of qatar are also covered in sand. motorists are warned to drive carefully after visibility dropped to zero. you can read more about that sand storm across the middle east on aljazeera.com. there you'll find other top stories, aljazeera.com. >> breaking news, more than a dozen dead in an attack on a college in kenya and now word of hostages being held. we'll speak to an eyewitness on the ground. >> a defiant senator menendez insists he will be indicated accused of trading influence for gifts. >> lawmakers in indiana changing course in hopes of easing public pressure over a controversial

religious freedom law. >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm libby casey. we're following breaking news out of kenya. gunmen entered fire at a college dorm, 15 reported dead, dozens injured. some are still trapped on campus. a journalists based where the attack took place joins us by phone now. give us the latest on the ground. are security forces any closer to getting the situation under control? >> i couldn't say that. the interior cabinet said the place has been officially declared military zone and they

are trying to rescue the hostages. if they can get the gunmen and whoever was behind these attacks. right now the facility has been cordoned off no one is allowed in except ambulances. >> what happened this morning? give us a sense of what you saw and heard. >> a fight in the morning there are reports of shooting, and within the facility, but we found out that there were five gunmen who entered the university facility, and started shooting people in discriminately and then started taking children as hostages. right now they're in one of the

blocks with hostages. >> these hostages are in the student quarters, the student dorms. how fast did the response take place this morning? was it chaotic? how were you getting information? >> the response from security forces was kind of -- at the beginning, but when the news started coming in as the hostage pressure then the military police responded quickly and cordoned off the area. right now we found out that be military zone, where the kenya military deployed battle war zones and response in order to flush out the gunmen. >> the lead journalist in

garissa joining us live. malcolm web is in garissa and filed this report. >> just 100 meters behind me is garissa university. we'll been to the gate. you can hear heavy fighting. soldiers wouldn't let us stay there. we've come back to here where the crowds gathered, people waiting to find out what will happen. we've spoken on the phone to one of the hostages who's inside and just managed to get out. he says that there's at least 200, maybe another 300 students inside there still trapped and taken hostage by the attackers. the attackers came about 5:30 in the morning just when people at the university were operating those muslim getting down to pray. they threw explosives and went to the residential building and that's where they've been since and where they've got hostages right up until now. >> the u.s. has had a travel warning in place for kenya since last year. despite that, president obama is said to visit the country in

july. there is no word yet from the administration this morning if this attack might impact the penalty's trip. >> news of the attack quickly spread on social media this morning. a member of parliament in the area of garissa posted this message, saying policemen were at the scene to save the situation. kenyan's reacted to the news, some pleading with government officials to negotiate with al shabab. in a copy of an internal memo worrying about an attack at the university has been retweeted over and over. the memo is dated last week with the title terror threat alert urging students and staff to be vigilant about the threat. let's look at the group taking responsibility. al shabab is linked to al-qaeda and on the u.s. terror list. that it want thats to create an islamic state in somalia. most targets have been in somalia but it has stepped up attack in kenya including the

raid of the west gate mall in nairobi two years ago that killed more than 60 people. al shabab leaders say they are protesting the presence of kenyan troops in somalia. >> another extension in the talks over iran's nuclear program. negotiators at the table again today, two days after they blew by a self imposed deadline for a framework deal. while delegates report progress, germany's foreign minister said it's up to iran to come up with new policy also to break the impasse. james bays joins us live from switzerland. james, what's the latest? >> well, the marathon talks continue stephanie but we've got word that perhaps we are very near the end now. in the last few minutes the iranian foreign minister came out of the hotel and walked along the lakeside here and we have of course asked him questions. he said that they now have some

sort of statement. he says they're drafting that statement and he's pretty hopeful that we'll hear that statement in the coming hours. the big question, stephanie is, is is that statement going to be enough. remember what was originally promised by the obama administration was a draft agreement. is this a draft agreement, or is this just a statement? i think that is what people particularly on capitol hill are going to be watching for libby. >> we know some diplomats left, james, once that march 31 deadline hit but secretary kerry is still there. realistically, how much longer will he stick around? >> well, i mean, i think the people you've got here and you've got secretary kerry you've got the iranian foreign minister you've got the french foreign minister, the german foreign minister and the u.k. foreign minister and the e.u. high representative, these sort of important people cannot stay

here in one place indefinitely. if the iranian foreign minister is right and i do say a big if, because he has said we're close before, then we are near the end of this, but the question is whether the thing that is produced at the end is substantial enough, has enough concrete details to satisfactory the original reason for it, because remember, it was the u.s. that wanted this time line now at the end of march because the main deadline is the end of june. they wanted it simply to try and persuade congress that sanctions would be really counter productive. >> james bays, following the talks for us in lausanne, switzerland, thank you. >> investigators have started the process of matching d.n.a. from the 150 victims onboard germanwings flight 9545. officials say all final human remains have been recovered from the crash site. not a single body was found intact. they've isolated 78 distinction d.n.a. profiles from the

hundreds of samples recovered and received complete d.n.a. profiles from relatives of 60 victims. >> mercy senator menendez is facing 14 criminal charges today. prosecutors say the democratic illegally used his office to help a campaign supporter. he says he's angry at the justice department over the charges and maintains he was doing nothing more than helping a friend. >> i'm outraged that this cloud has in the been lifted. i'm outraged that prosecutors at the justice department were tricked into starting this investigation three years ago with false allegations by those who have a political motive to silence me, but i will not be silenced. [ cheers and applause ] >> quiet. i'm confident at the end of the

day, i will be vindicated and they will be exposed. >> the justice department alleges wealthy florida doctor showered menendez with lavish gifts and campaign contributions tolls throws to a million dollars. the doctor is also expected to face charges. >> racing to fiction controversial religious freedom laws in indiana. bipartisan leaders are expected to announce changes to the law in their state. the proposal is expected to include provisions ensuring that,s cannot discriminate against gay and lesbian customers. governor mike pence requested the changes after every signed the law. in arkansas, lawmakers are reworking a similar version. the governor reversed course and demanded changes before he would sign it. state lawmakers are advancing a new version making the bill more closely mirror federal laws.

we'll speak with tim shuts his group working to pass religious freedom bills in several states. >> mexico's lost generation. what happens when american children are forced to leave the u.s. because their parents have been deported.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it's 7:42 eastern. today's top stories, 11 public school educators in atlanta found guilty of racketeering in one of the largest school cheating cases in u.s. history convicted of changing student test scores to meet academic goals. some face 35 years in prison. >> mcdonald's is raising pay to one dollar above the mandatory wage. it only applies to stores mcdonald's operates, not franchise branches, which make up 90% of u.s. mcdonald's locations. >> california for the first time has imposed mandatory water refrictions, governor brown battling the drought. it has near crisis proportions after a winter of record low snowfalls. >> the number of american

citizens enrolled in mexican schools is the result of deportations under the obama administration. the transition for these american-born students is often difficult. many eventually drop out and join drug gangs that dominate mexico. david is here with more. you traveled to mexico to see this for yourself. >> one of the big reasons we did this story is because of an ongoing legal dispute between the justice democratic and federal appeals court in texas. that court allows the executive order of the obama administration put in place to stop deportations or essentially to stop giving work permits to parents who had chirp who were born in the united states. what we wanted to do was head to mexico to find what the consequences are of some families that head back to mexico. >> is the white house aware this is happening or is anyone talking about doing something to help? >> there is efforts on the ground in mexico with the state department. they reach out to n.g.o.s to find a scattering of families

that have come across. a lot of these people are undocumented come across the border, they have no papers, but this is really dangerous dangerous regions so they don't have the reach the mexican government may have or n.g.o.'s, this is a lawless area, making it even more difficult to pros the people, because a lot of people just don't know that they're there. >> a friendly neighborhood soccer match it's a welcome distraction for these kids. many are undocumented, struggle with the language and are displaced due to poverty and violence. it's a sad though familiar story, but there's something different about these children. some are actually american. those like 14-year-old salvador ochoa i can't saldasa were born in the u.s. today, he's living here.

the lawless state of michoacan considered the birth place of mexican drug wars. his parents escaped by trekking across the desert and into the u.s. where they lived for nearly 15 years giving birth to him and his two sisters. the threat of deportation and downturn in the u.s. economy eventually forced his parents to return to mexico. rather than break up the family, the kids went with their parents, traveling south and over the border to a country they had never seen before. they had no immigration papers, no u.s. passport, and no mexican citizenship. in other words, they are undocumented americans living in

mexico. higher than average school dropout rates among displaced children make them especially prone to joining organized crime, which is known to recruit children as both soldiers and so-called mules who shepherd small packages of narcotics across the u.s. border. students pass armed check points in salvador's new community on their way to school. >> we're getting right to one of these check points we were talking about earlier. you can see in the distance there, they're actually checking one of the trucks that have come across for arms, drugs and they take their security seriously here. you can see the sandbags essentially stacked up. my man here has his guns at the ready. this is an area of control that's run by one of the militias backed by the government. you can see the line or insignia that's the rural police force. it's got the backing of mexico city. now, across that border, right there where you can kind of see

the bit of debris lined up is a demarcation line, the area they don't control. >> beyond that in the mountains new cartels and visual land tee groups are forming. it's a new reality that those like salvador are facing as america's lost generation in america gross. >> to give you an idea of just how this region is, estimates have the casualty figures number of deaths from the drug wars to 120,000 range. that's more than afghanistan that's somewhere in the ballpark of iraq and even syria at this point and this is happening right down to our southern neighbors. this is the area these kids are heading back to and really speaks to the issue of just the volatility and kind of issues that they have to deal with in terms of both going to school and just dealing with the day to day normal life when they're accustomed to iowa, new jersey, things they never dealt with

before. >> they are american citizens. thank you so much. >> time now for our digit albeit and one of the stories getting attention on aljazeera.com in san francisco a hot rental market is sparking worries of arson. more than 200 residents have been displaced because of fires over the last three years in a quickly gentrifying area. fire officials are investigating the possibility that buildings are being intentionally burned down to get rent controlled tenants out. when insurance covers the cost to rebuild them and tenants move in landlords can get more than 30 thief hundreds for a one bedroom. for more, head to aljazeera.com. >> in today's healthbeat, today's world autism awareness day. around one in six children in

the u.s. have autism, a rate that's been increasing in recent years. >> two u.s. states in a bitter debate over fracking. coming up, how the dispute is sparking talk of secession. >> the water is rising along florida's coast. we'll tell you why residents will have to pay more to protect their homes. app homes. app

>> protestors are gathering... >> there's an air of tension right now... >> the crowd chanting for democracy... >> this is another significant development... >> we have an exclusive story tonight, and we go live...

>> aljazeera america is focusingin april on the issues threatening our fragile planet. we look at controversial drilling technique known as fracking the latest epicenter in the fight is along the new york pennsylvania border. the natural gas rich formation runs under parts of both states. as morgan radford reports residents are trying to cash in on the gas beneath them. >> here in conklin new york, entire houses are being torn down a sign of the town's slow death. the one thing people here believe can save it is beneath them. >> we have our skilled workforce which having, all left and the other thing is under our feet, our minerals. >> that's the town supervisor. conklin sits on one of the largest natural gas fields in the world the marcellas shale.

residents say it could bring conklin back to life if they can trim the land. there's one problem, new york state doesn't allow fracking. >> i said we should secede. that's where we are. >> easy leading a charge to leave the state of new york and join pennsylvania, where fracking is legal. >> you can look at the comparison what we have here and the rest of the country and it's not right when we have the biggest resource we have is in the ground. >> new york governor andrew cuomo said the health costs of drilling for natural gas are too high. >> i don't want to choose between jobs and health. >> according to a study published by the national in statutes of health, fracking fluids use toxic and cancer causing chemicals and says it's clear that the closer you are the more elevated your risk. we conclude that this process has not been shown to be safe. the author cautioned that the fracking boom is so new that long term studies about specific

health effects haven't been done yet. >> it's highly unlikely that these towns will actually secede from new york. they'd have to have the approval of not only the federal government but also the legislatures of both states, but it's still not impossible. we went to see how the other half lives. >> we'll be right down the middle of all the drill units. >> doug has been a county commissioner in bradford county, pennsylvania for the last 12 years. >> we have about i think right around close to 1500 wells that have been drilled. >> he says that fracking has been a boon to the county's economy. >> what we have is no debt in our county. we've cut our taxes. our farms are healthy. there's prosperity. >> prosperity for people like dick harris. his house is right next door to a drill pad. >> all four of these wells on this pad go down the hill right underneath my property. >> how has that changed your life? do you get righties from it?

>> yes i get royalties not getting wealthy. >> are you at all worried about your health? >> no. >> the long term health effects are still uncertain. jim said as far as he's concerned, fracking is worth it. >> we have it, just let us take it out of the ground. >> morgan rod ford, al jazeera new york. >> starting this month homeowners will pay more for flood insurance because the national flood insurance program is $24 billion in debt, in large part due to damage from hurricane katrina and hurricane sandy. residents of florida surrounded by a lot of water. how worried should they be about this? >> so anyone in those areas that you need the flood insurance are seeing prices go up, in some cases tens of thousands of dollars you've seen over the last few years because of shortfalls in the insurance but florida especially was a alaska has the most coastline in the entire country around 1300 miles out there.

$1.4 trillion in property in the u.s. alone is within about six or 700 feet of the coastline so a lot of people are impacted by this. florida leads the nation $500 billion in flood insurance for homes but many of that under estimated. here's a look at the coastline. the other thing we need to watch is rising waters. let's say 20 feet look at how much of that coastline is eroded away especially in southern florida near the everglades and portions of louisiana. that's going to lose a lot of that. with all the property near the coastline as ocean waters rise, that will eat that away, too. that's not the only thing we need to be concerned with. look at some of these energies facilities. this is just under four feet so all the little dots you see out there are places that could be i impacted by this. we are looking at florida and louisiana. the sea level rise estimated by the end of this century is two to five feet.

we could start seeing not only a lot of the coastline and all that property impacted, but different places that are vulnerable like those energy facilities. in fact, coming up in just an hour from now we're going to take a closinger look at one of the nuclear power plants that could be vulnerable to that. you combine the sea level rise with things like a hurricane that could bring storm surge and that's causing a lot of risk to the coast. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> three months after the u.s. lifted its trade embargo with cuba travel booking site is taking full advantage. american travelers can reserve lodging on the island through a website. a search shows more than 1,000 properties currently available in cuba. most are in havana, the rest in tourist destinations along the southern coast. thanks for joining us, i'm libby casey, stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more al jazeera morning news.

>> every sunday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. no topic off limits. >> 'cause i'm like, "dad, there are hookers in this house". >> exclusive conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> these are very vivid, human stories. >> if you have an agenda with people, you sometimes don't see the truth. >> "talk to al jazeera". only on al jazeera america.

>> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> gunmen kill at least 15 people at a university in kenya and now holding host ones. >> prosecutors at the justice department don't know the difference between friendship and corruption. >> fighting back, senator robert menendez indicted on corruption charges. he says the scandal won't end his career.

>> the worst drought in 1,000 years republican prompts a crackdown on water in california. >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. we are following breaking news. al shabab claiming responsibility for an ongoing attack at a kenyan university campus. 15 people have been killed, 50 injured. gunmen opened fire at a college dorm there overnight. some students are trapped on campus right now. al shabab said it released muslims and killed some christian students. malcolm webb is in garissa where the attack is taking place. >> just 100 meters down the road behind me is garissa university. we've been down there to the gates. you can hear heavy fighting inside. there's soldiers in the entrance.

they wouldn't let us stay there. we've come back to here where crowds are gathering waiting to find out what will happen. we've spoken on the phone to a hostage inside and just managed to get out. he says there's at least 200 maybe 300 students inside there still trapped and taken hostage by the attackers. the attackers came about 5:30 in the morning just when people at the university of operating those who were muslim getting down to pray. they threw explosives and went into the residential buildings and that's where they've been since and that's where they've got their hostages right until now. >> president obama announced this week he would visit kenya in july. the u.s. has had a travel warning in place there since last year. there is no word from the administration whether this latest attack will impact the penalty's trip. news of the attack traveled quickly on social media. one early tweet came from this

the majority leader of the national assembly ho posted this message saying police were on the way. some kenyans pleaded with government officials to negotiate with al shabab. many have shared this image a copy of an internal memo warning about an attack at a university in nairobi. the memo is dated last wreak with the title terror threat alert and warns that al shabab is planning an attack. it urge students and staff to be vigilant. let's look closer at this group taking responsibility for the attack. al shabab is linked to al-qaeda and it is on the u.s. terror list. it wants to create a so-called islamic state in somalia which is where the group originate. they attacked the mall in nairobi two years ago. they say they are protesting the presence of kenyan troops in

somalia. >> developing news out of yemen. prisoners were freed in the coastal city, nearly 500 miles east of aden. the attackers also took control of government buildings the central bank and a radio station. many of the freed prisoners were al-qaeda fighters. >> in indiana state officials are expected to unveil a new measure today designed to answer critics of the states religious freedom bill. the proposal includes proposals ensuring businesses cannot discriminate against gay and lesbian customers. >> in arkansas, lawmakers are scrambling to fix a similar bill rejected by the governor there. we have more. >> this is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial, but these are not ordinary times. >> thrust into the national spotlight, arkansas governor

hutchinson seized an opportunity to quell a growing controversy. >> we want the right balance between religious freedom and non-discrimination. >> opponents of the so-called religious freedom law say it would law business owners to discriminate against anyone for religious reasons. >> i think it's ironical at best that we are using religion as an excuse to pass something that can have either intentions or unintentional consequences that are not good for complete, huge segment of our population here. >> that population is the lgbt community. opponents feel with the equality movement gaining steam this law represents pushback against that success. >> in the name of religion, it's just incomprehensible that anyone who really has a

relationship with god would believe that, that it would even be necessary. >> that's the thing. why do state lawmakers find no legislation necessary if it exists on a federal level. attorney and legal an any of the: >> the proponents are saying look we simply want to give businesses again which is broader than that federal law which defines the law in terms of persons they're saying we want to give businesses the right to exercise their religious beliefs and feelings. >> clearly several other state legislatures agree. 21 states already have some kind of religious freedom laws on the books. 12 states introduced legislation this year. it became law in indiana this week but bills stalled in north carolina and georgia. >> god does not discriminate! >> walmart urged governor hutchinson approximate veto it, saying diversity benefits business. >> i think we have potentially

opened the door for people to interpret this as the ability to treat others differently using religion. i don't believe that's what my beliefs are or if jesus were alive today he would be telling us to do. >> the governor has the last word and he's calling for change. >> this is both about substance which is getting this legislation right and it's also about communicating to the world and to our neighboring states that we're a state that recognizes the diversity of the workforce, the need for non-discrimination and that we want to accomplish that. >> al jazeera. >> kim shuts is the president of the first amendment partnership. his organization has worked with georgia lawmakers along with a number of other states to pass religious freedom bills.

mr. shuts, good morning thanks so much for being with us. when governors or state senators in nevada, kansas, georgia call you to cult on these religious freedom laws in their states, how do you talk to them about the balance of protecting religious beliefs and discrimination? >> the first thing i tell them is the reason people want these laws is because in the united states of america, you should not be fined or jailed religious beliefs. >> why are we seeing these bills at the forefront now in some dozen states. is it a sign of the times? >> well, i think it's a sign that we have become to some degree a more polarized country. there have been, there is

certainly a rise in secularism in the united states. statistics bear that out. we've seen challenges to religious freedoms that just didn't exist 10-15 years ago. i think as those challenges rise people look to something that's been proven to strike a pretty good balance between religious freedom and other values. >> it also is happening in the context of more states legalizing gay marriage. critics say these laws are a reaction to that and that is why they charge it is a license to discriminate. >> yeah, i think that they're a partial reaction to that. keep in mind that up until 2013, the same-sex marriage issue is something that was being decided by the states through the ledge legislative process. same-sex marriage also protected religious freedom in some

significant ways. now that the courts have been the ones. there is some relation, but i don't think it's all about that by any means. >> georgia which is the latest state that was due to look at this law today actually, the house judiciary committee has postponed the proposal on that bill that was scheduled for a vote today. is this a direct result of the backlash that they have seen in indiana? >> it's not entirely about that. i think some of the same issues that are occurring in indiana occurred in georgia these political circumstances tend to play out fairly evenly across a number of states, but there's no doubt that when there's a national controversy like indiana has that that gives some people cold feet. >> what happens the first day that a business, a wedding vendor in one of these states with new religious freedom laws

decided not to provide service to a gay couple that wants to get married. what happens technically and legally? >> the first thing is right now this is widely understood. under the laws of most states, including indiana the photographer does not have to perform at the same-sex marriage. there's no statewide law making it illegal to discriminate on the base of sexual orientation in indiana. the couple might post a message on facebook or may post a bad review on that yelp, but there isn't any legal vehicle to compel that photographer in indiana to perform in that ceremony. >> so that is -- >> so that's what would happen on day one. >> is is that why there is this legitimate concern among some that it could lead to discrimination and sort of sanction that?

>> it's important that we 20 the tone of this right. those of us who know the law really well know the reason that it's possible to discriminate against gays, lesbians and transgender people is not because of these religious freedom laws but the lack of laws non-discrimination. indiana doesn't have one arkansas doesn't have one georgia doesn't have one so it seems to me that people who care about discrimination ought to focus on getting those laws passed as opposed to opposing these religious freedom laws. >> indiana's legislation is looking at a new measure to that effect today. tim shuts with the first amended

partnership, thank you for your insights this morning. >> one of the top democrats is due in court. he denies the allegations against him calling it a political witch hunt. >> menendez has temp early stepped down from a key post while declaring in sense. >> he is giving up his top post on the senate foreign relations committee, saying this is temporary and he says not giving up representing new jersey as a accept tore. instead, he's fighting back. >> walking into a room full of supporters to a roar of cheers, new jersey senator robert menendez called out federal prosecutors, sounding like he's gearing up for the fight of his political life. >> i'm angry and ready to fight because today contradicts my public service career and my

entire life. >> he faces charges including conspiracy violating a travel act, bribery, fraud and making false statements stemming from his relationship with his friend dr. solomen mengen who also faces charges. >> the prosecutors at the justice democratic don't know the difference between friendship and corruption and have twisted this into something that is improper. >> the justice democratic alleges mennen did he say was showered with gifts including trips aboard a private jest and campaign distributions totaling close to $1 million. in exchange, the indictment says menendez used the power of his office to benefit the doctor's financial and personal interests. according to the f.b.i., he changed medicare reimbursement policy resulting in the d pocketing millions. he received more medicaid reimbursements than any doctor in the country.

the prosecutors say the senator helped fix series have a problems so the doctor's girlfriends could come to the u.s. >> menendez said he paid back the costs of the flights. >> i am proud of what i have accomplished and i am not going anywhere. >> the bribery charges alone could equal 15 years in prison for each, so these are very serious charges the senator is facing. >> a few years abthe justice democratic went after alaska senator ted stevens a very powerful republican at the time but didn't try to prove bribery or quid pro quo but accused him of taking gifts that he didn't report on forms. that blew up in prosecutor's

face tasked with trying to conduct this, but it turns out they hid evidence from defense attorneys. it ended up being a real disaster for the justice department. many people are remembering that and watching this case closely. >> libby casey, thank you. >> california for the first time imposed mandatory water restrictions. the four year drought has reached near crisis pro organization he is after a winter of record low snowfalls. this is lake orville in 2011. you see a full lake, ample vegetation and this is the lake today. as you can see water levels have plunged there. 68%. here's another look at the same lake. this is before and this is after. more on why the state is taking desperate measures. >> desperate times calling for desperate measures in the golden state. standing on the slopes of a bone

dry ski area, california governor jerry brown announced new mandatory water restrictions. >> we're in a historic drought and that demands unprecedented action. >> the state was already reeling from an epic drought now after record low snowfall this winter, officials are running out of options. >> have you ever stood on this meadow on this day that there wasn't snow, and he said no june the new restrictions aim to cut water usage by 25% statewide saving half a trillion gallons of water. golf courses colleges, cemeteries and other facilities with large landscapes will take the biggest hits. the action creates a statewide consumer rebate program giving consumers an incentive to replace old appliances with newer models. the state says it's going to replace 50 million square feet

of municipal lawns with drought toll rapt landscaping. watering of grass an public street medians is also banned. >> we're standing on dry grass and should be standing in five feet of snow. >> ski resorts already snow the severity of the crisis after one of the most dismal seasons in their history. the rest of the state that relies on that snow pack throughout the summer could be in for a harsh reality. california needs 11 trillion-gallons of water to even begin a recovery. >> people should realize we're in a new era the idea of your nice little green grass getting lots of water every day that's going to be a thing of the past. >> al jazeera. >> what exactly is all the water in california being used for? mostly agriculture. 80% of the state's water goes towards growing produce. on average it takes 5.4 gallons to grow one head of broccoli. for almonds 25 gallons are used

for a handful the amount needed to take a 10 minute shower. doing one load of laundry uses about 41 gallons. for more on this drought as well as severe storms moving through the nation, let's bring in nicole mitchell. let's start with this drought. >> california not just the snow pack we didn't get over the course of the winter, january and february should have been rainy months. we didn't get that, either. one of the other problems was high heat. not only not the rain, but the high heat was continue to go dry things out causing a lot of problems out there and of course no rain in the forecast. there's a look at the radar. you can see california pretty dry. i mentioned heat. heat today into the midwest is going to fuel storms.

>> we start to increase the tornado threat more, so something people will definitely have to keep an eye on. >> that does bear watching. thank you. >> president obama travels to louisville kentucky to discuss the republican evident to repeal the estate tax. the represents say small businesses will help keep their firms in the family. the president said cutting the tax will affect the middle class. >> more than $30 million awarded in grants to provide low income families with fruits and vegetables. the grants will be veil in 26 states. >> officials in the philippines say a typhoon headed to the

country may strike the philippines by sunday. >> sea levels rising at an alarming rate, leading to fears that a nuclear power plant just 30 miles from downtown miami could meltdown. >> a deadly fireball in the gulf of mexico sends dozens jumping for their lives.

>> an update to the breaking news out of kenya. students are still trapped on a university campus in garissa held host a.m. by al shabab. it attacked dorms overnight kill at least 15 people. dozens more are injured. >> democratic senator robert menendez is expected to appear in a new jersey federal courtroom today. a grand jury indicted him on charges of bribery conspiracy and making false statements, saying he illegally used his office to help a top campaign supporter. >> mcdonald's is raising pay for 90,000 workers to one dollar

above the federal minimum. it does not affect franchises, which make up 90% of u.s. mcdonald's locations. >> negotiators in switzerland worked through the night trying to reach a framework agreement on iran's nuclear program. significant process is reported. secretary of state john kerry is staying put. james bays is covering the talks in lausanne, switzerland. diplomatics have been spending hours on end at the negotiating tail. do the meetings have that same sense of urgency today? >> well, you talk about marathon talks, stephanie. we had a situation here overnight where secretary of state john kerry and the iranian foreign minister were in meetings a number of meetings, but the total of those meetings was eight and a half hours only finishing just before 6:00 a.m. local time, pausing for a few hours and then they were back

into more meetings. they say they are making progress and an important development in the last hour, the iranian foreign minister saying he believes that they will have something by the end of the day here on that thursday in lausanne. the big question is what that something will be. remember what the u.s. promised. they promised a framework agreement, something substantial to take to congress to show congress there was progress in this long running pros. now mr. zarif is talking about a joint statement of principles. some on capitol hill will be asking whether that's enough. >> the devil may be in the details. the government is saying it's up to iran to take steps towards making this a reality. do we know what those steps are? >> we've known all along what

some of the sticking points have been, they've been the same throughout all the time they have been here, about the time line of a deal, about future research and development about the lifting of sanctions. the devil is in the detail, also in what details will be made public in this document or statement or whatever we're going to get because congress will want to see concrete details to prove there's been progress. if there aren't, there's a possibility of fresh sanctions and the administration believes if there are fresh sanctions that will completely stop this whole process. the final deadline of all this is the end of june, to try and get a time deal between iran and the international community. >> that's right. ok, james bays for us in lausanne submitser land, thank you. >> 54 sailors have died after a russian trawler went down in the

freezing waters in russia's far east. the officials say the boat sank after water flooded the engine compartment. it went down within 15 minutes. sixty people were rescued many suffering hypothermia. >> in mexico, a fire on a oil rig left some dead, others injured. 300 workers were evacuated. the blast did not cause on oil spill. it is not immediately clear what caused the fire. >> punishment in a massive cheating scandal teachers and principals convicted of secretly changing test scores for thousands of students.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. it is 8:29 eastern. kenyan police trying to secure a university where gunmen are holding a number of students hostage.

more than a dozen were killed at a college dorm in the northeast. al shabab is claiming responsibility. we spoke with a journalist a short time ago based in garissa, who witnessed the attack. >> the area has been declared a military zone and they are trying to rescue hostages. if they can get the gunmen or whoever was behind these attacks, so right now the university facility has been cordoned off no one is allowed in except ambulances. >> the u.s. embassy in nairobi tweeted moments ago that is saddened and angered by the attack and sending con condolences to the families of the victims. we'll keep you updated at information comes in. >> a group of and he had

indicators from atlanta are facing decades in prison, found guilty of cheating on standardized tests. the defendants say they were pressured to change test scores to get bonuses and in some cases to keep their jobs. john henry smith has more. >> the reliance an standardized test scores has been widely criticized as an ineffective measure of how well our schools are teaching our kids. critics say the atlanta case shows what can go wrong when an educators pay is tied to test score performance. >> we find the defendant guilty. >> guilty. >> guilty. >> 11 former teachers, principals and test administrators traded their jewelry for handcuffs convicted in the largest school cheating scandal ever. >> dismayed. >> defense lawyers stunned to see their clients convicted of racketeering under rico laws usually reserved for mobsters,

this for giving students answers or correcting wrong answers an standardized tests in 2009. >> i can't believe it. how can they find me inning of the two predicate acts, but guilty of rico? >> this is the most appalling decision i've ever seen. i don't see how you send educators to prison. >> the convicted 11 could each face 20 years in jail. >> i don't like to send anybody to jail. it's not one of the things i get a kick out of, but they have made their bed and they're going to have to lie in it. >> we've been fighting for the chinchildren in our community particular those deprived by this cheating scandal. >> this came to light under an investigation that found a pattern of improbable test scores in 20 georgia cities. the atlanta schools were so good that the late superintendent won 2009 national superintendent of the year honors as well as a half million dollars in bonuses. a former teacher said hall and

others made it known raise test scores or risk losing your job. a 2014 report compiled by fair test called the atlanta scandal the tip of the iceberg. from 2009-2014 the group reports finding settleddized test cheating occurring in 39 states across the country, as well as in the district of columbia and in u.s. department of defense schools. >> i think because of the decision of this jury today the people will stop. i think people will stop and they will make an assessment of our educational system. >> that same fair test report uncovered 60 different ways educators had cheated to raise standardized test scores, including reporting low scores as absent from school on test day to keeping kids they deemed likely to score low from enrolling in school in the first place. sentencing for most of the convicted in atlanta is expected to take place april 8. >> john henry smith, thank you.

>> in texas there are new questions over the conviction and execution of a man for a fire in 1991. cameroned to willingham was found guilty of setting the fire that killed his three daughters but that conviction may have been based on a lie. 23 years ago, three young girls died in a terrible fire inside this home. they were the three daughters of cameron todd willingham, later convicted of their murders and sentenced to death. the state's case rested on two pillars of evidence, forensics believed at the time to show the fire was intentionally set and the testimony of a jailhouse informant who said willingham confessed to him. willingham protested his in sense throughout his trial and incarceration. he was executed in 2004. today, the state's evidence has been called into question. independent fire investigators now say the fire may have been

accidental and the jailhouse informant said his testimony was a lie coerced by a prosecutor who promised him a secret deal, never disclosed to the jury. the prosecutor, john jackson is now under investigation by the texas bar association and the informant, johnny web spoke with al jazeera. >> everybody says i'm a snitch. i didn't snitch on nobody. i straight up lied like john jackson told me to. >> had you ever talked to willingham before? >> uh-uh. >> done who he was? you lied under oath, you are a liar. why should we believe you're telling the truth now. >> you don't got to believe me, believe their words they're right there. >> he points to 20 years of correspondence between himself jackson and jackson surrogates in which a deal is implied. also a recently discovered note in the d.a.'s file on webb says his sentence was to be lessened

based on "cooperation in willingham." >> jackson now a retired district judge denies the allegations that he fabricated willingham's confession and denies that he coached webb to lion the stand. he also denies a deal between him and webb ever existed. jackson will face those charges leveled by the texas bar association laird no year in a jury trial. punishment goes from reprimand to disbarment. this is the latest chapter in a painful episode that took the lives of three young girls in this community and led to the execution of a man who may have been innocent with that. >> the new orleans coroner said it was homicide when police killed a man in the wake of hurricane katrina. the officer who shot henry glover in 2005 had already been acquitted of the crime arguing self-defense but a second officer is serving 17 years for burning the body. it is unclear what legal

implications the new murder classification could have. >> controversy on the campus of duke university, school officials investigating a rope news found hanging from a tree on wednesday, it was hanging outside the student commence building. it was discovered after several students were alerted to it by twitter. the incident comes days after duke's black student alliance hosted a recruiting weekend for high school students. >> time now for our digit albeit. one of the stories getting attention on aljazeera.com in san francisco a hot rental market is parking worries of arson. more than 200 residents have been displaced because of fires over the last three years in a gentlyifying area. fire officials are investigating that believes are being burned down to get rent controlled tenants out. insurance covers the cost to rebuild those apartments and when market rate tenants move

in, left side get over $3,000 a month for one apartment. >> reacting to this video that has now gone viral: >> this isn't important enough to me. you're not important enough. >> nypd commissioner bill brandon tells al jazeera the detective caught berating an uber driver has been reassigned. the officer's rant didn't result in violence or charges filed but brandon said he was appalled by what he saw. >> the arrogance,respect the discourtesy, the abuse of language, the threats that were made there was nothing in that video that i saw that i liked. >> you can watch the full interview with new york city police commissioner bill brandon on talk to al jazeera on sunday, april 12. >> in today's healthbeat, today

is world autism awareness day and this years theme is employment. an estimated 80% of adults with autism of unemployed, according to the united nations. landmarks around the world will be lit up in blue to mark the day and show support for the group autism speaks. dr. debbie is an assent professor at new york city school of medicine and joins us this morning to talk about staggering figures we're seeing on the diagnosis the number of children diagnosed with the disorder rising for years. the latest figures estimate it occurs in one in 6813, why is that? >> part might have to do with the reporting because we've done a great job increasing awareness about autism. what's happening is probably parents and doctors clinicians diagnosing it more often. that's part of it. the other thing is because

there's no actual test, like a blood test or imaging test to diagnose autism, people are more likely to diagnose it on criteria. >> there is another theory which is that children born to older parents have an increased risk of the disorder. in fact, there are studies that back that up, as well. >> there's two parts to that. it's true that that number does increase that it is more often but that only accounts for 5% of cases, according to one estimate. we don't know if it's the age of the parents or the fact that if you're older maybe you are more likely to be exposed to some toxin in the environment where if you aren't, the able might not make a difference. >> there's still so few answers what causes it. of course there have been these recent concerns about vaccines and the measles outbreak that is a result of people not getting vaccines. is there still a lot of disinformation about that? >> the studies show there is no

connection. that's been shown. it's one of the most studied aspects of autism, but the problem is this all goes back to one study that was published in the past in a prominent medical journal throwing there might be a connection. the researcher later was discredited. he fabricated data. >> it was completely discredited. >> it's sort of like the retraction that comes in fine print after the big headline. people don't understand what he published was completely false. that was problem number one. as that myth took hoed, it got more traction. people might feel we trusted him, how do we know not to trust him anymore and to trust other people. how do we know who to believe. >> when you look at autism research today and the number of children being diagnosed where are we as far as treatment of the condition? >> right now the treatment

focuses on the symptoms. the issues in autism has to do with language development and social development. these kids of delayed language development. they might not be talking as soon so you're trying to focus on improving that. >> isn't it the earlier you catch it, the earlier you can mediate it? >> sure in terms of intervention. you can treat autism in terms of the behavioral management, the language development but you also want to exclude other things. if a child has frequent a year infections can't hear, they might show same problems, poor eye contact have repetitive movements. you want to have everybody involved. >> i want to change topics. the first national survey of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is out. it shows nearly half of preschoolers half of preschoolers are on medication for the condition instead of

other recommended therapies. is that startling? >> it is, so part of me wonders when we have survey data we have to be careful do we have a bias in the survey. that's number one. assuming that is true, that statistic, it's very alarming. it's hard to make the diagnose have adhd in that age group. these children could be impulsive or a little bit normal, you know. >> is there an over medication concern? >> that is the second concern of course. you need the teachers to be focusing on reorienting these kids. >> you are saying it should be on behavior therapy and not medication. >> i'm not against medication, but the focus should be behavior therapy. at that age we need to focus on the therapy itself. >> assistant professor at nyu school of medicine, thank you. >> autism is a very personal diagnosis for families affected. john siegenthaler has a closer look.

>> i spoke to the company founders of autism speaks, bob and sues dan writing. ten years ago their first grandson was diagnosed with autism. they were disturbed by how little was known about the disorder and how little help their families were getting. they have been fighting for a decade and it's having a big impact. >> we wanted to do it together. we said if not us, because it did not have a voice. it is a global epidemic and no one was speaking about it. we had to do something and we have and we've been very successful. >> the wrights also told me what's being done to support children with autism through their team years for adulthood. >> to our on going series, fragile planet. one of the most serious threats to the environment worldwide is eroding coastlines.

florida is vulnerable. more than a thousand miles are at the mercy of rising sea levels. as we mentioned yesterday that leads to big concerns over a nuclear power plant saw the of miami. >> turkey point florida's biggest power source was build on the edge of biscaine bay in the early 1970's, when rising sea levels weren't a concern. the reactors sit 20 feet above sea level but that isn't reassuring to critics like dan who calls turkey point a catastrophe waiting to happen. >> could be 60 years, 80 years or 100 years bub it's guaranteed the ocean is coming up. >> this is florida limestone. see the coral in it? >> he's an activist, worried that this is the next fukushima the disaster in japan.

>> spent fuel rods are in a tank with water the same way it was in fukushima. >> the u.s. regulatory commission ordered safety plans to be reviewed after the disaster at fukushima. a spokesman said turkey point is secure against current sea level conditions. the n.r.c. reviewed turkey points flooding reevaluation and determined it is free of immediate safety issues. the n.r.c. is satisfied to this point that turkey point is appropriately implementing stat gee to say maintain key safety functions if a severe event such as flooding affects installed systems. >> i'm not aware of anything that they have done top harden the site since fukushima. >> phillip is a biology professor at miami's florida international university, reelected to a third term as mayor of south miami. he's an outspoken critic of the power plant. >> is it a good idea to have nuclear plants of any age sitting on a hurricane swept

coastline? there's concerns about the future with sea level rise. as the water comes up, they only become more at risk. >> a geologist showed me how higher sea level would affect the power plant. >> six inches is going to happen within the next 20-25 years. >> the power plant is swamped. >> it's surrounded by water. it's a nice nuclear power plant in the middle of the ocean. >> here's two feet, three feet, four feet of permanent sea rise at high tide looks like. waves would roll in on top of that. sea levels could rice as much as six and a half feet by the end of the century and storm surges will get bigger. in 1992, hurricane andrew devastated south florida but turkey point emerged largely

unscathed. florida power and light cite that prominently on its website. according to both harlem and mayor stoddard, the peak surge missioned the plant by 10 miles. >> f.p.l. will tell you or have told many in public that turkey point with stood the full brunt of hurricane andrew, the winds and surge, et cetera. it never was tested by the surge. >> even if florida power and light and the n.r.c. is right and turkey point is safe, stoddard said south florida will be tested by bigger questions as the water permanently rises. how soon? not this year, not 30 years, 200 years, i don't expect florida much of florida to be above the water line. >> how do you depopulate an urban area like miami? it's not going to be pretty. >> as you heard in the piece the mayor of south miami doesn't seem concerned about rising waters now but insurers may

feel differently. starting this month homeowners will pay 15-25% more on flood insurance premiums. let's bring in nicole mitchell for today's environmental impact. how concerned really should florida residents be? >> for a number of reasons right now you're seeing it economically because as the flood costs insurance costs go up around the country florida with the most coastline after alaska and so many property on that coastline, you're seeing about $500 billion in flood insurance for homes. a lot of that is underinsured. the next time there is a disaster, it's not going to cover enough. if you look at that coastline definitely ereading away. here's what it looks like today currently, but let's say it was to go 20 feet. this will take us, you know, a couple centuries but look at how much which florida and louisiana, especially we lose under all of that. if we were just talking about that one specific power plant but there's a number of

different energy resources along the coastline so every dot you see there is a different energy facility below four feet and that is possible by the end of this century with water expected to rise two to five feet and that doesn't include storm surge or, you know with a hurricane coming in or those higher tides so there is a lot of not only property, but a lot of our energy facilities that are threatened as those waters rise. >> they have time to figure this out. ok, nicole mitchell, thank you. >> up next through the lens, one of our generations defining war photographers on her experience covering conflicts.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. an update to breaking news, a seen is on going at a university in northeastern kenya right now. al shabab gunmen stormed a dorm overnight. 15 are dead. 280 students are safer but hundreds of others are unaccounted for. >> indiana leaders set to announce a deal on a controversial religious freedom bill. the proposal would remove language critics say would let indiana businesses discriminate against gay and lesbian customers. >> california has imposed mandatory water restrictions. governor brown ordered the move

to combat the four year drought which has reached near crisis pro pores he is after a winter of record low snowfalls. >> in this mornings culture beat a look at a prolific war photographers. >> american forces launching an offensive hunting taliban fighters. suddenly an ambush. through the dust, soldiers come to the aid of wounded cam address. libya's uprising, clashes between the rebels forces and gadhafi's troops. a humanitarian catastrophe in darfur hundreds dead, millions displaced. syrians war forcing people to leave home, flee across the border and live a life in exile all defining moments in our history, captured by lindsey

odario and shared around the world. >> the title is what i do, a photographer's life of love and war. she joins us from london. thank you for your time at that you look at your pictures, you're right in the middle of it. >> thank you for having me. >> how does someone like you focus yourself while you're focusing your lens in the midst of all the chaos and danger that surrounds you? >> a large part of what i'm doing is stay focused on what's happening in front of me, so i'm not paying attention to myself, per se. i'm thinking about how can i tell the story in the most accurate way and i really have to focus on comp as i say getting things in focus actually and figuring out where the story is moving to. >> so personal safety, what percentage of your brain does that occupy while you're there? >> it occupies a large percentage. it really depends every story's

different, so sometimes i am directly in the line of fire, sometimes i'm not. sometimes a lot of the personal safety precautions i'm taking as i'm trying to get to a story and access that story so it really depends. i mean, i'm not photographing every second that i'm in theater, so often i'm sort of making my way to a place and then i get there and i work very quickly and leave. >> you described it once as the testosterone of battle. i want to ask you this, as a woman, do you find that controlling the adrenaline in that moment, controlling risk, is easier for female war photographers than for your mail colleagues? >> i think for me, i am always trying to put that adrenaline, that fear in a very specific place and focus on the story. sometimes during this ambush in the valley, my first priority was to get down and seek cover so i wouldn't get shot.

my second priority was to try to take photographs so i'm constantly sort of judging where the danger is coming from, how can i take a picture without getting shot and managing that adrenaline and managing that fear. >> you have lost colleagues and friends, among them tim heatherring to know and chris in libya, you were were kidnapped and held in libya for a week. what makes you want to continue going back? is there a greater good you're serving or a personal need for the rush? >> there definitely is not a personal need for the rush. for me, it's really about telling a story and making sure that policy makers have the information they need to make decisions and that people around the world understand what's going on in other countries. i think anyone who does this job for a living does it because it's a calling it's something that sort of takes over your life and really, there's nothing else i would be doing. >> do you think killing

journalists in a war zone should be a war crime? >> i do, actually. i think it should be on par with -- i do think it's a war crime. i think journalists are providing a service there to bear witness. without journalists no one would know what's going on around the world. we provide a fundamental service that is necessary, and there is no sanctity in journalism anymore. weapon used to be respected and now we're not. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> coming up, from doha, we will have the latest on that attack on going at a college in kenya. tomorrow morning the latest look at the state of the economy, the new monthly job numbers come out at 8:30 a.m. eastern and we're going to have it for you. that's it for us in new york. i'm stephanie sy. thanks for watching and have a great day.

>> a global climate crisis >> two feet of sea level rise is projected... >> threatening america's coastline >> you'll see water in the streets without rain... >> now fighting back with a revolutionary new technology >> there de-watering the ground... >> this is the first time anybodies done this before >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. only on al jazeera america. >> part of al jazeera america's >> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet

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people, you sometimes don't see the truth. >> "talk to al jazeera". only on al jazeera america. >> welcome to the al jazeera news hour live from doha. al shabab gunman attack a university in northeastern kenya, killing at least 15 people. >> heavy fighting in yemen's southern city of aden as houthis try to take control of it. >> isil fighters are pushed back from the refugee camp near syria's capitol