observers around the world say it's not an election at all. president obama is speaking along prime minister donald tusk and we will have more in just a minute. ♪ >> syrians heading to the polls today in the middle of a civil war. why many world leaders call the presidential election a fraud. >> he deserted us in the middle of afghanistan to go and find the taliban. >> soldiers who served with bowe bergdahl lash out by him getting his freedom after setting free taliban leaders.

>> events may be lost on a new generation of young people in china. >> this is a very disturbing investigation. >> 12-year-olds accused of planning the gruesome murder of a friend. why police say the girls were trying to please a fantasy creature they followed on the internet. >> as u.s. army sergeant bowe bergdahl recovers in germany, the white house deal that freed him from the taliban is facing criticism from lawmakers in washington. we're hearing from soldiers who served in afghanistan who say bergdahl is a deserter. jim is in his hometown. jim, how is all this controversy surrounding bergdahl's release playing in haley? >> john, the spirits remain high here. there are plenty of balloons, ribbons in support of bergdahl. this morning, the questions are growing about his release. >> here in sergeant bowe

bergdahl's hometown in idaho, it's hard to find a free without a yellow ribbon tied around it. >> from the yellow ribbons to the signs in the windows to the bracelets i water, we never stopped and we're able to breathe once he's home here in i do hoe. >> on main street, they're giving the balloons away. >> we want yellow balloons plastering this town. >> for all the excitement over sergeant bergdahl's release here, the controversy surrounding his freedom continues to grow. >> we have our boy back and we're going to let everyone else deal with the politics of it all. >> whether his release came at too high a price is the question. >> we put the five guys that have led this organization, allegedly killed thousands of people and been responsible back into home confinement which could lead to them being back on the battlefield.

>> as the debate comes under increased scrutiny, so are the events surrounding his capture. some of his fellow soldiers are saying he's a traitor who turned his back on him. >> he deserted not only the army, but left myself and my platoon and my company to clean up his mess. >> more importantly, it's a spit in the face to the soldiers who died as a direct result to him leaving. >> former army sergeant evan describes bergdahl as a good soldier that quickly became disillusioned about the u.s. role in the war. after he was missing, a massive search was underway, a search that others say resulted in the deaths of american soldiers after bergdahl deserted them. like second lieutenant darrin andrews said, his twin brother. >> i have frustration that potentially he could be alive if bergdahl did not leave his post. we lost someone we love very

much and we'll never see him again. >> city officials here in haley say they've been receiving calls and have been swamped with concerns and calls from people all over the country asking about bowe bergdahl and his safety and when he's going to be home here. they're asking people to not judge him until all the details have been released. john. >> thank you so much. >> syrians head to the polls today to elect a president in the middle of the countries civil war. bashar al assad is almost guaranteed to win because voting will only take place in areas controlled by his government. syrian opposition groups in many western countries call this election a fraud. aljazeera's nick schiffron joins us now from beirut in neighboring lebanon. nick, good morning. the images we're seeing out of syria today starkly different than we've seen in the course of the war, people lining up to vote, crowds holding up syrian flag, posters of assad, what are

we to make of this? >> a lot of people inside syria and western officials will call these images stage-managed. many people inside syria feel they have to vote, otherwise they will share their fate with 160,000 people killed in the last three years of war. many syrians fear that they have to vote, they have to come out, fly the flag, show publicly they're voting otherwise, they or their families will be killed. when you walked into a polling station in the u.s., there might be a jar of pencils on the desk in one damascus suburb, one polling station there, there is a jar of pins so people can vote in blood. the opposition is calling this the blood election. the regime there is very different, saying this is the end of the war, that if assad wins, the war should end, if he loses, he'll gracefully step aside. that is not reality. assad is not going to lose.

many believe this election will only strengthen his determination to crush the insurgency. >> voting with blood, that's fascinating. this is the first time in decades that more than one person appeared on the ballot besides a member of the assad family. who are these candidates and does it matter? >> most people believe these candidates are different from the last 40 years of elections only on paper. there are two candidates, a former lawmaker educated in the beyond and another from aleppo, a legislature. one gave an interview calling assad a very strong leader and you to have respect what he's been doing. a lot of people are saying that these two people are characters in what secretary of state john kerry just called political theater. >> what about syrian refugees? there's a significant refugee

population where you are in lebanon. do you see a lot of them voting and are they under some sort of intimidation. >> they are not voting at all. nor do they want to vote. there's a million, 1.1 million refugees officially here in lebanon, 1.5 by the middle of the year. 100,000 people are leaving syria every month, fleeing to neighboring countries out of fear for their lives, that is the entire population of green bay leaving syria every single month. you ask them why they are leaving, they are fearful for their lives. we met one family who climbed a mountain for nine hours to get here. they are not voting in this election. they are voting with their feet. >> 3 million people in total of refugees. a real cries there. nick schiffron in beirut, lebanon. nick, thank you. we'll have more on our next half hour. including a conversation with

richard murphy, the former u.n. ambassador to sir. >> >> russia is calling for an emergency meeting. moscow wants to introduce a resolution to the fighting. until now, russia has blocked action in the security council on ukraine. the u.s. is calling russia's new resolution hypocritical. the fighting has been fierce in the eastern city where fighter jets are being challenged by as far as to air missiles. president obama arrived in poland to begin talks with european nations, in war so you to commemorate free elections in poland. the focus of the trip is the on going situation between you a crane and russia. >> we've begun rotating additional ground troops and f16

aircraft into poland. this is going to help our forces train together. >> president obama travels to brussels tomorrow for the g7 summit. >> british prime minister david cameron is set ho told talks with russian penalty vladimir putin on the ukraine crisis in france this morning with other world leaders marking the affairs of d-day. he urges putin to open dialogue with ukraine's new government. prince charles compared putin to adolf hitler. ukraine's president is expected to be in france. >> a nationwide hunt for a man wanted for possession of explosives has ended. authorities in san francisco took ryan kelly chamberlain into custody, ending a three day manhunt that reached far beyond the bay area. police say materials were found in his san francisco apartment, his friends say they were shocked by the investigation. >> i was really hurt when it

further came out, it's like what's going on, what did he do. then to find out that like a lot of the press is way overblown. >> chamberlain apparently sent a suicide note to friends saying he was depressed over a loft job and a failed romance. >> today marks the single biggest day of primary voting this year. in all, eight states head to the polls this morning, including crucial tea party races in mississippi, iowa and montana. here to break it down for us is david shuster, bill primary day across the "u.s.a. today." >> this is all about control of the u.s. senate. democrats have control now, republicans need six seats to take control and essentially push the president's agenda off the table for the final two years. a lot of republicans are very worried this morning about the mississippi senate race. akron is not exactly a progressive republican, a very conservative republican, in office since 1978 faces a tea

party challenger, chris mcdaniel. mcdaniel supporters were arrested for essentially breaking into a nursing home and trying to get pictures of his ailing wife. a number of represents are convinced that if chris mcdaniel wins this race, mcdaniel would be unelectable in the fall election, probably meaning handing this seat to the democratic, a long time representative. in iowa, another race, the republicans leading candidate is joni earn, featured in her first ad with hog castration facing former energy executive criticized for making $35 million while his energy company was losing money. the winner that have race will face the democratic who has made commercials taking pride of the fact that he's a trial lawyer.

a lot of people going against convincal wisdom in iowa. >> the california gubernatorial primary, jerry brown faces the winner of the republican primary featuring a former treasury official who poured $5 million of his own money into this race and aim donnelly, a state lawmaker. donnelly was arrested in 2012 for bringing a loaded firearm into an airport. he's been criticized because he made fun of neel's religion. >> i'll stuck on hog castration as a campaign tactic. >> she's caused of firing handguns in this case. joni ernst if she does win, republicans are pretty convinced that she will likely win the

iowa senate race. that may make up for republicans possibly losing in mississippi should the tea party challenger win that race today. >> if a hollywood screen writer came up with this stuff, you wouldn't believe it. >> that's american politics. >> thanks so much for your time. >> australian scientists who recorded a mysterious noise in the ocean around the time makes flight 370 disappeared are getting ready to announce their findings. the low frequency noise was captured by two undersea recorders march 8. since then, researchers have been trying to figure out what caused the noise. the sound appears to have traveled halfway across the indian ocean to receivers off the coast of australia. >> construction is underway on an underground ice wall for japan's crippled nuke power plant to freeze the soil under the reactors in hopes of slowing the build up of radioactive water. the wall is designed to block

ground water from nearby hill sides from flowing underneath the plant and mixing with the polluted water already there. it will be constructed using the system of 1500 underground pipes. >> student led pro democracy protests were held in tienanmen square, protestors arrested during and after the demonstrations. the historic acts of defiance are lost an many of today's young people in china. >> 25 years ago, students in china were agitating for political change. an unprecedented display of defiance against the countries communist rulers. the pro democracy movement survived just seven weeks before being suppressed by military force june 4. now, a quarter of a century on, the events of that time still remain a taboo subject for many of today's students. >> it's inconvenient for me to

talk about this, he says. generally i'm neutral says this man. i'm not on the side of the government or the students. today's young people are in the throws of another revolution. one of rising expectations. she hopes to find a sally of at least $700 a month. >> i know very little about this part of history. one reason is that i'm not interested in politics. the second reason is this event was not mentioned in the history books i read. >> she first born three months before the protests. today she manages a shop specializing in skateboarding clothing and accessories. she's aware of the events 25 years ago but say they have no relevance to her generation. >> 25 years ago, the young

people cared about having enough food and keeping warm where as today, we want to become stylish and show off our personalities. >> today's students have lived through an era of rapid economic growth. they still have grievances but know they can't change the political system. >> young students remain away from politics for the safe of protecting their own interests and lives because they know the risks attached to getting involved in politics. >> china has 10 times as many graduates as it did in 1989, but around a third of them are unemployed, because the economy simply isn't producing enough white collar jobs. while few of them show any sign of wanting to engage in political activism, that could change as that unemployment raise continues to rise. adrien brown, aljazeera, beijing. >> one third of the population is under the age of 25 in china. many who remember the protests are hesitant to speak about it.

>> critics of president obama's plan to cut carbon emissions say it will cost too much. >> others say it's a small price to pay to reduce pollution. >> the internet can also be full of dark and wicked things. >> a troubling on line character that police say drove 212-year-old girls to try and kill a classmate. >> a surge of migrant children crossing the borders into the u.s. alone. what the president is asking congress to do about the problem. >> today's big number is $77 billion. >> the record this represents for florida. for florida.

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>> they were cheering in seattle, which became the first major city to approve a $15 minimum wage. the city council voted for the hike for a pay that is twice the national minimum. >> most of what we hear, the whole idea that jobs will be lost, this is all fear mongering on the part of business. there is no example where minimum wage was increased even significantly like here and jobs were lost or prices went up in any big way. >> president obama has been pushing for a $10.10 federally mandated minimum wage. california, connecticut, and maryland increased wage to say $10 or more in coming years. >> the obama administration is

taking big steps to combat climate change. the e.p.a. has a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. it aims to cut down on dangerous pollutants to 30% of 2005 levels. it's a move the e.p.a. says could save thousands of lives each year. >> there was a time when lily mcintire's parents doubted she would be ail to simply run like the other kids. at 10 months old, she was diagnosed with asthma. >> it was bad and i couldn't really stop coughing. >> she is one of the lucky ones. her parents moved far from factories and power plants. asthma for her is now more of a memory than a medical condition. >> good. >> most kids don't have that chance. now, president obama is using the record number of asthma case to say sell new regulations for the nation's power plants, giving states a couple of years to figure out how to reduce carbon pollution by 30% by the

year 2030. one powerful republican called that proposal just nuts, and industry groups warn it will raise energy prices. >> it's going a disproportionate impact on lower income americans, people who are on fixed in comes and have low incomes pay a much higher personal of their overall budget on energy costs. >> the administration admits it could cost $8 billion a year. lily mcintire's mom says that's a small price to pay. >> you can't put a price on children's health, and when you bring your small baby to the emergency room because she can't breathe, i think it's unconscionable. >> the president likely timed the changes to asthma because in the u.s., climate change is still a much tougher sell. a majority of americans don't rank climate change as a big concern. in a recent poll, 46% asked said the changing weather was caused by human activity, but 34% said

it was just a natural change and 14% said climate change didn't exist at all. >> it's not at all clear that the air will be clear by 2030. there will be lawsuits and lobbying and because of the long implementation, that could always be changed by the next president. aljazeera, washington. >> similar to the health carolout, the e.p.a.'s proposal gives states flexibility to cut conditions. carbon emissions must be lowered 19% from 2012 rates, ohio must cut 28% and new york 44%. we'll break down the e.p.a.'s proposal with the world resource institute's claims and energy program. >> let's look at temperatures across the nation today. >> meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. nicole. >> good morning. as we get into the heat of the summer, what can really aggravate high temperatures and all the sunlight, some of those pollution days.

that's something that unfortunately we have ahead of us. already very warm, in the south already in the 70's. phoenix 86 already. arizona, where you see those fuchsia colors are heat advisories. we're above average on the numbers of children dying in hot cars, not a statistic we even want to have to report. be very careful out there. because of the heat, we have fire conditions possible, the heat and wind through the southwest. phoenix very warm into the hundreds the next few days. more heat has been creeping eastward. how to, even portions of texas near 110 degrees for el paso for today, so a lot of very hot weather. much more comfortable in other places. up and down the east coast, we've got the temperatures in the 80's and for northern portions of the midwest, more 70's out there. the heat in the midwest will contribute to possible severe weather through the day today. i'll have more on that risk

coming up. >> it's going to be a long summer for folks out west. >> syrians head to the polls today. >> some western countries call this presidential election a fraud. former u.s. ambassador to syria will share what he witnessed at people in refugee camps voted last week. >> it's disturbing as a parent and as a chief of police. >> two young girls accused of trying to kill their friend. the fictional on line character police say they were trying to please with murder. >> plus according to a new study, hurricanes named after women doing more damage because they're not taken as seriously. that and the other stories making headlines around the world. world.

>> good morning. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm john henry smith.

ahead in this half hour, former u.s. ambassador to syria richard murphy talks about today's presidential election in that country. >> we'll talk about sexism when it comes to hurricanes and why this new study says that could be dangerous. >> in our next hour, palestinian lawmaker and the daughter of a founding p.l.o. member will join us to discuss the effect of the new unified palestinian government. >> russia is calling for an emergency meeting of the united nations security council, introducing a legislation demanding a halt to the growing fighting in ukraine. it follows clashes between government groups and pro-russian separatists. >> president obama began four days of talks with the european nations, in warsaw to commemorate the 25t 25th anniversary of free elections there. the focus is the on going situation between ukraine and russia. >> the search for a man accused

of stashing explosives in his san francisco amount ended, ryan kelly came about her lean taken into custody in a park near the golden gate bridge. his arrest ended a three day manhunt reaching far beyond the bay area. >> two wisconsin preteens are in jail this morning charged with attempted murder. police say they stabbed a classmate multiple times, then left her to die. the reason they did it was to please an on line character known as slender man. these are young girls we are talking, are young girls. >> only 12 years old. we are withholding their identities because of their young age. the two suspects and the victim all went to the same middle school. they were friends. friday night, the three girls had a sleepover, but the next morning, it turned into a nightmare for all three families. >> it's extremely disturbing, as a parent, and as a chief of police. >> this disturbing case may have

started with disturbing stories of death on the internet. police say the young suspects were obsessed with slender man, a malicious mittological people that kills children. police say the two girls plotted to murder their classmate, another 12-year-old girl, in order to please slender man. during a game of hide and go seek in the woods, the two girls attacked their victim. >> once there, one suspect held the victim down while the other stabbed her 19 times in the arms, legs, and torso. >> one of the wounds just missed a major artery near the victim's heart. doctors say she was one millimeter away from certain death. the girl survived the attack and was able to crawl to a nearby road where a passing cyclist discovered her. authorities this disturbing case should be a reminder for parents to be vigilant about their children's internet use. >> keeping our children safe is more challenging now than in years past. the internet has changed the way

we live. it is full of information and wonderful sites that teach and entertain. the internet can also be full of dark and wicked things. >> police arrested the 12-year-old suspects a few hours after the attack. they found the girls walking along the highway wearing bloody clothes. they also found a five-inch knife in one backpack. the girls have been charged as adults and face 60 years in prison each. >> just a horrifying story. thank you so much. >> the f.b.i. says an international group of hackers managed to steal more than $100 million from businesses and individuals around the world, including the u.s. the justice democratic has charged a 30-year-old russian man as the mastermind of the operation, which was based in russia, ukraine and the u.k. investigators say the hackers used a computer virus to obtain sensitive banking information from their victims. another virus locked victims out of their own computers and

required a ransom of several hundred dollars to retain control. >> a new round of fighting in yemen. 120 people were killed in northern yemen monday in clashes between fighters and government forces. it has been in turmoil since 2011 when mass pro tests forced the ruling president to step down. the country has been struggling to contain an insurgency ever since. >> an election is underway in syria today in the middle of the countries civil war. for refugees voting, it's not an easy task. those living in government controlled areas are heading to the polls. the man widely expected to win is the country's current leader, bashar al assad. many syrians now in lebanon are trying to get back into their home country to vote. >> we are here at the main border crossing between lob anyone and syria. these are part of the syrians who are trying to cross the border over there into syria to

cast their votes. most of them are workers or syrians who are here not as displaced or refugees, because the lebanese government has warned any syrian who lives in lebanon who will cross that border will lose the criteria as a displaced person. on the other side, you can see some of the syrians who have already voted. they told us it was very busy over there, but very organized. now these people have casted their votes and it's one of the polling stations out of more than 9,000 polling stations across syria. the government says more than 10 million people are expected to take part in this election. the rebels consider this a far as, saying there's no way you can have fair elections in a country going through civil war, in a country that these elections are organized and run by the same president they are trying to overthrow. there has been an escalation in

mortar attacks in government held areas in damascus and aleppo where government control these areas. the government says these election are legitimate and have the backing of their allies, the russians, chinese and eye raines. >> reporting from the lebanon-syria border. joining us to discuss the election is the former u.n. ambassador to syria who joins us this morning. ambassador, always great to have you on the program. thanks for joining us. more than 6.5 million syrians have been displaced within the country, 3 million fled. how would you characterize the legitimacy of these elections? >> in the eyes of the regime, legitimacy is the fact that the elections are being held and run by the government in accordance with the constitutional rule and within the time period. that's really the extent of the

definition of legitimacy by the government. >> what about legitimacy as it pertains to how the rest of the world cease the election, even though there are countries mentioned including russia and china and iran that might view these elections as being legitimate? >> there are countries that flary refuse to ever the elections held in their countries at syrian embassies, france is one, certain arab countries have reversed. the syrian embass in washington is closed, so that question doesn't arise. the people have denounced it as a sham, critics of the government. they've i was in beirut the other day when there was an election held for those who were not plan to go get back to syria

by the syrians living there. it was a mob seen. in part, no question in part, because the government had said you must vote for you won't be able to come back. >> that could explain, while we are seeing lines of syrians trying to get back into the country to vote. meanwhile, state department spokesperson said this, calling for a defact-referendum rings especially hollow as the regime continues to massacre the very electorate it purports to represent. i want to ask you, will this election empower assad and make him less willing to take part in any internationally brokered political solution? it certainly will empower assad in his eyes, and those of his supporters. he has no question supporters inside syria. will it make any difference in the way he leads the country?

that's another issue. he's made many promises in the past to carry out widespread reforms. they've not been done. his word is suspect. >> the fact is the polling is going to take place in areas today controlled by the government, not in areas controlled by the rebels and there may well be a large number of blank ballots, we'll see. >> what more do you think the u.s. and international community should do to change the facts on the ground in syria in which 150,000 people have now died in this war? >> >> well, we have denounced the idea of the elections, because they made it that much more difficult or not impossible to negotiate a transitional government. that was how our government policy was directed for the past two to three years.

this election will empower assad to say that well look, he's bound to win by all estimates. look, the people support me, and i will carry on. i'm not doing this election to please you international observers and the there will be no international monitors in the country, but it will be support for what i stand for, which is stability, support for normalcy, the others are trying to destroy my critics are trying to destroy the stability of our country. >> ambassador richard murphy, former u.n. ambassador to sir yes, thank you, sir. >> stay with aljazeera for covering of the election in syria, a family caught up in the cries and how they view the election. >> a region in iraq in the north

sold oil for the first time. a week ago, it sold oil from a turkish port and kept the revenues. an iraq ministry denounced it. kurds have long south to carve out their own state. it is one of the main oil producing areas of iraq. >> a majority of americans have lost their faith in the veterans health care system. a new poll found the confidence in the department of veterans affairs has hit a new low after some veterans of faced months of delays in getting care. many are skeptical the issue can be fixed. according to the poll, 67% of americans think the problems at the v.a. are widespread and only 32% approve of how the obama administration has handled the scandal. 42% have little or no confidence that the problems can be resolved anytime soon. >> a look now at some of the other stories making headlines

around the world. in thailand, military coo protestors flash three finger absolutes used in the hunger games movies. the bangkok post said it has become so widespread, the army is debating whether or not to arrest people over it. it's not clear whether it is from the hunger games. others tweeted it stands for the french motto of liberty, quality and fraternity. of course, thailand is still under martial law, so the question is whether people will be arrested for this in addition to gatherings of more than five people. >> could be an example of arts influencing the real world as we've seen in the past. >> if you want to witness nhl's big matchup in the stanley cup playoffs, open the wallet. new york rangers and los angeles kings face off in two of the nation's largest media market, putting a big premium on ticket prices, as forbes reports. >> l.a. is not as into hockey, or is there pent up demand in

new york city because the rangers haven't been in the finals for so long? >> the rangers are one of the old time hockey teams and a long history of fathers and mothers passing their love of the team down to their kids. you would imagine the demand would be large here. >> the kings were in the finals two years ago and won, too. >> exactly. >> this one's got our meteorologist up in flames. what in a name? apparently everything when it comes to hurricane warnings. female named storms are deadlier because they aren't taken as seriously as those with male names. they looked at storms, the 47 most damaging hurricanes in the past 20 years, but nicole has issues with the methodology. i think we should bring her in at this point. >> nicole, flame on, tell us what you think. >> first, this study goes back to the 1950's and it wasn't

until 1979 that in the atlantic we even started using male names. it does have some roots in sexism. it used to be all meteorologistist and they would name them after their wives and exgirlfriends because the storms were so unpredictable. you have a larger loss of life when you go back because there wasn't as much warning. recent storms aren't going to have as big a death toll. there's always exceptions like katrina. most of the study is when only female names were around. now it's male and female names since the late 1970's. some names sound more ominous, bertha versus a hanna. we're watching the pacific that could eventually move into the atlantic, more on that coming up. >> i knew you were serious when you broke out the air quotes. thanks so much.

>> president obama is enlisting congress to help battle a new trend in illegal border crossings. there's been a spike in migrant children coming into the united states by themselves. mr. obama outlined a government response that will be led by fema and the department of defense. children are entering the u.s. alone by the thousands each year. in the last eight months, 47,000 have been caught. that number's rising. the white house says that's a 90% increase from the same time last year. it cost the u.s. more than $2 billion to care for them. those that don't have a home or sheltered on u.s. bases. the white house us calling this an urgent humanitarian situation. >> they are. as you said, it's the pentagon working on this along with homeland security, fema specifically and health and human services, because

someone's got to feed and clothe and house and get medical care to these kids once they're here. president obama is trying to pull together sort of a task force of government agencies to deal with this situation that's a lot bigger a understand a lot more expensive as you noted than we would have anticipated even just a year ago, sonoma is going to oversee that, they're going to pull together these agencies and figure what to do with these children. >> tracy, what's driving the surge in child crossings. there's misinformation about whether or not these kids who come without their parents will be able to stay. that's not necessarily the case, but that lack of information they think may be contributing to more kids coming into the united states. they're expecting as many as 60,000 by the end of this year, which is 10 times as many as

just three years ago. this is really becoming a huge issue. the other issue is they're concerned that perhaps human trafficking is becoming more of a problem and that's why they're seeing more kids come across the border. >> very serious issue. thank you so much. >> it was thought to be an incurable disease. >> now an experimental therapy in the fight against cervical cancer, the two women giving hope to patients around the world. >> a running robot that's faster than olympic gold medalists, and the prehistoric predator it's modeled after. >> the dinosaur theme continues in our discovery of the day. the godzilla planet. >> the new york mayor and his family are moving in. a nice day to do that, too. oo. r

>> talk to aljazeera only on al jazeera america

>> it's time for our discovery of the day, scientists have discovered a so-called godzilla planet labeled a megaearth. >> the 11000000000-year-old planet is located 560 light years away from our planet. it's 17 times larger than earth and astronomers initially didn't believe such a large rocky planet could exist. scientists argued its size would cause it to become a gaseous planet. rocky planets may be more common than first thought. >> cervical cancer was once thoughtine curable, but now experimental therapy is change that go outlook. two women suffering from the cancer are in complete remission. the treatment involves finding

patients t cells, extracting them in a lab and boosting their immune response. the cells are then rein fused into the patients. the cells vanished in two patients. the they are pay will be tried with additional women. >> drones are a growing presence in america, increasingly used by police departments for everything from surveillance to search and rescue. that's raising concerns about privacy on the ground. >> whether it's a disaster zone or the eye of the storm, authorities are increasingly using drones as their eyes and ears when the situation on the ground is too dangerous for humans. >> this is a dangerous part right here. they're facing into him. >> that's why police see them as a potential game changer when it comes to fighting crime. some of the countries smaller forces are on the front line of the technology, including mesa county, colorado. its police force has been using

drones for car chases and other missions twins 2012. the devices are getting more attention in big cities. this month, the los angeles police department said it wants in on the drone action. now the force has two of these, the dragon flyer s6 shown on the manufacturers website, equipped with a video camera and night vision. the lapd said they would be used disappearingly for swat operations, but those assurances haven't put privacy advocates at ease. >> l.a. police already have the biggest helicopter division in the country. critics warn the drones are different, capable of surveillance that a helicopter could never perform and could pose threats to privacy when combined with other technology like infrared night cameras or microphones. >> seattle ditched its drones and gave them to the lapd.

l.a. isn't the only major police force wanting drones. in los angeles it will be a while before drones are in the skies over the city. the police department needs approval from the police commission and the federal government. aljazeera, los angeles. >> running robots have been inspired by the cheat in a and as stritch. researchers looked further back, creating a droid based on a speedy dinosaur. how this technology has been millions of years in the making. >> it has always been a great challenge of robotics to create something that can stably and ably walk around on two legs. it turns out that running on two legs is sort of solving engineering problems, a video that has come out from the korea

advanced institute seems to have made some leaps and bounds so to speak when it comes to a two legged running robot. their raptor robot topped 28 miles per hour, faster than the world's fastest living human. to watch this thing run is pretty creepy. bites based on the dinosaur, using a sort of swinging device, a sidearm that acts as a stabilizing tail the same way the dinosaur did. it's incredible pace comes from the resilience of its leg, built from a very lightweight, flexible material. what's really starting to watch this thing and a half gate obstacles, you can put a block in its way and it will leap off of it in a way that a steeple chase runner might go over an

obstacle. this is not the fastest in the world. that's that designation belongs to the cheetah built by boston dynamics, a subsidiary of google. that's a four legged robot that did 29 miles per hour. what this indicates is however korea is moving in robotics. it has identified robotics as one of the industries it wishes to dominate in the future and they've done it with a two legged humanoid robot and now this whole new category when it comes to high speed robots. it will be interesting to see where this goes. >> the raptor robot can hit speeds of 20 a i miles an hour. the world's fastest human runner has been clocked at 26 miles an hour. you talk about life imitating art. >> i can barely do that in my car, tent six miles an hour, i can't even relate. >> there's a risk of severe

weather and flooding today. where are the trouble spots? >> our radar is pretty quiet this morning and we still have flooding risks. places like this video out of minnesota from yesterday where we got the heavy rain. some of that has subsided and with more on the way, these images are going to stay a concern. here's where we have flood risks already. you can see iowa where we expect the heaviest core of rains. we have the watches out and other areas of green are different flood advisories or warnings for places that are a little oversaturated. here's the broader picture of this region. fairly quiet now. you can see what moves through minnesota pulled off yesterday. we have this area of low pressure that will continue to develop, but also, that with the frontal boundary carving through the center of the united states is going to be a trigger point both for heavy rain, because we have a moist flow from the gulf of mexico that will add to this. places like interstate 80, you

can see two to four inches of rain on that triggering line. that's not our only problem. this is the flood concern as we get across the rest of the country today. all of this instability means thunderstorms and the area that i highlighted, that's kind of our same risk for some of those severe storms, moderate risks, that's really an elevated risk for us, wind and hail are the primary threats. there's also that risk for tornadoes in that area, the tornado risk tend to say shift north as the temperatures do from april and may a little farther south now into this part of the country. that's something we're really going to be concerned about later into today. >> nicole mitchell, thank you so much. >> one of the greatest quarterbacks in nfl history is lending his name to a civil lawsuit. dan marino is joining 14 former players suing the nfl over concussions. the suit alleges the league knew there was a link between concussions and long term health problems. the document doesn't list exactly what marino's injuries are. in january, a judge ruled a

$760 million settlement by the nfl over concussion claims was inadequate. >> saturday, california chrome will race for the elusive triple crown in the belmont stakes, one statistical analyst, the count says california chrome is indeed a special horse. he says only one in 50,000 horses has california chrome's ability and stamina. california chrome is trying to bum the 12th triple crown winner in history. h>> a female marathoner ran into the record books at the age of 91. she finished the rock and roll san diego marathon on sunday. it took her 77:42, shattering the record in the fastest time. she said running helps keep her young.

>> a nice way to exercise. they say when you get up in years, that's the most important thing to do. >> she ran her first marathon at the age of 76, proving you are never too old to start something new. >> at the end of our first hour, syrians heading to the polls today to elect a president. current president bashar al assad is almost guaranteed to win because voting will only take place in areas controlled by his regime. >> beginning four days of talks with european nations, president obama is in warsaw to commemorate the 25t 25th anniversary of elections there. the focus is ukraine and russia. >> seattle approves a $15 minimum wage. the city council voted for the hike on monday for pay that is twice the national minimum. >> ahead in our next hour, the obama administration unveiling a plan to put a dent in carbon emissions. the price tag that may come with it. >> an entire city engulfed by a

sand storm. that video and others captured by our citizen journalists around the world. >> we are back with you in two minutes with more aljazeera america. ica. >> 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. real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.

>> misbehaving children locked up doing time while they should be in school. >> they have to prepare for jail >> throwing away our future >> we're using the same failed policies in districts throughout the country >> are we failing our kids?

fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> they're locking the doors... >> ground breaking... >> we have to get out of here... >> truth seeking... award winning investigative documentary series fault lines the school to prison pipeline only on al jazeera america >> we don't leave our men or women in uniform behind. >> president obama defending a taliban prisoner swap to free sergeant bowe bergdahl. he made the comments in poland on an important swing through europe. >> soldiers criticizing the release, saying bergdahl is a traitor who deserted fellow troops. >> it's disturbing as a parent

and as a chief of police. >> 212-year-old girls facing attempted murder charges, saying that a mythological demon like character named slender man made them do it. >> getting v.i.p. access to a landmark. one photographer was able to get on top of brazil's christ the redeemer statue for a super selfie. >> welcome to aljazeera america. >> president obama arrived in poland this morning to begin four days of talks with european nations. he's in warsaw to commemorate the 25th afford of free elections in poland. he will travel to brussels tomorrow for the g7 summit. >> the focus will center on the situation between ukraine and russia. >> let me just make a very simple point here and that is regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an

american soldier back if he's held in cop activity, period. >> our mike viqueira is traveling with the president. good morning. this trip to poland is in part to reassure eastern european allies of support against russia. has the president been able to do that? >> it's remarkable that 25 years after the first free elections in poland that saw poland get out from under the thumb of moscow in the form of the old satisfactory jet union are talking again about russian imperialism in this region. it's a big concern. poland is a member of nato. while many eastern european countries are watching anxiously at ukraine, having the history they do with russia over the course of generations and centuries, there is that great deal of anxiety. president obama came here he is presley to reassure the poles.

first thing he does when he gets off the plane with the polish president, stands before some f16's, of course the american fighter planes here as a contingent of nato war planes that were just sent here in the wake of the situation ukraine over the course of the last several months, also very nervous are the baltic states with large russian speaking population and we just heard a press conference from the president to bolter defenses. many of the states part of nato, the president pledging to defender them if it came to that. >> that photo certainly symbolic. traveling with the president in warsaw, poland, mike viqueira, thank you. >> while in poland. the penalty addressed the release of u.s. prisoner of war bowe bergdahl and accusations that the u.s. gave up too much

to get him back. >> let me just make a very simple point here and that is regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an american soldier back if he's held in captivity, period. full stop. we don't condition that. >> some of the soldiers who served with bergdahl are speaking out. what are they saying? >> they are saying that he is not a hero, all this glory he has been getting is not worth it, calling him a traitor, deserter. they say he walked away from his unit and put other americans at risk. they say that because they believe that at the time that bowe walked away, there was a massive search that put

americans at risk. they say other american soldiers were injured, some killed. all of this talk about how he is a hero, coming home to a hometown parade is not worth the while. those soldiers point the finger at bergdahl, saying he is a it truer and deserter, that's not going over well here in the hometown. >> as much criticism as sergeant bergdahl is getting with the the deal that set him free is getting equal criticism. what are people saying about that? >> well, of course, a lot of people, critics continues to that the deal was not worth the while. five taliban leaders released for bergdahl's freedom and of course, all of them allowed to possibly go back to afghanistan to continue the fight against america and american soldiers in that country. here in his hometown, they say wait for the details to be released about what happened during his captivity, saying

that he deserves to be treated as anyone else and he is innocent until proven guilt of anything. >> coming up at 8:30, we'll talk with a brigadier general about the legal repercussions bergdahl could face after his release. >> the e.p.a. unveiled a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, cutting down on dangerous pollutant to say 30% have 2005 levels. it's a move the e.p.a. said could save thousands of lives. >> i think it will make a huge difference. we ever an opportunity now to get a handle on these emissions that have not been regulated up to now that are doing serious damage to public health, as well as to the environment. >> similar to mr. obama's health carolout, critics say it could lead to a patch work of rules across the country that will frustrate business and some business groups say the proposal

could raise energy prices, cut jobs and cost the economy $50 billion a year. >> president obama is calling a new trend in illegal border crossings an urgent humanitarian crisis. there's been a spike in migrant children coming into the united states by themselves. the white house is expecting 60,000 kids to cross the border alone this year, more than 10 times the number from three years ago. mr. obama outlined a government response that will be led by fema and the department of defense, he's asking congress for an extra $1 billion in funding on top of the more than $2 billion already budgeted to care for them. >> a nationwide hunt for a man wanted for possession of explosives has ended. authorities took ryan kelly chamberlain into custody, ending a three day manhunt that reached beyond the bay area. explosive materials were found in his san francisco apartment.

friends were shocked by the investigation. >> i was really hurt when it first came out, like what is going on, are friends going to be under investigation, what did he do? to find out a lot of the press is way overblown. you just get sad. >> chamberlain apparently sent a suicide note to friends saying he was depressed over a loft job and failed romance. >> as a civil war rolls on in syria, some people are stepping out to vote today. presidential elections are taking place, but only syrians living in government-controlled areas are allowed to cast their ballots. the man widely expected to win is the current leader, bashar al assad. aljazeera's nick schiffron is in neighboring lebanon, the capitol city of beirut. we are hearing reports of violence during the elections. what can you tell us? >> john henry, actually this violence is actually relatively quiet. two mortars have hit inside damascus and some of the people

voting in polling stations there have told reporters that they heard explosions on the outskirts of damascus. that is quiet. it goes to show another reason this is simply impossible to hold a free and fair election in a country devastated by war. the images that we're seeing out of damascus, people flying their flags, pledging allegiance to bashar al assad, everyone saying that those images are actually stage managed. many people feeling the fear of having to vote, otherwise their faith will be the same as 160,000 people killed in the last three years. when you vote, you might see a jar of pencils as you walk into the polling station in the u.s. in damascus are pins, so people can prick their fingers and vote with blood. these are called the blood elections. the narrative from the regime, they say this is the political end to the conflict.

if they win, the war should end, if they lose, assad will step aside gracefully. that's not really reality. assad is not going to lose and many fear that his victory will only encourage him to continue to crush the opposition and reduce his willingness for political compromise. >> you touched on it a little, syrian opposition leaders in many western countries are dismissing these elections, calling them a fraud. are there observers or election monitors overseeing this vote? >> there are some monitors. i'm just going to read the countries that they're from. brazil, zimbabwe, iran and russia, those are the two countries of course propping up assad and supporting them and monitors from north korea, tolerance or intolerance of dissent is the same level of intolerance as syria has shown over the last two years. >> thank you so much.

coming up in the next half hour, we'll have more from nick and his time with the family of syrian refugees who are closely watching this election but won't be voting in it. >> australia scientists are getting ready to release information about a noise record road in the indian ocean around the time makes flight 370 disappeared. it was recorded on march 8. the noise appears to have traveled halfway across the ocean to receivers off the coast of australia. researchers have been trying to figure out what caused the noise. >> the department of justice has indicted a 30-year-old russian man prosecutors call the mastermind behind a global hacking ring that allegedly stole more than $100 million. the ring was based in russia, ukraine and the u.k. the f.b.i. says the hackers used a computer virus to obtain sensitive banking information.

another virus locked victims out of their own computers and required them to pay a ransom of several hundred dollars to regain control. >> if you can make out, that's the actual base on fire. >> go! go! >> we've had to take cover, but the camera is still rolling so you can see what's happening. >> this is in ukraine. he got caught in the crossfire of a gun battle and had to duck from oncoming bullets. government soldiers have been increasingly facing off with pro-russian separatists in ukraine. fighting is some of the worst since ukraine launched its offensive against are you sure accept last month. >> a ukrainian border guard under attack in a dawn raid by separatist fighters. the troops inside thought to number around 70 have been

surrounded by a force estimated to be up to 500 strong. ukrainian jet fighters were scrambled flying missions from where it claims the attack was coordinated, firing out flares. heavy plumes are rising above the sky lines. the local authorities here claim five people were killed when the jets targeted a local administration headquarters in the city. one of the many sites that have been taken over by the separatist forces. the mayor ordered air raid shelters to be open for civilians as the fighting escalates. the region near the russian border northeast of the city of donetsk has seen a sharp upsurge of volunteer fighters coming in with supplies and ammunition and new weapons. they've sworn to defend the self declared people's republic against kiev's forces. ukraine's president elect that

vowed to press through a military mission against them, labeling them as terrorists and enemies of the state. >> it's attack like these that could endanger that mission with each day that patses. more and more volunteers are coming in, battle hardened veterans with military skills and weapons that could really challenge the ukraine army. >> close by, civilians have started to flee the area. we came across a mother speaking on a mobile phone to her son, tracked inside the border guard base. she and her husband were desperate as they heard the bombs and mortars falling. >> when will they stop? i've been waiting. they're not just shooting, their flattening us. now we're running away. >> a last stand is being fought by the ukrainian border guards trapped, surrounded and heavily outnumbered. air support alone will not save them. they have refused to surrender. it's a stinging military

humiliation in the making for the new president elect in kiev only days before his inauguration. >> ukraine's government said the large explosion we showed you was caused eye anti aircraft fire from pro-russian separatists. the white thousand confirms joe biden will be in kiev to attend the inauguration of the new president. >> there's a boundary stretching into low pressure moving out over the plains. those are some of our firing lines as we get across the country today.

now the first area, more rain with this, isolated chance for some thunderstorms, but places like rochester picking up some of that rain already as you get going this morning. then through the course of the day, anywhere from here to the midsection of the country, this is that low pressure combined with some warmth coming up from the south, high humidities. this is going to be our trigger point, nebraska through iowa, that moderate risk. that's more elevated. usually we run at a slight risk if we have any at all. the wind and hail, very good chances for those, but the chances for tornadoes more than what we typically see in a june day. firing up, you can see bands in south dakota and nebraska. getting into the heat of the day, you see more of that. what we had yesterday, storms especially if they do train, which is come over the same areas repeatedly, places like interstate 80 could be the core of some of the heaviest of all of this. you're looking at iowa, two to

four inches, isolated spots, even more than that. that's what we're going to watch for our arriving. already under flood watches in that region just because of that potential. in the meantime, we could uses the rain in the southwest. i'll have more on temperatures and dry conditions in just a few minutes. back to you. >> nicole mitchell, thanks so much. today marks the biggest single day of primary voting, eight states heading to the polls, including crucial tea party races. here to break down all of today's races is david shooter. huge day in the primaries with that what is at stake? >> control of the u.s. senate. it may be hard to imagine, but represents plead a net gain in november of six seats in order to take control from the democrats and bury president obama's agenda during his final two years of his term. it relies on holding on to seats

one in mississippi. facing an exceptionally strong party tea party challenge from chris mcdaniel, associated with neoconfederate groups and white supremacists and considered by republicans unelectal in a general election. should he beat the incumbent today, that will raise the opportunity for democrats. democrats have not captured a mississippi senate seat in 35 years. if the republicans find themselves in trouble in mississippi, they may find themselves with a potential pickup in iowa. tom harkin is retiring. there's a battle for his seat. the former military veteran is leading the republican pack, she has bragged in some commercials about pig castration when she was a child. she's ahead of mark jacobs who has gotten in trouble because he

pocketed $35 million in salary at a time his company was losing money. a democratic representative may be vulnerable in the fall because of his career as a trial lawyer. there are also intriguing party races around the country, particularly in montana. rosendale has featured an add in which he shoots down a government drone and complains about government power, even complaining about the speed limit. a couple of races you can watch as far as the power the tea party, the chances of republicans to go more moderate this fall for stay towards an extreme. >> they just showed a flash of a gubernatorial race in california. it's the top two finishers i have not that state that go forward in that. >> an incumbent democratic governor jerry brown very popular.

the two guys have gone after each other, so interesting primary to watch. >> a new unity government between two long time palestinian rivals. what the union between hamas and fatah may mean for mideast peace. >> the obama administration looking to pull the plug on carbon emissions. >> taking the selfie to a whole new level, the special access one photographer got to an iconic statue and the other stories captured by our citizen journalists. journalists.

>> the obama administration helps to work with and fund the new palestinian government. a reconciliation deal between fatah and hamas formed the government. here to give us insight, joining

us from ramallah this morning, thank you so much for your time. the unification of hamas and the p.l.o. has been described as a healing process for palestinians. do you agree and does it present risks? >> i think it's a very difficult process. it's an special process, because the rift has been debilitating, working against palestinian interests, weakened our cause and there's been a push and pull by the public asking for the unification. it's a tragic chapter in our history. now we have a government of national accord, because the

government is made up of independents. these are independent professional national figures entrusts with delivering services, building institutions, overseeing the restructuring of gaza and of course preparing for and overseeing national elections. so it's the beginning, it's a first step, and it's essential. i think that -- >> a government of technocrats is how it's been described. do you agree to the likelihood of peace with israel is diminished as a result? >> i don't agree. the americans didn't even pinpoint or didn't lay the blame on israel. it's reneged on its commitments, refused to accept the terms of reference, it escalated in its

defiance of unrest, settlement activities, refused to release the last batch of prisoners and then wants to blame the palestinians for undermining the peace talks. no, it seems to me that israel is clumping at straws, seeing this as a p.r. gain, a spin rather than as reality. you to have deal with people's lives for the future of the region. it's absolutely crucial that the palestinians have unification. we can move ahead in a sense after elections in order to rare our political system and the legitimacy of the system itself. this is crucial for any type of peace. israel wants to keep us divided and weak, and it wants to find any way, any pretext in order to

accuse the palestinian or lay the blame on the palestinian when they themselves aborted the peace talks and refused to require with the simplest orders of peace or the international law. >> lawmakers in the u.s. are questioning this deal. the u.s. gives $460 million a year. how would you explain why aid should continue when hamas is a designated terrorist organization. >> well, ma'am mass is not in the government, and actually, there are many parties been the israel government who are much more lethal than hamas is, but we do not question, ask and give out seals of approval as to who is acceptable and who is not. the american congressmen and women, it's important that they should look at the facts before

they immediately jump to conclusions the way israel wants them to. this overwhelming pressure by the pro israel lobby, special interest groups, apac and others have started the division of individual congressman and women, but alleges the whole body whereby it immediately adopts the side of israel without the facts. this is something known, and israel knows, but refuses to acknowledge, this is a government of independent professionals. they are independent, not members of any party. at the same time, the government is not in charge of any negotiations or any political decision making. the p.l.o. is the high effort authority. the executive committee is in charge of negotiations and in charge of signing agreements, and political representation of the palestinian people

everywhere. in a sense, nobody's asking israel to negotiate with this government, because it has never done so. it has never negotiated with any government and this government is a government of independent professionals, as i said, and the p.l.o. has not changed. it's simply -- >> i want to make sure we get to some of the -- >> i wish they would look at the facts. >> i want to get to some of the facts on the ground for the people in the palestinian territories. as of 2012, gaza unemployment is about 32 percent and across gaza and west bang, 20-24-year-oldion at forties%. what do you believe this unified government can do to improve lives that the prefers government did not? >> well, the rift has destroyed the economy of gaza. add to that that israel placed a

siege on gaza and unemployment went up to 40% over all unemployment. the poverty level went up to 80%. good does a was placed under the embargo and siege where it couldn't move, the palestinian people couldn't in any way leave or come back or have any kind of economic commerce. that has been a tragic situation in gaza. right now, the reunification would help in the sense of it would also release arab support, international support, we would hopefully be able to lift the siege through egypt now and try to carry out the reconstruction of gaza after israel bombed and shelled in 2008 and 2009 and 2012 in a way that destroyed the infrastructure, the very basically life in gaza. and it is tragedy. this would help by reuniting

institutions, revitalizing the economy. but at the same time, we cannot have expectations that are unrealistic, because we are all under israel occupation and israel has resulted in measures to make sure the palestinians remain deprived of their most basic rights and resources and of course of their freedom of movement of people and goods, so we immediately hilt the brick wall of the israel occupation, but we're hoping that with international community, we can revitalize the economy in terms of a developmental economy that would enable the palestinian people to stay on their land and of course to withstand all the external pressures that we face, particularly from the occupation with the land theft and with the theft of resources. >> do you personally have any hope at all that israel, israelis and palestinians can ever reach an meaningful and enduring peace? >> yes, i can.

i can envision that. i'm one of those who worked early on, way back in the 70's and 80's in order to bring about peace, but peace based on coercion, intimidation, on control, on militarization, this isn't peace. we need peace based on international law. we have accepted palestinian on 22% of the historic palestinian, accepted the existence of the state of israel on 78% of our own homeland, and we've done that in order to achieve peace, in order to live side by side as equals, neighbors, not where you have one party, one nation under in a state of captivity by another country, israel to is given preferential treatment and acts as if it is above the law

and we are entirely deprived of our rights. i think that is peace once they raise the disparity and the international law must reveil and the fact that that should be the future of good relations and peace rather than one of occupation, control, intimidation, expulsion and threats. the onus is on israel, and israeli alice, particularly the u.s. and congress that meddles in foreign policy to understand that without recognition of palestinian rights, without ending this lethal situation of control, without having a just solution to the palestinian question, there will never be stability in the whole region and american standing and interests will also be affected

by israeli interests. even handedness and understanding of parity and equality would go a long way to the foundation of peace. otherwise, sub. >> allegation and capitulation are not foundations for piece. >> >> sergeant bowe bergdahl facing accusations of deserting soldiers. >> two young girlscc stabbing a, nearly killing her. how a fictional character known as slender man may have led to the crime. >> edward snowden's story, heading to the big screen? the major hollywood director that wants to make a movie about the n.s.a. leaker.

>> our images of the day, a dragon boat race in china, commemorating a patriotic chinese poet who drowned himself more than 2,000 years ago.

saturday on techknow. the earthquake business, it's similar to the weather business. understanding our earth. but everything happens faster. limiting disaster. these are the guts of the early warning system. saving lives. having 30 seconds of advanced warning is like a lifetime. techknow, every saturday go where science meets humanity. this is some of the best driving i've ever done, even thought i can't see. techknow. we're here in the vortex. saturday, 7:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. >> ahead in this half hour, the taliban prisoner swap for american p.o.w. bowe bergdahl, some say the u.s. gave away too much for his freedom. we'll cuss that. >> the obama administration releasing no proposals to

combating global wering. >> the nigerian government say hoke hair fighters were killed. there's been international outrage over the kidnapping of hundreds of school girls in april by boko haram. a majority of those girls are still missing and the government is facing criticism over the handling of the situation. >> china has blocked google as the country marks the 25t 25th affairs of tiananmen square. it's not the first time china has tightened it's grip on the internet. >> a top american military official wants to deploy new missile defenses against north korea. the u.s. troop commander said it's to counter the threat of weapons capability.

the south has opted not to be a part, because it is developing its own. >> growing controversy surrounding the release of former u.s. prisoner of war bowe bergdahl. several soldiers who served alongside him call him a deserter. some lawmakers in washington say the u.s. gave up too much to get him back. speaking today in warsaw, poland, president obama defended the deal saying whatever got exact circumstances, the u.s. got an american soldier back. his family is coming under decision scrutiny, the focus on the released p.o.w.'s father. he sent a tweet to a taliban spokesman several days before the release saying: that tweet

has since been deleted. >> brigadier general is in washington, d.c., thank you so much for joining us. taliban leader omar calls the swap a victory. is that propaganda or does he have a point? >> he actually has a point. he has brought back five of his most significant leaders and within some period of time, there's a high probability they'll be back on the battlefield. >> as complicated and sensitive as prisoner exchanges are, other countries make more such swaps more frequently than the u.s. should this be that controversial? >> the matters have to do with the scale of who was released. if these were low level taliban

fighters exchanged, there would be less of a controversy, but you have effectively sent back their joint chiefs of staff in return for one of our soldiers. >> bergdahl was a prisoner for five years. why a prisoner exchange deal now and not before, do you think? >> i think that a lot just simply has to do with conditions being right on both sides for the americans and taliban before they were willing to release and the terms and conditions of that release had to be acceptable to both sides. >> general, as you know, sergeant bergdahl has been described as a deserter. the reports are six men died looking for him. if that's true, how likely is it that that information was known by higher ups and if known, how does private bergdahl become a private in captivity. >> while a p.o.w., every soldier continues to receive pain allowances and promotions. these were time and service promotions. as a p.o.w., he still seemed to

be in the was a. these are automatic promotions that happen just as a matter of course. >> sergeant bergdahl if found a be a deserter, could he face legal repercussions. >> certainly. there are numerous articles within the uniform code of military justice that if the investigation bears out and he is proven to have performed in a negative way on the battlefield, go ahead be charged with deassertion, absent without lea. >> even though there is the

intermediary, this is not a typical at the end of conflict. my concern is we haven't ended the conflict. it's clear that we negotiated through a proxy with terrorists to obtain the release of sergeant bowe bergdahl. >> thank you so much for weighing in. >> two 12-year-old girls are in jail charged with attempted murder. >> the wisconsin preteens stabbed a classmate and left her to die in the woods. the young victim barely survive the attack. >> doctors say she first one millimeter away from certain death, because one of the stab wounds just missed a major artery near her heart. somehow, she found the strength to crawl out of the woods to a roadway where a passing cyclist discovered her. all three girls went to the same middle school in the suburbs of milwaukee, wisconsin. over the weekend, they had a sleepover together.

the next morning, they went into the woods for a game of hide and go seek. one girl held down the victim while the other stabbed her 19 times. investigators say the girls planned to murder their friend for months, inspired by a mittological concrete on line. the young suspects were obsessed with the story of slender man, a faceless demon dressed in a black suit that kills children. this disturbing case should be a wake up call for parents to be vigilant about their children's internet use. >> keeping our children safe is more challenging now than in years past. the internet can be full of dark and wicked things. >> police arrested the 12-year-old suspects a few hours after the attack, finding the girls walking with blood on

their clothes and a knife in their backpacks. the girls have been charged and each face 60 years in prison. >> nine i have favor, none opposed. >> cheers in seattle as it becomes the first major u.s. city to approve a $15 minimum wage. the city council voled unanimously for the hike monday for pay twice the national minimum. >> most of what we hear in terms of hyper insulation, the whole idea that jobs will be lost is all fear mongering on the part of business. there is no example where minimum wage was increased even significantly like here and jobs were lost in any big way or prices went up in any big way. >> president obama has been pushing for a $10.10 federally mandated minimum wage. california, connecticut and maryland passed laws increasing their wages to $10 or more in coming years. >> one of the greatest quarterbacks in nfl history is

lending his name to a civil lawsuit against the league. hall of famer dan marino joins 14 former players suing the nfl over concussions. the suit alleges the league knew there was a link between concussions and long term health problems. the document doesn't list exactly what maries injuries are. in january, a judge ruled that a $760 million settlemently the nfl over concussion claims was inadequate. >> president obama unveiling his plan to combat global warming. >> the call for cuts in carbon emissions face opponents about a hefty price tag that comes along with the plan.

>> talk to aljazeera only on al jazeera america >> a live look at gracie mansion here in new york city. i wish all the city looked that idyllic. the mayor and his family are moving into the house.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. let's get a check of the videos captured by citizen journalists around the globe. >> anti royal protests in the streets of spain, following the announcement that king juan carlos would abdicate his throne. calling for a referendum on whether to get rid of the monarchy. calls for a vote are trending on twitter. that's a big turnout. >> four dead in tehran following a sand storm. the huge cloud of sand was making its way toward downtown. power outages were reported as a result of the storm that packed 70-mile per hour winds. >> getting a view of rio de janeiro while in the city to research preparations for the world cup. he managed to convince the tourist board to let him climb to the top of the iconic christ the redeemer statue, standing at 125 feet tall. that's the highest point in rio.

>> better him than me. >> he did a selfie was on top of the statue that's gone viral. now we have the video to go with it. >> just ahead, the hollywood director that wants to bring edward snowden's story to the big screen. >> first, the obama administration is taking big steps to combat climate change. the e.p.a. unveiled a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants. the move is drawing critics. >> the proposal takes aim at carbon emissions from power plants which spy more than one third of all greenhouse gases in the u.s. it's really coal-fired plants in the crass hairs, 600 of them nationwide. by 2030, the e.p.a. wants their emissions slashed by 30% from 2005 levels. the agency says there will cut down on pollutants, preventing more than 6,000 premature

deaths. e.p.a. administrator revoked the image of a child with asthma, a child she said would be helped by the cleaner air. >> for the sake of our family's health and our kids' future, we have a moral obligation to act on climate. >> some groups called the move an historic step forward. >> i think it will make a huge difference. i think we have an opportunity now to get a handle on emissions that have not been regulated up until now that are doing serious damage to public health as well as to the environment. >> opposition is fierce with that the u.s. chamber of commerce warns this could raise energy prices, cut jobs and cost the economy $50 billion a year. criticism echoed by a coal energy lobbying group, worried about the annual price tag. the e.p.a. says it's an estimated $8 billion for the industry to meet the proposed standards. >> it's going to have a disproportionate impact on lower

americans. people on fixed incomes and have low incomes pay a much higher percentage of their overall budget on energy costs. this proposal is going to increase their costs dramatically. >> the e.p.a. disagrees, arguing that pushing forward with cleaner energy, energy efficiency and energy innovation will create jobs, lower electricity bills by 8% and save the country up to $93 billion in health care costs. >> the e.p.a. is now looking for public comment, especially from the state which will have enormous flexibility in meeting the emission reduction. there is talk of lawsuits and on capitol hill, legislation that would stop this new roll. >> house speaker john boehner said the president's plan is nuts and senate gop leader called the announcement a dagger in the heart of the american middle class. some lawmakers argued only congress has the authority to

order these requirements but a 2007 supreme court ruling allowed the e.p.a. to regular blade carbon dikes side, paving the way for these rules. aljazeera, washington. >> let's break down the plan to cut down carbon emissions. joining us is signor associate with the world resource institutes climate and energy program in washington, d.c. this morning. the u.s. has a high history of carbon emissions, second only to china in that reward. the e.p.a. plan of a 30% drop seems to be in line with president obama's 2009 pledge of 17% by 2020. why won't either target be reached? >> thanks for having me, john. the e.p.a. has set out this target, this ambitious target for 30% reduction by power plants by 2030, in line with the

president's climate action plan he announced last year, wimp he said would allow the u.s. to meet his 2009 pledge to reduce emissions by 17%, below 2005 levels by 2020. e.p.a. claims it will allow this to happen. we are looking for even deeper reductions by 2030. we have nationals that demonstrates a number of states, including coal heavy and manufacturing intensive states can actually meet these 2030 targets a full decade earlier. >> senator mitch mcconnell expressed his displeasure for the plan, already real from the painful effects of obamacare, the american people are now told they have to shoulder the burdens of the president's latest solution in the form of higher costs, fewer jobs and a lesser reliable energy grid. is mitch mcconnell right, will this drive up energy costs? >> mitch mcconnell is following in the long line of gloom and

doom naysayers and chicken little procrastinators that have come out with other rules designed to set common sense cost effective emission reductions from power plants. e.p.a. is simply following the line of emissionors pollution programs designed to reduce mercury, arsonic, soot and other threat to say public health. every time they've announced a major rule to protect public health and the environment, oh you know, opposition groups on representing businesses and those who profit from the status quo come out with these overly negative cost projections and every time they've ended up wrong. >> got a little bit less than a minute left. why now, why wasn't an action like this taken back in 2009? >> president obama, i take him at his worth when he said he wanted congress to move forward with comprehensive climate legislation. congress had a chance to do this

in 2009, an ambitious cap and trade bill passed the house of representatives but did not pass the senate. obama was i believe anxiously awaiting congress to move forward on this issue. congress abdicated its responsibility, so president obama and the e.p.a. are moving forward with the authority they have under the clean air act to take common sense steps to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. >> thank you so much. >> sexism may be affecting the way people view the severity of hurricanes. a study from the university of illinois found hurricanes with female names killed more people than those with male names. researchers say that's because people view storms with a feminine name as less threatening. on average, masculine storms killed about 15 people, but a hurricane of the same strength with a female name killed three times that amount. researchers examined the death toll from the 1994 hurricanes

that hit the u.s. from 1950 to 2012. >> or guys from the island neighborhoods were scared of their numbers. >> it does not make sense to our meteorologist, nicole mitchell. >> not a single meteorologist i've talked to think the study is remotely valid. the researchers have degrees in marketing and research. >> that explains it. >> not science. the science is older storms were more deadly and at that time all had female names. because the meteorology has gotten better, that has more to do with it than the fact that the names are female versus male. >> a tropical depression right now is expected to make a storm. that would have a male name, boris. moving across the terrain, losioning intensity, but dump ago lot of rain could reemerge

in the gulf. >> former n.s.a. contractor edward snowden will be the subject of oliver stone's next big screen buy on thattic. the film will document his experiences working for the agency, including his leaking of secret government documents about american surveillance activities. shooting is schedule would to begin before the end of the year. >> tomorrow morning on aljazeera america, it is one of the most iconic images of civil disobedience in history, a single man facing a line of chinese tanks near tienanmen square. >> a massive student uprising for democracy a quarter of a century ago. >> we still don't know who that man is to this day. thanks for joining us. >> ahead in just two minutes, the latest on the controversial presidential elections in syria. >> have a great morning. we'll see you back here tomorrow morning. morning.

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syri his ballot int presidential election. nato is calling a farce. the government says the votes is a solution to the crisis but there is no indication that the violence which is displaced millions will end. hello, from me, david foster, you are watching al jazeera. also coming up. >> pro russia separatist continue to attack a border guard face in eastern ukraine. >> president