celebrate. >> two hours time. i've been saying an hour, it's more likely in two hours, correct. >> i say two hours because they tell us they'll put it at the end of the agenda, which is likely in about two hours.

>> gotcha. tonia moseley in seattle. we bring in the owner of perfect copies and prints. you look great. good to have you on the programme. when we spoke a couple of months ago, you talked about supporting a gradual minimum wage hike. sounds like it will be voted on in a couple of hours, is what you have m mind. a phased in approach. is this something you support? >> yes, i do. i'm glad. this plan would work for both parties. >> okay. you like the idea. you think it will work. do you worry? is there a part of you at all, in your bone, in your marrow, that is concerned that this could be a job killer for seattle? >> you know, that - that is a difficult question, because we don't have precedence of this anywhere else, we'll have to wait and see.

i hope the outcome is good. i hope it's good for the city. >> you thought about it in terms of your own business. you are not a business with 500 plus employees. in terms of the impact of this flan will be voted on soon, how will it impact you, and are you concerned about running your business as effectively as you like to, implementing phasing in a higher minimum wage for employees? >> i'm glad it's a phase-in plan, giving us time to adjust and plan. otherwise it would have been devastating for small businesses. so in that sense, it gives us enough time, which is another three years, or more, to prepare. and businesses - any business would like to know ahead of time any kind of a drastic change would have been a huge problem for small businesses. >> i'm asking specifically about

your business. will you be okay with this, with the phase-in over three years, raising the minimum wage. do you suggest that there's a potential for it to have a negative impact on your business? >> i'm a little concerned about businesses moving out of the city. that is something that we will know, i guess, but there's no definite answer to that. anyone looking to expand - will they stay, that will impact all businesses. i'm concerned about my business in that sense. >> great. so there is a thought in your mind that if you want to expand, grow your business, the passing of this higher minimum wage could lead to a conversation and lead you to move outside of seattle to grow your business. >> that's a possibility, yes. >> so it's something you are thinking about, having discussions about with the

people as part of your business. >> i think - most businesses would consider this. why - why would they stay in a city where they have to pay a certain wam where they can -- wage, where they can move a few miles away and pay less. in this plan it's important to include the suburbs and the cities of seattle, which i hope will happen eventually when this passes. >> the owner of perfect copy and print from seattle. good to see you again. thank you for your time. apple unveiled new technology during the worldwide developers conference. c.e.o. tim cook unveiled the ios operating system for iphones and ipads. and unveiled health book, it's an oop that acts as a -- app that acts as a hub for personal information, which will operate in the cloud, icloud. apple is ranked near the cop of

fortune 500's list. here is the list here: >> those companies are ranged on revenue based on fiscal release. coming up, the five released from guantanamo, where they'll spend the next year and how easily they can reintegrate. >> the taliban and the hunt for a fbi consultant that may be armed with explosives.

you there are questions today about whether the cost of trading five taliban leaders for

bowe bergdahl is too high. the five will head to doha. there are fears they'll return to the ranks. john terrett is here to give us a better picture of who the five are. >> reporter: the pentagon say that all five pose a threat to the united states and allike if they are, as they have been released. they were among the taliban's top commanders in u.s. custody, and are revoored in jihadist circles. let's meet them. here is the first one. this is a former taliban governor, a former interior minister, khairullah khairkhwa, thought to have links with the al qaeda leader, overseeing one of osama bin laden's training camps. here is number two - mohammad fazl. a former taliban army chief of staff and deputy defence minister that rose swiftly through the ranks. he's wanted by the united

nations for war crimes, including the murder of afghan shiite civilians, he was one the first arrivals at guantanamo bay. they've all been in about 12 years until this weekend. abdul haq wasiq, a former deputy chief, key to efforts to form alineses for other groups fighting against the u.s. after 9/11. mullah norullah noori - he is next. he is described as a senior taliban military general, who like mohammad fazl is wanted by the united nations for alleged war crimes against civilians. and finally mohammed nabi serving in communication roles, allegedly operating a taliban cell out of hovt, but is said to have attacked u.s. and coalition forces. and also was in charge of smuggling fighters and weapons. those are the five. >> let's go deeper.

thank you john terrett. joining me now is robert, a former director of the c.i.a.'s counterterrorism. does the fact that the administration against the pentagon, as well, are the hive among the top commanders revered in jihadist disls, does that give -- circles, does that gay you pause about releasing them? >> not really. they pose a threat. the main threat that they pose is to the afghan government. these are not international terrorists, whatever connections they had in the past. these are primarily fighters against the deposit of afghanistan. it's probably the struggle that they'll return to. >> good to hear you say that. here is another question debated. are the men, are they p.o.w.s,

or terrorists? both. is that a distinction worth arguing about, given the fact that we have been talking about the war in afghanistan for over a decade now? >> well, i think that there is a legitimate issue when it comes to negotiating with terrorists. the implication being that if you negotiate with terrorists over hostages, you encourage more hostage taking. these people - i put more in the category of prisoner of war. none of them, with one possible exception, they were not directly involved in combat operation, and, too, again, this was in the context of a conventional war with the united states, and the northern alliance. i would say that these are prisoners of war, and this is a garden variety prisoner of war exchange than a case of negotiating with terrorists. >> the five that we are talking

about. my understanding from john and others, is most of the charges against the men had been knocked down. attorneys had been successful in getting a lot of charges against them dismissed, to the point where the guys were set to be released in a few months, if they could find a host country. >> there was a reluctance to release the individuals, not because they could be tried in a court of law, but it was thought they posed a threat to americans and allies if they were to return to the theatre. they don't pose nearly as much of a threat because the americans are leaving afghanistan. i say that they pose a threat to the government of afghanistan, but it's worth pointing out that the government of afghanistan wants to see the people released without conditions. >> interesting. let me get at that answer in a different way, to this question. one of the questions - you know,

that we asked in teasing the discussion, is how easily the group could integrate back into the taliban. that is the question. then, does it matter? given that your statement here is that they are more of a threat to the government of afghanistan that to the united states and the people of the united states. >> well, for the next year they'll be held under house arrest in qatar. i'm not aware of any agreement between ourselves and the deposit of qatar beyond -- government of qatar beyond a year. i figure they'll be turned loose and they'll go back to the region, what they do then no one knows. i think the chances are good that they'll rejoin their colleagues in the taliban leadership. the reason the government of afghanistan has advocated their release in the past is because they believe, somewhat

unrealistically i believe, that these people may be able to play a role in national reconciliation between the deposit of afghanistan and the taliban. it may be the case, i'm skeptical. >> feels dubious. robert grenier with us, former director of the counterterrorism center. thank you for joining us. russia called for an mergery meeting of the u.n. security council over the violence in ukraine. they want the council to end weeks of violence between the militia and ukraine. it's unlikely to end battles. luhansk is the latest flashpoint. >> reporter: a ukranian border guard post under attack by a dawn raid by separatists. the troops surrounded by a force estimated to be 500 strong.

ukranian jet fighters were scrambled, flying missions over luhansk, from where it's claimed the attack was coordinated, firing out flares to guard against surface to air missiles. plumes of smoke are rising above the sky line. the local authorities claim five were killed when the jets targeted a local administration headquarters. one of the many sites taken over by the forces. the mayor ordered air raid shelters to be opened as fighting escalates. the region near the russian border, north-east of donetsk has seen a sharp upsurge of fighters coming in with ammunition and weapons, they swore to defend the self-declared people's republic against kiev's forces. ukraine's president elect is about to press through a mission against them. labelling them as terrorists and

enemies of the state. >> attacks like these could endanger the mission. with each day that passes more and more volunteers are coming in, many battle hardened veterans, with skills and weapons that could challenge the ukraine army. >> close by civilians started to flee the area. we came across a mother speaking on a mobile phone to her son. she and her husband desperate as they heard the bombs and mortars falling. >> when will they stop. i have been waiting. they are not just shooting, they are flattening us. now we are running away. >> a last stand is being fought by the ukranian border guards, trapped and surrounded. air support is not enough to save them. re refused to surrender. it's humiliation in the making for the president elect.

days before his inauguration. >> the palestinians new unity government gets off to a rocky start. mahmoud abbas swore in ministers as part of a deal signed by hamas and the plo. senior lawmakers are reluctant to send aid. israel refuses to hold peace talks we have this report from ramallah. >> it's the first palestinian national unity deposit to be formed since the one mahmoud abbas dissolved seven years ago. the political risk between fatah and hamas started when they took over the gaza strip, and became so wide it took this long to form another unity government. >> this government, as with previous governments, will commit to the observations of the palestine observations. the agreement signed and approved. >> selecting ministers acceptable to both groups was

complicated. concessions ensured a government of techno accurates were selected. >> i'm standing down from my role. i'm not abandoning the responsibility. it will remain serving the people wherever we are, within the government, outside the government. we'll continue to serve the people of pap stin. national -- palestine. national reconciliation is demanded by all palestinians. they have been choked under a double blockade by israel and egypt, and unemployment has never been higher. >> everyone will benefit from the unity government. students can study in egypt. patients can go for treatment. >> i have been doing nothing for seven years, we hope the crossing will reopen to get construction material in. >> the task is to rebuild to the isolated strip of land, making

life bearable for the residents. >> forming a unity government may be the easy part. a changing task is preparing for elections and dealing with punitive measures by israel. f.i.f.a. is in qatar to discuss allegations the gulf state bribed officials to host the 2022 world cup. the "sunday times" claims to have evidence that former f.i.f.a. president paid $5 million to other football officials, to help his own country, qatar, secure the event. the organising committee denies the accusations saying amman was not involved. bashar al-assad is expected to one a 7-year term. millions will not be able to cast ballots. james bays looks at how the

community responded to the situation. they are the two most senior diplomats in the world. former u.n. secretary-general kofi annan and veteran negotiator lakhdar brahimi, but all efforts failed. peace in syria seems a distant prospect. the death toll is higher than anyone imagined when the conflict started. no one is able to keep an accurate kouftenlt it is, without -- count. it is, without doubt a deadly conflict. annan and lakhdar brahimi's peace efforts were based on a rare moment of international agreement, the geneva accord of june 2012, and it called for a transitional government in syria with quif powers. lakhdar brahimi got both sides to come to geneva, to work out how to create the transitional government. the bashar al-assad delegation would not agree with the agenda.

there's no chance of a government if president bashar al-assad is relcted. >> for the -- re-elected. for the duration of the war there has been rare moments on syria at the security council. russia, backed by china is likely to use a veto in support of the government in damascus. how will the rest of the international community respond to an election that gives bashar al-assad another seven years in power? one observer believes an election will not change the minds of the nations who declared the damascus regime an international pariah. >> i don't think there's a powerful imperative for an outside state, whether they want to do business with syria, or geopolitically - there's not a powerful imperative for anyone to pretend that that election is

real. the election will change things within bashar al-assad's deluded mind and small entourage. life for people's syria gets worse. the u.n., and international aid agencies find it almost impossible to get medicine and age to besieged areas. there's talk of a revolution, but getting the agreement of russia and china will be difficult. four times in the past three years the two nations have used their veto to block resolutions on syria. on the ground, the death toll mounts, but it's doing nothing to break the deadlock around the table. in spain the king announced he's abdicating juan carlos will step down and crown prince felipe will fake over. juan carlos has ruled for 40 years but took a hit over a

corruption scandal involving his daughter and her husband. spain is a democracy, the royal family plays a largely symbolic role. on an update of a man trying to kill americans, we have that story. >> in new york a businessman from yemen is accused of plotting to kill american soldiers. he appeared in court. the 30-year-old was arrested on weapons charges over the weekend. prosecutors say he bought two handguns and silencers as part of a plan to kill members of the armed forces in western new york. in washington state park officials say six people who attempted to clip mt rainier fell 3,000 feet and have no chance of survival. two guides and four climbers were heard from on wednesday when they were at 13,000 feet. the route is prone to slides, the area is so dangerous, rescuers cannot go in on the

ground. it's the worst disaster on mt rainier in more than 30 years. in colorado two children were injured in a case of an accident involving an inflatable bounce house. it broke loose and rolled across a field with winds of up to 30 men's. a girl was thrown from the house earlier this month, two boys fell from a bounce house after it broke loose and were swept up by the wind. >> it has got to go, bye-bye, no more bounce house. it was fun, and then it wasn't. appreciate it. thank you. see you later. >> the federal bureau of investigation launched a mann hand for a san francisco man considered armed and dangerous. ryan kelly chamberlain the 2nd is wanted on suspicion of possessing explosives. police raided his apartment. they would not specify which explosives were found or speculate on why chamberlain had

them. melissa is following this story for us from san francisco. >> reporter: it started with a search warrant saturday morning. police spent the day there. there were materials that could be used for explosives in this apartment complex. it is interesting, it appears that chamberlain issued an automated message to friends and family this morning. he wrote a letter and used software where it pushed out the message, so he wouldn't have to do that. the reason why it appears to be the case is it sounded like a suicide note. he talked about the lost jobs, broken romantic relationship, and problems in terms of his relationship with his mother. in general, it sounds like he has clinical depression. we don't know where he is. >> what do investigators know about him? >> well, that's interesting. in many ways he's a typical san

francis cap. a self-prescribed political junkie. he was on the campaign, and the lieutenant governor. he has done social media work, typical in terms of this area in the san francisco area. >> melissa chan in san francisco. a hacking ring that stole $100 million worldwide. who investigators believe is behind it. that's next. and the rehabilitation in regard to bowe bergdahl, why some say he is a deserter that should be tried for treason. >> a shocking number of these eyewitnesses get it wrong >> how much would you remember? >> dark complected... medium height... you described most of the majority of the men in america >> sometimes witnesses get it right >> when you have an eyewitness to say i saw him do it,

that is the best evidence. >> and sometimes sometimes they don't >> no one is listening to us... george is innocent... >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america

>> talk to aljazeera only on al jazeera america russian smokers have to take their habit outside. 40% of the country smokes, and a

law now prevents them lighting up in restaurants and bars. it could save 200,000 lives. violating the regulation will cost more than $90 per fine. the justice department says it disrupted a cyber gang that infected hundreds of thousands of computers. the hackers stole more than $100,000 million. >> it's a big number. imagine if your computer is hit with a virus and you can't access files until you pay a ransom. that's what a cyber gang did, led by a russian hacker. they have disrupted the group and identified the virus. the first is game over xis. the justice accident says it infected 1 million computers. the second, cryptolocker. it encrypt data until you pay a

ransom to unlock it, thought to have affected 100,000 computers. one belonged to a plastic surgeon. he paid more than $500 to retrieve 30,000 patient files. >> all we knew is that there were these internet blackmailers saying we had to pay them in bitcoin immediately or we'd lose our files forever. >> the justice department says the person leading the ring is a russian, on the federal bureau of investigation's most wanted list. other members come from russia, ukraine and the u.k. the department of homeland security set up a website to help people remove of the viruss. while the justice department says it disrupted the gang, it didn't make arrests. the hackers are out there. >> still out there doing this work. >> yes, and internet service providers are getting hold of some, saying they might be

affected. >> beware. >> the talk among military men and women is focussed on the release of bowe bergdahl. some question the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. nests is back. >> this is a tough conversation to have, no one wants to think of a prisoner of war as a deserter. that's the conversation among military men and women now. in part because of reports that bowe bergdahl is due for a promotion to staff sergeant in june, prompting questions and criticisms vouching his disappearance -- surrounding his disappearance. a facebook page started saying bowe bergdahl is a traitor. some who claim to have served in his unit say he walked away from his post. cody is one of them, he's been tweeting saying:

now this, is nate bradley, serving in bowe bergdahl's unit and said in a "the daily beast" article he said that bowe bergdahl is a deserter and six died. he said he deserves sympathy, but must answer for his actions and tweeted: the defense secretary chuck hagel - he was asked about the topic yesterday. he said the first prioritiy is to ensure that he is with his family, to reunite them, and the questions and circumstances will be dealt with later. >> exactly.

appreciate the discussion online. thank you. coming up, hurricane even under way. dave warren is here with what is in store. first, the president's decision to sidestep congress could reduce carbon emissions. ray suarez has more on how that might work on "inside story." >> thank you. thanks to fracking and the development of vast new resources in natural gas, the u.s. is already cutting carbon emissions by 10% from 2005 levels. but the new goal to reach 30% reduction of the 2005 levels in the next 15 years is very ambitious. the e.p.a. says states will have flexibility for reaching the target. lawsuits and political pushback are inevitable. we'll look beyond that and examine how the new rules will work in theory and practice. join us at the top of the hour.

>> i'm ali velshi, the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news.

so look at this story. the hurricane season is upped way. every year there's a list of e preapproved hurricane names. six decades of death rates show fewer comply with warnings during hurricanes with female names. what? that's because the names led to gender-based expectations about the severity of the storms. hurricanes with male names were perceived as riskier, so people prepared better and fewer killed as a result. dave warren. i know you have something to say. come on. >> for that study they were all female names, and they are in place before the storms are formed and a lot of deaths come from the building codes. it's a stretch. >> can i throw this out?

>> i don't know that you want to do it yet. >> all right. >> part of the problem is these are two storms, irene and charlie. female and mail. i give you the same warnings and same severity and urgency with each storm. if you look at the name, it might be what you come up with. when you talk about the storms, we are not looking at whether it's a male or female. these are two storms. you have scenes like this, wind and rain. it does not matter what type of name it is. we are giving a warning, no matter what. it can be scenes like this, whether male or female. how do we come up with the names - it goes like this - these are the storms from this year. every other name is a male. these graphics show you this. every other name is a male. every other is a female.

it alternates between one and the other. no matter how strong, i give the same warping and urgency. >> thank you. the way we process things. appreciate it. thank you for that. that's all we have time for, tony harris. "inside story" is next on al jazeera america. >> the environmental protection agency has set new standards for the environment. can they do it? that's the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. the epa