>> read, be curious your brain is your ultimate weapon >> hope for the future >> the only thing that can transform my continent is girl's education >> talk to aljazeera only on al jazeera america >> welcome to al jazeera ameri america. president obama announces a $1 billion plan to beef up forces in forces, and the army not ruling out desertion charges for bowe bergdahl. and a weather warning, people could be at risk of severe storms tonight.

>> voting was extended for five hours because of a massive influx of vote percent. it comes in the middle of a war that has killed 6,000 people. it really doesn't matter here. assad's victory is guaranteed. >> reporter: let's go through the reasons, tony, or some of the reasons why assad's victory is guaranteed. number one, the only people who could vote are living in areas controlled by the government. number two, the opposition candidates, if you can call them that, neither of them are known at all. one of them said that they would be honored to come in second. number three, well, this vote is being held during one of the

deadliest conflicts of the 21st century. when syria votes, the only panning seen is from bashar al-assad. the symbolically cast their ballots in blood. there were other options. >> today syria is returning to peace and security. start to go rebuild the country and comprehensive reconciliation. >> reporter: critics say this is all stage managed to give assad cover to continue crushing the

rebellion. for those not voting, this is their punishment. this morning the opposition says the government bombed this area just outside of damascus. [ explosion ] more than half of this country is not voting and is at war. one out of three syrians no longer live in their own homes, and every month 100,000 flee to neighboring countries. in jordan they're voting with what their cultures is the most insulting way to vote. with their feet. they're not waiting for the ballot to be counted. out of the pitch black only their horses can see the way. thethey rode for eight hours, it's 1:00 a.m. this woman leads her four terrified children. her 12-year-old tells us they have heard shelling.

we ask how loud? very, he whispers. >> reporter: can you tell me what you saw back in sir yam? >> reporter: her 13-year-old to traumatized to answer. >> i wasn't afraid of the trip, thank god. i'm not afraid of anything but the opposite progression of bash ir. the family said they've been trying to leave for three days but every day government planes bomb the tracks that lead here. the shrapnel tore a hole in the jacket of the 23-year-old who smugged them across the border. >> are people targeted who try to three the area. >> reporter: the tracks we bring people on are being targeted. whoever escapes, escapes. whoever dice remain where is they fell. >> reporter: they head to a town with an uncertain future. they are more interested in escaping the violence than in

voting what the west and opposition calls a farce. >> reporter: syria's main ally russia said tonight echoing what you heard from the foreign minister of syria, that today should be the beginning of the political process that ends the war, but a senior opposition member saying tonight this election was, quote a black comedy. >> nick, i don't know what the answer to this question is, but i'll put it to you any way. where does the international community, where do they go next? >> reporter: i think there is a slight consensus that nothing is going to change. but i've been speaking with a western official here, and what they said was what we expect is a technocratic government launched by assad, and that is a sign that he's closing ranks in even further. bottom line most people here believe this is an excuse for him, or this will be the reason that he uses in order to stop

giving in or not give in at all politically, and also continue to crush the opposition. >> nick schifrin is in pay route for us. thank you. former military chief al sisi will be the country's new president. egypt's electoral commission said that al sisi received 97% of the vote. some egyptians say the election was rigged. sisi is expected to be sworn in on sunday. president obama is in poland, but first stop on his european trip. today he announced the $1 billion initiative to bolster the security of n.a.t.o.'s allies. >> reporter: posing with the polish president, there was no mistaking president obama's message to russia. >> i'm start to go visit here because our commitment to poland security as well as the security of our allies, and central and eastern europe is a cornerstone

of our own security. and it is sacrosanct. >> reporter: president obama propose money to bolster their military. it's a feared described bluntly. >> poe lan is very much interested in this reconciliation beyond difficult history and painful history and bloody history. >> reporter: later leaders of ten central and eastern european nations gathered here in another show of unity. once all under the thumb of moscow and the soviet union, all are now members of n.a.t.o. president obama again vowed to stand beside them and up hold the treaty. >> we're here today because as allies we have to stand unit united. we stand together.

always. >> reporter: and tomorrow, wednesday, here in warsaw, the president meth with ukrainian elect president petro poroshenko one-on-one, and then vice president biden goes to kiev for his inauguration. >> mike, good to see you. the nation's top military officer is not ruling out charges against sgt. bowe bergdahl. a statement saying, quote, this was likely the last best opportunity to free him. but dempsey is saying, like any american he is innocent until proven guilty. our army's leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred. randall pinkston joins us now from new york, randall? >> democrats have begun to criticize a president as well. more about that in a moment.

president obama saying that whatever the circumstances of sgt. bowe bergdahl's captivity, the bottom line the u.s. does not leave any soldier behind. the release of a prisoner of war almost always ends in celebration. but there was criticism because of the exchange of high ranking taliban detainees. it is claimed that some are responsible for thousands of deaths. >> the president needs to be able to look the american people in the eye and explain to the american people why he was justified in releasing the five individuals, and why their background didn't demand and mandate that they be detained at guantanamo for an indefinite

period of time. >> reporter: now the deal that freed sgt. bergdahl, it restricts the detainee's movements for the next year. president obama defended the arrangement. >> the release of the taliban who were being held in guantanamo was conditioned on the qataris keeping eyes on them and creating a structure to monitor their activities. we'll be keeping eyes on them. i wouldn't be doing it if i thought it was contrary to american national security. we have confidence that we will be in a position to go after them if in fact, they are engaging in activities that threaten our defenses. >> reporter: but tonight there is a stunning rebuke for the president from a senior democr democrat, california senator dianne feinstein revealed in in 2011 she was one of the

senators who were briefed on the possibility of a prisoner swap. she wrote a letter to the president expressing rejection of the releasing of the five detainees. >> i strongly believe we should have been consulted, that the law should have been followed, and i very much regret that that was not the case. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner has joined the call for investigation of the administration's actions. next week in the first of what could be many hearings, defense secretary chuck hagel has been invited to testify before the house of service committee. >> randall, thank you. a little later we'll speak with a soldier who served in bowe bergdahl's platoon. now the state department said they would appoint an ambassador to somalia for the first time in 20 years. they evacuated and shut down the embassy in 1991.

recent gangs against armed groups like al-shabaab have improved security enough to allow an ambassador to return. energy today's power politics it is primary day in eight states and the races could have an impact. >> tony, republicans need a net gain of six senate seats to take the seats away from the democrats. the math requires republicans to keep the mississippi senate se seat. cochrane has been in seat, but he's facing a tough primary challenge from tea party darling chris mcdaniel. he may be unelectable in november but he has helped by a relentless of tea party ads with

cochrane ties to washington. >> over 10 trillion-dollar of debt ceiling increases and he voted to fund obamacare. and 41 years is enough. retire.com. >> if cochrane loses today the odds go way up for democratic nominee, he is hoping to be the first democrat voted into a mississippi senate seat in 40 years. bruce braley will be the senate democratic nominee in iowa, although he could be vulnerable thanks to his career as a trial lawyer. and joni ernst is a veteran who bragged about cas castrating pigs in ads. and in california there is an

intriguing primary today in the race for governor. former treasury official spent $5 million of his own on his campaign, another republican tea party darling tim donnelly has attacked him non-stop, and criticizing his hindu reasonable. he made headlights when he carried a loaded firearm into an airport. whoever wins they'll take on jerry brown, the popular democratic governor. the journey of th journal of medical report said that doctors have shifted contributions from republicans to democrats. 75% of all physicians donating t gave to republicans. meanwhile, total contributions by doctors during that time period increased seven-fold. for everybody in south carolina who wants to purchase

alcohol on election day, they just voted to repea repeal a 1982 law. and finally in arizona. a failed 2012 congressional candidate named scott fisler is run forgive congress again in 2014. this time he's campaigning as a democrat with the name cesar chavez as reported by the daily beast. he successfully petitioned in arizona court to change his name to caesar chávez. the sha chávez campaign has a website with pictures of people with chavez signs even though those pictures were taken in venezuela by supporters of hugo chavez. the ke deceased president.

as for the photos, he said, quote, my name is on a lot of popular things. he has more in the future of politics than he even knows. >> david, appreciate it. thank you. so the midwest is experiencing some severe weather tonight. possibly lasting several hours in nebraska and iowa. kevin is here with more on this. >> meteorologist: things are deteriorating very briefly. let's go now to the wall. i want to show you what is happening. we're talking about nebraska and then iowa. the storm reports have come out with winds gusting at 60 to 100 mph. we're also looking at hail. golf ball sized. iowa, we're looking at problems

coming into the area. this is what we saw in terms of reports in storm damage, and this is going to only grow for the next four to six hours. this is going to be a long-lasting storm. so right now tornado warnings are in effect for central parts of nebraska. a tornado warning means tornadoes are on the ground or are imminent. and as you can see tornado watches encompasses the area. this is going to be a long night. we're looking at a high-risk area here. high risk areas don't happen very often. only seven times a year so you never want to diminish anything that you see with that. if you're traveling on the highway it's going to be a major problem. >> we've got a line of storms moving through the new york area as well. appreciate it. thank you. still to come on al jazeera america. despite the fact that it has

recalled millions of cars it has reported higher than expected sales. also how a teenager is trying to succeed in school despite not having a home to call her own.

>> while shine china has never released a death toll for the crackdown estimates for civil rights groups, the historic acts of defiance may be lost on many of today's young people in beijing. >> reporter: 25 years ago students in china were agitate the political change. and unprecedented display of defiance against the country's communist rulers. but the pro-democracy movement survived seven weeks before being suppressed by military force on june 4th. now a quarter of century on the events that have time still

remain a taboo subject for many of today's students. >> it's inconvenient for me to talk about this. >> generally i'm neutral. i'm not on the sides of the government or the students. >> reporter: today students are on the throws of another revolution, one of rising expectation. born after the bloodshed she has come to this career fear hope to go find a white-collar job with a sally of 7--salary of $700 a month. >> i know very little about this part of history. one reason i'm not interested in politics. the second reason is this event is not listed in the history books i read. >> reporter: born before the 1989 protests. today she manages a shop specializing in skateboarding and accessories. she says they have no relevance

to her generation. >> 25 years ago young people worried about having enough food and keeping warm. today we want to show off our personalities. >> reporter: they still have grievances but know they can't change the political system. >> young students remain away from politics for the sake of protecting their own interests and their own lives because they know the risks attached to getting involved in politics. >> china has ten 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-collared jobs. while a few show sign of wanting to engage in political activism that could change as that unemployment rate continues to rise. adrian brown, al jazeera, beijing.

>> so millions of cars recall, certainly didn't put a dent in sells. >> reporter: i don't drive much. i live in manhattan. i had a car several years here and all did i was pay for insurance and parking. >> exactly. >> reporter: i would think an after all these recalls my impress would be that it would slow down auto sales, or at least slow down auto sales in general motors, mm-hmm. the industry's annual sales rate at 17 million, that's the best showing since 2007, way before the recession. leading the pack was chrysler, 17% increase in may compared to last year. that's jeeps. jeeps have new models and the rack truck. general motors came in with a

13% over last year. best in six years. ford posted a 3% gain. toyota and nissan will the both of them had double digit gains. analysts say there are other things going on. easy credit. a recent report shows the average car loan in may was $28,000 and it is not uncommon for consumers to put down less than $10. there may be other som some other things at play here. on top of that general motors sales from fleet sales. you know, ford is trying to get out of the fleet business. ford doesn't want you to know them from the car rental lot. >> i got to ask you 13% for general motors in may? >> yes. >> that still is surprising, isn't it? >> reporter: it is surprising under any circumstances let alone the fact that they recalled more cars than most people thought they made.

these figures prove that consumers are unfazed, it's not just general motors. everybody else has decided to recall cars because of what happened to general motors. general motors has not seen any measurable impact from the record number recall, but there may be challenges. reuters is reporting that 74 people died in general motor cars involved in accidents similar to those that were linked to the faulty ignition switches. they were not able to make the complete connect, but accident where is airbags did not deploy and the driver or passenger were killed. mother bad news potentially for general motors. >> can't wait for the program, "real money with ali velshi," thank you. average deadly virus is threatening the u.s. pork industry.

it has killed millions of piglets and leading to higher prices at the grocery store. we have more now from iowa. >> reporter: here on the rolling landscape of america's pork belt lurks a quiet killer. in disease craig rolls, like most of his neighbors, lost thousands of young piglets to diarrhea virus. the disease has wiped out 7% to 10% of the pigs in the united states. adult pigs tend to survive, but the death rate among piglets is nearly 100%. >> i received a call from the manager who said hey, something is wrong. it's like being hit with the punch to the gut when we realized what was happening. we knew all across the united states how devastating it was going to be, and it was just as devastating for us, even though we knew what was coming. >> reporter: the latest death is

recorded in britain. but the current strain is reported to come from china. the hardest hit are not farmers who are earning more on their remaining pigs but consumers. pork prices are jumped from $3.64 a pound last year and could hit a record $3.90 this year. >> it is new. we never experienced in the united states, so we have to learn about the virus, how to handle it, and number two, it has had a significant impact, we think, and it's going to have a bigger impact in the future on supplies. >> reporter: researchers say pork remains safe to eat. the virus has no direct impact on humans, but many farmers are waiting months to insure that the virus is gone before they bring in new piglets. >> reporter: for years pig farms had tight security measures. hazmat-type suits and booties are meant to keep disease out. >> it was economically

devastating, but it was emotionally disturbing as well. we don't want to go to work thinking we have to euthanize piglets. >> reporter: in recent week indiana and elsewhere they have seen the virus return suggesting the immunity pigs develop has its limits. that has many in the pork belt wondering when and if the latest deadly virus will end. john henry, al jazeera, iowa. >> several of sgt. bowe bergdahl's fellow soldiers have come forward since his release. some say he was a deserter. we'll speak to one soldier who served in bowe bergdahl's platoon. and in one court there is a fist fight. .

>> as sgt. bowe bergdahl recovers, there are questions regarding his disappearance. since his release on saturday some of his fellow soldiers claim he intended to desert the military. with me is the army medic with sgt. bergdahl's platoon. good to have you on the program. what do you think of sgt. bergdahl as a soldier? >> he was quiet. he didn't share too many personal details at all. he minded his own business. he would like to write. he would spend a lot of time writing, did not share extra information and did what he had to do on a daily basis to get by. >> would you describe the day that sgt. bergdahl disappeared? was it clear that he deserted? >> yes, it was clear off the bat that something had happened.

these times a day we did equipment check. the night before he left we had everything. arrested 0600 we had bergdahl's weapon, body armor, sensitive equipment and no bergdahl. it is clear that he intentionally wanted to walk off. there was no way that he was captured. there was no way that he strolled out--that he just opened the gate and walked out. he had to have purposely snuck out. >> what about the subsequent search, and what was that like for your unit? >> it was miserable. it was the a minimum of 90 days after it was called. we would get a tidbit of information, and we would go to that specific location where that information was from, and we would do a small foot patrol looking for anything out of the ordinary, talking to locals, and nothing would come up. we would go back to our

vehicles, stay a couple more hours until another reliable intel hit would come on and we would go to the next spot. we did that for 90 days straight. >> and there were soldiers lost in the process of searching for him? >> yes, there were many soldiers who ended up dying in the subsequent searches for bowe bergdahl. >> do you harbor resentment towards sgt.berg dal? >> you know, it's just--i want him to be held accountable for his actions. he is purposely and willfully left his post. he deserted me, his platoon. he deserted the united states army. he needs to be held 100% accountable for his actions. there is no excuse. >> no reason to think that he won't be, or is there? >> i--you know, i certainly hope that he does go through the proper channels. so if that's a court-martial, so be it, but he needs to be held accountable for

what he did. >> are you okay with the president fo with the president ultimately doing the swap. >> he is an united states citizen. he deserves to be in the safety of the united states. what i don't agree with certain people calling him a war hero or any kind of hero. i served with people who gave their lives in afghanistan, and those are the true heroes. not someone who deserted their unit. >> who is calling him a hero? >> just different circles. you know, there was his hometo hometown. >> you really don't have a problem with his hometown thinking of him as a hero? >> but he deserted his post. he is not a hero. >> but you would expect his hometown to have a more favorable view of sgt. bergdahl, am i correct in saying that? >> to a certain extent, yeah, but same people still deserve to hear the truth. that he is a deserter. he willfully and purposely left his post.

>> you don't think he should have been left in afghanistan, do you? >> no, like i said before. he is an american citizen, and he deserves to be in the safety and comfort of the united states of america. >> are you okay with the details of the swap, that members of the taliban, believed to be high ranking members of the taliban exchanged for his freedom. >> that's way beyond what i'm here to say or what to do. i'm here to talk about how bowe bergdahl needs to be 194 to be held accountable and he's not an american hero. >> you heard the statement saying that this situation will be looked at, or are you of an opinion--are you of an opinion in anyway, shape or form that five years in captivity is enough, and there is a strong sentiment or there will be a strong sentiment to say that five years is enough and he should be allowed to live life.

>> i haven't been held captive by the taliban for five years, but it's been five years of me talking with members of my platoon, of members of bergdahl's platoon that he abandoned. it's been the last five years of people who aren't fully knowledgeable and only have gotten their information from certain sources whether that information is reliable or not. they don't know the full truth. and so i have already had to live for the last five years without any kind of closure of why bergdahl did this, and people look at me saying, you were the army unit that lost bowe bergdahl. i've had to live with that and so has every other member of my platoon. we've had to live with that for the last five years. >> let me rephrase what i think perhaps might be at play here, and you tell me if i'm wrong. there is a sense that you have, having been in that unit, that he deserted and that he needs to be brought to justice, and that your concern is that there is no

appetite in the united states to prosecute a man who has been held by the taliban for five years, is that your concern? and that he will be given a pass for what he did to your unit? >> yes, certainly. people will turn a blind eye to what actually happened, and that he walked away willingly and purposely from his post, and people will accept him and say he was held for five years, poor bowe bergdahl, and that's the general consensus, and that wrong. >> do you take the military at its word that the pentagon will take a look at this? >> y, absolutely. i trust that they will do the right thing and look in-depth at the circumstances and how bergdahl deserted his post. >> the army medic with bowe bergdahl's platoon.

pleasure to talk with you. >> thank you. >> hard line fighters and a rogue general who won't recognize the new government are battling in the east, and the old prime minister refuses to step down. stephanie decker has the report from typicall tripoli. >> reporter: the reality remains there are technically two prime minister. think don't agree with what they did, coming over to take over the prime minister office without legal ruling. this is still set to happen on thursday. the supreme court still set to rule on how to move forward with these two prime ministers.

he made a statement to the country saying that he will fight terrorism in such a troubled time. >> at the center of a disagreement between long-time ally united states and israel. the plo and hamas formed an unity government. israel said it will not work with the government as long as hamas is part of it. in spain king juan carlos will step down and give the throne over to his son, prince phillippe. they are calling for spain to become a republic. and in ukraine kiev has lost another offensive to drive out pro-russian militias. the operation began last night in slovya, nsk.

civilians in east are hiding in makeshift bomb shelters trying to stay out of the cross fire. we have reports now from the site of recent attacks in luhansk. >> reporter: straightist fighters renewed their attack on the space after their refusal to accept an ultimatum to surrender their weapons. they are heavily outnumbered. just 70 men. it's not known how long they can hold out before either their courage fails them or their ammunition stocks deserts them 37 nevada lost all communications with their headquarters in kiev. they've been making repeated calls to their senior commanders trying to get orders, but no one is picking up the phone. >> reporter: as kiev pushed ahead with its military operation, this dramatic footage shows the ukrainian armored

personnel carrier. in the middle of an ambush. gunfire was so intense the gunner had to pour water on the gun. it aim at the height of the fighting at the post in the city. a jet fighter attacked the building with rockets. this footage shows how the quiet tree-lined square was transformed by a deadly cloud of shrapnel. authorities in kiev claim that it was caused by a missiles fired by the separatist fighters themselves. but those o on the contradict that notion. five people were killed in the

attack and others injured. >> ukraine should stop this war. there should be round table negotiations. stop destroying the russian-speaking citizens of ukraine. we'll never forget this. >> reporter: the ukrainian attacks on the separatist fighters are getting closer and close for heavily populated areas. creating humanitarian corridors to allow families to flee may be the only way to stop a terrifying toll of casualties. >> new details of an arrest. marie with here with more on that and other headlines making news across america 2347 the fbi said they found ball bearings, cruise and components for a bomb, items that could have caused great harm to the public. they arrested a chamberlain south of the golden gate bridge. the fbi did not reveal if he had specific plans to use the items

found. in new jersey the port authority commissioner testified before lawmakers today. it was all part of the investigation into the george washington bridge scandal. they had no prior knowledge of the plans to block traffic near the bridge. the mayor of seattle is set to sign into law the minimum wage $15. it will make seat's minimum wage the highest in the country. the plan will be phased in over three to seven years depending on the size of the business. and in florida a judge is on temporary leave following a courtroom brawl. judge donachie murphy, he is accused of punching an assistant public defender. >> if you want to fight let's go out back. >> wow, look at this. >> reporter: and they both walked out. the lawyer said that the judge

punched him in the head while they were in the hall awa hallway. it was all over when the lawyer refused to waive the right to a speedy trial. >> the judge through the blow, wow. okay. marie, you're back. >> reporter: yes. >> a check on the severe weather in the midwest. >> meteorologist: that's right, tony, we're looking at six tornadoes in nebraska. we believe this will be an event. i want to take you back to 2012. these are time lapse segments every two hours that happened across parts of indiana all the way to virginia. notice the line of thunderstorms. they move very quickly and expand. as this goes through more and more area is being affected and it lasts for hours. we saw hundreds of wind damage reports as well as hail.

this is what we're looking at now. the tornado warnings are still in effect. really for most of the evening. and i want to take you and show you the high risk. how rare is this? well, this year alone we've only seen three days of high risk warnings here, and this is for parts of iowa. last year we only saw two days. that is how rare this particular event is, so toney, as we go through the rest of the night i'm sure i'm going to be bringing you many reports. >> kevin, appreciate it. an unique primary election in california, the top two vote getters will go to the general election regardless of party affiliation. r

fault lines the school to prison pipeline only on al jazeera america >> in california voters are heading to polls today, but it is not your average primary

election. the state implemented a top two primary system. we're joined by lisa in san francisco. interesting but not typical. >> reporter: it's a dramatic change. the top two primary is known as a jungle primary. that gives you an idea of what some political observers think of this. this is a primary where in many races we'll see two democrats go through to the general election. we have one race where there are 18 candidates, and also we have heard from more than one source that there are democrats who today will be voting for the right-wing republican because they think if he goes through to the general election than democratic governor jerry brown has a better chance of winning in november. certainly this is a different kind of election day here.

>> how are you. >> reporter: he is a republican candidate for state assembly who knows he will live but campaigns any way. >> i'm frustrated by the fact that i'm not going to go past the primary unless lightening strikes. >> reporter: that's because california has done away with the traditional primary system. the top two vote getters, regardless of party, will face each other in general election. in heavily democratic san francisco he knows it will be two democrats vying for the seat he wants. voters made the change four years ago. californias were fed up with gridlock in the state capitol. >> those who reacted out of frustration and anger. >> reporter: they thought that the system would make the assembly less polarized by for forcing candidates to reach beyond party lines. there was already a shift towards the center since

revisions and redistricting were implemented. this is the first test of the top two primary system for statewide offices. lieutenant governor gavin newsome, who has seven opponents in the primary, said he's not doing anything different. >> it has not changed the campaign. i'm not more moderate as a consequence versus being more progressive or liberal. i'm still myself. >> reporter: yet many democratic candidates are now positioning themselves to attract the money and votes that would have gone to republican candidates. >> the intent of the top two primary system initially was to make california elections more inclusive, but political analysts say the unintended consequence is that third parties like the green party could be wiped out. >> reporter: the biggest winners under the new rules are political consultants. >> there is a lot more uncertainty, chaos in these

elections. and quite frankly a lot more money being spent to figure it all out. to be a democracy is an ongoing experiment. >> but david said it's not for the top two voting change he would have until the general election in november to get his message out. now he knows rea realistically he only has until the poles close at the end of the day. and, indeed, that jungle primary that makes it i am employed that it's more complicated and unpredictable in the past also has the implication for cost. because now in many cases you have strong democrats who are fighting against each other in the primary. they both go through the general election and they have to spend millions of dollars again to fight each other twice in one year. so also a costly change in california in. >> welcome to the jungle. lisa bernard in san francisco. more than 1 million students are homeless in this country.

but one los angeles teenager is not letting homelessness hold her back. she's acing her classes and sees education as her ticket to a brighter future. >> for the past six months this small room shared by two families has been the closest thing to a home 17-year-old jamira has ever known. before moving to this temporary shelter in south los angeles, she spent a few months at another shelter on skid row. >> sometimes you don't want to keep going. >> reporter: but she had no choice. when she was 12 her family left peru and illegally crossed the arizon border in arizona. she has been homeless ever since. >> i think that everything that happened is my fault. if may mom never happened me, then none of this would have happened. >> reporter: you're blaming yourself? >> i just want to give my mom

everything that she gave me. my mom is the only thing i have. if something happens to her, i will be, like, more than homeless. i won't have nothing. >> reporter: and yet by all appearances the 17-year-old has everything going for her. she gets straight a's. she volunteers after school. she dreams of becoming a doctor. or maybe even a singer. ♪ do you believe you can fly >> reporter: but staying in school has not been easy. she carries her burden alone. no one knows that she is homeless. >> reporter: why is it important that you keep it a secret. >> i don't want them to judge me. >> reporter: you don't want them to judge you. do you think they will? >> i'm scared of failing. i'm scared of being judged 1234

there ar. >> reporter: in los angeles unified there are 14,000 kids who are homeless. >> many kids in our school have no idea where they're going to sleep. maybe they haven't eaten. >> reporter: anna quinnter row works in the prom that focuses on getting students basic necessities. >> backpacks, hygiene items, clothing assistance. >> reporter: those basics are a lifeline for jamira and so is this place, school on wheels. a non-profit that mentors or teach children. >> you can see their sel self-esteem rise, you can see their self-confidence rise. >> they take care of us, and they treat us like we're all family. >> reporter: on this day a

surprise. >> who signed up for college. who got accepted into college, and do you guys know who that is? and as a reward from school on wheels we have $1,000 scholarship for you to go to college. >> reporter: despite what life has put in front of her. despite not always knowing where she'll sleep at night, she knows education will be her ticket to getting off the streets for good. >> the winner of syria's presidential election was decided long before any votes were casted. we will tell you more about the election that some call a farce. that's next.

>> from ads to images of people voting, the election in syria is playing out on social media. >> reporter: we want to show you some of the images that are coming out from syria today. first, let's start with what the government and assad supporters

have been screening. images like this at a polling station. in the college of fine arts damascus, syria. also this has been retweeted over and over. these are voters taking a selfie with assad. and also sam dagger from the wall street journal. he's in damascus, and he has been chronicling the election. he tweeted this out, damascus streets empty and most polling stations look like this one after voting was extended. voting was extended by five hours. several of these have been making the rounds.

they are using the.what's up to vote at polling stations. >> that's nice and secure. >> meteorologist: yes. cartoons mocking the whole process are circulating online like this one. this is a dead man and this is assad right here holding his hand in a ballot putting it into the ballot box. and this is another cartoon with people going up to vote, obviously feeling intimidated. this is giving out the message that they're supposed to vote. now in the northwest area of syria, syrians are tweeting out this image. it says together we voted for freedom, but assad, hell has surely frozen over. >> thank you. the hubbel space telescope has captured the cosmos, nasa released, take a look at this, a panoramic picture that shows

10,000 multi colored galaxies. it's a composite taken between 2003 and 2009. many of the golf courses are abougalaxies are 5 to 10 billion years old. that's our time. "real money with ali velshi" is next. >> vladimir putin's cat and mouse game with barack obama. most sides send signals that could put the two presidents face-to-face, i'm going to look at what's really going on with america, russia and ukraine. and the average joes own sky scrapers, at least small pieces of them. in the arctic circle, what makes one of the coldest places on earth red hot right now. ail ali velshi and this is "real money."