>> it was here on these shores that the tide was turned in that common struggle for freedom. what more powerful manifestation of america's commitment to human freedom than the sight of wave after wave after wave of young men boarding those boats to liberate theme they had never met. >> world war ii veterans,

returning to the shores of normandy where 70 years ago today, they took part in the largest amphibious invasion in history. it was a turning point in the war that helped the allies eventually defeat hitler's third reich. where soldiers paid the ultimate price. >> june 6, 1944, nearly 160,000 allied troops embarked on the biggest am figurous military seattle ever. >> they crossed the english channel to storm five beaches in northern france. 5,000 soldiers died on that fate fall day. >> it became the catalyst for topping the the nazi regime and changed the course of history. >> today marks the 70t 70th anniversary of d-day, 17 heads of state, including president obama are in france to pay tribute to the soldiers who died that day and to honor those

who survived. >> we come to remember why america and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at this moment of maximum peril. we come to tell the story of the men and women who did it, so that it remains seared into the memory of a future world. >> mike viqueira joins us now from normandy. we heard from president obama who spoke a little earlier this morning. talk to us about what you're seeing and the atmosphere around this special day. >> well, president obama began his day at the place commonly known to americans as omaha beach. the american cemetery here, a solemn cemetery, just a moving and incredible place to be. seventy years ago acknowledge day of the air full of smoke, the water full of blood as

president obama said in his remarks just a few moments ago here, talked about with the french president, and president obama came here to visit remarks. this is the american cemetery. 172 acres, 9,387 americans are interred here. the largest sea invasion remains in the history of the world has been observed by president after president, ronald reagan famously spoke here in 1984 and every president since then has visited and delivered remarks. president obama stuck to the script largely, praised the veterans, praised france for its part, but also got personal for a moment. >> as i was landing on marine one, i told my staff i don't think there's a time where i miss my grandfather more, where i'd be more happy to have him here than this day, so we have

to tell their stories for them. we have to do our best to uphold in our own lives the values that they were prepared to die for. >> and from here, both president obama and the french pot to a larger ceremony, international gathering of 16 world leaders about an hour west of here at sword beach where allied forces landed, ceremonies including the queen of england and other dignitaries at that location. >> at that large are event, he may run into russian president vladimir putin. what are people saying about mr. putin being there? >> well, a lot of people view it as a distraction and a lot of people point to the actions and the heroism from the old soviet union and russia during world war ii. a lot of people forget the fact that the eastern front as bloody and violent as it was on the western front, the russian people made incredible

sacrifices, as well as the ukrainian people, belarus people, all the people of the soviet union. given the circumstances in ukraine, a lot of people view this as a distraction. putin does have those three meetings with gee seven leaders. president obama will not meet him. they will be rubbing elbows, there's no question. president obama said they very well might speak, just not in a formal meeting around this event today. >> mike viqueira, reporting from the american cemetery in normandy, france. thank you. >> coming up at 7:30, an emotional journey for two world war ii veterans. we are along for the ride as they board the same plane that one of them piloted and the other parachuted from on d-day. >> stay with aljazeera america throughout the morning for our continuing coverage of the d-day remembrance. we'll have live coverage of the international ceremony starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern time.

>> senators struck a bipartisan deal aimed at fixing the department of veteran affairs. if passed, the bill would reduce wait times and hire more doctors and nurses at v.a. hospitals. it would law veterans to see private doctors if they live more than 40 miles from the nearest v.a. the acting secretary visited phoenix where parties died waiting for care. he is working to improve transparency. a new out did it will be released monday. >> communication, openness and transparency, and that's what i'm determined that this department will deliver. we have to work to earn back the trust of our veterans and we'll do that one veteran at a time. >> the proposed legislation will be debated in the senate next week. >> president obama is making no apologies for the prisoner swap with the taliban that freed army sergeant bow bergdahl. the president has been taking heat from members of congress

who say they should have been consulted about this deal. speaking in brussels thursday, president obama said bergdahl was not a political football. >> we had a prisoner of war, whose health had deteriorated, and we were deeply concerned about and we saw an opportunity and wee seized it and i make no apologies for that. >> the obama administration said the taliban had threatened to kill bergdahl if the deal to release him was told in add june a handful of american soldiers were said to die trying to locate bergdahl. we spoke to the mother of one of those men. >> second lute darrin andrews died in a road side bombing in afghanistan on september 4, 2009. a rocket power grenade caught his eye. >> the two guys standing next to him, he hit them forward to get

them out of the way and threw himself on top of them. as he did that, he took a direct hit. >> his mother says when the army presented her with darrin's coffin, they offered this explanation. >> they were out on a mission to capture a high-ranking taliban that was instrumental in their strategic organization, and they had accomplished that, and they had sent him back wherever they sent the prisoners. they were continuing on their mission. >> that's what the andrews family believed for five years. after bowe bergdahl's release, the phone started to ring. sandra and drew said her son's former comrades said now that bergdahl was no longer in jeopardy, they had another version of the story to tell. >> i said i don't remember us looking for any taliban. >> andrews mother said the

soldiers told her the mission had been to find bergdahl. >> so now, we are faced with was all of it a lie? what was the mission? if he was killed looking solely for this young man that had left, i'm extremely angry, extremely angry. >> the army has said it will investigate claims to bergdahl deserted. if found guilty, he should receive the maximum sentence for desserting at a time of war, death by a firing squad. >> he deserves the full letter of the military system for a deserter. >> to the mother of second lt. andrews, the situation is clear. >> i think it's a lie. i think he's lying to the public. you know, he deserted, he's a

traitor, and if obama needs a hero, i think we've got a whole lot of men we can present. i think we have a lot of heroes, but he's not one of them. >> she says one of those heroes is her son, his dog tags hang around her neck, covering the feeling of betrayal, she says, she now carries in her heart. >> "the new york times" cites a classified military report which says he had wandered off bases several times in the u.s. and afghanistan before he was captured by the taliban in 2009. >> north korea says it has detained another american for answering the country illegally. officials say the u.s. citizen entered the communist country as a tourist in april. they are investigating to see if he carried out acting that were inappropriate for a tourist. a japanese news agency said the man was part of a tour group to

north korea and detained after allegedly leaving a bible in a hotel where he had been staying. he brings the total number of americans held to three. >> a suspected boko haram attack in northeastern nigeria has left 200 civilians dead. men dressed at soldiers targeted churches in three villages in borno state. the military was warned issue advance but did nothing to prevent it. boko haram kidnapped 270 school girls in april. they've been doing battle with the nigerian government for five years. >> the parents of the slender man stabbing victim say their daughter's health is improving. the still unidentified girl was stabbed 19 times by two classmates. her parents called her a fighter and say they are both stunned and saddened by the tragedy. her attackers, who are also 12 years old say they were inspired

by a mythical creature known as slender man. the two are charged at duties for attempted murder. >> a shooting on the campus of a seattle university leaves one student dead and three injured. >> the accused shooter is now in custody after some brave students wrestled him to the ground. classes are canceled today. >> yes, they are. the university president said students and faculty are still in shock over the tragedy. seattle pacific is a small christian university about 10 minutes from downtown seattle. last night, more than 1,000 people gathered to pray together. as for the accused shooter, people say he was not a student at the school and he is now under arrest, thanks to a quick thinking student who jumped into action when the gunman had to reload. >> with only one week left of school, some students were in the middle of final exams on the campus of this quiet christian university, when gunshots range out. police say a lone suspect armed

with a shotgun walked into a campus building and started shooting. he hit four people, then began reloading his gun. that's when police say a student, serving as a building monitor seized the moment. he pepper sprayed the shooter and tackled him. more students pinned him down. >> regular citizens stepped up and tried to do the right thing. in this case, i believe they prevented a more horrible tragedy. >> some say the shooter forced to reload gave students the chance to take him down, a moment the children in newtown connecticut and movie goers in aurora colorado did not have because those gunman had automatic weapons. congress's assaults weapon bill of 2013 would have outlawed those guns along with high capacity magazine clips, but the bill died last april. >> all in all, this was a pretty

shameful day for washington. >> the president promised the effort was not over. since then, more shootings, santa barbara last week and seattle this week. >> the epidemic of gun violence that again come to seattle. gun violence is haunting this nation. >> seven states adopted tighter gun control restrictions, while others have loosened their laws since 2012. on the federal level, connecticut senator richard blumenthal announced that he plans to revive the gun control legislation rejected in the wake of newtown. he believes it could have prevented some of the shootings that have happened since. >> a canadian man accused of going on a a rambo style shooting spree is now under arrest. 24-year-old justin berg killed three members of the police and shot two our officers in new brunswick. he was found wearing military

fatigues and carrying high powered weapons. he also had a crossbow, knives attached to his pants and a large quantity of ammunition. >> he just had the most blank look in his face like he was on a mission, ready to do something. my stomach dropped, i had the worst feeling in my gut. >> businesses and schools were shut down during the manhunt. they are reopened now. shootings are very rare in this area of canada. there wasn't a single homicide reported last year. >> ukraine's president elect poroshenko will be sworn in this weekend. several senators will be on hand along with vice president biden. both the u.s. and u.k. are calling on russia to open talks with the new government. poroshenko was elected may 25, the first election since the former president fled in the midst of protests. >> police in thailand arrested

an anti coup activist for violating an order to report to military officials. he led on on line campaign rallying rallies against martial law. he was arrested thursday. hundreds of people have been arrested since the military overthrew the government. it is not clear who is held or where. we spoke to one journalist in bangkok whose just been released by the army. >> detaining people was one of the first things the military rulers did when they seized power last month. people from all walks of life, from the former prime minister to business people with political ties, to academics. just before the military junta told this reporter to report. >> one journalist told us we were here as a gesture of being

warned, as if he used the word that we were handed a yellow card as in the football terminology. some of them even stopped criticizing the coup. >> he was well treated and when released signed an agreement that he would not participate in antti coo protests. there is no official number of detainees. many are held for just a few days. a human rights group estimates there are 200 held, but not knowing the exact number is part of the problem. >> we would like the government to actually have daily figures, how many people that they have been detained, how many people have been released on which day, and also the procedures of how do they release people. we want to know they are safe, back to the family.

>> holding events they say is going to bring happiness to thailand. this one here at victory monument, the spot of the biggest anti coup protest. >> the man ruling the country has said happiness is one of his top priorities. those who support him feel that some of their fellow thais need to be detained to move the country forward. >> they also have been detained. they have to be part of the reconciliation pros. the army would not have detained them if they are not wrong. >> a formal reconciliation process is in the works by the army, including the set up of centers designed to bring both sides of the deep political divide together. what's unclear, just how that will be done and if free food and music will be enough to mend those divisions. aljazeera, bangkok. >> the military takeover in thailand caused a surge in mobile data usage. thais have been swapping information and searching the

internet for reliable use. data usage spiked may 22 and remained high since then. >> severe weather making its way across the country. >> for more, we turn to meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> there's been a few days now with the same system refiring along similar lines. looking at the broad picture, a lot of what happened in the east coast moved out with those areas of rain yesterday, but more storms fired through the day as we got into yesterday afternoon. wind reports were our biggest problem. one loss of life reported in arkansas. the one confirmed is a tree falling on a van full of people, a lot of trees down and power lines down this morning. this is the area we're watching as our firing line again today. doesn't look too impressive right now but once we get into the heat of the day with all the instability. showers and storms especially in oklahoma, because of that, we

still have severe thunderstorm watches and warnings, wind and hail today the primary threat. also through this core, some areas of heavy rain, so we'll see areas of flash flooding again. >> lawmakers in new jersey considering a controversial bill. >> it would allow terminally end people to end their own lives. a closer look at the debate over doctor assisted suicides. >> high hopes for a triple crown winner as california chrome tries to make horse racing history. could the pursuit of the elusive crown inspire new interest in the sport of kings. >> the big number of the day, the big price one big bank may have to pay for its part in the 2008 financial meltdown. if i told you that a free ten-second test

could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business.

trwith secure wifie for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. >> the justice department coming down hard on another big bang is the subject of today's big number and it's big, $12 billion. >> that happens to be the amount that bank of america is negotiating to settle its part in the mortgage cries, but the north carolina bank may wind up

paying more, even topping the record $13 billion settlement j.p. morgan shelled out last year to settle similar claims. >> $5 billion would help homeowners reduce principle amounts and pay for blight removal in neighborhoods. >> this would be the second settlement this year for bank of america, paying out $6 billion to the federal housing agency back in march. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. >> why anti viral software may not be enough to protect you from computer hackers. first a look at temperatures across the nation today, meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. nicole. >> good morning, they definitely had warm stuff already today. as we start off, houston 76, northern tear of the country is the dividing line with the system going through causing the severe weather. slightly cooler in the northeast, the rain moves out, starts to rebound into the upper 70's. hot stuff through the south,

including the heatwave into the southwest, so these heat advisories have expanded parts of california to texas with a lot of these temperatures running in the hundreds, like that one for el paso today. starting the weekend, still a lot of place comfortable. even on the warm side, chicago, 82 degrees is what we're expecting into tomorrow. >> another toasty day in the southwest then. >> delaware officials are inspecting every major bridge in the state. they want to make sure no other bridges have the same problem as the i-495 bridge. that span was closed earlier this week because its supporting columns tilting, the governor set aside $2 million for repairs. more than 90,000 motorists cross that bridge every day. >> it's been a year since edward snowden first exposed the national security agencies mass surveillance of americans' phone and internet use. the impact was felt in washington thursday where the

senate intelligence committee held a hearing to discuss the u.s.a. freedom act. last month, the house passed the bill which would stop bulk collection of american phone records by the n.s.a. a new campaign to reset the net is calling for increased security protections on line. >> in the past 12 months, it's estimated roughly 432 million personal internet accounts in the united states have been hacked through cyber security breaches. that's 432 million. that's why this privacy and data security expert says to protect yourself on line. >> the first thing you want to do is make sure that you have anti viral software on your computer and that it's up to date and running. nothing is perfect. what the hackers are doing is they know what these anti viral programs do and they are trying to write programs that will come in under the radar. >> he also says avoid clicking on suspicious links and from

unfamiliar email accounts and make sure all internal security protections inside your computer, what's known as a firewall are set to high or advanced privacy settings. even that's not enough. you also need to be careful how you connect to the internet if you're using a wireless connection. >> there's two ways to do it. one way is not securely, and anybody walking down the street with a tab let or a phone says oh, afree wi-fi connection, let's just connect to it. the second way is securely. those are the ones you see with the little lock and key on it. you want yours to be the one with the lock and key. >> even with precautions, cyber criminals search for weak links to exploit. that's why security experts say chooser connection carefully. use encrypted email whenever possible, but... >> there's always risk with being connected to the internet. for most people, the benefits of being able to communicate far outweigh the risks of being

associated with it. >> it may not stop the most determined hacker, but makes i did harder, aljazeera america, washington. >> edward snowden is putting his support behind the reset the net campaign. he's not alone. some of the biggest names are taking part, google, red it and mozilla. >> marking the 70t 70th anniversary of d-day. >> the greatest generation, two soldiers aboard the very plane they used to go to the beaches of normandy. >> heads roll at general motors, 15 people fired in the wake of that ignition switch recall scandal. some say the big automakers isn't doing enough. >> a zoo worker trank willized by mistake after dressing up as a gorilla. i thought that only happens in the movies. it's a headline making its way

around the world.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john henry smith. >> i'm stephanie sy. another state is proposing to allow terminally ill patients to take their own lives. we'll look at the ethical and medical issues surrounding assisted suicide. >> horse racing fans are really excited this weekend. california chrome look to say make history with a triple crown, but is winning that elusive title enough to help the sagging industry bounce back? >> also general motors firing 15 people after new internal report reveals exactly what the company knew about those recalled cars. first a look at our top stories this morning. >> senators struck a bipartisan deal to reduce wait times and hire more doctors and nurses at

v.a. hospitals, allowing veterans to see private doctors if they live more than 40 miles from the nearest v.a. >> president obama is making no apologies for the prisoner swap that freed army sergeant bow bergdahl. some members of congress say they should have been consulted about the deal. president obama said bergdahl should not be a political football. >> president obama is in normandy, france, taking part in a ceremony marking the 70t 70th anniversary of d-day. the president praised surviving world war ii veterans who helped change the tide of world war ii. >> d-day has been called the turning point of world war ii. >> world leaders and veterans gathering in france today to mark the 70th anniversary of the normandy invasion. >> more than 150,000 american, british and canadian troops took part in the operation and nearly 4500 died fighting nazi germany that day. they helped bring peace and unity to europe. we are live at sword beach.

some of the men who fought on the front line are attending the as her moneys today. what's the mood? >> certainly it is bittersweet. let's start with the sweet. people here who saw tens of thousands of troops come to these beaches 70 years ago and push on into france, the fighting went on for months after d-day, this is the first footprints they took in freeing owl of europe, those people add we have driven up and down the coast over the last couple of days, it's amazing. you can not drive down the highway here without skiing an a world war ii motorcycle or veep restored to pay tribute to the americans. there is song, dance, people dressed in world war ii u.s. uniforms. you can't go into any street or shop and not see a u.s. or canadian or british flag. it is bitter in the sense that

the veterans who come here obviously and they have crystal clear memories, this may be the last time we hear from them, because they are coming back calling their reunions the last recline. it is moving and these guys are very sober and remember everything that happened to them. yesterday, we are very fortunate to be able to go on a c47 transport plane. these were the lead transports that took off from britain and led the paratroopers across the beaches of normandy and parachuted inside enemy lines. onboard that plane was a pilot who flew the mission and paratrooper who jumped. bud wright said was electric, being back in the cockpit, hands on the column of the c47 he flew in world war ii, a plane called whiskey seven. >> you hope you can get through it all right. we're not magicians, we're just

pilots, you know. >> 70 years ago, the mission was no joy ride. he helped drop 13,000 u.s. paratroopers behind enemy lines, hours before the invasion force would hit the beaches of normandy. >> you could see the striping below of thousands and thousands of ships. we knew that the troops were on their way over and we had to get there ahead of them. >> the weather was daunting. he said they couldn't even see their own wing tips. >> you weren't worried about flak, just midair collision, which happened. >> this aircraft, whiskey seven crossed the coast about 1:30 in the morning, 800 other aircraft with it. all hell broke loose. some aircraft turned into flaming fireballs with paratroopers still onboard. >> paratrooper leslie cruz was on this very same plane. we flew over where he was dropped to secure a town from

nazis. back then web just wanted to see a green jump light and get out the door. >> down like a ton of bricks, boy, then it was like this, getting everything off as quick as i could, get the rifle out. >> paratroopers had to secure towns and vital supply routes. today, some memorial hangs on the church where a u.s. paratrooper landed that night. two days after d-day, cruz last his friend in a german artillery barrage. >> shells came around us and missed me. i thought it missed him, too. i found out he died. i just ran across the road and sat down and cried. that was the end that day. >> memories all too clear for paratroopers and pilots on whiskey seven, then and now.

>> behind the scenes, a very big diplomatic story unfolding with president putin in attendance here. >> live pictures in france from the ceremony, and they just had another ceremony out there, group photo, you can see queen elizabeth, president obama and others as they again just took a group photo in france at the ceremony. >> you can see there on the left of your screen, actually, just got covered by a column, vladimir putin there just steps away from president obama, putin of course meeting with several major world leaders, including the french president, who you see the back thereof to the right of your screen speaking with angela merkel. he does not have a formal meeting scheduled with president obama, but it is clear that they

are literally rubbing elbows. we're going to have live coverage of the international ceremonies which start at 9:00 a.m. in which those leaders will also be attending. for in our, the weather, huge, huge factor on d-day. our meteorologist nicole mitchell has historical perspective on how important those meteorologists were. >> i work with the hurricane hunters now for the military and used to be operational forecast. we have satellite and all this data. seventy years ago, you didn't have that. this mission took years to plan and then a storm rolls in, and moon light and low tide. there was a short window. they were actually going to do june 5 and the storm rolled in, it was actually forecast. they scrapped the mission. the storm was still active, and they were able to find a break in the weather. the germans didn't have the technology we did for the forecasting at that time, so they didn't think the allies would be able to get in. they were caught unaware.

that chief forecaster, even among the forecaster, there was contention will we be able to make it or not. he put his neck out there saying yes, there will be a window that you can get in. had they pushed it back to the next break, the weather would not have cooperated and there wouldn't have been an element of surprise. >> so interesting to see the pictures and rough seas. the seas had been stirred up. you hear stories about the landing and how a lot of the shipmen were seasick. >> weather is critical in so many operations, you don't think about it sometimes. >> such an important role, thank you for that perspective. stay with aljazeera america throughout the morning for continuing coverage of the d-day remembrance. we'll have live coverage of that international ceremony starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern. >> general motors is admitting it turned a blind eye to a potentially deadly car defect for more than a decade. this year, the automakers recalled millions of cars because of the problem that may have killed at least 13 people.

an internal g.m. investigation found a culture where no one in the company took responsibility. >> a pattern of incompetence and neglect, that's how general motors c.e.o. mary barra describes the results of an internal investigation into its faulty ignition switch defect. the report conducted by outside attorney involved more than 350 interviews and 41 million documents. it concludes there's no evidence g.m. conspired to cover up the facts, however, there was a history of misjudgments, a broken workplace culture, riddled with failures. as a result, the automakers has fired 15 employees, five others have been disciplined. >> as i read the report, i was deeply saddened and disturbed. >> some of the troubling conclusions reveal some in the company knew in 2001 that

ignition switches had the potential to suddenly shut off and disable airbags, power steering, and other features. it took g.m. over a decade to issue a recall. so far, 13 deaths and multiple accidents have been linked to the defect. barra, who claims she and other top executives weren't made aware of the problem until december of last year says the company will compensate crash victims and their families. >> i am guided by two clear principles. first, we will do the right thing for those who were harmed and second, we will accept responsibility for our mistakes and commit to doing everything within our power to make sure this never happens again. >> during her 20 minute address, barra stressed the detroit automakers renewed commitment to safety. g.m. recently hired a safety chief and implemented new protocol. mark falen is a business writer for the detroit free press.

>> the organization is shaken by what happened, but it appears that they're taking all the right steps. >> last month, the national highway traffic saved administration find g.m. $35 million for failing to act sooner. g.m.'s troubles may not end there. congress and the u.s. justice democratic ever launched investigations of their own. aljazeera, detroit. >> joining us to discuss the results of the g.m. recall report is automotive analyst lauren fix, in indianapolis this morning. thank you for joining us. while mary barra fired 15 employees in the wake of this scandal, the report she commissioned absolved her and her top lieutenants and found no evidence of any coverup. will that come back to bite g.m. >> that will be interesting. once the government gets their hands on this 325 page report, mary barra is going to have to go in front of congress again in august. i'm sure they'll have questions. if they feel she is personally

at fault, which would be very difficult to prove, then she of course will obviously get whatever comes to her. you have to remember that part of the g.m. culture at the time was not to take notes on attendance of who came to these engineering meetings and what the decisions were. they had what they called the g.m. nod. part of that report was if we all sat in a meeting and found there was something wrong, we'd nod, all agree and nothing would get down. it would be very difficult to post it on somebody specifically. >> how dirty are the hands of the former c.e.o. in all of this? >> they had silos and have sales and marketing would report directly to the c.e.o., because it was about sales, money and exposure. on the engineering side, there were four levels that had to go from the engineering team. they could ever easily insulated him and he may not have had a clue. people in the engineering and safety department did have a clue. the fact that they didn't realize the ignition switch was connected to the air bag, when

they're the ones that designed for the safety of their vehicles when a car was parked, if it was hit, an air bag would not deploy. if the ignition switch was in the off position, obviously the air bag is not going to deplay in an impact and didn't realize there was a connection. that's really sad to hear. >> mary barra offered assurance that g.m. is learning from its mistake. >> in this case, with these vehicles, we simply didn't do our job. we failed these customers, and we must face up to it, and we must learn from it. >> ok. we hear what she's saying, but reports are g.m. insiders were calling these ignition switches the switches from hell as far back as 2002. how can car buyers trust g.m. not to be careless with their lives going forward. >> there have been changes in the corporate cultures, 60 safety inspectors. they're completely gutting they're legal democratic. they really are concerned.

they have put out some really top quality cars. two of their vehicles won the north american car and truck of the year, so obviously their product has improved dramatically, probably some of the best product out of general motors in a long time. there are four difficulties to focus on rather than eight and they have changed the corporate culture as far as communication and taking away silos, so there is cross communication. if you're looking for a g.m. car, take one for a drive and make your own decision. >> c.e.o. barra wants to compensate families. will that keep them from seeking compensation in the courts. >> they have this fund they're putting together. my concern is, i always tell people if you know someone that's been in one of these accidents, whether unfortunate tragedy or similar injury, you have to read the small print. an attorney needs to read that over. the small print may say we'll give you money out of this fund, but you don't have any recourse

down the road especially if you have an injury that could prevent you from working or change your quality of life. with the 75 existing class action lawsuits, this will be taken into consideration and everybody wants money from the fund as well as lawsuit, i don't think you're going to get both. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> there has been a fourth death linked to mad cow disease in the united states. the centers for disease control said a houston man died from the fatal brain disorder last month. it's likely he was exposed to tainted beef while traveling abroad in europe and the middle east. the other three cases fluid two brits likely infected outside the u.s. the third died who was born and raised in saudi arabia. >> new jersey is the latest state to consider so-called right to die legislation. a committee voted yesterday in favor of the aid and dying for the terminally ill act, granting doctors the right to prescribe

lethal doses of drugs to adults with less than six months to live and still capable of making the decision for themselves. comparable laws are pending in several other states. >> a nurse and widow whose husband died of pancreatic cancer joins us. your husband, herb died last year, and you got involved in the cause. what was it about his last days and his fight that made you want this legislation? >> my hnd was suffering. pancreatic cancer is a terrible cancer and it is very torturous, long death. he lived four months after diagnosis. that's a long time to be suffering. watching him die, and not having any choice in front of him, such as the death with dignity bill that would allow him to have aid

in dying, there was no choice, and so he suffered all the way to the end. >> as a nurse, and he was a nurse, i understand, as well, you know that hospice care has grown in leaps and bounds. was there a moment in his suffering where you realized he should have the choice to die? >> absolutely. my husband and i are very well asurprised of what's going on in the medical world. he was on hospice. he was in the house on hospice during a time and actually a few weeks before, he said to me he wanted to die. he was at the ends of his life, terminal and he was completely of sound mind. he wanted to die. at one point, he woke from a nap and asked our daughter am i still alive? and she said yeah, you are. he was very upset to find out that he was still alive. he wanted to go and there was nothing anybody could do. with hospice, he had his medications. he was on morphine as he wanted, but it takes away the edge of the pain, it never really takes

away the complete pain. >> one thing that critics of this bill say is that it's wrong to let people who are suffering and who may not have full grasp of their mental state because of the suffering, and because of the drugs, allow them to make an irreversible decision. what do you say to those critics? >> this bill is about terminally ill people, six months or less to live who are of sound mind. so should they not be in this state, they would not want to die. my husband wanted to die because he was dying. the cancer was killing him. you have to be of sound mind and you have to be an adult and you have to be able to ingest it yourself. >> are you confident that people will not find a way to abuse this law based on the current legislation in new jersey. >> if i felt that, i wouldn't be here today. i believe this is about chose. it will be something that will help new jersey citizens and i believe that not a lot of people

who want to do it, that's fine, they don't have to, but i believe fully in this bill and i hope it passes through the assembly, senate and governor. >> deborah dunn with compassion and choices. thank you, we appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me. >> the a.c.t. is changing its college admissions test. the new exam will assess students for how ready they are for a job. it will also test students' skills in science, technology, engineering and math. the a.c.t., now the most widely used admissions test will keep its scoring scale. 2 million students take the test every year. >> a quick look now at some other stories making headlines around the world. an inspirational message from the grave. the family of a 12-year-old british girl who recently died of cancer found a message she left on the back of her bedroom mirror. her father discovered the message written in ink with

inspirational notes, such as happiness depends on ourselves and the purpose of life is a life of purpose. this young lady suffered a great deal in her final days, yet found the spirit to leave that sort of gift for her parents, just an amazing thing. >> on to a much lighter note, the guy is ok. a zoo worker in spain accidentally tranquilized because was dressed like that. he was staging a drill as if a gorilla had escaped the zoo. this is part of the emergency drills at zoos. he was hit with a tranquilizer dart after someone reported an animal escape. we're told he's going to be fine, even though he had an allergic reaction to the tranquilizer. >> i guess it's easy for us to say it doesn't really look like a gorilla, but in the heat of the moment. >> the vet that shot him had apparently only been on the job for two months, so he might not

have understood the difference between a fake gorilla and a real one. >> a phoenix woman is ordered to stop doing wart wheels. she has been doing cart wheels in city council meetings. she got a letter from an attorney for the city, telling her to cease and desist. if a 65-year-old is doing wart wheels, i'm sorry, let her. >> she's trying to prove to the council members that exercise and fitness is a good thing and she makes that point at council meetings regularly. >> california chrome is gang for the triple crown tomorrow. wipe the industry hopes the win will spark renewed interest in the struggling sport. >> we are learning more about how the moon was made. details straight ahead in our discovery of the day.

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

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>> it's time now for our discovery of the day. scientists figured out how the moon was formed. >> they believe more than four and a half billion years ago the earth collided with another planet and debris created our moon. >> researchers in germany analyzed lunar rocks. they found traces of another planet called thia. >> this is the first evidence that the moon was created bay collision. pretty cool. >> speaking of pretty cool, horse racing has been under pressure in the u.s. as betters are leaving the track and gambling on line. the story of california chrome is drawing plenty of attention. he may become the first horse to win the triple crown in 36 years. >> california chrome shines bright in the kentucky derby. >> since the kentucky derby, and following through at the preakness, this 3-year-old colt

has won the heart of horse race lovers. if he wins at the belmont, california chrome would be the first triple crown champion in 36 years. >> i'm learning, but i'm not a better. i don't know if i'll bet on him, but i'm hoping he wins. >> california chrome's co owner, steve co burn gambled his own money on the horse before the derby when he defied odds of 200-1. his colt now is the heavy favorite to win at belmont. >> he loves people and we've got all of america on our side, i believe, other than these people that have these horses running against us. >> the partners are rare breeds in the sport known as the sport of kings. they bought his father and paired her with a pedestrian dad stallion for less than $11,000. as the triple crown champion, california chrome could be worth

$10 million or more. to these enthusiasts, the thrill of a good race is still attractive, but as a betting proposition, the horses suffer from serious competition. as americans find more legal ways to gamble as casinos and on line, betting at the tracks has fallen by more than one third in the past 10 years. attendance is down just as much, and without enough revenue from wagering, the racing industry is seeing more tracks shutting down. this race and the story behind california chrome is tempting more people to take a chance and lay a bet. >> you get this big facility and it's pretty sad to see, some days you come here and there's six, 700 people. next saturday, there won't be, it will be packed to the rafters. >> california chrome's long term racing future may be hard to predict, but if he wins on saturday, he'll join just 11 other triple crown champions in

the history books. tom ackermann, aljazeera america, new york. >> here's a live look at the site of the belmont stakes, the track, more than 100,000 fans are expected to jam the park saturday. right now, the adds are 3-5 for california chrome to win the belmont stakes and take home that emloosive triple crown. >> it's going to be perfect weather for it. >> world leaders and veterans gathering today in normandy to remember d-day. the invasion 70 years ago is credited with turning the tide of world war ii in favor of allied forces. >> one student dead, two wounded at a christian college in seattle. students subdued the gunman, who is now under arrest. >> president obama defending the taliban prisoner swap that freed army sergeant bowe bergdahl. >> ahead in our next hour, we'll hear from an american family who wants to know what the government is doing to help to find their father and husband

being held hostage overseas. we're just over 30 minutes away from the relation of the monthly jobs regard as americans wait to see if the jobs creation will continue to gain steam. >> we'll be back with more aljazeera america. aljazeera america.

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 nations that once knew only the blinders of fear began to taste the blessings of freedom. none of that would have happened without the men who were willing to lay down their lives. >> president obama and other world leaders honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice on the beaches of normandy 70 years ago on d-day. >> the prisoner swap for bowe

bergdahl, a new report that he had a history of leaving his post. >> violence erupting in india as a sword fight breaks out between warring groups over a ceremony commemorating a 30-year-old raid on a holy temple. >> the u.s. government forcing bank of america to pay up for illegal mortgage practices to the tune of $12 billion. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm john henry smith. remember the lock evident day, the 70th anniversary of d-day. >> 17 heads of state, including president obama are in normandy france near the beaches where 160,000 allied soldiers risked their lives and changed the course of history. >> we are joined now from normandy. president obama spoke earlier this morning. what was his message on this historic anniversary? >> for many americans, they're

familiarity with what happened 70 years ago today is the first moments of the film saving private ryan. 10,000 americans, the crosses, the stars of david, some 10,000 americans interred here, who died that day, when smoke filled the air, when there was blood in the sand, blood in the water, the invasion, the largest sea born invasion in the history of the world was underway. president obama came here with his french host, the french president. they both spoke. president obama we've heard the soaring rhetoric honoring those that were here in the course that have invasion. he spoke about his personal family history. >> as i was landing on marine one, i told my staff, i don't think there's a time when i missed my grandfather more, where i'd be more happy to have

him here than this day, so we have to tell their stories for them. we have to do our best to uphold in our own lives the values that they were prepared to die for. >> it is a brilliant, sunny day here at omaha beach. that's the name that we all know from the days from d-day. there are other beaches, however. sword beach is one of them and now a large international gathering taking place with some 17 world leaders representing the countries that were involved in the allied effort. they're in a lunch right now, hosted by the french president. >> a short time ago, we saw some world leaders taking a photo on that, putting both president obama and putin a few steps away from each other. what are folks saying about putin being there. >> it's fascinating. i think we're going to put this

photo up along with other photo ops. this time, it was the so-called family fold of the leaders i was speaking of. they did not acknowledge each other's presence. this is the first time they have seen each other face-to-face since the ukraine crisis began. then they started to walk away, the president chatting up the queen of england, queen elizabeth and putin speaking with the french president. they crossed paths. so far as we know, they have not exchanged greetings. >> mike viqueira from normandy, thank you so much. >> coming up at 8:30, we'll take a closer look at the extensive operation to storm the beaches and battle german soldiers in the dead of the night with that. >> stay with aljazeera america for our continuing coverage of the d-day remembrance. we'll have live coverage of the international ceremony starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. >> the president is offering no apologies for the prisoner swap that freed u.s. army sergeant

bowe bergdahl, saying he should not be used as a political football. some members of congress are blasting the president for not consulting with them before the deal was made. >> dogged in washington, president obama stood his ground in europe, over his decision to swap five taliban leaders for sergeant bowe bergdahl. >> we had a prisoner of war, whose health had deteriorated, and we were deeply concerned about and we saw an opportunity and we seized it and i make no toll jesus for that. >> some say the president broke the law not telling the congress of the deal. the administration said there was no time and any leaks especially to taliban members unaware of the exchange posed a threat to bergdahl's life. >> there were real concerns that if this were made public first, his physical could be in danger more by the taliban walking away or by an individual taliban member who perhaps was guarding

him, i'm speaking generally, not in regard to any specific information, that possibly someone guarding him wouldn't agree and accounted take harmful action against him. >> those who served with him insist he is a deserter who walked away from his platoon. >> they keep significant we don't have all the facts. here we are for the last five days have been telling people all the facts, everything that you need to hear. >> those accusations may now be called into question. as a military discretion into his disappearance reveals, he had wandered off base twice before but always came back, once while training in california and once more in afghanistan, shortly before his capture. >> the classified report also confirms he shipped a journal and computer home before his appearance. he left his body armor and weapon behind that night, raising more questions as he recovers in a military hospital. >> his health is improving daily

as he recovers at that military hospital in germany. so far, he has not spoken with his parents. military officials say there's no time table for bergdahl's recovery, after spending five years as a prisoner of the taliban. >> we now know more than 100,000 veterans were kept off waiting lists for medical points. on monday, we'll learn more about the details of the nationwide audit scheduling practice at v.a. facilities. >> two senators joined forces on legislation ensuring better health care for veterans. >> we are supposed to learn exactly how many of those 100,000 patients were relegated to secret lists. the acting secretary of veterans affairs sloan gibson admits the government has let our veterans down by making them wait too long for the care they deserve. while visiting a phoenix v.a. medical center where patients allegedly died waiting for care,

gibson announced changes made. every medical center director will conduct face-to-face inspections at their facilities. to help reform veterans health care, senators reached an agreement on a bipartisan bill that would reduce wait times and allow eligible veterans to use non-v.a. medical care if they experience any delays. >> we ought to give a veteran the choice, the same choice that people who hold medicare recipients, who have other -- have try care, the military health care program where if they're outside 40 miles from the nearest v.a. facility, if there is a wait time which is unacceptable, they should be able to go to the health care provider right near their hoax. >> the bill would authorize $500 million to authorize

doctors and nurses. >> president obama's choice to become the undersecretary for the v.a. has withdrawn his name from consideration, saying he just does not want to go through what could be a long political battle. >> as i will via bur well is expected to be sworn in as the new health and human services secretary. she will be responsible for implementing the federal health care law, the affordable care act. she'll replace kathleen sebelius who resigned after a troubled roll out of health dare.gov. the senate confirmed bur well thursday. >> a shooting on the campus of seattle pacific university left one student dead, three injured. a gunman opened fire inside a building at the small christian college. they say the suspect was wrestled to the ground by students and held there until officers arrived. >> regular citizens stepped up and tried to do the right thing. in this case, i believe they prevented a more horrible

tragedy than it was today. >> the shooter was not a student at the school. he is now under arrest and will be charged with murder. >> a canadian man accused of a rom bow style shooting spree is under arrest. 24-year-old justin berg is believed to have killed three members of the police and shot two other officers in the eastern part of canada. he was found wearing military fatigues and carrying how powered weapons. he had a crossbow, knives attached to his pants and a large quantity of ammunition. >> he just had the most blank look in his face, like he was on a mission, ready to do something. my stomach dropped. i had the worst feeling in my gut. >> businesses and schools were shut down during the manhunt, but are reopened. shooting are very repair in this area of canada. there wasn't a single homicide reported last year. >> the parents of the slender man stabbing victim say their daughter's health is improving.

the girl was stabbed 19 times last weekend by two of they are classmates. her parents called her a fighter and say they're saddened and stunned by this tragedy. her attackers say they were inspired by a mythical creature northern as slender man, they are charged as duties with attempted murder. >> high winds and flash flooding have been pounding the south central united states. the rough weather is blamed for three deaths in arkansas and tennessee. authorities in craig head county arkansas say winds blowing 80 miles an hour blue railroad cars off the tracks. a search will be resumed for a 6-year-old boy swept away off the his mother's minivan got caught in a flood. >> that's an example of extreme weather that will be continuing in parts of the united states today, for more, let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. are we going to say more today?

>> people focus on tornadoes, but that wasn't any of this, it's flooding. >> flooding is a huge concern. it can take a foot or two of water that's moving to move your vehicle along with it. we also tell you to be so careful in that situation. in the broad view across the country today, it's this boundary lingering through the midsection of the country. already yesterday, over 200 reports of severe weather, about the same, a little less the day before and then close to 400 the day before. this has really been causing us a lot of problems. a lot of what we saw in the east coast, the rain who moved out with the front part of the system, but the tail lingering frontal boundary in the midsection of the country and more pressure into the central plains, that's what we've been concerned about. as all of that moved yesterday, places like arc, the high winds, flood concerns, but a three into a van was one of the loss of life, another into a home. this morning, there's still a

lot of debris on the roads. power lines down. you'll want that take that slowly. oklahoma, we've had severe weather this morning, watch for that, you can see the different thunderstorm waves, that means the potential and then a couple places that have been under the warnings where we're going to see the wind a understand hail. all areas in green is areas where we have flood concerns through the day. the core of this rain today, anywhere from oklahoma up into kansas, but you can see spotty location across this line, where we'll also be getting areas of rain. so in terms of severe weather, this is our corridor, the green is the thunderstorms, the yellow the better risks. that's where we're going to look through like we already have this morning in oklahoma. >> nicole mitchell, thank you so much. >> another american has been detained in north korea. the u.s. citizen is said to have entered the country as a tourist. they are checking to see if he

carried out acts inappropriate as a tourist. the state department is aware of his arrest and warn americans against traveling to the country. the total number of americans held in north korea is now three. >> police in thailand arrested an anti coup activist for violating an order to report to military officials. the activist organized rallies against martial law was arrested late thursday. hundreds of people have been arrested since the military overthrough the government. human rights group say it's not clear who is held or where. >> just one day before president elect poroshenko takes power, government forces are involved in fierce battles with pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine. the fighting has separatists taking over several military bases and border guards have abandoned their posts. the pentagon said the u.s. will serve a small team of military

advisors to help assess the countries long term defense needs. vice president joe biden and others will be on hand for the inauguration. >> four deaths have been linked to mad cow disease. a man in houston died last month from the disorder thought to be caused by eating beef from cattle with the disease. doctors say it's likely the man was exposed to it traveling abroad in europe and the middle east. the c.d.c. says the other three cases included two brits likely infected outside the u.s. and the third was born and raised in saudi arabia. >> bank of america working out a deal with the federal government over the fraudulent mortgage practices, the price it may have to pay for offering up bad home loans. >> i'm in rio de janeiro where the people feeling excluded have organized their own world cup. >> britain's royal air force putting on quite the show in

honor of the 70th anniversary of d-day. that story and the others captured by our citizen journalists.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. let's get a check of the videos captured by citizen journalists around the world. >> an estimated 15,000 people protesting outside sao paulo's world cup stadium. a group is demanding more government spending on low income housing, health and education. >> british air force acrobatic team putting on a show to honor the 70th anniversary of the d-day landings. the planes fly in formation with colored smoke. >> very impressive. >> call it the calm after the storm, kelly reese capturing this beautiful colored sky outside of atlanta after a strong system swept through, what the storm system did was not beautiful, downed trees and left thousands without power. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> up next, how one south american city is working to shed its violent past for future

prosperity. clashes breaking out in india today, a half dozen people wounded after a sikh group brand issuing swords attacked guards at a holy shrine during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the storming of the shrine by the indian army. >> severe pollution in india's rivers places the health of millions at risk. it's a byproduct of india's prolific growth, but damaging the economy. there doesn't seem to be much interest from the government or private sector to clean it. >> the river as it flows through new delhi, all kinds of waste gets dumped here without being treated. like other polluted waterways in india, it doesn't start out this way. this is the river as it enters the city from the north. it provides people with a livelihood and they come to enjoy the cool water.

it has been documented for the past year. the river is always clean at this point. >> it's mostly agriculture upstream. they know the value of the river and respect it more than urban people. >> that becomes apparent downstream. industrial waste from inland areas and untreated assuming pores into the river here. in may, the government shut 112 illegal drains. despite that, for the next 22 kilometers, the river starts to die. >> zero. the oxygen is zero. that means the water is dead. >> regenerating the waters comes second to improving the economy. india has seen a slowdown in growth for the past few years, but this water policy expert said not cleaning the rivers also has economic consequences. >> for example,s agriculture productivity lost, the cost of

treatment of water because of contaminated level, but the real cost is on the disease which is caused by the water pollution. >> those living near the river at the south end of the city where the river is dirtiest say the pollution attracts mass skeet toes which carry malaria. >> people should realize that they are making the river dirty and stop blaming politicians. if people have the will to keep it clean, politicians will act. >> even the small step of stopping personal waste from going into the river seems a long way off. >> as this loosed and stinking water flows, it travels past the taj mahal and eventually into the gandes. reviving indias rivers will be

ignored. >> the world health organization says 13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in india. newly elected prime minister said he will work to clean up the pollution in his country. >> the justice department is coming down hard on another global bank over the mortgage crisis, bank of america. the bank is in talks to pay $12 billion to settle a government probe, part of the settlement including $5 billion toward helping homeowners and paying for blight removal in struggling neighborhoods. federal negotiators want the north carolina bank to pay more. the final figure could top the report $13 billion settlement j.p. morgan shelled out last year for similar claims. >> france warns of serious repercussions impacting a transthat he didn'tic trade deal. the justice department is pushing for a $10 billion settlement with a bank, the result of business dealings it

had with countries and individuals sanctioned by the u.s. the white house is staying out of the negotiations. >> a federal report on the 2010 b.p. oil spill says the deep water horizon's blowout preventer had multiple failures. the report blames faulty wiring, a dead battery and a bent pipe in the rig's blowout preventer. those problems led to the nation's worst offshore oil disaster. an explosion killed 11 workers and dumped 172 million-gallons of oil into the gulf of mexico. >> at the height of columbia's drug wars, medellin was violent. the city has transformed itself. it has become a model for other cities to follow. >> it's an innovative way to bring neighborhoods together and shows one way medellin is moving

forward. it was the city's murder capitol. now the city is booming and it seems a distant memory. an urban renewal project helped medellin win the title most innovative city in 2013. colombian architects lead the charge. this architect created recognizable new landmarks. he said this is only the beginning. >> architecture together with other policies is working to reconstruct the city. we are recongerring public spaces and creating new symbols. it's a process of total transformation. >> the route to end is a crowning achievement. when complete, the 1.5 square kilometer complex will be latin america's largest technology hub. the focus on innovation is paying off. since the launch four years ago,

nearly two dozen international companies have set up here, creating hundreds of new jobs. >> colombia's location, political stability and economic growth make it very attractive for investment. i don't think any other colombian city can offer more innovation, connections, financial in sentives or a more robust area than medellin. >> it still makes the list of the most dangerous cities and transportation systems to bridge the gap between rich and poor, there is still gaining violence. for some, the inequalityies. >> medellin is a city of contrast with various faces. on the one hand, you have people who remain very attached to their neighborhoods, even though victims of violence. this is a city of innovation and

services, but there's a price to pay, exclusion. the victims are forgotten. >> a poster child for urban renovation, medellin has come a long way, but for all of the game, there's still much work to be done. aljazeera. >> the murder rate in medellin has fallen over 80% in the last two decades. >> still such a dangerous place. let's look at temperatures across the nation. meteorologist nicole mitchell is here with that. >> good morning, starting out this morning with plenty of 70's as we go across the southern tier of the country, rockies and northwest, 40's and 50's, but it's going to be a hot one through the day. a lot of 80's and 90's through the south. we have moisture with that system coming in. it's going to be a sticky heat as you get out there. thunderstorms go through and you can actually see the steam coming up off the roads.

the one area we're concerned about is the twist, california to west texas, excessive heat in this direction with a lot of temperatures, like las vegas making it into the hundreds. speaking of steamy weather, monitoring that system in the gulf. i'm about to head for my hurricane hunter duty today. >> that's why there are those question marks there. thank you. >> the release of army sergeant bowe bergdahl, one family left wondering why their family member is still held overseas. >> i don't believe that all of these extremists really believe what they are saying. it's just a matter of thinking that they are getting some power from it. >> activists and musician questioning the true motives of boko haram. my conversation with her on what it will take to end the violence. >> we stopped the 82n 82nd airborne, dropping into a

hoar net's nest. >> breaking the secret code, saving the lives of allied soldiers fighting for freedom. >> our images of the day, on this 70th anniversary, celebrations honoring those who served and gave their lives on d-day.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. >> ahead in our next half hour, as world leaders and veterans mark the 70th anniversary of d-day, we'll look at the efforts that went into storming the shores of normandy. >> we are minutes away from getting the month employment report and finding whether the

recent spike in job creation will continue. >> president obama is making no apologies for the prisoner swap with the taliban that freed army sergeant bowe bergdahl. the president is taking heat from congress who say they should have been consulted about the deal. speaking thursday, the president said bergdahl is not a political football. >> we had a prisoner of war whose health had deteriorated and we were deeply concerned about and we saw an opportunity and we seized it. i make no apologies for that. >> the administration said the taliban threatened to kill bergdahl if the deal to release him was announced in advance. >> the u.s. government went to great length to save sergeant bergdahl. seven other americans are being held hostage overseas. warren wine stein was kidnapped in pakistan wears ago. we spoke with his family in maryland. >> even before bowe bergdahl's

release was announced publicly, the u.s. government phoned one american family to let them know. it was the family of warren wenstein, himself a hostage in pakistan. >> did they say anything about your husband or did you ask. >> i asked and they said they had no news. i was very happy to the sergeant was released and i was very happy for his parents, and after that went by, it was how come my husband wasn't released, too? >> warren wenstein is a husband, dad, grandfather, kidnapped from his home in pakistan three years ago, just days before he was to leave the country he loved. wenstein worked there for a u.s. government contractor, helping pakistanie small businesses. >> he just thrived on helping people. >> it has been more than two years since i was taken prisoner by al-qaeda. >> this is now the haunting

image of the once lively family man, a tape released last december by his captors. wenstein, who suffers from a heart condition and asthma will turn 73 next month. >> now, i need my government to change issue that been totally abandoned. >> a state department official told aljazeera: >> wenstein's wife and daughter wonder why he and another american kidnapped in the region, kaitlyn coleman couldn't have been part of the recent exchange. >> you left american citizens there when you had the opportunity to maybe make a different deal. >> bergdahl, though, was military and seized in afghanistan by the taliban. wenstein, a civilian taken in pakistan by al-qaeda.

a big difference to the u.s. government, but not to wenstein's family. >> no soldier left behind, what about a citizen left behind? he needs to be with his family. he deserves to come home. >> the yellow ribbons in bergdahl's hometown can soon come down, but not here, not yet. aljazeera, rockville, maryland. >> it's been called the turning point of world war ii. today marks the 70t 70th anniversary of d-day. heads of state gathered in france to pay tribute to the normandy invasion. more than 160,000 american, british and canadian troops took part in the operation and thousands died fighting nazi germany that day. in the process, they helped bring peace and unity to europe and changed the course of history. here to discuss the historical significance of d-day, joining

us from washington, d.c., professor, thank you for being with us. neptune, the code name for operation overlord. give us an idea of the scale of the d-day landings. >> the amphibious landing was the largest military operation in the history of western armies. 5,000 to 6,000 ships, depending whether you count the small landing craft, hundreds of thousands of men, thousands of aircraft, it's a scale almost unimaginable. >> how were the allies able to pull off an operation this monumental and high risk in the end? >> well, of course, planning. it had been in the works for years as the britains and americans argued back and forth particularly about the timing of the invasion and gathering the resources necessary to make it possible, particularly the shipping, which was always

possible, landing in particularly we were shorthanded. a lot of work, a lot of effort by a lot of people. >> i want to put up a map that shows where the allied forces landed on the various beaches of normandy. you can see here all the points of ingress on to the coast there, as well as the german, the nazi fortifications, 50,000 german troops waited behind concrete walls and bunkers. many amphibious missions failed up to that point. how likely was it that they would throw the invaders back into the sea. >> looking back, it seems to us that allied success was inevitable, because the careful planning, the overwhelming resources, application of so much man power, efforts and time, but on omaha beach in particular, it was very dicey. there was a moment around 8:30 to 9:00 in the morning where allied commanders considered halting the

operations because the invasion stalled. in the end, i think what made success possible as in most military confrontations are the actions and decisions made by the men at the spear point, who took matters into their hands and cross that had beach and assailed those bluffs and made it happen. >> omaha beach was the deadliest point. president obama actually talked about omaha this morning and how it really was the courage of the individual men fighting that turned the tide in that battle. >> i think that's absolutely correct. we can attribute a lot of the success to the planning and assets and resources, but in the end, when the bullets are flying, it's the individual soldier and sailors who drove those landing crafts and the l.c.t.s up to the beach exposed to fire on omaha beach, those are the people who made it happen. >> on this important anniversary, what must young people remember about the battle of normandy and the challenges

of warfare. >> it's important that we are remembering it today. i want to thank aljazeera and other media outlets for paying attention on the 70t 70th anniversary. this is a biblical generation, three score year and 10 since it happened and it could be consigned to the history books. it's crucial that we remember that it happened, that the western nations came together, more than 15 nations participating in this and that it really did save the world. that's not an exaggeration to say that. >> craig simons joining us from washington, d.c. this morning, thank you, sir. >> stay with aljazeera america for our continuing coverage of the d-day remembrance. we'll have live coverage of the international ceremony coming up at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. >> police fired tear gas and broke up a demonstration in the

haitian capitol where 5,000 people marched in protest. there were no serious injuries. the protestors demand the president step down due to accusations of corruption. >> boko haram has been on a killing spree this week in northeastern nigeria. reports are that the group killed 45 people at a church wednesday. earlier this week, an attack left hundreds of civilians dead, targeting churches and three villages in northeastern anyery. >>. witnesses claim the nigerian military was warned in advance but did nothing to prevent it. >> boko haram is the same group that kidnapped 270 school girls in april. they've been doing battle with the nigerian government for the last five years. >> an iconic african singer and outspoken human rights activists, her latest album debuting number one on the billboard charts. i spoke to her recently about the importance of education in

battles extremism in africa. >> i think the extremist group comes more from frustration, not being able to participate in this world global economy. religion is just an excuse for me. i don't believe that all of extremists really believe in what they are saying rewarding religion. it's just a matter of thinking that they are getting some power back by horror, by kidnapping, and i think it questions also for me how we do business with one another. >> what do you mean? >> i think there's enough wealth for every single human being on this planet to live in dignity. i'm not saying that everybody's going to be billionaire or millionaire, but the problem we are having is how do we distribute the wealth of this world. >> you're saying if members of boko haram had jobs, they wouldn't need to kidnap school girls. >> if they had perspective of

future, you think they are going to throw that away and get gun and kidnap girls? i don't think so. most of them have never been to school, probably and sit around and frustrated. that's the problem we have in not only in africa, but even in the rich countries today. >> this issue about schools and education in africa, it's not just nigeria. in the central african republic, two thirds of the schools have been closed for most of the year. what do you think the responsibility of great powers like the united states should be to places like that? >> i think that what we should do, the united states should do is work with government in africa to help them build sustainable schools, to help them build their own economy, because the problem in africa is

lots of country never have had a chance to reach their full potential because the interest of the rich country always come before, because of the richness of my country. >> do they have a responsibility, do they owe something to the continent. >> i think everybody owes something to the continent, every single rich country owes us a lot. >> you can see my full conversation on talk to aljazeera america saturday, starting at 5:00 p.m. eastern. >> the economy continues to add jobs, the monthly employment report is out today and we have the details. >> i've got good news for you. >> yay! >> the economy add 217 jobs last month, just shy of expectations, only off by 1,000 jobs. that's very, very good news, four straight months of creating 200,000 jobs in the economy.

the unemployment rate was unchanged. the number of people who ever a job and the number of people who are actively looking for did not go down. last month, we saw a huge drop in that. the most important number, average hourly wages. it increased last month by 5 cents to $24.38 an hour. that is what we want to see. this is such an important number, because it tells us about the quality of of jobs and also is a good reading on slack in the labor force. wages up is very good. over the last 12 months within wages have been up 2.1%. we want to try to hit 2% inflation in the economy. if wages can go up more, workers aren't treading water. some very encouraging signs in this report, but this is really going to be important to see if we can hold on to this going into the summer. >> it's always been the quality of jobs that we've been talking about. where does this put us, as far

as prerecession levels in jobs? >> ok. we have finally cross that had barrier, full, the economy has now recaptured all the jobs lost since the recession. however, the population has grown since then, by 12.5 mil pple. we also don't see the same mix of jobs that we had post recession. the economy has shed about 2 million mid-and high wage jobs and added about the same number of low wage jobs. >> ok, so sustainability is still the big question mark here. thanks so much. >> well, it was a heated game one of the nba finals. last night's anticipated matchup between the miami heat and san antonio spurs took place in a virtual sauna when an electrical malfunction shut down the air conditioning inside san antonio's at&t center. it was about 90 degrees in the building and that had an effect on the players, none more so than lebron james. the heat forward was forced to leave the game because of severe leg cramps. the spurs took advantage, finishing on a 31-6 run.

spurs win 110-95 and take a 1-0 series lead. >> from basketball to soccer, we are days away from the kickoff of the world cup in brazil. the country is racing to put the final touches on the multi-billion dollars production. >> authorities are animate the world cup will be good for brazil, $14 billion spent on new stadiums and i infrastructure. little if any of that will reach the shanty towns that dot the major cities. >> i think it's very clear that the world cup is not for all. the world cup that brought us projects, that only benefit the upper classes and the construction companies, but everyone else pays the price. >> an alternative tournament is

over looking the city, including teams of men, women and children. >> this is another form of political protest against the national and local government. our main goal is also to strengthen the community and bring attention to those evicted and subjects of police violence because of the world cup. >> football is known as the people's game and the world cup the tournament bringing nations together, but it's not reached the shanty towns where they're organizing their own popular cup to protest their exclusion. >> augusto has got three children. the 28-year-old said of course they'll cheer on the brazilian team, but they're not part of the national celebrations. >> we are going to watch it here at home. we love to see the game in the stadium, but the tickets are way too expensive. >> this is football being

brought back to its roots, a poignant contrast, say the organizers to the glitz and glamour of the world cup. a long way, they say, from the billions spent to the detriment of house be, health care and education. aljazeera, rio de janeiro. >> the world cup begins thursday, june 12 and runs a month. hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to travel to brazil for the games. >> the lives of tens of thousands of allied soldiers in the hands of one small group working to get critical information to stop german sole years of age. >> how their efforts helped to determine the outcome of the world as we remember d-day. to .

al jazeera america, take a new look at news. >> commemorations on this the anniversary of d-day continue,

processions in normandy france. >> a coo he to the success of d-day is code talkers, men and women interpreting vital information intercepted. the sometimes forgotten group played a pivotal role. >> tucked away in the english country side, it may not look like one of the most important sites of world war ii, but the intelligence broke german codes. sectioned off in independent groups for security, few knew the big picture, but naval intelligence officer jean knew, working on the highest level communiques, monitored german ships and helped coordinate the massive effort. just 25, she heldment fate of tens of thousands of allied soldiers in her hands. >> so long was this front, that it was very exciting, as it was

going to happen at last, but we did realize it would be a lot of casualties. >> to minimize those carts, they faced an enormous task, breaking coded german radio messages. germanys encoding devices were clocking away, thousands in normandy, each sending several messages a day turned into random code germany thought was unbreakable. each transmission possibly containing crucial information, german preparations, plans and troop positions. the british had a secret weapon, a revolutionary machine to crack codes. just one example of how often it saved allied lives involved the u.s. army's 82 airborne. >> they are about to land and drop into this area, which is clear are german troops and then enigma shows the germans are moving troops into there. you stopped the ate two airborne

from dropping into a hearn knees' nest, saving probably 15,000 lives. >> a more sophisticated machine speeded up the process 400%, the worlds first mod he were computer. >> i think it's one of the things that you look back and think hmm, did i do that? you did it, because you had to do it. >> it was considered so important it remained a secret for decades after the war. it is only in recent years the code breakers gained recognition for the work they did. some history toreians say they cut the length of the war by a full two years. it may look unassuming, although that's the point, hiding out in plain sight, still, the men and women who worked here during world war ii played a vital role in securing an allied victory and changessing the course of

history. >> the weather played an important role in the invasion of normandy. for more, let's bring in our meteorologist, nicole mitchell. >> this is an operation that was planned for years and one of the few elements you cannot control is the weather. i've been an operational forecaster for the military before, it's critical. i can't imagine doing it 70 years ago before satellite and technology now. one of the things that happened during this is both the american and the english looking at the forecast, there was only a short window they could do this, because they needed the moon just right so they could kind of see what they were doing out there. they needed low tide's to expose german underwater defenses. short periods, the first day they wanted to go, a weather system moves in. so, they postponed it one more day. they were able to find a gap in the weather, looking upstream to ireland weather, and they went on it. the germans didn't have as good

of a weather system. they didn't think the allies would be able to do anything during this period of time, so they were caught totally unprepared. had they had to push this operation back, the weather would have been worse, the germans would have known they were coming and it would not have been the same results. it was very critical that weather forecast and then really putting it on the line saying we think there's going to be a break and fortunately it happened. >> and there was a break. you did some military work in france recently and had a personal experience with someone actually thanking you, although obviously she was thanking americans in general for their role. >> i was working at a nato base as a forecaster for operations in the balkans. we were invited to participate in one of the liberation celebrations, their anniversary of being liberated after all of this happened. a little old woman came up while i was in uniform, hugs me, thanks me. it was one of the more moving experiences i've ever had, because i couldn't imagine up until that pointed what they

moving through and how thankful in showing it that they were to have the americans come into their town and free them from the germans. >> that appreciation certainly endures for the greatest generation. >> d-day has been called the turning point of world war ii and we have a look at some of the men who played an important role for the allies. >> bud rice said it was electric, being back in the cockpit, hands on the column of the c47 he flew in world war ii, a plane called whiskey seven. >> you could just hope you could get through it all right, because we were not magicians, we were pilots. >> the mission was no joy ride. he helped drop 13,000 u.s. prosecutor troopers behind enemy lines hours before the sea born invasion force would hit normandy. >> you could see the stripes blow of thousands and thousands of troops.

we had to get there ahead of them. >> the weather was daunting, they couldn't see their wing tips. >> you weren't worried about flak then, just midair collision, which happened. >> this aircraft, whiskey seven, crossed normandy about 1:20 in the morning. 800 aircraft were with it. all hell broke loose. with flak from the germans, some aircraft turned into flaming fireballs with paratroopers still onboard. >> leslie cruz was on this plane the night of d-day. we flew where he was dropped to secure a town from nazis. back then, he just wanted to see a green jump light and get out the door. >> it was like a ton of bricks, then getting everything off, get the rifle out. >> paratroopers had to hurry to secure towns and vital industry routes and stop the germans from bringing up reinforcements.

a memorial hangs on the church where a u.s. paratrooper landed that night. he lost his partner. >> they were around us and missed me and i thought it missed him, too. i found out he died. i just went across the road and i sat down and cried. that was the end of that day. >> memories all too clear for paratroopers and pilots on whiskey seven then and now. >> looking live now at normandy france where commemorations continue for the 70t 70th anniversary of d-day. such an important event, especially because a lot of the veterans may not be around for the next big anniversary. >> they're called the greatest generation. we heard today president obama mention that the early parts of d-day did not go well and yet the perseverance of these men to

go and win that day is why we refer to them as the greatest generation. >> we'll have continued coverage. the international ceremony begins in just a few minutes. we'll be covering that live here on aljazeera america. >> stay with us. stay with us.

>> what more powerful manslaughter fesation of human freedom than the sight of wave after wave of wave of young men boarding the boats to libber ate people. >> 70