cartels. that's tomorrow 10:30 eastern 7:30 pacific. that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us. >> >> this is al jazeera america. diplomats have a final day to hammer out a deal with iran. >> is it going well secretary kerrry? >> we are working hard. >> how far apart are the negotiators, what happens if they fail? also - the saudi coalition battles houthi rebels in yemen from air and sea two men dressed as women try to ram their way through the gates of the national security

agency and rescuing bertha - a drill stranded deep below seattle for more than a year. good evening. i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. it is just after 5am in lausanne switzerland on the deadline day or the iran nuclear talks, secretary of state john kerry and others have 19 hours left to deal on a framework to kerb iran's nuclear programme. as diplomatic editor james bays reports, there's cautious optimism in the final hours of the talks. >> reporter: the talks here are in the last most difficult leg. is it going well secretary kerrry. >> we are working very hard working hard. >> reporter: u.s. secretary of state john kerry has spent most of the past two weeks in lausanne trying to hammer out a deal with his foreign

opposition,kerry and zarif have been joined by representatives of p5+1 - china, u.k. france germany and russia. it was important, but showed there's no deal ready to be signed yet. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov, who sort offed in lausanne less than 24 hours earlier decided to leave again. he may be back close to the midnight deadline on tuesday. the break when the foreign minister of china went for a jog. are the talks going as well as your run? >> very well. >> reporter: later he told reports positions are narrowing, i'm cautiously optimistic we can reach a deal. >> reporter: in the high security of this lakeside hotel, the other for instances apart from sergey lavrov are left to reach a deal hours before the deadline.

secretary of state john kerry and u.k. foreign secretary hammond took a walk presumably to discuss the sticking points. >> in negotiations of high complexity and high stakes it's not unnatural for brinksmanship to go on until the 11th hour. each is hoping the other will budge. the negotiators understand very clearly that they are running out of type. the process is no longer sustainable. >> reporter: talks are continuing on the main problem areas, the future of iran's nuclear research and development and the lifting of international sanctions. time ahead of that deadline is running out even if a preliminary deal is reached before the deadline it may be dead on arrival before it gets to congress. mike viqueira is in washington with more. >> the president said time and time again that any lifting of the sanctions on iran if there

is a deal will be gradual. that will be a main selling point. if there's a deal when it comes back to congress. when it comes to congress make no mistake, republicans are lying in wake whether the president is successful coming to terms with iran and p5 partners or if there's a failure. if a deal is struck the first thing congress will do when it gets back from its 2 week recess, is assist the president come to them for approval on the deal that the president made. if there's a failures the house and the senate will waste no time in ratcheting up sanctions, passing stringent sanctions on iran, and the president said he would go along with that. there are majorities in the house and the senate. it's not just republicans, plenty of democrats are on board. a lot of tension, anxiety and doubt about direction this is going in in terms of congress.

a key selling point the president is expected to use, the break out time something the white house came back to time and time again, breakout - referring to the time it would take iran if it broke their tword go back on the -- their word to go back on the deal and make a nuclear bomb. that would be one year plenty of time for allies to get together and decide on a response likely to include a military option. the president said if there were a military option if iran's nuclear facilities were to be bombed, it would set them back a matter of months. the essential question that the president poses is what is the alternative. there is absolutely nothing to lose in the president's view by sitting with iran and trying to come up with a deal whether it lasts 10 years or 15 years. the key element here is that a one-year breakout period for iran if they turn around and

try to build a bomb. that will be the main selling point that the president brings to congress if it comes to it mike viqueira in washington. >> the talks with iran go beyond politics. we break down technical pit falls and why reducing iran's nuclear capabilities can backfire. now to yemen, where the saudis launched new strikes against shia rebels and supporters. tonight they targeted a weapons facility. earlier it hit a camp housing internal by displaced people 40 killed. witnesses say many were houthi fighters. we are getting a look at the fighting on the ground between yemeni tribesman and houthi rebels. several houthis were killed there. >> a major development in the crash of the germanwings plane in the french alps. the co-pilot was diagnosed with

suicidal tendencies. andreas lubitz was in psychotherapy for a long period before earning his pilot's licence. >> reporter: the news that prosecutors in dusseldorf confirmed that at one point andreas lubitz suffered suicidal tendencies is confirmation of something that the media in germany speculated about for some time. we had known that mr andreas lubitz suffered a bout of depression in 2009 for which he received treatment. now we know at that point he was experiencing suicidal tendencies. that is important because his company, germanwings, and its parent company, lufthansa, stressed that andreas lubitz went through assessments - physical and mental - and passed them, and they considered him to be 100%able to take control of the plane. we know he took control of the plane, locked out his captain, and plunged that plane into a

fatal dive into the alps coming at a time when the french president francis hollande will get angela merkel in berlin obviously to talk about this issue amongst others. francis hollande was the first world leader to talk about this disaster confirming there had been fatalities on the day of the accident tuesday last week and we know there'll be a memorial in cologne, the city that is the base for germanwings on april 17th. german chancellor angela merkel, and the president will be in attendance to mark the memorial for the 149 innocent victims that andreas lubitz took to their deaths on the day he plunged that aircraft in sainz. -- seyne-les-alpes a stolen vehicle rammed a main gate and inside two men were dressed as women.

police shot and killed one, after he failed to follow instructions to leave the premises. the other was hospitalized as was an n.s.a. police officer. the fbi is investigating but does not suspect a political motive. >> changes were coming to the restoration and freedom account. critics say the law can be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians. republicans in the state say they are working to fix that. >> reporter: hoping to end the controversy own indiana's freed am restoration bill state's republican leaders came out to say the law does not discriminate against gays and lesbians. >> people are reacting differently to this law. we didn't see it coming and we need to clarify that the law does not discriminate for anyone. >> some believe it can be

clarified. >> we are prepared to encourage legislative colleagues to take action to clarify that in every way. what we hoped for with the bill was a message of inclusion, inclusion of all religious beliefs. what came out is a message of exclusion. and indiana governor insisted no changes were necessary. >> this is not about discrimination, it's about protecting the religious liberty of every faith. >> reporter: he never directly answered whether the law opened the door with business owners. whether they discriminated with gays and lesbians. >> the question is if there's a government action or law, that an individual beliefs or impinges, they have an opportunity to go court. >> indiana says a fix will not be enough.

>> there can be no band aid for what has transpired here. we are going to have to take real actions. >> hundreds of people came out about the bill. businesses across the country threatened to boycott the state. monday the n.c.a.a. weighed in. >> what the universities and college memberships care about, and that is an environment celebrating diversity, providing for an inclusive environment. we are not sure they had that. the n.c.a.a. hinted they may change their venue, and city leaders are concerned. the security council passed a resolution urging the law be changed jonathan betz in indiana a pharmacist group moved to discourage members from prescribing drugs that can put

convicts to death. they voted on standards saying participation in executions is contrary to the role of the members. the policy change could lead states without a source for lethal injection cockpits. many refuse to sell the drugs. an agreement over iran's nuclear programme hings on a few issues and raising bertha can now move part of the disabled machine to the surface.

>> this is al jazeera america. you >> this is al jazeera america. aljazeera.com.au

returning now to the top story. with the deadline less than

24 hours away world leaders are pushing for a deal to limit the nuclear enriching capabilities as signs and technology correspondent jacob ward explained it would not necessarily reduce iran's capability to make a bomb. >> reporter: it's logical if the u.s. and its allies want to limit iran's making a nuclear weapon, it should limit the number of centrifuges. it may have an op sit effect. >> by limiting them limits the number you need. >> reporter: it takes fewer centrifuges to create a weapon than a steady supply of nuclear fuel. that's what few understand. it takes tens of tonnes of nuclear material to power a reactor for a year but takes 25 kilograms or 55 points of uranium to build a weapon.

u.s. and partners pushed for a deal allowing iran to retain 600,000 down to 20,000. the trouble is it takes 5,000 centrifuges to build a weapon. in a study published march 28th a harvard researcher said 6,000 gives iran a 7-month timetable to enrich enough for a weapon. it's not just a matter of centrifuges, it has to be 90% ut35. nuclear fuel has to be 4-5%. the fuel is easier to make. that is not saying much. here is why. once you made the leap from raw uranium to 4-5 per cent the big hurdle is out of the way. you are on your way to 90%. you have to make 1,000 times fewer kilograms of that uranium

to have something to put into a weapon. rain has one nuclear power station. russia supplied fuel for that. iran needs 10 times more centrifuges that it has to supply the statement. most believe by reducing the numbers of centrifuges, they hope to lengthen the breakout period. the time it would take to build a bomb but reducing the numbers also wipes out any hope that iran might have to supply fuel to produce its own nuclear power to take a closer look at the negotiations we are joined by paul carol, director of programs at the plough share response, and former u.s. department of energy official, joining us from san francisco. we are getting mixed signals out of switzerland, including the russian foreign minister going back to moscow sergey lavrov about the likely had that a deal will be reached before the

deadline tomorrow night. what do you thing will happen? >> thanks for having me. i'm cautiously optimistic. let's keep in mind the deadline of tomorrow is a political deadline for a framework agreement. the specifics, the technical details, the devils in the details will be played out over several months. it's not to say the deadline is not important, but it's not a toggle. a die or live. i suspect what may happen is we may see last-minute fire drills if you will. last-minute negotiations extend into several more days. all the sides want the deal. >> deadlines have been extended. it's political. in this case is it danger that if they push this off forces in washington and iran may move to

scutting a deal? >> well you had a speaker in the programme, and what he said was important - it strains the credibility and sustainability of the process, and so you can't continue to have another, for example, 4-6 month extension of the joint plan. that being said we are really in the final details, the final bickering and give and take over negotiation, and what i'm saying is if this spills into april 1st or 2, that's not... >> a big deal. >> right. >> what about the external pressure forget the internal pressure in iran and france. the external pressure from allies. binyamin netanyahu in israel escalated his rhetoric against the deal. the saudis seem nontoo happy either. >> i would say two things what is remarkable for me and notable

for people to keep in mind is this is six partners on one side of the table, and iran on the other. they include china, russia, and the fact this we stayed together this long and been on the same page is remarkable. it speaks volumes to the cohesion of the coalition. and israel, close ally of the united states one that we would stand by and saudi arabia as well, an ally in the region i would say that prime minister binyamin netanyahu actually marginalized himself. the visit to congress the letter from the republican senators. that really showed i think true colours of the opposition. the opposition is not in the interests of a better deal. they are maxim us looking to undermine any deal. >> talking in those terms, working to prevent the spread of

mass destruction. as the deal is configured does it do enough to prevent iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. does it shorten the breakout time we heard jacob ward talking about? >> i would say yes. there's three criteria. >> lengthen i should have said. >> exactly. i was going to point it out. the three things that have to happen - you have to block all the paths. this deal has been doing that. it reduces and restricts iranian enrichment modifies the research reactor, and gives eyes on the programme. it gives intrusive inspections and early warning of anything going amiss. it also creates a mechanism by way the allies can respond if there's shenanigans detected. it lengthens the breakout or grape out, but sounds the alarm

bell in plenty of time to respond. finally, through this p5+1 process, and the u.n. itself it creates a mechanism to respond, it's like being on probation. if you violate your parole there'll be consequences. >> good to have you with us. bertha is a drill that got stuck while digging a tunnel under seattle. when it broke down a multi billion project came to a halt. tonight bertha is buried no more. allen schauffler joins us. it's a massive drill that shut a massive project. >> yes, we are talking 4 million pounds worth of cutter head drive assembly and main bearing. that is it there, seeing the light of day for the first time since december 2013. this is a project going on today for about 13 hours. they've been very deliberate

lifting this thing up and out of the pit that they had to dig to get at it. it's a little tough to see what is going on. it's moving slowly. it looks like it's not moving at all. we want to give you a lit background and show you what they are doing. >> reporter: time lapse photography shows a smaller piece of the cutting head emerging from the pit dug to release the stranded machine. a huge industrial crane pulls it up and out as the unprecedented repair job reaches a crucial stage. enormous replacement sits nearby. it's hoped it will get the project on track. bertha is the biggest and important tool in the $3.1 billion plan for replacing the double deck highway. >> we don't have a total. >> the tunnel was supposed to be

complete with the project finished. the current timeline pushes the date back to 2017. the neither the contractor nor the state transport department will discuss how much the 14 month delay, all of bertha's repairs and upgrades add to the project. the stance is that this project is not over budget at this point. >> we'll complete the job and we are going to be accountable to the public. the contract will be accountable to finish the contract. and it could be completed. >> if no agreement on money is reached between the state and contractor, who is at fault and who will pay most certainly will be decided in court. >> they'll put the cutter head in a cradle to get at it.

replace what they need to replace, repair what they need to repair and hope to be back and drilling by some time this august. >> incredible machine. allen schauffler in seattle he has big shoes to fill. meet the man tapped to replace jon stewart on the daily show.

two former federal agents are accused of stealing the digital

currency bitcoin. they were part of an investigation into the online black market known as silk road a site where people could drive drugs and other illegal its and bitcoin was an accepted currency. two agents face money laundering and wire fraud comedy central named an heir to the throne. a replacement for "the daily show" jon stewart. john terrett joins us. this choice was a surprise to everyone. >> it was, it's not you or me. it was a surprise. 60 years ago a fledgeling comedy central tapped jon stewart. now with stewart and colbert existing experts are banking on a virtually unknown comedian to take it forward. >> for a lot of americans africa... >> after jon stewart announced he would leave "the daily show,"

speculation over his replacement was intense. the mystery is answered. the choice is south african comedian trevor noah. >> on the hip hop station they sense a hip hop. it's a hip hopping. >> reporter: trevor noah south african, joined the award-winning show in september. >> the photo on the left i took it it in my cab here on the way from the airport. >> reporter: now, he's the tongue in cheek international reporter. jon stewart turned the show into 2 million viewers, his success in tearing down the media, including al jazeera america and me. >> i don't care what you do from day to day, do it on the show. >> what do you call a camel with no humps by the way?

>> humphrey. >> the answer in a moment. he went from a household name to one few heard of. that was yesterday, as trevor noah moves to the fore comedy central is looking for him to steer the show through the presidential election, and bring more of an international perspective to the programme. they'll hope he can keep the numbers up. >> you didn't think you'd heard the last of the camel joke seriously. if trevor noah can do that keep the numbers up he'll do fine. as with everything in tv ratings and advertising will decide his fate and he's 31 and about to lead one of the most talked about programs of all-time. way a position he's in. >> funny, younger than stewart works he was 37 a college degree no longer guarantees a job. with rising loan debts students are rebelling, for that and the latest join us tomorrow for al

jazeera news with stephanie sy 7:30 eastern. i'm antonio mora thanks for joining us. for the latest head over to aljazeera.com. "inside story" is up next. have a great night. [ ♪♪ ] indiana recently joined the parade of states passing a version of the religious freedom restoration act. the blow-back has been more ferocious than in missouri. corporations are cutting back or threatening to pull out of the state. now there's pressure on the n.c.a.a. to move its indianapolis headquarters and not bring the final four to the state's biggest city either. we'll look at