for suvivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now >> new video showing the moment the taliban released sergeant bowe bergdahl to american forces, why the prisoner swap that led to his freedom have some in congress calling out the white house. >> the midwest slammed bay storm that produced damaging hail and flooding. the parts of the country that are at risk of severe weather today. >> by early this morning, parts of the city were still echoing to the sound of gunfire, an indication that the fighting is

still far from over. >> 25 years after tienanmen square, what has changed in china. >> two teens say they were driven to plan a murder because of an internet character. what parents need to know in monitoring what their kids are doing on smart phones and tablets. >> good morning. a new video release this morning by the taliban shows american prisoner of war sergeant bowe bergdahl turned over to u.s. special forces by his captors. >> he is seen here moments before he boarded a helicopter that transported him to freedom. >> the white house is offering apologies to members of the senate intelligence committee for not in forming them in advance about the prisoner swap. >> bergdahl left a letter behind the night before he disappeared saying he did not support the u.s. effort in afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life. >> the army will investigate accusations that bergdahl is a

deserter. we are here with more on the prisoner swap that got bergdahl back in u.s. hands and more of that video of his release. >> we are getting a glimpse of sergeant bowe bergdahl for the first time since the obama administration traded five taliban prisoners from guantanamo bay in exchange for his release. the taliban put out a video recording of the very moment bergdahl was freed. >> silentlyar gent bowe bergdahl sits inside a taliban truck. headlight captainive for five years, the american soldiers waits to go picked up as military helicopters circle above him. a group of american special forces hit the ground and quickly approached bergdahl. you can see somewhat of a handshake between both sides just as the p.o.w. is taken into custody. within a matter of seconds, the chopper is up and away. >> the white house agreed to release five taliban prisoners from began to know mow bay in exchange for bergdahls release,

an exchange sawing coffer refers to on capitol hill. it comes with dismay and surprise that it went ahead with no confirmation, totally not following the law. >> some leaders admit they were aware of the potential trade three years ago. back then, most senators were against the deal and a bill required congress be given 30 days notice before any deals between gitmo detainees. these senate leaders say they learned of the exchange after the fact and that's against the law. >> i had had a conversation with the white house on the issue in a year and a half. if that's keeping us in the loop, then this administration is more arrogant than i thought they were. >> a spokesman with the national security council said the notice law does not apply in unique opportunities like this, adding in this case 30 days notice could ever endangered the

soldier's life. the president defended his decision. >> regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an american soldier back if he's headlight in captivity, period. >> both senators feinstein and hand listen said the white house sent aid es to personally apologize. doctors say bergdahl is in stable condition and will be transferred to a texas hospital. >> it turns out the v.a.'s problems with delayed care and secret waiting lists weren't limited to one hospital in phoenix. in a letter sent to two u.s. senators, v.a. officials confirmed similar situations existed at facilities in kansas, missouri, illinois and indiana but in much smaller numbers. 96 veterans had to wait more than 90 days for treatment at

several hospitals in those states. president obama is considering dr. cosgrove, the head of the cleveland clinic for v.a. secretary. >> today is freedom day in poland, celebrating 25 years since the end of soviet rule in that country and the beginning of the solidarity movement. president obama is in warsaw for the first leg of a four day european tour. he spoke about the struggles the polish people endured. >> in the face of beatings and bullets, you never wavered from the moral force of non-violence. through the darkness of martial law, poles lit candles in their windows. when the regime finally agreed to talk, you embraced dialogue. poland reminds us that sometimes the smallest steps, however

imperfect can tear down walls, ultimately transform the world. >> president obama also met for the first time with ukraine's new president elect, poroshenko, discussing economic support for ukraine as well as mr. obama's $1 billion pledge to beef up military support in the region. >> mike viqueira is tracking with the president and joins us now from warsaw. we heard a bit from president obama's meeting with poroshenko earlier. let's heard what he said about providing additional military resources to ukraine. >> we discussed additional steps that we can take to help train and professionallyize the law enforcement and military, so they can deal with some of the challenges that are still taking place in certain portions of the country, and in fact, today, we have additional non-heatal

assistance, like night vision goggles that will help the professional ukrainian military force do its job. >> the president there announcing non-heatal assistance to ukraine. the question is is there a sense among folks in warsaw that the u.s. is doing enough to assure poland that what happened in ukraine will not hop to them? >> that's a great question. i think poles and a lot of people in this part of the world, countries formerly behind the iron curtain and over the thumb of the soviet union are anxious, nervous. they look at ukraine, they hear difficult and angry echos of the past. president obama simply can't say it enough. he said it many times since he's been here, it's been implicit and explicit through the video pictures, united states is there for poland. it is there for nato allies like poland. poland has been a nato ally for 15 years now, fit ever came to

it. the president said yesterday upon arriving in warsaw and said it again today at a speech to the polish public here at castle square in warsaw. however, you have to say that the poles want more, eastern europeans want more. $5 million, a nominal amount of money for the non-heatal aid, night vision goggles, things that have nature. the poles themselves want a nato based on polish soil. that's proven difficult for nato ally to say agree to. that's what they're pushing for. they simply can't hear it enough, the united states and nato are there for them. >> meanwhile, president vladimir putin is expected to attend a world war ii event friday, meeting with the leaders of france, britain and germany. how does this look for president obama, who is not planning to meet with him? >> it's absolutely right, the president came to europe two months ago to meet him in the

hague, called an emergency meeting of the g7, that's the g8 minus russia, russia kicked out as punishment for ukraine. the president has been pushing reluctant european allies for harsher sanctions on russia. the violence we've seen in eastern ukraine, those provocations and the unrest that the president himself accuses russia of fomenting does continue. he does go to the d-day commemoration, the 70t 70th anniversary. he said he'll see value pool there. they'll exchange greetings, no plans for a formal meeting. >> mike, thank you. >> the ukrainian government launched another offensive to drive out pro-russian separatists. they claim they shot down a helicopter and fighter jet. that is denied. we report on the latest attacks.

>> separatist fighters renewed their attacks after their retial to accept an ultimatum to certainly you are weapons for a guarantee of safe passage. they are heavily outnumbered, 70 men surrounded by well armed attackers. it's not known how long they can hold out. aljazeera learned that they've 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. >> as kiev pushed ahead with its military operation, this dramatic footage shows the ukrainian armored personnel carrier in the middle of an ambush by separatists in the forest. the armor saved the lives of the soldier inside, but the exchange of fire was so intense, the gunner had to pour water on the

carriers cannon. jet fighters were in action. an attack has been labeled a war crime by moscow, coming at the height of the fighting along the border post in the city, a jet fighter attacked a building with rockets. this footage shows how the quiet tree-lined square was transformed by a deadly cloud of shrapnel. the authorities in kiev claimed it was a missile fired by the separatists, but the evidence on the ground contradicts that version. on the street outside the headquarters, you can see where some of the rockets landed. five people were killed in the attack and many more injured. the crowds at the scene were angry and wanted their voices to be heard. >> ukraine should stop this war. there should be round table negotiations. stop destroying the russian-speaking citizens of ukraine. we'll never forget this. >> the ukrainian attacks on the separatist fighters getting

closer and closer to heavily populated areas. the russian-sponsored idea of creating humanitarian corridor to say allow family to say flee could be the only way to stop a terrifying toll of casualties. >> ukraine said its forces have now abandoned the military outpost after running out of ammunition during a 10 hour battle with pro-russian separatists. >> the catholic church in ireland coming under fire after a discovery of a mass grave filled with the bodies of nearly 800 infants and children. a researcher found the remains near a former orphanage in a home for unwe had mothers. the children were put in what was once a septic tank with no cough finance, just a plain shroud. records indicate they died between the 1920's and 1960's. >> these children have nothing over them and we were not prepared to be sent here as women and let that happen. >> the children were

malnourished, often dying of diseases. church leaders say they had no idea so many children that died at the orphanage were buried there. they'll support local efforts to mark the spots where the bodies were found. >> nebraska was hardest hit with heavy rains, hail, tornadoes, and wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. emergency crews rescued several people from flooded homes in omaha, and cars were stranded on the highways submerged in chest deep water. >> flooding wasn't the only concern in the midwest. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell for a look at what other weather hit the country. you warned us about this. >> yesterday we said was a moderated risk, we knew we were going to see some of this. you can see damage coming in. hail smashing through windows in states such as nebraska and missouri. we also had high, damaging winds. you're still going to see a lot of debris this morning and

siding definitely messed up. there's some of that hail as it went along. fortunately, isolated tornado reports, reports overall through the course of the day, look at this. there were over 400 different reports. most of that was damaging wind and hail. as i said, the tornado reports i saw a lot of that around nebraska. some roof damage, siding damage, right now, not reports of great damage with tornadoes, so it maybe wasn't a big tornado day but big in other types of severe weather. with that, it also left all of that heavy rain. the areas you see in green, even though some of this rain moved off are places you still might see areas of collected water and flooding. you need to be careful especially if you have power lines down on top of that. the storms moved alleges more into illinois, moving into indiana, and this is going to be our core through the rest of the day of heavy rain and possible severe weather, as well. you can see this is through the next 24 hours. by the time we get to tomorrow, that is more into the east coast, causing us some problems.

not as high of a risk of yesterday, but these areas of yellow, those are our slight risk areas, we're not out of the risk yet. >> hail as big as fists, hard to forget. >> don't want to see that. >> a tight race in the primary in mississippi. the incumbent appears headed for a run off with tea party challenge chris mcdaniel. cochran has 49% to mcdaniels near 50% of the vote. officials say it may take two days to get the final tally. this is considered one of many that could shape the mid term elections in november especially with the gop hope to go regain control of the senate. we'll wrap up all of tuesday's key primary races coming up. >> it's been 25 years since the bloody tienanmen square protest in china. 10,000 anti communist demonstrators were arrested during the two day military

cookdown and hundreds, possibly thousands lost their lives. despite pushback from the chinese government, people are still fighting democracy today, demonstrators gathering in london and hong kong, one of the few places in china where people are marking the tienanmen square anniversary. in taiwan, protestors are holding a vigil today. we see what's changed. >> tienanmen square today, just another day in china, but the heavy security is the reflection of the official nervousness over this anniversary. 25 years after the people's liberation army turned its guns on the people. just as it was then, the square is off limits to journalists. 25 years ago, this was as close as you could get to tienanmen square. as you can see today, that's as

far as we got today. a quarter century ago, this same street was a battleground. >> by early this morning, parts of the city were still ecoing to the sound of gunfire, an indication that the fighting is still far from over. >> meanwhile, the men who controlled the army and perhaps now the government have issued another anonymous warning, stay off the streets or face the consequences. >> for a time, it was hard to tell who was in control. there was also bloodshed in other cities. what we also didn't know then and still don't today is how many were killed and whether they included the man who defied a line of tanks. >> this woman last saw her 19-year-old student son on the night of june 3. she is a member of the tienanmen mothers' group which boldly tries to keep the memory of the bloodshed alive despite warning not to talk to foreign

journalists. >> before, i used to cry and cry. now i have no more tears, but my determination to fight has become stronger. >> dozens of other dissidents who attempted to commemorate this anniversary ever also been arrested. among them, the prominent human rights lawyer who took part in the 1989 protests. hong kong, an autonomous region of china is the only part of the country where the event can now be openly discussed. >> when you look, have people forgotten, i'm sure the communist party has not forgotten. >> in the past 25 years, few country us have changed as much as china. who would have guessed it would go on to become the world's second large effort economy and stage a successful olympic games? but warn analysts, some of the tensions that culminated in the bloodshed of 1989 still remain.

>> 25 years ago, the survival of the communist party had seemed in doubt. today the party has never been stronger, despite a relentless campaign to erase all public memory of what happened on june 4, 1989. aljazeera, beijing. >> the white house is paying tribute to those who risked their lives on that day 25 years ago. press secretary jay carney released this statement reading: >> coming up, we'll take a closer look at what's change said in china over the past 25 years and whether another tienanmen square incident can happen again. >> chicago sues five of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. >> it's a case modeled after tobacco lawsuits, how the city

says drug makers put people at risk. >> i'm tired of struggling, tired of fearing for the personal safety of my family. >> he is known as the john stewart of egypt, why he says the countries political climate is forcing him off the air. >> two 12-year-olds planned a murder because of a fictional character on line. social media is making it difficult for parents to keep track of what they're kids see on the internet. >> $198,800,000 is today's big number. >> how it could help save detroit and city workers' pensions. pensions.

>> johnson pharmaceuticals, end-health solutions antact visits. >> the same manufactures were named in a lawsuit in california filed weeks ago, accusing them of using deception to increase sales of prescription pain killers, creating what it called a population of addicts. >> in 2007, criminal and civil charges were settled for misbranding oxycontin, agreeing to pay a $6,035,000,000 settlement. sales have been rising. there's been a 300% increase in the sale of prescription pain killers. the c.d.c. calls pain killer drug abuse a growing deadly epidemic, responsible for three out of four overdose deaths in

the united states. david cohen is a former addict and works at the treatment center. >> the pharmaceutical industry being a powerful force i believe has a moral obligation to educate the consumer on what the composition of the drug is and the potential consequences of that drug. that's a moral responsibility. >> a spokeswoman said the company says they are reviewing the complaint. representatives of the other drug companies did not respond. the city wants the companies to may restitution and damages and change their marketing practices. >> the city is seek to go recovery all or part of the nearly $10 million it paid to fill 400,000 of these prescriptions since 2008. >> wal-mart workers are walking off the job in more than 20

cities today, asking for higher pay and better working conditions ahead of the company's annual shareholder meeting friday. they want an end to what they say is retaliation against workers who go on strike. two thirds of wal-mart employees, 825,000 workers are paid $25,000 or less per year. the company made $16 billion in profits last year. >> time to get a check at the temperatures we can expect to see across the nation today. >> meteorologist nicole mitchell is back with the information we need to know. >> even with the cold front that has been going through, not a lot of the cool down. that is on the backside of the front, more 50's through the rockies, ahead of this, warm, juice eight air has contributed to the warm weather we had. seventy's this morning, 80's and 90's through the day and still that core of excessive heat from arizona to west texas. temperatures scorching in the

hundreds. >> a lot of people got the stickies today. nicole mitchell, thank you so much. >> a tight primary race in mississippi, the senate race headed for a runoff. >> the struggle for power between the gop and tea party. >> the obama administration and progressives have found a way to take away choices from parents and to get rid of competition in education. >> the controversy over common core and how the education standard pushed by the obama administration is used at a political weapon this year. >> a represently can of van gogh's ear made of living cells on display at an art museum. this and other headlines around the world.

>> some human remains were discovered in a septemberic tank on the site of an or manage. >> counting votes in a presidential election, but the surprise maybe the margin of victory for bashar al assad. voting was extended by several hours to handle the massive influx of voters. opposition in the u.s. call the

election. >> we should expect a result perhaps at early as the end of the day. it's a for gone conclusion. so many people calling yesterday's election a forum of celebration for bashar al assad, the opposition saying half the country was forced to vote for him while the other attacked by his government forces. there's a real fear in the west and by the opposition that he'll use this victory in order to continue to crush the opposition and continue to refuse to negotiate or to give in politically. >> the u.s. says assad has "no more credibility today than he did yesterday." that's how they feel about this vote, and yet we've seen images of people voting and cheering for him. he has support within syria that is this assad's way of showing the world he still has control over his country?

>> it's assad's way of showing he is not going anywhere. we saw very carefully choreographed scenes, people being bussed to polling stations, being forced to go to polling stations. looking at the video, it was very quiet in those polling stations, the celebrations outside of them manufactured, the opposition claims for the t.v. cameras. assad and his allies are expected to use that election as a reason for them to stay in power, to continue to try and say they are the only ones who can provide aid to the people of syria, the only ones who can create a political solution and for the west point of view and from the opposition point of view, that means that this war is all that much more unwinnable and difficult to figure out a way out three years later with 160,000 people dead and the worst humanitarian crisis in terms of the number of refugees since world war ii.

>> in beirut, lebanon, nick, thank you. >> in egypt, a landslide victory reported for al sisi. the countries former military head, nearly won in 97% of votes there. he led the ouster of mohamed morsi last summer. president obama plans to speak with the new leader in the coming days. according to a statement, the white house "shares concerns raised by observation groups about the restrictive political environment in this this election took place." >> one of egypt's most popular comedians is calling it quits. his brand of satire has been compared to john stewart, but he no longer believes he can poke fun at the government without paying a price. >> the show is over for the man who perhaps poked a little too hard at egypt's leaders. >> facing threats and pressure, egypt's john stewart says it's

time to quit. >> the present climate in egypt is newt suitable for a political satire program. time tired of struggling, tired are fearing for my personal safety and the safety of my family. >> once a symbol of freedom, the loss of the show is a counteroffers that just amend three years ago on the brink of real change. >> for the first time, egypt is at its lowest point in terms of freedom of expression, since we monitored the situation in egypt, we have not seen that crackdown happen. >> with comedy, he skewered the president while the former president barely tolerated the humor, the new one isn't laughing. they are cracking down on journalists and dissenters. >> this is a real red line. he realized that this is

something you just aren't going to be able to take on in egypt. >> he has written extensively on egypt. >> he was the last voice in egypt that was willing to directly confront the government with satire. no one was going to really take the air out of the regime. >> he had that power. >> he was the last one that was going to do that for now. >> after the fall of mubarak, he began posting satirical clips on you tube. egypt had never seen anything like it. his popularity exploded, time named him one of the world's most influential people. he even sat down with the man who so inspired him. >> people say wow, he actually says what we want to say. we are trying to be funny. we fear most of the time, but we try. >> now clearly frustrated, the man with a talent for words at

his farewell news conference. >> the committee to protect journalists gave him the press freedom award last year. >> aljazeera journalists have been held for 158 days, facing charges of aiding the muslim brotherhood. the correspondent from our sister network aljazeera arabic is also detained. he's been on a hunger strike for four months and in failing health. aljazeera rejects all charges against our journalists and demands their immediate release. >> voters cast ballots in primary elections on tuesday in eight states, in six choosing senate candidates. the republican party looks to take back control of the senate. in iowa, state senator joni

earnst won. in mississippi, a runoff between cochran and mcdaniel. their statistically tied. five states also holding gubernatorial primaries, in california jerry brown will defend his seat in november, facing former assistant treasury secretary in a crowded republican field there. >> the primary in mississippi, how could this affect the republicans? >> you look at the beginning of this primary season, nobody was predict that go mississippi would go tea party and then potentially could go democratic.

the democrats latest poll shows their candidate childers, a former representative in congress is in a statistical dead heat if mcdaniel wins. we are going to see the democrats pour money into mississippi in a way it wouldn't even be thought of if cochran wins. if this is a state that can now be moved to the toss up race. >> cochran is a six term incumbent. it's important to note that chris mcdaniel is a tea party supported candidate. >> that's right, yeah, absolutely. akron went to the house of representatives in 1972 onyx son's coattails, elected to the senate in 1978. he's 76 years old. this is his sixth term run, making him the second oldest republican in the senate. he was on the fence about running and there were many people thought he wouldn't put his name in and he did and mcdaniel came out acknowledge tea party candidate and got a lot of independent support from these outside expenditures,

$5 million went into this race, and that really seems to have tipped the scale toward mcdaniel and then of course there was this veriness stay photograph of cochran's ailing wife that four people and mcdaniels related to mcdaniels team were arrested for. he claims he had no knowledge of it. the race has gotten very nasty. it looks like we'll have a runoff. this thing is going to be another three weeks of nasty and the democrats are thrilled. if mcdaniels pulls this out, they think they can take the seat. >> iowa, joannie earnst running there. there is a seat up for grabs being vacated by tom harkin. how could that race affect the balance in the united states senate. >> joannie earnst did something very few republicans are able to do, attracting establishment and

tea party support. she has been able to thread that needle in a way other candidates have not been able to do. she came out strong, 54% the last time i saw it. may have gone up. she beat the 35 she needed to avoid a run off. she has turned her sights on a democratic contender that had a huge slip up early in the race when he spoke ill of iowa farmers, wimp is something you don't want to do when you're in iowa. this is a case in which we're going to see potentially the first female elected out of iowa. joni earnst is a really strong candidate. the question now is can she raise the money, does she have the stature. a general election is going to be far different. this is a woman with very conservative views. she has called the clean water bill the biggest threat to big business in this country. she supports a constitutional amendment against gay marriage. she is a very conservative

candidate. bruce bailey has got to avoid making any more slip ups. it's going to be a very interesting race in a state that was already a toss up and trying to fill the seat of tom harkin. >> a democratic. >> a democratic. >> thanks so much for joining us this morning. appreciate it. >> common core education standards became a flash point of the primary in alabama. pea party challengers looking to out of the established republicans latched on to the issue by pushing to repeal the program. >> whatnot core is proving to be a divisive issue, be thousands of ads getting thousands of hits. >> new math and reading standards were developed

designed to better prepare students for college on the workforce. in 2010, alabama adopted the standards. 44 other states have done the same. alabama's education superintendent says common core pushes students outside comfort zones. >> in third or fourth grade in our old standards we would ask students to add numbers and come up with the correct sum. it still requires that same function of arithmetic but asks groups of students to come together and take a real world problem, take the arithmetic, determine to apply that to solve that go real world problem. >> some conservative candidates a call it a power grab by the federal government. for two years, bills to pull alabama out of common core have failed in the legislature. with this election, the debate intensified as tea party candidates try to unseat gop incumbents who support common core. a long time republican leader has added her voice to the tea

party opposition. >> it dictates what children will learn in classrooms. the obama administration and progressives have found a way to take away choices from parents and to get rid of competition in education. >> a group called the alabama foundation for limited government has also pumped $700,000 into a stop common core pact. >> i've yet to hear an alternative or a solution that they would put in place of it, so to me, that appears just to be i'm against this. i'm not sure what i'm for. that concerns me. >> a lot of the disputes. >> >> while topped bipartisan

business and education groups have thrown support behind common core the strong fight launched here by anti core activists signals this education debate now several years old may be more serious than ever. jonathan martin, aljazeera. >> more than a million dollars was spent in alabama by candidates opposed to common core education. >> becoming a big campaign issue. >> a quick look at other stories making headlines around the world. former miami dolphins quarterback dan marino was going to be in that concussion lawsuit and decided he is going to sit on the sidelines of that. the miami herald reports the pro football hall of famer issued a statement tuesday saying he wants his name removed from the plaintiff list, and blamed it all on a legal misunderstanding. this all comes as a social media campaign questioned the timing of marino being a plaintiff on that lawsuit. >> questions surrounding him

want be a job in the nfl, including the miami dolphins. whether that is accurate, certainly the timing isn't great. >> lending an ear literally, replica of vincent van gogh's ear said to be cut off says it was grown using genetic material from a living relative of the dutch artist and the cells shaped using 3-d printer. >> the ear was grown in boston at the women's hospital. the ear will be coming to new york next. that will be interesting. >> unbelievable. >> the stranger who came to dinner. a start up allows strangers to share their home for a fee is proposing to share a dinner table, serving a dinner for 25

bucks. air b. and b. is trying to coordinate that and take a cut. >> my wife is a tremendous cook. we'd charge more. >> two young girls say a horror character on line inspired them to kill a friend. >> what parents can do to track their children on line. >> everyone's friends, family are using this road, so we are 100% concerned about the well being of anybody who uses this. >> a bridge 90,000 cars cross every day. it's tilting. my transportation officials are calling it a major issue for the northeast. >> why do we always see koala bears hugging trees. science reveals the answer in our discovery of the day. the day.

>> it's time now for our discovery of the day.

it's about koala bears. scientists wanted to find out why they cozy up to trees. they found the bears actually moved to cooler parts of the tree during hotter weather. they found lower parts of trees near the trunk can be seven degrees cooler than the air. researchers believe they regulate their body temperatures hugging the trees. >> an attorney for one of the 12-year-old girls accused of stabbing a girl to death wants the case moved to juvenile court. the girls are accused of luring their friend to the woods in wisconsin after a sleepover. police say they repeatedly stabbed her to please a fictional horror character known at slender man. they learned about him on line. an attorney for one girl said his client needs mental help. >> police have released a 911 call from a bicyclist who found the victim after she crawled out

of the woods. >> she said she's having trouble breathing. she said she was stabbed multiple times. >> stabbed multiple times? >> yeah. >> ok, sir, are you with her right now. >> yes. >> is she awake? >> she's awake. >> she is breathing? >> yeah, she's breathing. she can take shallow breaths. she's alert. >> according to police, the victim identified her attackers, caught after setting off for a nearby forest where on line stories claim the slender man character lives. >> ryan davis is a digital strategist and former media director at blue state digital. in this case, slender man appears to essentially be a character knowingly fiction ally created by some people, but then, if the reports out of wisconsin are to be believed, these 12-year-old girls believed this character to be real. we've become with people misrepresenting themselves on line as a threat to our children. how much is this sort of internet spawned myth making a

threat to our kids now? >> i think kids have always had a hard time understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. dungeness and dragons was talked about as being a problem in the 1980's. parents need to be aware there are ideas and stories that their kids are hearing in helping them understand what is real and what is not. >> it used to be parents could exert control over what their children see by placement of the computer, but 78% now have cell phones, almost half own smart phones and 23% own tablet devices like ipads. how can parents compete with accessibility. are there controls for these type of devices. >> they need to be aware of arps their kids are ustion and what they are doing. secret and whisper and snapshot of anonymous, have the feeling that you can't really get in trouble. in reality, there are people out

there who are no good. >> even for home computers, is there such a thing as more effective parental controls or just talking to your kids, is that the most effective parental control? >> if your kids are bright, they are going to get around software that you install. educating them about having good internet safety practices, understanding what is true and what's not, how to avoid strangers, something we do in real life can be applied to on line. >> is there a trick to having these conversations with your kids, you talked about something you should say. is there anything else we should talk to our kids about. >> if your kids were biking around the neighborhood, you would give them the same advice, don't talk to strangers. >> technology advances quickly. how can parents compete with these internet savvy kids? >> it's really hard. i think you to have bring it up, make it a topic of conversation,

what are you doing on line, what you are use, what sites are you visiting, understand what your kids are doing to go back and look and see if that stuff is acceptable. >> every time you get used to one application, utterers its head. >> thank you for coming in. >> rains in they lie and mexico, people stranded by floods and 50,000 had power knocked out. hill sides gave way, sending mud on to roads and into homes and tropical storm boris formed off mexico's pacific coast. heavy rainfall and high winds forcing seaside community to say evacuate. for more on the system threatens mexico, we have the latest on boris. >> as it moves over land, going from a tropical storm now downgraded to a depression. we're seeing infrared satellite image. we can use it at night, as well.

they're waiting to see daylight advice i'm satellite images to see if there is circulation for it to be a depression or downgraded to a rem manual. moisture has been moving over land into mexico. as it loses intensity cut off from water, it's still going to cause mudslides, landslides and heavy flooding rain, and we already have through that whole boundary a possibility oh for development in parts of the gulf especially as that remnant ad to say that. that is something we will watch in the next days through mexico. >> a faulty bridge in delaware shut down because it is unsafe. that is causing major problems for commuters this morning. the bridge over the christina river was closed monday because its eight support columns are tilting. the 90,000 vehicles that cross that bridge are rerouted from route 495 to i-95, already one of the most crowded highways in

the country. >> we are 100% concerned about the safety and well being of everybody who uses this. if you ask me am i kept awake at night about this, this is sort of a defcon five from a transportation system. >> the bridge can support its own weight but not the stress of traffic. >> hundreds of workers sick, calling out of work for a second straight day on tuesday, bringing public transportation to a standstill in san francisco. buses, light rail, even the city's famous cable cars grinding to a halt. it comes a few days after they rejected a new contract. the agency claims everyone who called out sick needs official proof to get sick pay or they could be disciplined. >> a collection of letters written by former first lady jackie kennedy to an irish priest have been pulled from the auction block, written between 1950 and 1964 when father joseph

leonard died. the letterers were expected to fetch more than $1.3 million at auction in dublin later this month. al hallow's college which owns the letters said instead, it will work with mrs. kennedys family to best figure out a way to archive her correspondence with father leonard. >> video released by the taliban reportedly shows last weekend's handsover of u.s. soldier bowe bergdahl to u.s. special forces. president obama met for the first time with ukraine's president elect poroshenko, messaging $5 billion to ukraine's military. >> the anniversary of tienanmen square massacre. >> the lbgt community making advances for equal rights, but one part of the group continues to face hurdles in being accepted. >> the height proving too much for one crane operator. the rescue to bring him to

safety and other videos captured by our citizen journalists. >> we're back with more in just two minutes. nutes.

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.

>> the handover, new video this morning showing the taliban handing army sergeant bowe bergdahl over to u.s. special forces as anger over the deal gross on capitol hill. >> the midwest is picking up after a combination of hail, wind and rain slams the region. that storm system is now setting its sights on the eastern u.s. >> the deadly crack down on tienanmen square, remembering

that bloody day in chinese history. >> let's go back. >> the florida courtroom brawl that is now in the court of public opinion. >> good morning. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm john henry smith. brand new video shows the taliban turning over an american prisoner of war, sergeant bowe bergdahl to u.s. special forces. >> the tall ben just released the footage this morning. the pentagon is now reacting to this video. >> the pentagon is reviewing the video, adding there is no reason to doubt its authenticity, but now the focus is on the soldier's care. this is our first look of bowe bergdahl since the government exchanged prisoners from guantanamo bay for his release. a group of american special forces hit the ground and quickly approached bergdahl, who is with his captors. this exchange is causing controversy on capitol hill. senate intelligence committee

leaders admit they were aware of the potential trade three years ago, back then most senators were against the deal, amending the intelligence bill in 2012 to require the administration to give congress 30 days notice before doing deals involving gitmo detainees, that notice did not happen in this case, having some in congress calling out the oddion. >> it comes with some surprise and dismay that the transfers went ahead with no consultation, totally not following the law. >> i haven't had a conversation with the white house on this issue in a year and a half. if that's keeping us in the loop, then, you know, this administration is more arrogant than i thought they were. >> a spokeswoman with the national security council said the notice law does not apply in unique circumstances like this opportunity to rescue sergeant bergdahl, adding in this case 30 days notice could have endangered the soldier's life. both senators say the white house sent aides to personally

apologize for not letting them know about the exchange ahead of time. bergdahl is recovering in a u.s. military hospital in germany. >> coming up at 8:30 eastern, we'll go to one military community dealing with mixed emotions about sergeant bergdahl's return. >> the controversy surrounding the release followed president obama to europe, where he attended poland 25t 25th anniversary which freedom day. he joined leaders commemorating the end of soviet rule and beginning of the a sal dart movement. he spoke about the struggles the polish people endured to create a free country. president obama met with ukraine's new president elect poroshenko. they discussed obama's $1 billion pledge to beef up military support in the region. >> the united is committed to standing behind the ukrainian people and their aspirations, not just in the coming days and

weeks, but in the coming years. we're confident we can in fact create democracy that has strong relationships with europe. >> aljazeera is in warsaw and has more from today's event. >> president obama can't say it enough in his trip here, the united nato are there for poland including the baltics in the face of continued russian aggression. people are anxious, very nervous. there is a very long and bloody history as pointed out yesterday by the polish president himself standing next to president obama. he came here to warsaw's castle square early wednesday morning and delivered the message in person to the polish public. >> i've come to warsaw today on behalf of the united states, on behalf of the nato alliance to

reaffirm our unwaiving commitment to poland security. article five is clear an attack on one is an attack on all and as allies, we have a solemn duty, a binding treaty obligation to defend your territorial integrity and we will. we stand together now and forever for your freedom is ours. poland will never stand alone. >> before his speech here in castle square, president obama met with the ukrainian president elect petro poroshenko. promising to cooperate and energy aid vital in this part of the world. he had $5 million, a nominal amount for non-heatal aid, things like night vision goggles, body armor, communications equipment. the president goes to the g7 and of course is the g8 minus russia. he's going to further press european allies as he has done for some two months to keep the sanctions pressure on russia. european allies have been

reluctant, their economies integrated with russias. a lot of people in this part of the world would as you haver if stricter sanctions went in place. later in the week, he goes to d-day for the commemoration of the invasion of normandy in world war ii. seven world leaders will be gathered, including president putin. president obama has no plans to meet with him. they will be rubbing elbows and exchanging inform am greetings. putin has three bilateral's while in france with the heads of france, the u.k. and germany. >> aljazeera, warsaw. >> a torrential storm cutting across the midwest, nebraska hard hit where people were rescued from flooded homes. >> hail the size of your fist sending residents indoors, punching through war windows. >> 11 tornadoes ripped through several states. it's not over yet. this morning, the storm is on

the move. >> first came the warnings. >> tornado warning in effect until 5:30. >> then a blackened sky, signaling severe weather to come as reports of a tornado touched down in omaha, nebraska, packing with it 100-mile an hour winds, knocking down trees, tearing off roof took place and flipping over a tractor trailer. >> hold on. that's about it. all you can really do. just wait it out and hope to god nothing bad happens. >> tornado sitings were reported in wyoming and this one, caught on video in missouri valley, iowa. it's all part of powerful storms and torrential rains, crossing the great plains now making their way east. in the storm's wake, extreme flooding making streets rivers as rescue crews on rafts work around submerged cars leading residents to safety in parts of omaha. further north in norfolk, nebraska and neighboring iowa,

it was hail the size of tennis balls wreaking havoc, residents staying indoors for safety. the hail was so fierce, it shattered windshields at this car dealership while pelting homes, ripping paint off the siding. >> it come through like a freight train. it sounded like the world was coming to an end almost. it was bad. >> the sun did manage to make an appearance in nebraska, but quickly disappeared when strong winds kicked up this dust storm. >> meteorologist nicole mitchell joins us to tell us more about all the severe weather. >> we've had the storm system brewing in the midwest and another frontal boundary. you can see areas of heavy rain still this morning, but when it moved through, definitely some banding, so it kind of set up all in one line. a lot of what we saw was wind and hail damage, over 400 reports of severe weather, not as big a tornado day. we did have some isolated reports in nebraska, but so far all i've seen in terms of damage

is roof damage, siding damage from that, but the hail, for example, shattering through windows, really causing a lot of problems. because the system kind of lined up, it was dumping heavy rain in some of the same areas, so that's why even this morning, there's a lot of this continues to move out, we are seeing flooding problems in missouri. the system is moving along. we have heavy rain into illinois, starting to move into indiana. this is going to be our core for the rest of the day, so already some slight severe weather with this, but really the heavy rain is going to be a percentent problem as this moves along. not as much as yesterday, but a lot of places in the core of all of this, maybe one to three inches with isolated spots seeing even more. then the severe risk, not as much as yesterday, but the ohio river valley ahead of that system and also on the backside through portions of the plains, we could see some of that. as for the core of the rain, is a mentioned, around the ohio

river valley, a lot of the country pretty dry. back to you. >> a tight race in the primary for the senate in mississippi. the republican incumbent cochran appears headed for a run off with tea party candidate chris mcdaniel. cochran has 49% to daniel's near 50% of the vote. officials say it may take two days for the final tally. this race is considered one of many that could shape the mid term elections in november, especially with the gop hope to go regain control of the senate. >> it turns out that the v.a.'s problems with delay care and secret waiting lists weren't limited to one hospital in phoenix. in a letter sent to two u.s. senators. v.a. officials confirmed several situations existed in kansas, missouri, illinois and indiana but in much smaller numbers. 96 veterans had to wait more than 90 days for treatment at seven hospitals in those states. published reports suggest president obama is considering

the head of the cleveland lynn nick to replace eric shinseki as v.a. secretary. shinseki resigned as a result of the scandal. >> testimony continues in the case of an army sergeant accused of running a prostitution ring. sergeant first class gregory mcqueen had been working at a non-commissioned officer when sexual assault prevention officer at fort hood in texas, female soldiers have been testifying about being forced by mcqueen to have sex for money. he faces 21 counts of pandering, adultery and sexual assault. this will determine if the army moves forward with court martial of him. >> mike rogers denies accusations his agency is collecting america's driver's license photos for use in facial recognition programs. he confirmed the technology is used, but says it's restricted to foreign intelligence and counter terrorism targets. he says images of u.s. citizens would only be used if they were

linked to the investigation of a foreign subject. >> brazil's president is asking u.s. to stop spying on its allies, saying she wants to patch up relationships with washington but needs a clear sign that the n.s.a. has ended surveillance on that brazilian officials and herds. she canceled a state visit to washington last year after a release from edward snowden showed her phone had been hacked. >> last month's suicide attack in syria involving an american citizen is raising alarms in the white house. a family was shocked in florida when their son attacked. his actions have prompted a renewed focus on homegrown terrorists. >> the u.s. believes as many as 70 of its citizens have traveled to syria to train in sites. the concern is if and when they

return. that's why the top lawyer in the united states has announced he's creating a task force to deal with what he calls and escalating danger from homegrown terrorists. he says: >> the task force is made up of leaders from the u.s. justice department, the federal bureau of investigation and f.b.i. and u.s. attorney. >> the task force is not new. it was first put in place in 1995 after the domestic terrorist bomb attack in oklahoma city that same year. priorities shifted after the september 11 attacks to an overseas focus. now with an additional spotlight on domestic threats, there are questions about whether it's even necessary. >> we've had domestic terrorism as a problem in the united

states since our inception, and it's probably no worse or better than it was at the turn of the century. there needs to be more thought whether these actions that are definitely expanding the scope of our police powers, whether those are necessary and actually making us more secure. >> the justice democratic says terrorists have been behind more than two dozen incidents in the u.s. since the september 11 attacks and it's this kind of threat it hopes to stop. aljazeera, washington. >> results are expected later today from syrias presidential election, one that is almost certain to be in the current president bashar al assad's favor. only syrians living in government-held areas were allowed to vote tuesday. assad is poised to lead his war-torn country for a third seven year turn. oppositions forces in the u.s. calling the election a sham. >> in egypt aba landslide victory or al sisi, the

countries former military head. he won nearly 97% of the votes in presidential polls there. he led the overthrow of egypt's first democratically elected president, mohamed morsi last officer. president obama plans to speak with the new leader in the coming days. >> it's been 25 years since the bloody tienanmen square protests in china. hundreds of demonstrators lost their lives during a two day bloody military crackdown. 10,000 people were arrested and security has been beefed up around beijing this week. political protests are still a crime there. >> coming up in 20 minutes, we'll go to beijing for more on the 25th anniversary of the pro tests. we'll talk about where the country stands after that violent crackdown. >> baking and other foreign products. >> record pork prices.

>> my mom is the only thing i have. >> the straight a student trying to make a beeline off the streets in search of a better life for her and her family. >> mother nature showing her fury as a severe storm sets its sights on one midwestern town. that on other stories captured by our citizen journalists around the world.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. let's check videos captured by citizen journalists around the globe. >> students in syria protesting that countries presidential election by throwing red dye into the river, symbolizing the blood shed in that conflict. it was part of a wider campaign. president bashar al assad is expected to win another seven year term in office. >> some calling that the blood election. >> rescue crews in singapore climbing to the top of a 130-foot tower to rescue a construction worker on this crane.

the civil defense force releasing this footage of the operation. the 39-year-old man was not hurt and said he felt too weak to climb down from the crane's operator cabin. >> mother nature showing off her power in the midwest with severe weather hitting the region. the super cell is approaching garden city, kansas. >> very ominous. >> up next, the deadly virus causing the price of pork to surge, but first an attorney for one of two 12-year-old girls accused of nearly stabbing another girl to death wants the case moved to juvenile court. wisconsin law automatically charges juveniles at duties in attempted murder cases. they are accused of luring their friend to the woods in wisconsin and stabbing her to please a fictional horror character northern as slender man. an attorney for one girl said his client needs mental help. police released a 911 call from a bicyclist who found the victim

after she crawled out of the woods. >> she said she's having trouble breathing. she said she was stabbed multiple times. >> stabbed multiple times? >> yeah. >> ok, sir, are you with her now? >> yes. >> is she awake? >> she's awake. >> she is breathing? >> yeah, she's breathing. she said she can take shallow breaths. she's alert. >> the victim identified her attackers. they were caught after setting off for a nearby forest where on line stories claimed the slender man character lives. >> boston marathon bombing suspect dzhokar tsarnaev told his mother he expect to die. he said that he would see his mother in this life or in the next one. he's currently awaiting trial in connection with the fatal bombing at the boston marathon. he could receive the death penalty if convicted. >> the former mayor of charlotte north carolina pleaded guilt to

corruption charges, admitting he took bribes in exchange for helping developers. he was caught accepting airline tickets from an f.b.i. agent posing as a businessman. he resigned in march less than six months after he took office. he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. >> hundreds of san francisco transit workers are sick or that's what they're telling supervisors. they called off work, bringing public transportation to a standstill in the city by the bay. buses, light rail, even the city's famous cable cars grinding to a halt comes a few days after they rejected to new contract. the agency claims everyone who called off sick needs official proof to get sick pay or could be disciplined. >> wal-mart workers are walking off the job in 20 cities today, asking for higher pay and better working conditions ahead of the annual shareholder's meeting friday. they want an end to retaliation

for workers who go on strike. 2/3 of employees are paid $25,000 or less per year. the country made $16 billion in profit last year. >> a deadly virus threatens the u.s. pork industry, it's already killed millions of pigs across the country. the virus is driving up pork prices to near record highs. >> here on the rolling landscape of america's pork belt lurks a quiet killer. in december, craig, like most of his neighbors lost thousands of young pig lets to a diarrhea virus. the disease wiped out 10% of the pigs in the united states. adult pigs tend to survive, but the death rate among pig lets is nearly 100%. >> i received a call from the manager that said hey, something's wrong. it's like being hit with a punch in the gut when you first realize what's going to happen.

we'd already known across the united states how devastating it was going to be, and it was just as devastating for us, wean though we knew what was coming. >> the latest threat to the u.s. pork supply originated in the 1970's in britain, but the current strain is believed to come from china. this year it's wiped out an estimated 7 million to 8 million pigs. the hardest hit are not farmers, but consumers. pork prices have jumped from an average of $3.64 a pound last year and could hit a record $3.90 this year. >> it is new. we've never experienced in the united states, so we have to learn about the virus, how to handle it, what it does. number two is it's had a significant impact, we think and it's going to have a bigger impact in the future on supplies. >> researchers say pork remains safe to eat. the virus has no direct impact on humans, but farmers waiting months to make sure the virus is gone before bringing in new pig

lets. >> pig farms have had tight security measures, these haz-mat suits, the plastic booties are meant to keep disease out. now those measures are tighter than ever. >> it was economically devastating, but it was emotionally disturbing, as well. we don't want to go to work thinking we have to euthanize pig lets. >> farmers in indiana and elsewhere ever seen the virus return, devastating, but lethal the second time around, suggesting the immunity pigs develop has its limits. they wonder when and if the deadly virus will end. >> so far this year, the number of hogs coming to market has been down by 4%, but weights have been up, so the actual supply has only been down by 1%. >> let's get a look at what temperatures we can expect across the nation today. nicole mitchell is here with that. >> good morning, even already this morning, it's been a little

on the sticky side, parts of the south into the 70's. we've had the moist flow help to go fuel the thunderstorms. it's definitely going to be a sultry forecast again. a lot of the south in the heat of the day gets into the 90's. with the system, some 70's and 80's, although when you're right under it, chicago at 64 and then the northeast into the day tomorrow will cool some if you are one of those areas of rain. in the meantime, the real hot stuff arizona to west texas, hundred degree temperatures, that's why we still have excessive heat advisories, so be very careful to drink lots of water outside and try to take frequent breaks. tomorrow, a lot of that same heat, we cool slightly into the northeast, that's because the rain is going to be a should the region. >> back to you guys. >> the vision in the ranks over the deals release of sergeant bowe bergdahl. some say the release to bring him home has awakened old pains.

>> the courtroom smackdown that is giving new meaning to oral arguments before a judge. >> bringing vincent va van goes severed ear back to life. >> a look back on the deadly crackdown on china's democratic movement in tienanmen square 25 years ago today, including the iconic image of the lone protestors standing in the way of a row of tanks. we'll look closer at how the country has changed since that violent day.

>> sit down, i'll take care of it. >> words lead to violence in a

florida courthouse. welcome to al jazeera america. >> we'll have more on that heated exchange ahead in our next half hour. the lbgt opportunity has made advances, but one group faces hurdles to being accepted. >> capturing a snapshot of the universe. the photo shedding new lefty on the heavens. >> new video from the taliban showing the moment a u.s. soldier was freed. this is the first time we've seen the soldier since the obama administration traded five taliban prisoners from guantanamo bay for his release. we have reaction from his hometown. >> bowe bergdahl has been the talk of the town in killeen texas, a community of military personnel and their families, a city used to welcoming home all

u.s. soldiers as heroes. on this day, people at this barbecue stand aren't sure what to make of bergdahl. the deal the u.s. made to bring him home and accounts by former comrades that he left his post before he was captured. >> supposedly our president made a trade with some of the top taliban that are willing to go back to work doing what they were doing, and now we find out that he kind of deserted. >>less baker's family have lived in killeen six generations. he said bergdahl should be forced to face the accusations against him. >> other people died because of what he had done and now we're in a mess. >> according to a member of bergdahl's unit, six soldiers died while searching for the prisoner of war. three of those soldiers were from texas, killed by road side bombs in 2009. people here in their home state say bergdahl's return has

reawokenned the pain for those soldiers lost. >> i think i would demand the government to look into it if my son or daughter died needlessly. he needs to be punished for his actions if he deserted. the government has actions that they could take against him. >> jointly chiefs chairman has said the army may investigate allegations of bergdahl's desertion but like any american he is innocent until proven guilty. >> missy says after hearing officials in washington praise bergdahl as a hero, she's lost trust in the government's promises. >> i just feel like we're being lied to as a nation and that maybe something's much deeper. i would really like some more answers. >> until then, she says, she'll withhold judgment on someone the military community considers one of its own.

>> new reports claim bergdahl left behind a letter the night he disappeared five years ago saying he didn't support the u.s. effort in afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life. >> relatives of three americans killed by u.s. launched drone strikes will not appeal the dismissal against the obama administration. a federal judge talking abouted the suit. the drone strikes in yemen killed a muslim cleric and his son. his family members released a statement saying they have lost faith in the legal system. the government says he was an operational terrorist working for al-qaeda in yemen. >> in syria, officials started counting votes in the presidential election. the only surprise may be the margin of victory for current president bashar al assad. syrian state t.v. reported voting was extended several hours to handle the massive in flux of voters.

opposition forces and the u.s. are calling the polls a charade with refugees in willing or unable to vote. we are joined by nick schiffron in beirut by phone. >> right now, we've got reports of counting ballots and determination for later today or this week on the winner of the election. no one is waiting for that announcement. as you suggested, it's very clear that bashar al assad will win a third seven year term and the critics of the regime, the opposition, the west say that yesterday was a charade, yesterday, half the country was being bombed and the other half forced to vote for this man, who's led this war that's now killed 160,000 people over the last few years. the fear is by the u.s. and the opposition that he'll use the vote in order to continue to crush the opposition and continue to refuse to negotiate

politically. >> the u.s. says that assad has no more credibility today than he did yesterday, but we've seen images of people voting and cheering for him. is this election assad's way of showing the world its control over syria? >> i think it's less about control than showing the world he's not going anywhere even if half the country is so dangerous that they couldn't vote. it was simply too dangerous for them to have polling stations. what i think the regime would argue is this is the beginning of the political transition from their points of view, that now that the people have elected him, then he can go about making decisions that will lead to a transition, that will lead to an end of the war, but again, the west and opposition do not think much is going to change. the fighting and the dying will continue. >> aljazeera's nick schiffron on the phone from beirut, lebanon. >> new attacks recordly by boko haram in nigeria, suspected

fighters killing dozens of villagers according to local lawmakers. in one attack, the gunman disguised as soldiers fired on a church compound. several military officers were found guilty of aiding the group. the country's president has been under increasing pressure to reign in boko haram after hundreds of school girls were abducted last month. >> iran's leaders face international pressure. the u.s. and six world powers urge tehran to speed up its promised cooperation with the u.n. nuclear watchdog. the agency is investigating suspected atomic bomb research by iran, a charge the country denies. iran and six world powers have to meet a deadline next month to negotiate a long term deal to curb iran's nuclear program. >> you tube is back on line in turkey after two months in the dark. a turkish court declared the ban imposed by the foreign minister

unconstitutional. the court says citizens have the right to express and disseminate their thoughts and opinions by speech, in writing or pictures or through other media. the ban on media sites were imposed after protests across turkey in may. >> china marks 25 years since the tiananmen square protests. 20,000 anti communist protestors were arrested during the bloody two day crackdown and hundreds, possibly thousands lost their lives. who can forget it is image of one protestor standing up as tanks barreled through the square. despite pushback from the government, people are still fighting today for democratic freedom in china. we're joined by adrien brown in beijing. you covered the events in 1989. what was that like? >> it was hard not to get caught up in the euphoria.

on some days, up to a million people were marching through central beijing, relishing in the novelty of calling for their government to be more open, of calling for more democracy. remember that replica of the statue of liberty paraded in tiananmen square. they were tumultuous times. no one ever expected that the people's liberation arm would fire on the people using live rounds. some images remained seared in my memory. i recall two bodies fluted by tanks, the treadmill marks still visible. i remember the anger of people after the crackdown, hurling abuse at the soldiers. they couldn't believe that the army would turn on the people. they believe the army was there to protect them. for a time, it seemed back then that perhaps the communist party itself, its future was in doubt. >> adrien, what's the mood in

china today? >> well, as you can imagine, around tiananmen square, the security measures have truly been draconian. there are police trucks there, firetrucks, tourists have been able to enter the square but only if they show their i.d. to filter out journalists in the square. it remains off limit to us. that is a measure, a reflection of just how nervous the government has been about this most sensitive of anniversaries. they will be glad when today is over. of course, we've had hundreds of people rounded up during the past few weeks, dissidents, human rights lawyers, journalists, some of them have been charged with causing an offense causing disturbance and they could possibly be charged in the coming days. >> live in beijing, thank you so much. >> here with more now on the 25th anniversary is gordon change, the author of the coming

collapse of china. thanks for being with us this morning. let's start with that, the crack down 25 years ago depended on the military following orders. would that happen again? would they follow the orders of the central government? >> we really don't know, because the military has become a power unto itself. it nominally reports to the chinese party, so it is a private army, but nonetheless is the motor powerful faction in the party. militaries generally don't want to support leaders who they think they're going to lose. we've seen this in so many other countries, so we don't know what the chinese military would do the next time. >> how would you compare the china of today to the china of 1989 which spurred on these protests. >> it's a very different country, of course. the one crucial difference is that today, i don't think many chinese people believe in a one party state. they don't think that it's

appropriate for a modernizing society, which means that the communist party can keep itself in place only because of coerce and it's very good at that and also the economy and the economy right now is stumbling. it causes a problem for the party. >> a lot of china watchers ever long said that the key to the communist party maintaining control is continued growth in the economy. how long can the communist party count on that? >> i don't think for very long. the reason is china is growing if it's growing at all in one or 2%, not the 7% they claim and the country clearly headed to a debt cries of historic proportions. the only way the party has been able to keep growth has been to pile on debt. so we see ghost cities and high speed rail lines to in that. chinese economy is at a deflection point, it's in trouble. >> we have seen the arab spring three years ago, in 1989, the beijing spring. would the outcome of tiananmen

square been different with the social media resources available to protestors today. >> i think it would have been different. in 1989, protests spread to 370 cities other than beijing, but they spread slowly, because essentially, you had only phone and fax. today you've got social media and we've seen in china many protests occur spontaneously over the years because of social media. that dynamic is changing the country. >> what you see every year on the or his is a real crack down on line, for chinese citizens, even foreign journalists trying to access information on line. thank you can the communist party continue to squelch information? >> they're very good at that, the most sophisticated internet controls of any country. eventually, this is going to break down. the chinese people know, they're already having national conversations which the communist party doesn't like. it's just a question of that

moment when fear disappears and the chinese people congregate like they did in 1989. 1.2 million people in tiananmen square, 370 other cities. >> do you see the communist leaders in beijing going on a path toward democracy or are they doing business as usual there? >> they're getting worse. the current ruler when he came to power in 2012, everyone was hopeful, but he's attacked civil society, which has disappointed everybody. this is the communist party. it has a system, it can't really liberalize without failing. it didn't work in the soviet union. chinese officials saw that. they are not going to liberalize. >> we appreciate your perspective this morning. john henry, these are pictures of when i was in tiananmen square five years ago, covering the 20th anniversary of the crackdown there. while he was reporting on the

anniversary, undercover police attempted to block me from reporting multiple times. >> what do you remember about that time? >> in beijing at the time, we knew we couldn't report from tiananmen square from the anniversary. what we were curious about is what would happen and what happened is as i started my report on the square, undercover police officers approached the camera and literally went like this in front of my face, they opened up newspapers. they didn't say a word to me. they didn't try to arrest me, which i would say is progress, because i was expecting that might happen. instead, they blocked my bat to report by opening newspapers in front of the camera. >> as we've seen, there are reports today that blocking is continuing. >> adrien brown had a hard time getting into tiananmen square today as i imagine any other journalist would. >> a victory for advocates of transgender rights, a federal board ruled medicare may to have pay for sex reassignment

surgeries. advocates say the move adds another layer of protection for members of the lbgt community who suffer the most. why transgenders lag behind lbgt rights. >> less bean, gay, transsexual, by gender walk hand-in-hand campaigns on capitol hill. when it comes to equal rights, the t. lags behind. gay rights activists have had plenty to celebrate. for now, france gender people cannot join the military. although defense secretary chuck hagel said that policy should be reviewed. when it comes to workplace discrimination, transgunnedders don't enjoy the same protection gays have. 21 states have laws banning

employers from discriminating against gay workers, but only 18 explicitly protect transgunnedder workers. part of the problem is visibility. estimates suggest transgender people make up less than half a% of americas population. a poll found while 90% of americans know someone who is gay or lesbian, only 8% know a transgender person. groups say that divide makes awareness all the more important. activists are celebrating this milestone, the first transperson on the cover of time magazine. actress laverne cox. the hope is it will draw attention to what some consider america's next civil rights frontier. >> the decision to cover the surgery by medicare ends a ban put in place back in 1981. reassignment surgery can run $7,000 to $50,000. >> a spectacular look at

galaxies far, far away. it may be able to help with how stars and planets are formed. >> we are truly just a small speck in the universe. amazing. >> the showdown in the florida courtroom that is now made it into the court of public opinion.

>> this, is what we do. >> al jazeera america. >> welcome to al jazeera america. just ahead, the teen working to create a better life for herself while trying to overcome homelessness. >> first, a florida judge checking in to anger management after he allegedly punched an attorney in court. >> if you want to fight, let's go out back [bleep]

>> wow. >> the judge got into a heated argument with the public defender, cursing at him before asking him to step out off of the court to fight. deputies stood near the door as the men walked into the hallway and didn't step into stop it. neither of the men have been arrested and murphy is taking a temporary leave of his post. with us this morning to discuss the legal fallout is jami floyd. good morning. >> good morning. >> have you ever seen anything like this or heard of anything like this? >> i've never seen anything like it. i've been in courtrooms longer than i want to say and covering the courts for more than 15 years. i've seen a lot of outbursts, outbursts in court are very common, but i have never seen a judge lose his cool to the point of getting physical, never, ever, and it shouldn't happen. >> we've heard the public defender is not going to file charges and yet could the judge be open to legal repercussions. >> oh, yes, there are rules of court. every member of the bar is

subject to the rules of court, but there are also rules of judicial conduct that apply specifically to judges, so this judge, i think is in a lot of trouble and should be. the lawyer's been reassigned, you can't have that lawyer in front of that judge again. this is very problem taig. i think they both should be deeply chased. >> sounds like looks like the judge is going to check himself into anger management. sounds like you don't think that's enough. >> i don't think that's enough. i think the judge is -- look, they were both out of line. the lawyer never should have stepped around the podium. i don't care how angry he is. i thought the lawyer was in his right, representing his client. he has a right to demand a speedy trial. the judge needs to look at the constitution again. once the judge said let's take this out back. you don't need to go around the podium and go out back with the judge, but the judge is the one most responsible for maintaining decorum in the courtroom. if you don't have that judicial temperament, we've all heard

that expression, then you really don't belong on the bench. we're under a lot of pressure. the. defenders have 50 to 100 cases at any given time, they say 400 cases a year in some jurisdictions and judges have hundreds of cases. i've always said i don't envy the judge, so the system is being crushed by the intense pressure of volume. i understand it, but if you don't have the temperament, you need to rethink the professional choices you've made. >> it does take two to tango. certainly the public defender didn't have to walk in the back with him. >> absolutely right. each moment that you're in the courtroom, you need to be thinking about your role in the courtroom, and now we've got cameras. we've got a check on your behavior, and we've all been witness now to what happened. you know, the funniest thing if you watch the whole video, the client stands there the entire time, never leaves the podium while all this is going on out back, the client stands there,

the most dignified person in that courtroom is the person who has been charged with a crime. >> isn't that something? does this judge deserve to sit on the bench given this behavior? >> i say no. look, i'm not the person who's going to do the judicial review. there's a review board, a presiding judge in every courthouse. those are the people to whom this judge will have to answer, but i think this judge needs to be removed. this is beyond the pale of acceptable. >> ms. floyd, aljazeera's legal contributor, thank you so much. >> a record number of homeless children are enrolled in american public schools, the largest populations in states including new york, texas, and california. as aljazeera's jennifer london met with one in los angeles, living in the shelter, she's not letting her circumstances hold her back. >> for the past six months, this small room shared by two families has been the closest thing to a home 7-year-old

jamira has ever known. before moverring to this temporary shelter, she spent a few months at another homeless shelter on skid row. >> sometimes, you feel like you don't want to keep going. >> she's had no choice. when she was 12, her family left peru and illegally crossed the mexican border in arizona. she's been homeless ever since. >> i think everything that's happening i go my fault. sometimes i say oh, if my mom had never had me, this wouldn't be happening. >> so you're blaming yourself? >> i just want to give my mom everything she gives me, because, i don't know, my mom is like -- she's the only thing i have. if something happens to her, i have nothing. i'll be like more than homeless. i will have nothing. >> 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. ♪ >> but staying in school hasn't been easy and she carries her burden alone. none of her friends know she's homeless. >> why is it so important for you to keep that a secret? >> i don't want them to judge me. >> you don't want them to judge you. and do you think they would? >> i don't know. i'm scared. i'm scared of failing and of being judged. >> her deeply held secret is actually shared by thousands throughout l.a. unified. there are roughly 14,000 homeless students. >> our kids come to school not knowing where they're going to sleep that night, when they're going to see their family again, maybe haven't slept, maybe haven't eaten. >> anna quintero is a counselor in the homeless program focusing on getting students basic

necessities. we can provide backpacks, school supplies, hygiene items. we're able to provide clothing assistance. >> those basics are a lifeline for jamira and so is school and wheels, tutoring and monitoring homeless students throughout southern california. >> you can definitely see their self-esteem go up, their self confidence rise. >> here i feel safe, because they protect the kids. they protect us. they take care of us, and then they treat us like a real family. >> on this day, a surprise. >> who signed up for college? who got accepted into college? do you guys know who that is? as a reward from school on wheels, we have a thousand dollars scholarship. >> despite what is put in front of her, not knowing where she'll sleep at night.

she knows her education will be her ticket to getting off the streets for good. aljazeera, los angeles. >> the latest government data indicates that for the first time in at least four decades, a majority of students in much of the south and west are poor. >> let's get a look at the wet weather across the "u.s.a. today." meteorologist nick hitch is here with that. >> the system bringing rain to indiana, will continue to move through the ohio voluntarily over the course of the day. here's how all of this spread through the region. this goes up the next 24 hours. you can see that core of heavier rain eventually into the day tomorrow, then that spreads to the east coast. this is hitting a few people as it moves its way along. one good piece of news with this system, yesterday, over 400 reports of severe weather. most of that wind and hail also some isolated tornado reports. today, not as high of a risk, so we'll still see some of those

reports, but not as widespread. we also still have the area back through the southern plains that could be under that arriving, as well. but as we look across the country in general, this is kind of the core of the wet weather today. a lot of the rest of the country stays pretty much on the dry side, so there's a lot of good places out there, too. >> summer coming in roaring like a loy i don't know so far. nicole mitch, thank you so much. >> a replica of vincent van goes ear is on display. he apparently cut it off during a psychotic episode in the late 1800s. the replica was grown using genetic material from a living relative of the artist when the cells were shaped into an ear. they were using a 3-d printer. visitors to the museum can talk to that ear through a microphone. >> if it talks back, we've really got news at that point. tomorrow, more reaction to the taliban video showing the release of american prisoner of war bowe bergdahl.

>> we'll talk to a military expert about the planning that went into that recovery operation. thanks for joining us this morning. >> ahead in just two minutes, much more on the 25t 25th anniversary of tiananmen square and the escalating violence in ukraine. the superstars. >> i love the underdog role, it's us against the world. we have this fight and this pride to play for the country. >> pushing for success. >> we've gone so far forward, the game's really really grown. >> gaining popularity. >> people are crazy for it. >> is now the time for u.s. soccer? >> anything is possible. i believe that this u.s. team, we can beat anybody. >> the stream, saturday 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america