in the u.s. these are the latest pictures. fire fighters battling the brays. as you can see the manager plant engulfed until flames. all workers have been evacuated. so far there have been no reports of any injuries. get more on that story and more if you head over to aljazeera.com.

he'll try to encourage his allies to continue to pressure the white house and scuffer the deal. while that might be tricky mr. netanyahu will no doubt continue the rhetoric we've heard from him for quite some time. mr. netanyahu has been criticized any kind of deal with iran or at least warning the world as he sees it the threat of iran for years now. he's made two speeches to the u.s. congress most recently a month ago he has spoken for the u.n. general assembly. all of those speeches were about the threat to iran. now here we are with the framework agreement, and mr. netanyahu saying very much the same. this deal not only threatens in his words the middle east or world, but it threatens the very existence of israel. he most certainly will carry on with the rhetoric and most certainly continue to criticize

this deal. it's, of course, very clear that not only mr. netanyahu is unhappy with this deal so too is his security cabinet as well. >> and as he alluded to israeli objections may not be the biggest issues facing the obama administration. it has to convince some skeptics in congress not to take action until a deal is done. i speak an hour ago about josh ernest about the challenge from capitol hill. let's start with what say congress should have. should they have a right to accept or reject a deal of this magnitude? >> congress played a critical role in this effort from the beginning. what we have said throughout the process is we kept congress in the loop in terms of ongoing negotiations. at some point it's the responsibility of congress after iran has demonstrated over the long term a willingness to comply with the terms of the agreement to decide whether or not those sanctions should be removed. we do not believe that congress

should take a vote to remove the sanctions anytime in the near future, and that frankly is because we want to see iran none straight sustained commitment to live up to the terms of the agreement before we dismantle the sanctions. >> should congress have the opportunity to review the final deal and sign off on it before it's final? >> well for decades ---ing longer than that. for generations united states presidents as described in the constitution are responsible for advancing the foreign policy interest of the united states. this falls cleanly in line with the way that previous presidents have conducted foreign policy. >> you talked about the powers of previous presidents in foreign policy and i'm reminded of reagan's old trust but verify advice in the cold war. why should the united states trust iran after iaea said they've been caught building secret facilities in the past and never fully explained why.

>> i'll be blunt with you. we don't trust iran and shouldn't. as you point out, iran for decades now sought to undermine or evade the work of international inspectors. that's why the approach is to distrust and verify and that's why in the context of this agreement, we see the most intrusive, stringent sanctions that have ever been put in place against a country's nuclear program. these are sanctions that don't just apply to iran's nuclear facilities. these actually apply to the uranium mines inside of iran to evaluate sort of mining work is under way there. this would apply to manufacturing facilities at that produce centrifuges that are included in iran's nuclear facilities to make sure they're not building a covert program. it includes regular access to the nuclear facilities that iran already has, and this is why we can be sure that from the beginning to end we can have a very details understanding of exactly what iran's nuclear

program looks like and ensure it's not used to build a nuclear weapon. >> whether when it comes to sanctions, how will the lifting of sanctions work? will they be gradually lifted or as foreign minister zarif tweeted out yesterday, will the u.s. sanctions simply cease? >> the president was clear about this yesterday, stephanie. what we envision is a phased relaxing of sanctions, and it goes back to the -- my answer to your previous question. we need to see iran demonstrate a sustained commitment to live up to the terms of this agreement before we take a way the sanctions. >> israeli prime minister netanyahu has said this deal would pose a grave danger to the region and to the world. josh as you know critics of the agreement say this will empower iran which besides threatening israel is backing rebels in yemen and propping up syria's bashir al assad.

how does this build with the strategy in the middle east? >> we have a long list of concerns with iran and their behavior. they have a record of supporting terrorist organizations around the global and support hezbollah inside the region. they menace our closest ally in the middle east israel. they're unjustly detaining citizens inside of iran. we have a long list of concerns. that's why we need to obtain a nuclear weapon. they're only worse actors if they're nuclear-armed. >> isn't that the reason that allies like israel and saudi arabia are concerned about this deal and is this deal worth risking damaging relations further with israel? >> well listen stephanie, the united states and israel have an unshakeable relationship and commitment to our mutual security. >> that was josh ernest, the who is press secretary. iran's president spoke about

the deal a moment ago. he said it shows his country can work with the west and shows they want peace. >> translator: enrichment in all nuclear programs is only for the development of the iran's enrichment program. this will not be used or is not against the world or any country. today the world has realized that iran is a peaceful country. >> and many in iran took to social media to express joy over the deal. one woman posted a picture of iranians gathering in front of the foreign ministry in tehran chanting thank you, zarif. others tweeted selfies with an image of president obama on their tv sets. iranian tv showed the entirety of the president's contents on

the new accord live. back in the u.s. the monthly jobs numbers for march are disappointing news for the economy. just 126,000 jobs were added, far below what many annists had expected. in my conversation with white house press secretary, i asked about the report and if it's raising any concerns moving forward. >> we look at the longer term trends, and those trends indicate that we can have a lot of confidence in the american economy. at the same time this report does underscore how important it is here in washington for policymakers to be constantly looking for policies that will be in the best interests of the middle class in this country. the president believes two examples are we do need to make a longer term investment in infrastructure. the second thing we can do is make sure that we are not in a position at the end of this fiscal year where we fund the government at sequester levels. what the president will do is redouble his efforts to get congress to make smart investments in washington to make sure we support the private

sector leading the recovery. >> here's how the report breaks down. the 126,000 jobs added in march were the lowest in over a year. that snaps 12 straight months of adding 200,000 plus jobs monthlily. unemployment remains steady at 5.5%. the labor force participation rate sits at 62.7%. analysts blame the decline on bad weather and a reduction in hiring connected to falling oil prices. praise and criticism today for state officials in indiana and arkansas. both states approved recisions to their controversial religious freedom bills. the governors of both states signed the changes into law on thursday. they both had asked for changes that critics say would have allowed discrimination against lesbians and gays. some say the changes don't provide enough protection. a fire that sent 500 apartments up in flames in new jersey is raising questions about building materials used to construct 60% of new residential homes across the country.

john henry smith looked into the material called lightweight wood. critics say it made the fire worse. >> reporter: fire roared through this apartment complex in edgewater, new jersey. >> it did advance quickly into thele hallways and ceiling. >> the flames lit up the night sky. >> it billowed and billowed and at one point the roof blew off the place. >> the fire took more than 12 hours to control and drove more than 1,000 people out of their homes. this is what's level of the avalon edgewater apartment building that caught on fire in january. 240 units gone in a flash. since that night a lot of attention has been paid to and a lot of fingers pointed at what is inside the walls of this building and others like it across the country. it's called lightweight wood. a composite of smaller pieces of wood basically chips pressed and glued together. lightweight wood truss construction is widely used in

homes throughout the country including these apartments. >> if it was made out of concrete and cinder block, we wouldn't have this problem. it's lightweight construction and sprinklers and this is the problem you face with in type of construction. >> right weight engineered wood burns three times faster than solid wood beams. >> lightweight wood frame construction has been a problem for decades for us. >> glenn corbett is an associate professor of fire science in new york. we talked with him at the scene of the edgewater fire. >> we talked to firefighters. they're aware when they go into a structure, what are they wary of in particular? >> they're wary they can't stop the fire. that's a big issue. they're wary about the collapse potential, because these floors collapse. i've been to several where the whole entire floor collapsed onto the floor below. >> corbett says advantages to lightweight wood construction are time and money. we bought some engineered wood and some conventional wood at a

lumber yard. then we brought the samples to justin maholic, the president-elect of the institute of architects new jersey kapt ter. >> this is cut right out of a log, and as we can see on the ends you can see the rings. in this case it's made up of an material called oriented strand board, osb, which is basically expressed wood chip and done in oriented fashion, which gives it its strength. >> he says it's as strong as plywood, but whether it comes to fooish fire -- >> because it's solid and more dense and the fact there's no glue present in this this is still going to burn faster. >> avalonbay declined an on-camera interview saying in a statement wood frame construction is a standard common and safe construction method for multi-family housing used throughout the united states. and that the complex was built

in accordance with the fire and safety codes applicable at the time. john henry smith, al jazeera. kenyans demanding justice after al shabaab gunmen storm a university. we have the latest. the fight for southern yemen. husi rebels reportedly take control of key sites in aidan.

>> on al jazeera america ali velshi looks at the issues affecting us all... >> we're taking a hard look at the most important issues out there that get you the answers that you deserve. >> real money with ali velshi only on al jazeera america >> al jazeera america brings you a first hand look at the environmental issues, and new understanding of our changing world. >> it's the very beginning >> this was a storm of the

decade >>...hurricane... >> we can save species... >> our special month long focus, fragile planet france's foreign minister visited the site where the germanwings plane crashed in the french alps hours after they say what happened in the final moments. an initial reading from the second flight data recorder shows co-pilot andreas lubitz deliberately accelerated the jet. all 140 people on board the mraern were killed. officials in kenya today are trying to identify the victims at a massacre. al shabaab gunmen took over the

school. 147 people were killed during the assault. most of them were christians. more than 550 students were evacuated. it is the bloodiest attack on kenyan soil since the 1998 u.s. embassy bombing, that killed 200 people. now the government is under pressure to prevent more attacks from happening. >> reporter: we're outside the combrans to the xand of the university college of ga ris sa. this is where it started yesterday morning before sunrise here. they killed two armed guards here before moving into the compound. the siege went on for many hours after a very heavy firefight finally came to an end. today we see a lot of vehicles going in and out. soldiers have taken in a few families to try to identify the bodies of their loved ones.

you need a few surviving students coming out. they were allowed back in to collect some of their possessions and to leave again. we understand they're going to be taken aware. the minister of education said that they're going to be able to continue their studies in other institutions in other parts of the country. meanwhile, people here are saying that this is something that could have been prevented. we've heard from reliable sources the government was explicitly warned about the threat, the vulnerability of this institution with a lot of young people living here and very little security and in an unstable part of kenyan in the northeast. people thought it was vulnerable for attack and it proved gred to be very vulnerable indeed. the u.s. is ramping up the role in the conflict in yemen. u.s. surveillance planes now patrol the northern border with saudi arabia providing intelligence on husi fighters. a new agreement calls for american planes to refuel jets. they made advances today.

they seized control of the city center in adan. they control the nearby waterway, but they deny the soldiers are theirs. >> we don't have troops in add dan. the issue of using ground troops is on the table, but the will be made on the circumstances and need. >> saudi arabia suffered the first casualty since beginning the assault last week. they attacked the border and killed one guard and wounded five others. california's drought is taking a hard toll on the state's agriculture industry. new water restrictions could mean even tougher years ahead.

al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. all this month we look at the issues facing or fragile planet. this morning we head back to california. the crippling drought is in the fourth year. the governor just put new mandatory water restrictions into effect and as jennifer lon ton tells us farmers are

worried about the future. >> reporter: on a small organic farm in camario, 50 miles north of los angeles, phil mcgrath knows what it means to live wourt enough water. >> farming without water is a big trick. that's what we've done the last few years. >> he's farmed this land for the past 37 years and has seen it all, wet years, dry years, but nothing like the last three years. >> we just haven't had any rain. it's just more insects. the cost of water is three times higher than it was three years ago. it's only going to get more expensive. >> we met mcgrath more than a year ago. at that time the drought was a concern. now it's a crisis. governor brown's unprecedented mandatory water restrictions stopped short of placing further restrictions on farmers but requires them to submit a detailed drought management plan including how much water they currently use. farms big and small have already

seen large cuts to the amount of water they're allocated for irrigation, and when you consider 80% of california's water goes to farms across the state, it's possible even larger reductions could come in the future. >> as californiians we have to save money in every way we possibly can, and we have to pull together. there will be some hard ache here. >> reporter: still, the governor's order for now targets mostly city dwellers who use more than their fair share of water from keeping cars clean to their lawns green. in cities like los angeles most of the runoff from the activities ends up here. what's the water that we're seeing here in the creek? this is not coming from the mountains? >> right. this is not snow melt. this isn't coming from -- >> it's not from rain because we haven't had rain. >> we haven't had rain in a while. it's effluent from different facilities and also a lot of dry weather runoff which basically comes from the streets and storm drains which is mostly people

watering their lawns. >> liz is with l.a. water keeper an advocacy group working to protect and restore local water supplies. although they aplowed governor browns's executive order, they question why it took so long. should the governor have acted with mandatory restrictions earlier? >> we have advocated for mandatory restrictions long before now. i believe there was a lost opportunity over the last year since the governor declared a drought. it took a long time for californians to actually realize we're in a dire situation. there's still a lot of californians that don't realize it. >> in cities like los angeles the executive order expands on restrictions already in place. since last july residents were instructured to limit lawn waters to two days a week and can only wash cars using hoses with automatic shutoff nozzles. good first steps? absolutely. but a lot more must be done and needs to be done now.

>> we want state agencies to put a limit on how many gallons per capita per day can be used in california and that should be based on current uses. so not only should there be a 25% reduction statewide, but we should look at the biggest water users and ensure that they're making the biggest reductions so that we have an equitable distribution of water among the states. >> a shared sacrifice that governor brown says will cause heartache as the golden state continues to turn brown. jennifer london al jazeera, l los angeles. five years after a deadly mine explosion in west virginia that killed two dozen coal miners families are still asking for justice. lisa stark went back to talk to the families. >> reporter: this is one of the memorials to the 29 men that lost their lives, west virginia coal miners. it was in an explosion at the upper big branch mine just down the road from here. it happened five years ago, but emotions especially among family members, are still

running very high. >> it's hard forever. it hurts me to talk about it. in a sense it feels good to talk about it because you're interested in my family and what i once had. so i can tell you that cory was 20. he had a beautiful smile. he had a great, big heart. he loved life. >> reporter: many blame the tragedy on the company that own the mine massey energy and on its former ceo, done blankenship blankenship. they racked up numerous violations and investigations after the tragedy found it was entirely pooeventable. now blankenship is facing federal charges including conspiracy to violate federal mine safety rules. he has pled not guilty. family members we've talked to are waiting for the trial.

they are hoping for justice. >> you can see the full report tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on al jazeera america. today marks two major holy days starting at sunset jews across the world mark passover. it commemorates the exodus of jews from slavery in ancient egypt. today is good friday for the christian faithful. thousands descended on jerusalem's church of the holy supper today. many think it sits at the end of the route jesus walked before he was crucified. the chinese government tolerates it and does not endorse it. despite that christianity is growing in popularity there. that's reflected in the success of a bible printing company. >> reporter: there was once a time when china's communist leader's little red book was the only best seller here. now there's another one that's been around a lot longer. more than 130 million copies of the bible have rolled off this production line.

13 million last year alone. many exported but the majority were for the domestic market. purchased for churches sanctioned by the chinese government. >> it serves our churches and brothers and sisters. then if we still have the capacity we will serve the overseas churches. >> the factory publishes baseballs in 90 languages from arabic to russian. such is demand for the holy book, it remains around the clock operation. according to official figures around 30 million are christians you and unofficially it's 100 million. while religion is tolerated, the government is wary of its growing popularity. a pop layer reflected here. >> it began to publish bibles in

1987 a few years before the communist party ended the campaign to wipe out religion. today it's proof there's money in religion a contradiction that's perhaps only possible in today's china. and in today's china more people seek meaning and spiritual comfort that neither communism nor capitalism seem to have supplied. >> it's the material that's not enough for the human beings not to anyone. so where we have this for us. we always think, why the value of the life? what's the value of the life? so that is very natural. >> he believes that 20 years from now there could be up to 160 million chinese christ i can't answers christians and, of course, they need a bible made here. adrian brown, al jazeera. thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sigh. the news continues next live from doha.

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