right >> when you have an eyewitness to say i saw him do it, that is the best evidence. >> and sometimes sometimes they don't >> no one is listening to us... george is innocent... >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america ... . >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i am thomas drayden. let's get you caught up on the top stories at this hour. ukraine's new president is sworn in. the overwhelming challenges remain with the fractured country. also, the heart breaking plight of syrian families torn apart by years of war. closer to home, the culture that's embracing open carry laws in texas. >> the loss i feel, i cannot describe. >> and moving to american icon,

maya angelou. employ to have you with us. the u.s. is promising aid to three former soviet states as the new president takes the healthm in ukraine. vice president joe biden attending the swearing in of petro poroshenko in kiev where he promised $50 million to ukraine and even more funds to moldova and georgia. his message: america is with you. robin forestier walker has more. >> he may have the red carpet, but petro poroshenko has a mountain to climb if he is to save ukraine from conflict and comic ruin. ♪. >> at his inauguration, the international community was there to show support for an elected leader at last after

months of uncertainty. president poroshenko promised to take the fight of the rebeb yon to. >> who comes with a sword will fall from the sword. citizens of ukraine will never enjoy the beauty of peace unless we settle down our relations with russia. russia occupied crimea which was, is, and will be a ukrainian soil. >> on europe, he said, this time there will be no turning back. >> translator: what exactly do we have to livefree lives, free and prosperous lives? all of this is in the agreement on political association and free trade zone with the european union. many of you, along with myself, were part of a team putting the

document together. now, our job is to make it a reality. president paperwooroshenko taker and holds parliament e lichenodes this is the parliament that invested presidential powers in petro poroshenko today. this stripped those powers from victor yanukovych after the revolution. this is the parliament that president poroshenko now wants dissolved so he can have new deputies to press forward with the reforms he says ukraine so desperately needs. >> these are the men he now commands. the solution to the violence in the east of the country may ultimately lie with russia. talks are expected. there is hope the diplomacy that this country is virtually at war with the new commander in chief

now has to choose which part to tread. robin forestier walker, kiev. >> the new president has some medication opposition to deal with in the east. john kerry says he has confidence poroshenko will succeed if russia supports him. kim vinnell reports from the heart of the resistentions in donetsk. >> people are here are dove i'ded whether petro poroshenko can create any real change in the east. many people have, for a long time, felt alienated by kiev. the donetsk's people's republic say it's already an independent country and the chairman dismissing it poroshenko's offer to hold local elections in the region. >> the presidential elections here, there were no elections of poroshenko. what local elections are we talking about? yet again, he is throwing around works and making promises he can't keep. >> he says the donetsk's

people's republic is already in talks about becoming part of the russian federation and he says he is continuing to ask russia for a peacekeeping force to come across the border. he says the fight in the east will continue until ukrainian troops withdraw. >> now nina kruscheva of international affairs at the new scol here in new york. good to see you. we have a new president dealing with the same ol' problems. how does he deal with such a fragmented country? >> that's his big challenge. he said it is his main challenge and his first order of business would be to provide a roadmap how to solve the crisis. unfortunately, we haven't seen that roadmap so, hopefully within the first week, he's going to say something and explain how he's going to deal with that. yesterday, he already met with vladimir putin for a very brief time. >> was a good step forward because it is very important to have russia on his side. he does want to solve the problems. so those of us who observe

ukraine and russia are hopeful at the moment. >> it's a good step. it's a small step. what was important, he said his country would never give up crimea and would not compromise on its course toward closer ties with europe. how defiif it is played out wel also, another point here, i know, you know, joe biden who was attending the inauguration offered more money and to try to put ukraine in its fold, but it is very clear that ukraine is not going to be entirely divorced from russia. putin is making sure he is going to have influence over ukraine and probably part of that strategy. he has to say for his constituency, it's not going to happen. he is not going to get crimea back. putin is not going to give

crimea back. i think the sooner they figure out how to legitmize it and actually move forward in this relationship because that can go a long way with putin if crimea is going to be left alone. >> with that said, ukraine has western support. what long-term role would you say the u.s. will play in ukraine? >> shouldn't forget where ukraine is because it really didn't exist in the american mind for a really, really long time. so the united states should remember that ukraine exists. but, also, i think the united states really needs to tone down the language with russia as well because this is a problem as much as we are outraged at putin's behavior, he is not going away. he is there. he is going to stay. he proved he can get what he wants. and i think diploacy negotiations of all three sides, actually four sides, united states, europe, russia and ukraine probably ask the better way forward. >> so in our final moments here when the dust settles, what do you see for a new ukraine? >> i think ukraine is going to

be a western country. i think it just has to be very strategically planned by also the ukrainian approximately now has a great opportunity to prove that he is very different from his predecessors, from his corrupt predecessors. the trans piece is something he welcomes and is going to stand by because, now, he got the benefit of the doubt. but very soon, he will be judged by his performance. >> closer ties with russia, nita kruchev. thank you for coming in? >> thank you. >> in iraq towed, eight car bobs exploded in baghdad. several others injured in various districts in the capitol. it was also violence today in ramadi, west of baghdad. dozens of students and professors were released after a group stormed a university taking them hostage. they say they blew up a bridge to get into anbar university. >> today, an egyptian court sentenced 10 muslim brotherhood

members to death in abstentia. they were charged with inciting violence. this is the latest blow to the group which has been suppressed since the ousting of mohamed morsi last summer. tomorrow is the inauguration of egypt's president elect, ab dil fatah asisi. he won 96% of the vote but is facing increased criticism for human rights abuses. >> a staunch ally says the war on bashar al-assad has if he had. he is praising asaad's win last week. he says the strong voter turnout sends a clear message from the syrian people. >> maany political solution in syria begins and ends with president dr. bashar al-assad. >> that's what the election says. there is an elected president with a new mandate of seven years elected by millions. anyone who wants to reach a political solution has to talk with him to negotiate with him.

hezbollah has been heavily involved in syria's ongoing is civil wart. hasrala denies that his group forced people to take part in the vote. >> there were million refugees living in lebanon, the most of any country neighboring syria. jordan and turkey have over 500,000 refugees. over 220,000 are in iraq and slightly over 100,000 reside in egypt. al jazeera's nick sheeve written reports on syrian women at one of those refugee camps in lebanon trying to hold on to what's left of her family. >> every day, all day, ahmed dara keeps vigil. a window separates him from his family in isolation with second degree burns. they fled from syria. rattles were cut off, in protests, helpless and humiliated, she set herself on

fire. >> i can only think of her getting better. i have nothing else. the war's ripped families apartments. loo that's left the mothers of syria among the most vulnerable. more than three-quarters of syrian refugees are women and children. >> osmos has been in this home for widows for five months. she is from homs. the city once known as the cradle of the revolution, today, there are barely any signs of life. somewhere in there, she lost her husband. today, she keeps him alive by wearing her wedding ring, but here in lebanon, she doesn't feel alive or safe. so she is scared to reveal her face. when they fled, she and her daughter didn't have time to put on their shoes. when they fled, her son didn't make it.

she spends days teaching english. she contemplated suicide. her children kept her going. you in this house, the children of widows can play and live. the women learn skills like hair dressing. the idea is to give them the ability to support themselves. they have to because of all they have lost. >> ooma ab dual arrived here two wheats ago with her sister and her nephew. they fled when they could no longer hide from the war. she is also from homs. she says last month, the government bombed her house. >> the sounds were very loud. my little one was asleep under the bed. the children would see with their own eyes. they would see the massacres with their own eyes.

>> and then a massacre took her own family. this card shows how one of her sons was jailed for life. another son disappeared. her husband is missing, and then last month, her brother and her other son were both killed fighting. >> nobody in my family is left. five young men died. all my family is gone. . >> each of these families have a message to the united states. >> what would you want the people of america to know about your situation? >> the situation of the syrian people is very bad. there are millions like me. >> reporter: millions of lives. five days after we interviewed him, five days after we filmed his wife, 43-year-old miriam alhawe died from her burns. she died without the shelter or the dignity that these widows today are clinging to so they

can try and rebuild their families. nick schifrin, al jazeera, tripoli, lebanon. >> joining us is tamara algwfi for human rights watch. good to have you with us. when you see and here those stories post-ly, what do you see for syria and its people? >> post-election or before election is the same for people who fled the conflict and who feel the total uncertainty of being refugees and unwelcome g refugees in neighboring kuvenltdr countries with little help or aid available because the $18,000,000,000 needed, for example, for the over one million refugees is only around 15% covered by donors. so there is really very little prospect. and that's why you see a mother of four setting herself on fire. >> so here, you have asaad saying this election will give his regime fresh legitimacy. what do you make of those? >> for a mother of 4 who sets herself on fire because she is in a refugee camp, not much.

what she needs is aid. what she needs is access for her children to school, access for herself to healthcare, and protection, legal status, a state that is recognized so she is not illegal in a different country. >> where do you see? where do we go from here, post-election? not much as changed as you mentioned, but where do we go from here with asaad? >> it's difficult to tell where we go from here when half of the country does not go to the elections to start with but when you have nine million people displaced who fled their homes, over two million in neighboring countries with uncertain futures and no prospects for a political solution looming ahead of these people and looming ahead of the politicians all together, when you have, use of barrel bombs continuing on civilians but when you also have increased abuses, increased violations by certain on armed opiniposition groups s the scenario is getting more and more complex. >> you bring up a good point. militarily is assad stronger

than he was two years ago? >> it's difficult to tell. you have a country that's almost divided. you have a government that has consolidated power over some cities while continuing to use abuses. >> you have backing from russia and iran? >> you have the political backing, mostly at the security council from russia vetoing any resolution including on the international criminal court, for example. but then you have the rest of the country that is in turmoil with different armed groups all saying they are the opposition and some of them involved in very serious violations of human rights again. >> when you look at the numbers, though, of assad and how much he won by, is there an allegiance to asad or simply fear? >> it's david to tell. it's difficult to tell, again, because the country is very divided. in fact, what we see in the middle east generally post isa divided societies, societies that are not one color, one size fits all but societies that are

divided along religious lines, political lines, sectarian lines and this is what we see very clearly in syria. so maybe part of it is allegiance indeed. the fact that these elections have not been conducted on the entire country is very, very telling as well. >> it's a grim outlook not much will change. >> absolutely, militarily and, also, on the ground and for the people you just mentioned, the refugees or the civilians that are under fire, the destitute, not much will change. >> we are going to be digging deeper late irtonight. for now, champing for joining us. certainly appreciate your insight. just ahead, california chrome prepares for the biggest race in his life, and we will tell you how retired race horses are changing the lives of some prison inmates. later, the moving memorial to maya angelou. you are watching al jazeera america.

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comcast business built for business. >> within of horse rawsing's biggest enthesitis will be run in just a few hours. having won the kentucky derby

and the preakness, california he chrome could make history if he crosses the finish line in first place thus winning the first triple crown since 1979. 100,000 fans f california chrome wins the triple crown, he will be the only one making history. jessica taff explains. ♪ in the sport of kings, linda rice may be considered queen. she is one of the most successful female trainers in north america. no surprise if you known her lunchage. having grown up in a family where everyone was in the industry, she was already a certified trainer by the time she was 23. in the 2013 new york-bread trainer of the year feels right at home in the male-dominated profession. >> a lot of people talk about female trainers and think it's a notty. for you, you are a third generation trainer. this has been second nature since day one. tell me about your history. >> yes. i mean i have been training horses in new york for

two decades now, since i moved to new york, and i was a bit of a novelty when i first showed up. >> rice's track record speaks for itself. she has been one the top 10 trainers of any gender in the past decade and has won nearly 1200 races to go along with 40 million in prize money. she even made history at saratoga in 2009 when she was the first ever female to finish the lead at the final training standards at the stewart meet. one barrier she hasn't broken is to be the first female trainer to win a triple crown race. >> we ran kit cruise at the preakness. he may be running in the belmont. i certainly have my eye on the traverse and those are the races we are shooting for. >> that's my bucket list. >> what is it that makes rice such a good trainer? she says it's essentially like being a talent scout and a coach. >> you have to train your players and, you know, between fitness and weight training and

you also have to judge their abilities as to what their strengths and their weaknesses are. >> rice admits she may spend more time with horses than people who can't help but have a few favorites. >> i had a horse named "soldier field" that my brother had sent to me that was one of my very, very favorite horses. he won all over the country at every track, california, new york, and he was a terrific shipper and a great performer. he wasn't my most successful but he was my favorite. >> at belmont park in elmont, new york, jessica taff, al jazeera. >> so what happens to race horses when they are retired? at least a few have wound up at a farm in maryland giving prison inmates a chance to ride out their sentences carrying for them. al jazeera kristin salumi has the story. >> at the second chance form in sykesville, maryland, six retired horse races are living out their days. the farm was founded to save

thoroughbreds no longer fit to the track. they are not the only one getting a second chance? >> i don't look at it as a job. i can't wait to come in everyday. i look at it as a passion, something i love to do. >> what's the matter, girl? good girl. the grooms like 27-year-old kevin landis are inmates whose crimes range from assault to burglary. here, there are no cells, no handcuffs, just a chance to earn a few dollars and learn a new trade. >> if 1 is going in and 1 is going out, how do you pass each other? judy coin says caring for a two-ton animal is harder than it looks. only 25% of the inmates who enter can graduate? >> it takes a special person. not everyone can become patient. >> that's probably the number 1 thing to learn. patience. there are 10 of these programs across the country. they help inmates find jobs at

local stables and racetracks once they leave prison. landis feels he is learning life skills as well as job skills. of the 15 people who have completed maryland's program, only one has returned to prison. >> first, they have to over evercom fear of the horses. that will buildings self-esteem. once they get through that, then we teach them to be leadersover that will buildings self-esteem. once they get through that, then we teach them to be leaders using love and trust and confidence rather than any force or aggression. >> thighs horses considered worthless to the race can community have proven invaluable in a place where second chances are often hard to come by. kristin salumi, sykesville, maryland. >> your weekend a forecast rebecca stevenson joining u.s. folks out there for the bell mont stakes, it's warming up and the humid it is kicking in.

temperatures in the 80s and a little bit of humidity makes it feel warmer. it seems more humid as you get into the southeast. where we have record temperatures or temperatures climbing up toward record levels is in the southwest. we look at temperatures here, nice, cool and comfortable on the coast of california. as soon as you move inland, you get into the triple digit heat that will only dliem in the next two days. monday right now is looking l l the hottest day. the other part of our story today is going to be severe weather. we've got quite a bit of rainfall coming down and thunderstorms with lightning moving through anyhow, missouri and tennessee. we have a tornado warning that's popped up in southeast missouri and also in parts of northeast tennessee. we can see that the concern here is not necessarily just for tornados but the damaging wind gusts as they come down and destroy so much in their path. the little area or line of thunderstorms moving through right now, that's going to be

the main concern for even parts of kentucky as the system is moving through. so, again, a lot of rain with these and we are going to continue to see this severe threat throughout the evening. saturday night, pretty active. but at least in the northeast, where we've got fairly calm conditions, we are going to have another round of severe weather as we get into the central midwest tomorrow. >> i know you will be watching the system very closely. >> yes. >> rebecca, thank you. in afghanistan, police say 74 people have been killed in flooding that destroyed four villages. thousands of others have been forced to abandoned their homes. the police chief there says women and children were among the dead and dozens more people are still missing. revenge u workers say they are struggling to get food and medical supplies into the remote area. coming up on al jazeera america. activists aren't shy in texas where people are bringing out the big guns in support for the open carry law. banking on buds, colorado's new move to give marijuana businesses a place to stash its

cash. stay with us.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at the top stories we are following right now: the u.s. is promising more than $60 million in aid to ukraine, moldova and georgia, all three former soft states. vice president joe biden made the promise in kiev after the swearing in of petro poroshenko, ukraine's new president. >> in iraq eight car bombs exploded. 60 people were killed and several others injured in various districts in the capitol. there was violence in ramadi. history could be made in just a few hours if this horse, california chrome, crosses the finish first at belmont park and wins the triple crown. he would be the first criminal crown winner in 36 years. hundreds of people gather today to remember iconic rider and civil rights act visit maya angelou including first lady

michelle obama and former president bill clinton. the number of people she touched with her writing extended far beyond this north carolina chapel. >> if you know siri, you know she is here. didn't i tell you i wouldn't hold you down? >> an smallest and private celebration of the life of maya angelou in winston salem north carolina attended by hundreds. >> the loss i feel, i cannot describe. she was my spiritual queen mother, and everything that that woman implies. >> angelou passed away at the age of 86 on may 28th, known for her command of worst, a poet, novelist dancer, actor, teacher and civil rights act visit and inspiration to millions across the globe. the memorial service was a trek through her influential and diverse lady. first lady michelle obama gave

the eulogy. words so powerful they carried a little girl from the south side of chicago all the way to the white house. [applause.]. >> born into poverty and segregation, her life included writing poetry by age 9, giving birth as a single mother by 17 and becoming san francisco's 1 black female street car conductor. she worked with malcolm x, martin luther king, jr., and nelson mandela. >> she had the voice of god. he decided he wanted her back. >> president clinton requested she compose a poem to read at his first inauguration, now considered one of the most famous of all time. >> she called our attention to the that things really mattered. dignity, worth, love and kindness are things we can all share and don't cost anything. >> in perhaps her most famous book published in 1970, "i know

why the caged bird sings," angelou publically detailed the hardships of her childhood. >> for the first time reading a story about someone who was like me. i was that girl who loved to read. i was that girl who was raised by my southern grandmother. the pioneering work helped give black women writers a literary voice and became required reading in american classrooms. >> she was the original. she was the master. for at a time when there were such stifling constraints on how black women could exist in the world, she certain rene lee disregarded all of the rules. >> angelou served on two presidential committees was awarded the medal of arts in 2000, the lincoln medal in 2008 and 2011. the presidential medal of freedom, the country's highest civilian honor was awarded to venningou by barack obama who is sister is named after her. ♪.

>> a life celebrated with joy by family and friends, an american icon is put to final rest. a legacy for eternity, robert ray, al jazeera. >> a legend, maya angelou. with thousands of college graduates heading into the real world, president obama called on congress to help them get ahead. president obama used his weekly address to highlight the growing problem of student debt in the u.s. the president is pushing a plan that would help college graduates refinance their loans. the senate is expected to begin debating the plan this week. it was a brief scare at the u.s. capitol in the capitol building, the library of congress were evacuated for a short time after a small airplane flew into restricted airspace. the eye lot exited the no-fly zone after he was contacted by air traffic control. begun rights activists aren't hiding their demands in texas. supporters of open carry laws are out in full force at the

state's gop convention. john henry has the story from fort worth. >> plenni gail believes the answer to gun violence in america is more guns out in the open for everyone to see them. >> if somebody sees a pistol on my hip, they are not going to do anything to begin with. so we think instead of reacting to crime, it's better to just prevent it to begin with. >> in bistros, in bars across u.s., americans are carrying guns and unnerving their neighbors. >> here in texas, guns are just part of the cowboy culture. even here, for some, carrying them openly in restaurants and bars is still a little too much. >> even at the state republic can con convention in pistol-packing texas. >> to walk into a place and just see, you know, several people with their guns out would be a little intimidating, and, you

know, the first question that would go through my mind is are they the good guys or the bad guys? open carrying has become so popular across the u.s. that some restaurants have asked their customers to leave their weapons at home, even the national rifle association called open carry texas countser productive and weird. the nra later apologized. open carry advocates have a texas sized complaint. >> if i was to open carry my handgun, you would be considered a felon. >> you have a holster there? >> it's empty. >> 44 of the 50 u.s. states allow americans to carry and guns openly. somehow, texas which allows gun owners to carried concealed handguns and to carry rifles and shot guns openly is not one of them. there is an exception. texas says this is a firearm. this civil war era pistol is not. so many open years are carrying replicas of old school black

pouteder revolvers as they try to change the law. >> when i enter a gun-free zone, i don't feel safe. i feel safer when i am carrying a firearm because it gives me the ability to protect my life and my family's life. >> the only solution to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> as the movement gains momentum, the open carry texans have a good shot at liberalizing the state's gun laws more than ever. john henry, al jazeera, fort worth, texas. >> actor, comedian and 30 rock star tracy morgan is in critical condition. abc is reporting a dozing truck driver crashed into morgan's tour bus. the six-vehicle crash happened at about 1:00 a.m. on the new jersey turnpike. doctors expect his condition to remain the same for today. >> colorado is trying to give marijuana businesses access to banks. pot sales are legal there but not nationwide which is why some banks are hesitant to do any business with them.

colorado's governor has approved a new financial system. paul beban reports. >> since recreational marijuana became legal here on zan 1st, business has been booming, but there is one big problem. while it is perfectly legal here in colorado, it remains totally illegal under federal law. what that means is every pot-related business is a cash-only business. they can't work with banks. they can't accept checks. they can't accept credit cards. they have to pay their bills in cash. they have to pay their taxes in cash. they have to pay their employees in cash. and that, of course, creates a lot of logistical problems. they have to store large amounts of cash on site. they have to transport that cash. all of this makes them a high target for crime, for robbery. in fact, the denver police this week issued a warning to pot-related business cur years saying that they are being targeted by he thieves. so what the legislature and the governor here are hoping to do is set up something like a co-op

or a the credit union that would be specific to pot businesses to allow them to process checks and credit cards. however, they can't do that without a sign-off from the federal reserve, which has indicated they are not going to go anywhere near that short of an act of congress, changing federal marijuana laws. so while the leanly slate temperature, lawmakers, business advocates for the marijuana industry are hopeful this will send a signal to federal regulators they want to move this ball forward, this is far from being what they called the lease piece of the pot puzzle here in colorado. paul beban, al jazeera, denver. many americans have a different problem with their bank accounts. not enough cash to get by. some are having to dip into their neuro 1 k retirement accounts. mary snow explains why the penalties you will pay are only part of the problem. >> like a piggy bank, 401(k) accounts can be an easy source of rainy day money, but when someone stops into their 401(k) before turning 59 and a half,

the irs hits them with a 10% patternty on top of any taxes they may 0 on the money, now considered income. >>. >> it's a pig general contractor bank for folks. they have to crack it open. nobody wants to do that. people don't have other options. >> that $57,000,000,000 americans withdrew from their 401(k)s in 2011 earned the irs $57,000,000,000 in penalties. all that money being withdrawn from retirement accounts is making americans less prepared for retirement. according to a recent gallup survey, 48% of americans say their 401(k) plans will be a major source of their retirement income. but according to one example, prematurely withdrawing 16 ,$000 from a 401(k) at age 30 and not paying it back could cost $471 per month in retirement income or more than $50,000 over 20

years assuming a retirement age of 67. for decades, americans used their homes as piggy banks. rising home equity meant second mortgag mortgages, refinancing or home equity lines were easy way to pull cash but that changed with the house collapse of 2008 when americans became locked out of using their homes as atms, they began to turn to their 401(k)s as the next way to access easy money. for example, outstanding home equity loans in 2013 were at $704,000,000,000, down 38% from their peek irs patternties are up 37% since 2003. >> 401(k) plans are structurally flawed. they are really do-it-yourself savings plans that have failed millions of americans miss recallbly. >> for now, one thing seems certain with the economy running

in slow motion, americans are running out of piggy banks to crack open. mary snow, al jazeera. a.m. stock is going to plummet on monday sort of investors will get seven shares of apple for every one that they own. shares will cost around $93. lower share prices mean the stock will be more accessible allowing more people to invest in a.m. the last time they were under $100 was ba income 2001. >> the king of country music, an american legends prepares to hang up his spurs. for the world cup days away, brazil is facing a crimmiin a c transit strike. you are watching al jazeera america.

we're here in the vortex. tonight, 7:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

♪ they call me the fireman." putting out old flames. >> he is called the king of country, for good reason, since his first hit in 1981, a single title "unwound" he sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. he has recorded the most number 1 if top 5 songs in the history of music of any kind. after more than 30 years on the road, george strait is about to perform the final concert of "a cowboy rides away" tour. 100,000 facts are expected to fact at&t stadium in arlington, texas. only elvis and the beatles have had more gold and platinum al bums than strait. the academy named him artist of the decade. they named him the top country artist for the past 25 years. they named him the 2014 performer of the year.

joining me for more on this story is bill wyman, al jazeera america's arts and culture contributor. tell us about the show tonight. >> it's going to be a really big deal for dallas and by, there is a bunch of stars going to be with him, faith hill, tim mcdmrau, kenny chesney, a buchling of other peoplebunch of other people. he is a very unusual country artist. people who aren't into country don't appreciate how separate he has kept himself from nashville. he has never played the nashville game. he's got a great ear for a great country song and, you know, he doesn't write his own songs. he finds great songs to sing. >> that's what has fueled his success for a 30 years even by country standards which loves its stars, of course. but he has set a standard. >> we have heard from other artists, the farewell tour. will this be it for george strait? >> absolutely not. i was trying to think of someone who besides for medical reasons who retired and actually stuck with it, whether it's garth brooks or elton john or david

bowie or the who. they always come back. i think what we will see is him sort of maybe change his approach. maybe he won't be doing the country swing stuff anymore. he is going to be remaining in the public eye. even this fair wail tour has been going on for almost two years now. i bet it will be continuing for the foreseeable future. >> what's the reason? why is he calling it quits on touring? >> he's always been a smart guy. he's very low-key but iconoclastic. he is not part of the nashville scene and in hollywood terce he is a little bit like clint eastwood where remember when he let meed lived in carmel and makes movies and leaves. not part of that scene. same thing for george strait, a texas answer and he runs husband career the way he wants to. we could see a change in musical direction for him. maybe more of a crooner, or a contemporary pop or classic pop sort of guy and it may be moving a little bit away from country. i don't think he is going away by any stretch. >> i want to talk about that

massive field that you were talking about. why do you think he has been able to sustain for so many years? >> he is a very amazing guy. he is a very good-looking guy. he is a man's man that men relate to and that women relate to. and let's not forget, he really has been remarkable ear for a great song. by country standards. to me, he doesn't have that many classic classic songs but boy, he can hear a song that fits in his image that he can delivery and that will take him to the top of the charts and again, this guy has been doing it for more than 30 years pretty consistently. >> how are fans taking his retirement by the way? >> i bet they are going to be really, really sad. there is a generation or two of country people, and what they see in him is there is a lot of crappy -- excuse my french -- superficial pop country these days. he is kind of the guy he never lost track of the country tradition, the same way randy travis has that blue grass tradition and that country swing, the fiddle never goes away. it speaks to something in a large part of the american

psyche. i think those people are the ones who are going to miss him the most. i don't see that many traditionalists on the horizon right now. >> for those who aren't familiar with his music, let's take a moment to listen in. ♪ love without end. amen. ♪ it's a love without end. ♪ amen. ♪. >> does have a smooth sound. any word on what he plans to do next? >> not at all. like i said, there has been some speculation that he might move away from classic country and make himself into more of an adult classic singer. i remember his manager in one article said, look what linda ronstadt did, those albums with nelson riddle and some that go back to her spanish heritage. he might do something like that. but i think it's going to be rooted in that texas tradition that he -- that's born and bred in him. >> i don't think this is going to be it for him. 100,000 people expected in arlington, texas to wish him a fond farewell, if you will.

arts and culture, bill wyman, thank you for joining us? >> thanks. >> the world cup is about to get underway in brazil. ugly scenes are threatening the beautiful game's big event. less than a week before the first match, transit workers in sao paolo are on strike. the walkout paralyzed traffic and has prompted several violent picture line battles with police. more from sao paolo. >> we spoke to some leaders of the union that represents some of the metro workers and they say they are hoping to strike some sort of agreement with the mediator as early as sunday. now, the metro workers want a 12% raise. the state government is only offering 8%. they are hoping as early as sunday they can find some sort of middle ground that can end the strike. a lot of the damage has already been done. thursday and friday, the strike caused absolutely transit chaos here in a city of sao paolo caused over 250 kilometers of

traffic as people scram if we would to catch buses to get to work and school and their places of business. people are watching this very closely because the vast majority of tourists going to the world cup stadium here in sao faolo will do so via metro or train. if this carries over into next week an especially on thursday, when the opening match is expected to be played here in sao paolo it will cause a traffic nightmare here in sa sao paolo trying to get fans to the stadium. that would be a disaster for fifa and the brazilian government. >> there is soccer fever in afghanistan as well. the game has turned a group of women into pioneers for equal rights. they are players in a country's first female soccer league organized 10 years ago after the end of the taliban's rule. the league has sense grown to include 22 teams, all of them based in kabul. one organizer said its existence was a small but certain sign of

progress. female soccer is a new phenomenon here and for us to bring it to the afghan people still living with an old vision of soccer, it might take around 50 years. but still, we are hopeful and we will continue our struggle to make it common in our society. >> as in much of the world, soccer is hugely popular in afghanistan. men's games are often played in packed stadiums. it's national team did not qualify for this year's world cup. miami beach is one of the busiest in the country. but delicate coral is at risk of being destroyed as al jazeera nat aasha gname reports efforts are being made underway to save it. >> this colorful coral reef is living in the main shipping channel of the port of miami. it's beautiful and exciting and sad, a little bit, because you know that they are all going to be gone. >> that's because beginning on

saturday, the army corpse of engineers is dredging the channel as part of an he knew pangs project. it will destroy the colonies underneath. on the edges, army corps divers have retrieved healthy coral and transplanted them to an artificial coral reef north of the channel out of the path of cargo and cruise ships. the effort was mandated by the state of florida. but marine biologist andrew baker says there is still such a large number of coral reefs at risk. >> we've got one of the largest you a urban populations in the world next to a coral reef eco system. they are valuable, some of the few left we have in florida. i think unfortunately the economic concerns are going to win once again. >> reporter: for almost two weeks, the university of miami professor and his students have been diving for coral despite days of bad weather and poor visibility, they have retrieved about 1200. researchers thought they had until mid july to keep diving.

but the state, who issues the permit to dive, says the date was always subject to change giving the dredging project. the state can't afford to give the divers extensions. each day of delay would cost taxpayers $100,000. >> it is a missed opportunity in that, you know, we could have gotten more. we could have saved more and, you know, we could have had years and years worth of research corals at our disposal. >> the corals are now sitting in these pools. baker and his team hope to study them and learn more about how coral reefs can survive in inhospitable environments such as the water of a shipping channel. >> if we are trying to save florida's reefs and the fewer corals we have left are the most adaptable and hardy, tough, resista resistant, we should protect them because they might represent the future for them in florida. >> an army corps says they will grow back as they did after the last dredging project in 1991. but baker says that logic is

faulty when mother nature is showing us all around the world that it doesn't always bounce back. natasha gname, al jazeera, miami. coming up on al jazeera america, privacy advocates aren't going to be happy about google's new phone project. we will tell you all about it coming up. eyewitnesses get it wrong >> how much would you remember? >> dark complected... medium height... you described most of the majority of the men in america >> sometimes witnesses get it right >> when you have an eyewitness to say i saw him do it, that is the best evidence. >> and sometimes sometimes they don't >> no one is listening to us... george is innocent... >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america

>> every saturday join us for exclusive, revealing, and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. grammy award winning singer, songwriter angelique kidjo

>> music transforms lives of people >> inspiring strength >> read, be curious your brain is your ultimate weapon >> hope for the future >> the only thing that can transform my continent is girl's education >> talk to aljazeera only on al jazeera america >> if the dog walking with its owner looks a little bigger than normal, that's because it's not a dog. it's a hippo. mexican police arrested that man after he said the hippo escaped from his house when he let it out of its cage for a walk. he was arrested for not having documentation to prove he was in fact the owner. a local circus has come forward saying the hippo belongs to them. cell phones can pin point your location on a map. a new google phone will go one step further mapping the location and templing the exact room the phone is in. jake ward has details of the project. >> john, back in february, google debuted something it

called "project tango" which the company said was about giving mobile devices a human scale understanding of space and motion. now, that grand language means google is trying to put sensors into their devices that will let those devices construct a 3d map of everything, read your gestures down to the neutering of your fingers. they will understand which room of your house they are in. they will probably even know what pocket of your pants they are in. i mean they are going to recognize your face most likely. in february, google put out a prototype phone to build the kind of software that could take advantage of sensos like that. now they have introduced a tablet that's massively powerful. it's got a big beautiful 10 adf display. it's a monster. what makes it different is that it is brist ling of watching and measuring you and your environment. it has a wide angel camera that faces you so that you can basically give it as much user

information about yourself as possible and a big powerful camera on the back that sees very well in the dark. >> should be pretty useful. it contains a motion tracking camera and an integrated depth sensor for figuring out how far away things are. think this as a tablet version of the kinect. it is not a consumer device. it's a research device and whatever they learn about it will go into future consumer devices. the research is going to change a number of things about our lives. in the last five years or so, data scientists have been trying to quantify not just human behavior but human interactions with other people. with you research team at mit asked people in an office to wear devices that tracked their movements and listened to the tone of their voice. the researchers came away with all sorts of data about improving efficiency. for instance, at a call center based upon how fast people worked after taking a break. it turns out that more brakes and more chat with your co-workers make a call center more efficient, not less by the

way. this sort of quantification is what google is after here right now, when you surf the web, you are used to the idea that google soefshz up ads based upon what you were looking at on the last page. with tablets like these in the house, they could know that you and your kids are in the room and that you are playing a game. maybe even what game you are playing. it might something you would enjoy like a beverage. whatever it is, your personal device about to know a lot more about you. >> jake ward, d day commenrations brought thousands to normandy. one we want the extra mild to attend. 89-year-old bernard jordan was reported missing on thursday. he is a world war ii vet who escaped from his nursing home in england. nobody could find him. >> that's because jordan, without telling a soul, left the home and hopped on an overnight ferry to france to attend the 70th anniversary. needless to say when he got back, everyone gave him a hero's welcome, rightfully deserved.

i am thomas drayden. talk to al jazeera coming up next. for news updates around the world, we invite you to go to aljazeera.com. thanks for watching. >> it's a universal language. >> the latest album debuted at number 1 on world charts. eve is inspired by the suffering she has seen on her continent in darur's refugee camps. >> i had the voice in nigh head. >> the grammy award winning a artist is dedicated to improving lives of girls in africa. the only thing i know as an african person that can transfory