site to take part in a special prayer known os the abbreviately blessing. this is one of thee times each year jews are expected to make a brief pill gymage to jerusalem. >> as always, there's lots more on our website aljazeera.com. get the latest on all the stories we're covering there. aljazeera.com. >> intense fighting in yemen as a humanitarian crisis gets worse. the red cross is trying to bring in aid but the window is closing. >> president obama calls the nuclear deal with iran a once in a lifetime opportunity. his stepped up efforts to convince allies at home and abroad. >> a blistering report leads the magazine to apologize for a controversial story about rape

at the university of virginia. critics say it is not enough. >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy. this morning the red cross hopes to deliver emergency humanitarian aid to yemen as a new round of airstrikes targets rebel fighters there. the saudi-led coalition face the challenge of finding houthis hiding among civilians. they inched closer to aden and that is where forbes loyal to yemen's president are holding out. for civilians trapped amid the fighting the situation is worsening. yemenese say the war is ripping their country apart. there is a shortage of clean water and electricity is intermittent. hospitals are running low on staff and medicine. yemen is one of the poorest

countries in the world and relied heavily on food aid. 90% have the countries food is imported. the red cross said today's go ahead to send humanitarian aid in is in limbo. it's unsure if any of plane will actually be able to fly in while the airstrikes continue. a former advisor to the past three yemeni prime ministers and yemen's ambassador to lebanon joins us this morning. thank you for your time. a senior houthi leader said as long as the airstrikes stop, they are willing to sit down and talk. are you convinced by that, that the houthis want to negotiate they want to talk? >> well, they should stop their operations especially in aden, if they are really seriously but they are now causing a lot of trouble especially in aden. civilians are falling and they are aims at civilians and using the civilians at human shields.

why don't they stop such activities and that will prove this they are serious. i believe they are just looking for an excuse to get a position in aden are russians are trying to get a ceasefire arrangement so they can prove they are in control of the main city in the south, which is aden. >> you are referring to what a saudi commander claimed that houthis are using people at human shields. is there evidence of that? >> i come from aden, yes for sure. these people were in the mountains and when they were facing some hits from the allied arab forces, they went down in between, you know, the very populated areas. if they are there with the tanks amidst the population, they have left their camps. these people vice president come from outside aden. they were in the different camps and bases in aden from the days

of the british rule in aden. they left and went on their tanks into streets between the people. >> so saudi arabia does continue its airstrikes, as well and they have been blamed for some civilian casualties, as well. are you saying that until the houthis stop their actions saudi arabia strikes won't step, either and there will be no diplomacy? >> well, diplomacy should be there, because the whole i think objective of the exercise is to get people back to the dialogue table but we know that it's not the houthis people have got to understand, the man bulge the strings the back seat driver is the former toppled previous dictator, deposed dictator of yemen mr. saleh. he is behind it. he is going to use -- he wants

option. he brings the temple on the whole of everybody. >> what kind of casualties at this point given the fact that there doesn't sound like there will be a pause in fighting even to get red cross air lifts in there. >> red cross is aiming at getting, you know, aid to the north, so sanna. aid is needed in aden in the south, the besieged city. sanna is the capitol, they have got a lot in their stores. aden is under complete siege. i am a doctor, a professional surgeon, i know the situation i know the hospitals in aden. the whole situation is completely very grave and very serious. if the i.c.r.c. wanted to help, they should he help the people in aden, not through airlift but through boats and ships. they can reach aden is measure you know, sea port, so they could reach it there through sea. why don't they send by sea some help to aden where it is needed,

where people have been fallen, more than 300 killed over the last four days, civilians. >> sir, thank you so much for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> the fighting in yemen has claimed its first american casualty. u.s. citizen died in a mortar strike. he was hoping to bring his pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter back to the u.s. >> president obama is trying to sell a framework nuclear deal with iran, calling it a once in a lifetime opportunity. the president acknowledged israel's concerns about the deal. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said the agreement threatens his country and the world, but president obama says the u.s. is committed to israel's security. >> our allies in the region will be protect. we will work with them and come to their defense. we don't have a greater ally

than israel in the middle east. >> the president said he was concerned about how talks have strained adjustment-israel relations. he said he takes it personally when he's accused of being anti israel. >> a situation at a refugee camp is called beyond inhumane. thousands are trapped in yarmouk, caught in a battle between isil, other rebel groups and the syrian government and they can't get aid into the camp. witnesses say isil has snipers on roofs making it impossible to retrieve bodies of those killed. isil attacked the camp, as it inches closer to damascus. >> kenya military is going after al shabab. war planes targeted positions in the southwest of somalia. authorities identified one of the gunmen as a former law school student. university of nairobi who

disappeared in 2013, apparently joining al shabab in somalia. >> families and friends are remembering victims of the attack posting the names and pictures of each student killed, using the hash tag 147 not just a number. many messages include personal details of the lives they lived and mentales of love, including you are not forgotten. >> this morning rolling stone magazine is promising major changes after an investigation into a discredited article about an alleged rape at the university of virginia. the magazine retracted the story, but there are still questions about whether a rape actually occurred. >> sabrina the author apologized with this statement:

when she spoke to al jazeera soon after the article was published, she made no mention of her vetting process but said the school wouldn't allow her access to key administrators. >> i think they have known for a long time that a great harm was done to this particular student and to many students. i think they're only taking action now because there's a great harm done to its reputation and its reputation and prestige has been paramount for them. >> the report said three failures of reporting stand out involving basic even routine journalististic practice, not special investigative effort. she relied on what she was told without vetting accuracy. >> protests roiled the campus.

after the article officials vowed to crack down on cases of sexual assault. the university president asked the charlotte police to investigate. several more students came forward with similar stories like this woman who said she was raped 20 years ago at the same fraternity house. >> i feel nothing has changed since 1984 and when i read jacki's story i myself am back in that room. it is the same place, it is the same smell, it is the same feelings of being groped. >> within days, the washington post started to find glaring discrepancies, close friends of jacki's told a different story of the evening. while jacki said she met drew, the ringleader of the attack, it turned out no one from the university worked at the pool. rolling stone admitted it did not verify jackies account. it issued an apology to readers

calling the trust in jacki misplaced. now the manager editor of rolling stone issued an apology on their website. laura dunn, a rape survivor was quoted in the controversial article. >> to hear that they were digging into this issue and unpacking it on a campus, i thought the coverage would be important. >> she war requires the most important point a confidence about sexual assault on college campuses will get lost in the fallout. >> new rules for greek life on campus revolved. >> we really think that the article point out changes that need to be made. >> in late march the char lotsville police chief announced that investigators found no evidence to support the allegations made by jacki in the article. he did add it doesn't mean something terrible didn't happen to jacki.

al jazeera. >> closing arguments begin today in the trial of accused boston marathon bomber dzhokar tsarnaev. the defense rested after calling four witnesses. his attorneys admit his guilty but are trying to spare him the death penalty. the jury is expected to begin deliberations later this week. >> ferguson voters vote for the city council members this week. >> this building is ready for demolition. >> was your business here? >> i had two units over here. i had sections b. and c. >> she lost her antique store when rioters torched this believe. she's been waiting for the owner to rebuild. >> do you know how much money

you possibly lost to date? >> i know from last year, it was at least $30,000 i've lost in sales. >> the city wouldn't tell us if it's missing targets for sales tax revenues, but did say the number of tickets issued by police dropped by more than 4,000 in the months following the riots falling from 5800 down to 1400. in a recent interview with al jazeera, the city's acting police chief acknowledged the financial strain. >> how do you plan to deal with that? >> that's what my budget guy's for. he'll have to deal with it. >> it is days away from leveling a building that used to house a beauty supply store. >> how long before new tenants are going to be able to get in there? >> worst case, probably three months. >> this building is also scheduled to be demolished and rebuild, but not not soon enough for her. al jazeera ferguson, missouri.

>> a p. edward snowden said he has a new perspective on his decision to leak n.s.a. classified documents. >> a place called washaway beach and what's causing the state coastline to disappear. o disappear.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. taking a luke at today's top stories, the man accused of killing three muslim college students is set to appear in court today. prosecutors are asking the judge to allow them to pursue capitol punishment against craig steven hicks. investigators say the killings stem from a parking dispute. >> an texan court rejected a legal challenge by australian drug convicts on that death row. the two are among 10 international citizens who face execution by firing squad for their role in a drug smuggling ring. indonesian's penalty said he will show no mercy to convicted dealers. >> a automaticry commission is drafting amendments that would let separatist vote on more autonomy. the conflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives in ukraine. >> we are hear from edward

snowden. he sat down with john oliver and defended his leaks. >> i did this to give the american people a chance to decide for themselves the kind of government they want to have. that is a conversation that i think the american people deserve to decide. >> there's no doubt little a critical conversation, but is it a conversation that we have the capacity to have, because it's so complicate, we don't fundamentally understand it. >> it is a challenging conversation. i mean, it's difficult for most people to even conceptualize. >> the interview took place in russia where snowden has been living since fleeing the u.s. >> to washington state washaway beach. the coast has been eroding 100 feet every year. maps are constantly being redrawn as the coast gets closer and closer.

is this caused by man or nature? >> in this case, mostly nature, unlike other beach reocean in the united states. first, one reason it erhodes quickly is there is high water volume on this part of the coastline. you see those waves they just chew away at it. big storms chew away even more and make things happen faster. big storms are bigger because of global warming. as we look at this area on the map, it has water coming in on one side and then the sea on the other, and that flows through it causes a motion eroding away at the coastline. another thing in this particular area water likes a straight line. this coastline used to be more of a corner. that eroded it faster, about 500 feet a year, as that coastline reextracted it's

about 100 feet a year. during those big storms like the ones this past december, you can lose two or three houses going into the sea at the same time. finally, it's the sand in the area. if you had more of a hard gravel it would erode for slowly. this is a fine sand in this area so erhodes more quickly. the whole west coast this his the fastest eroding coastline through the whole area. there's property here you can buy literally for tens of are thousands of dollars because you know you might only live there for a couple of of years. >> i can't imagine you can get insurance for about that there. >> in today's text beat, from the threats of erosion in the northwest to a similar problem 3400 miles away in miami beach the city was built at sea level on a peninsula. scientists predict by the end of the century it will be under water. the city is trying to prevent that. >> in walking down this strip of miami beach it's easy to see

why it's an obvious tour it mecca. it's also extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels. while most of it was built not four feet above the tied lines having to deal with it here in miami maybe create blueprint for the rest of the country. there's an enormous effort to save the city. to the casual observer, it might just look like a construction nightmare. as an engineer, i can tell up the challenges throughout the city are massive and the solutions impressive.

>> i thank each and every one of you for being here. >> all this construction is to install even more. >> we're going to put in 70 to 80 across the city. >> the mayor is overseeing the huge pump project with each one able to move 14,000 gallons of water a minute. so far, eight pumps have been installed and seem to be doing the trick. >> we think we have a great 50 to 60 year solution. after that, we believe human innovation and technology will catch up. >> this is the first time this has been done on a city scale anywhere in the world. >> no matter who pace the bill, it will only be a short term fix. >> with all of that innovation proposed for miami, do you think that will solve the problem? >> no. as long as sea levels continue to rise, miami beach is going to constantly have to develop new technologies investing new moneys and infra infrastructure to

balance the pressures caused by sea level rise. >> what about residents that have been there their entire life times? >> i have been here my entire lifetime. i know for a fact i'm going to have to leave. >> tune in to tech know tonight. >> california say their drinking water is contaminated and blame the oil companies. they say the state isn't doing enough about it. al jazeera goes to the state capitol to get answers. >>

>> there are new developments in an al jazeera investigation into toxic dumping impacting california's drinking water. we revealed state regulators allowed it to happen. the state is finally taking action. >> you're looking at one of the biggest threats to california's

drinking water. these videos show the dumping of millions of gallons of waste water from oil production, including fracking, into hundreds of unlined pits and underground aquifers. almond farmer tom franz shot the votes. his orchard is surrounded by oil and gas wells. >> the ground water could become contaminated. >> that's the obvious way. as a farmer, i know and i've seen what's happened in this area. it's sad to say there are very serious cancer causing chemicals in the ground water right now. >> while those videos exposed dumping, these documents reveal state regulators knew about it and allowed it to happen. >> they have allowed oil companies to use our drinking water aquifers as garbage dumps. >> kathy segal is the director of the climate law institute. >> there's over 400 wells now illegally dumping toxical oil and gas waste water directly

into drinking water aquifers in california. the state so far has shut down only 23 of those wells. >> you're saying that the regulatory agencies in charge of regulating this industry in california have known this all along? >> they have and what we found out is that the entire oil and gas regulatory scheme in california is a sham. >> this letter to the federal environmental protection agency dated february 6 signed by the division of oil gas and gee joe inertial resources and the state water board says. >> we went to get answers from the governor. the governor's office refused to comment. dogr and the state water board declined our request saying

they answered questions in a state oversight hearing. regulators were lambasted for not regulating in that hearing. >> in reading the articles and reports, i found my blood pressure getting rather high. >> then a surprise admission from the agency in charge of protecting california's water supply. >> we believe that any injection into the aquifers that are non-exempt has contaminate those aquifers. >> for its part, an oil and gas industry trade association dismisses charges of contamination saying: >> in our search for answers we traveled to sacramento in december and spoke with the head of the ground water monitoring for the state water board. >> john, is big oil poisoning millions of gallons of water each day?

>> so you're asking me to give you a yes or no answer on something that i don't know, so i think the right answer would be that i don't know. >> do you think you should know the answer to that question? because i think a lot of people are asking that question. californians are saying wait, fracking is happening and we're worried about toxic water. >> that's a reasonable concern that people have. i mean, as a resident of california, you should be. >> plenty of californians are like farmer tom franz. he believes regulators haven't been regulating on behalf of the people of california. >> you don't believe dogr is doing its job? >> the agency is in place to make sure big oil gets what it needs to make big profits. >> on the backs of the farmers

like yourselves? >> on the backs of everyone. on the backs of everyone, big oil has done what it pleased. >> tony harris is back in two minutes with more news. .

>> intense fighting in yemen the red cross gets the ok to bring in humanitarian aid but officials worry the situation will only get worse or civilians. >> it's not a radical break but one that offers us the chance for a different type of relationship. >> defending the deal, president obama says the framework agreement with iran may be the best bet to stop the country from getting a nuclear weapon. can he convince congress? >> the rolling stone retraction,

a stinging review about an alleged rape at the university of virginia has the magazine apologizing. >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm tony harris. >> emergency aid from the red cross is expected to reach yemen today as the fighting there intensifies, but hundreds have been killed since the saudi-led coalition began targeting houthi positions. this began last month. overnight, those rebels inched closer to the southern port city of aden and this weekend a mortar strike in that city killed an american, the first u.s. citizen to die in the fighting. he hoped to bring his pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter back to the united states. he is live in islamabad.

what is the parliament there in pakistan likely to do? >> parliament has already had one session, which is going to last for a couple of days, so they've concluded for today but apparently the government has already said that as far as saudi arabia is concerned and the territorial integrity of saudi arabia is concerned that pakistan would go to any limit to defend saudi arabia, so a clear signal coming from the government. the attempt is to hammer a consensus, because there are questions from the opposition parties that pakistan may be getting entangle would in the yemeni quagmire so a lot will depend on what parliament decides, but there is a lot of support for the saudi plea and of course pakistan likely to help saudi arabia. >> so, any limit to defend saudi

arabia. i'm curious as to what form that might take. could troops be involved in any package? >> well, the defense minister speaking on the floor of the parliament said saudis asked for air and ground support which means they want a considerable pakistan i. presence in saudi arabia as part of the defense of saudi arabia was concerned but the key point here is that what pakistan is saying is that if it is a threat to saudi arabia, then pakistan would go to any limit. on that count the pakistani prime minister met his turkish counterpart and turkey came out with the same signal that any in strengthment of saudi sovereignty would evoke a response from not only pakistan, but turkey.

>> we spoke earlier to a former advisor to the past three yemeni prime ministers. he says get not the houthis who can bring an end to the situation in yemen. >> diplomacy should be there because the whole i think objective of the exercise is to get people back to the dialogue table, but we know that it's not the houthis people have got to understand, the man who is pulling the strings the back seat driver is the former toppled and previous dictator, mr. saleh. he's the one who is behind it and he doesn't want -- he is going to use his -- he wants option either his whole family or he brings it on the head of everybody. >> fighting left several hundred dead. israel's prime minister urges the united states to find a way to curb iran's nuclear program saying there is still a way to make sure iran can't make a bomb.

we have more now from washington. >> a few days after the announcement of the agreement of a framework to limit iran's nuclear exhibits, israeli prime minister went on political talk shows in america to argue it's a bad deal not only for israel, but the world. >> it leaves the preeminent state of our time with a vast infrastructure. thousands of sentry finals will be left spinning in iran. not a single nuclear facility is being shut down. >> key nuclear scientists hit back at critics who have said there will be little way to verify compliance by iran. >> we will have eyes on through the international atomic energy agency. we will eyes on the entire system in iran, we'll have continues surveillance of centrifuge production,

continuous surveillance of the centrifuge facilities themselves. we'll know through our access and transparency and that will immediately lead not only to us, but to the p5 plus one taking the appropriate actions. >> a lot of work needs to be done to solidify the deal, issues like when and how sanctions will be lifted and exactly how inspection of iran's nuclear facilities will work are just a couple. the overall details of the agreement have yet to be made public or yet to be worked out. for the obama administration, it now comes down to selling the deal to congress. lawmakers want to review any deal before sanctions are lifted. a lot is at stake. president obama said he'll veto any attempt to derail the deal with be but iran may know any future president could have other ideas threatening the entire negotiation process. >> president obama is stepping

up efforts to sell a framework nuclear agreement with iran, calling it a once in a lifetime opportunity. he's speaking to the new york times. the penalty acknowledged israel's concerns about the deal. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the deal threatens his country and the word but president obama said the u.s. is committed to israel's security. >> number one this is our best bet by far to make sure iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon. number two what we will be doing even as we enter into this deem is sending a message that if anybody messes with israel, america will be there. >> the president said he was concerned about how talks have strapped u.s.-israel relations. he said he takes it personally when he is accused of being anti israel. >> in syria heavy fighting near refugee camp where thousands are trapped. u.n. officials call the situation beyond inhumane. as stephanie decker reports

sixes are still caught in the crossfire between the syrian government and isil. >> the yarmouk refugee camp has been besieged for two years people starving, no running water and no electricity. isil has taken control of most of the camp. some civilians escaped to neighboring areas. >> the civilians are afraid of isil controlling the camp. most people fled. they are afraid of being attacked by isil. some villages reconciled with the regime and aid is coming to the areas. >> thousands remain dropped by the fighting. there is now the added fear of government attacks which also trying to push isil out. the syrian observatory for human rights says that the government is targeting size as i will positions with barrel bombs. this refugee camp is less than 10 kilometers from damascus. other groups joined in the fight against isil, but they have not

managed to gain much ground. there are allegations in a al-nusra is helping isil, even though the group issued a statement saying they are remaining neutral. there had been a reconciliation in the works. we spoke to the syrian minister for reconciliation who said a deal was about to be signed where the palestinian factions would lay down their arms and in return the government end their siege. he said al-nusra doesn't want that so allowed isil to enter the camp. whatever the politics, what was an already desperate situation for the estimated 18,000 civilians trapped there has now got much worse. >> united nations called for a humanitarian corridor to allow more civilians to leave. the people in yarmouk are fully democrat on aid and none has been delivered since fighting began. hospitals and clinics are no longer functioning properly, but with isil in control of most of the camp, negotiating any form of humanitarian relief seems further away than ever.

al jazeera beirut. >> greece's prime minister heads to moscow to meet with russian president vladimir putin but the trip could be overshadowed by a looming major debt repayment. greece is walking a real diplomatic tightrope on this this week, isn't it? >> it certainly is. lets begin with the repayment. don't worry we're good for the money was the message to the i.m.f. over the weekend. greece has oh repay half billion dollars thursday, a deadline that comes at a time when the i.m.f. and europe union withheld fresh aid funds for athens while they haggle over the terms of a new bailout prom. greece prime minister and the sip as party were swept to power promising to battle the harsh austerity measures imposed on greece by its creditors.

that makes the timing of prime minister tsipras's trip. measures imposed by moscow in retaliation for western sanctions, if greek products are allowed to start flowing back into russia, it will be embarrassing to the rest of europe. >> where does greece actually stand on western sanctions against russia? >>

tsipras needs relief for his people. if he can get restrictions on greek imports into russia lifted then that will basically help his economy but it also helps putin. it shows there's not totally agreement among europeans in terms of western sanctions. >> patty, thank you. >> rolling stone magazine admits it was wrong about a controversial story that provoked a nationwide conversation about rape at colleges. the magazine retracted the story about allegations that the university of virginia. randall pinkston is here with more. >> it's been called a flat out failure of journalism, the story called painful reading. the review, colombia university said the magazine failed to follow basic rules of reporting.

>> sabrina wrote a story about rape on campus, using an alleged rape victim to illustrate the crisis. jacki said she was raped repeatedly by members of a u.v.a. fraternity and that she called for help. soon began to fall apart beginning with the washington post investigation, which found numerous discrepancies. in december, a month after the story was published rolling stone issued an apology on its website, and initiated the review. that was released sunday night and is sharply critical of the reporter and rolling stone. according to the report, three failures of reporting stand out they involved basic even routine journalistic practice, not special investigative effort. the reporter failed to

corroborate the act and detail the account to the fraternity, which might have revealed problems with the allegations. she failed to get last student accused of leading the attack. the rolling stone report triggered protests on campus. u.v. officials suspended all greek activities and vowed to crack down on cases of sexual assault. several more students made rape allegations. u.v. alum liz said she was raped 20 years earlier at a party at the same fraternity house. >> i truly feel as though nothing has changed since 1984, and when i read jacki's story i, myself, am back in that room. it is the same place, it is the same smell, it is the same feelings of being groped. >> last month the char lotsville police department announced that investigators had found no evidence so support the allegations made by iraqi adding that it doesn't mean

something terrible didn't happen to jacki. >> the report's author issued this statement: >> i'm curious maybe you can talk us through some of the fallout since this reporting. >> well, what's the cop certain is of course is that rape on campus is a problem and people who are advocates for that problem are saying that stories like this one will make it more difficult for victims to come forward and definitely make it more difficult for this story to be told. >> all right randall appreciate it. >> closing arguments are set to begin today in a trial of accused boston marathon bomber dzhokar tsarnaev. his lawyers rested their case early last week after calling four witnesses. their goal not to prove his in sense, but show that he was radicalized by his older

brother, tamerlan tsarnaev, who was killed by police after the attack. >> the defense trying to show older brother influence and trying to show that the motive had more to do with that than terrorism. >> one expert testified that tamerlan tsarnaev's fingerprints were found on the remote controls used to trigger the bombs. if convicted, dzhokar tsarnaev could be sentenced to death. >> the canian air force is going after al shabab after an attack left 150 dead. positions were targeted in western somalia. one gunman is identified as a former law student from nairobi. he joined al shabab in 2013 in somalia. >> the majority of the bodies have now been identified, but there are a number of challenges. there's at least one case where

the body was so badly disfigured that multiple families claimed it as the body of their loved one. in addition, during the attack, a number of students fled the university compound and hid in the surrounding bushes and even days after the attack. some of those people are still being found alive. it's possible people who were very traumatized and scared are in hiding. it's not clear if those people are alive or dead. none of this, of course, is making it easier for people here. >> family members and friends are going on line to remember the victims of the attack. they have been posting photos and names on social media using the hash tag 147 not just a number. >> many of the messages also include personal details of the lives they lived and messages of love including you are not forgotten. >> on the agenda today the trial of a police officer begins today in cleaved ohio. michael brolow is charged with

two counts of manslaughter after a high speed chase in 2012. 13 officers fired at the car that night. only he was charged. >> russia's killing of opposition boris them sov will be in court today saying they were set up. >> thailand announces a tightening of aviation safety over that countries airline regulations. >> stafford joins universities offering free tuition to some of its students at that is it a public relations stunt or framework for the future? >> you can find exactly what you need. >> the unlikely community making medical marijuana more accessible.

[office phone chatter] [frogs croaking] you know what, let me call you back.

what are you doing?! [scream] [frogs croaking] [yelling and screaming] it's back! xfinity watchathon week. the biggest week in television history. it's your all-access binge-watching pass to tv's hottest shows, free with xfinity on demand. xfinity watchathon week. now through april 12th. perfect for people who really love tv. >> it limp rescued around 1500 people in the southern mediterrean. the migrants were ove btr t c libya. unrest has sparked an increase in peopleeing that country. >> aaron hndez is set to begin making a cas today at his murder trial.

anxpert challenge d.n.a. evidence isxpected to take the stand. he pleaded not guilty to orchestratingette death of a semi pro football player in 2013. >> the white house is marking roll. guests will join the first family on the south lawn. the tradition dates back to 1878 under president hayes. >> the candidates for chicago mayor spent a business weekend campaigning across the city ahead of the election. rahm emanuel faces jesus garcia. many chicago residents say violence is their biggest concern. >> this is pictures of him when he was a baby. >> one month since the day her son was shot and killed less than a block from their home, ebony is staying strong. >> we're all confused, puzzled and we want answers because no way a kid should have died the way he died. >> 17-year-old diante was shot in the chest on his way home from the gym p.m. he died at the

scene. >> it was like he outside. i'm like he outside? and then we walked up, he was just still laying there. >> tackling the gun violence in chicago that has plagued the south and west sides have become a key issue in the current mayoral election. >> chicago is one of the most violent cities in the country. why? four years ago when rahm emanuel ran for mayor, he said he'd hire 1,000 additional police officers with that what happened to that promise? >> the number of homicides has risen 26% compared to last year. it's been a tough issue for the mayor, trying to be sensitive to residents touched by violence in their neighborhoods. >> we will not rest until every parent in every part of the city enjoys the same sense of security that others experience and have come to expect. >> regardless of who wins, the real question is whether or not he can stem the tide of violence

before more mothers have to bury their children. >> voters in ferguson, missouri will go to the polls tomorrow, the first election since last summer's can i go of michael brown. voters could put three african-americans on the city council. the top priority will be closing the holes in the city's budget and complying with man dates. >> in indonesia a rejection of the appeal by two convicts on death row. the two are due to be executed by firing squad any day now. the pair were convicted in 2006 as the ring leaders of a plot to smuggle heroin. indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking. >> a senior community in california is taking a stand on a controversial topic that is

typically associated with the younger crowd. we have the report. >> inside the gates of california's largest 55 and older community you'll find seniors that swim, sew stand and smoke medical marijuana. the 68-year-old does more than just smoke it. he runs one of three cannabis collectives in the village home to more than 16,000 seniors. >> why is there a need for a cannabis collective? >> for the access and safe medicine, you know, it's inexpensive, and it's safe. >> even though medical marijuana has been legal in california since 1996, there are no dispensaries in laguna woods because landlords have refused to lease space to pot shops. the collectives fill that void. >> this one has lots of the terpenes that we're looking for anti-inflammatory. >> it would be good nor my arthritis. >> it would.

>> benji johnson suffers from breast cancer. >> i just was miserable from the chemo, and i couldn't even walk my dog and within five minutes of smoking some marijuana, i was able to get up and take my dog out for 20 minutes. i just felt better, just better. >> we have a cancer patient who's dying right now and he said it's helping me die a little bit easier. he said isn't that a right? >> even if there was a dispensary nearby, many seniors would have trouble getting there. they no longer drive cars, but they do drive golf carts. having the collective within the village makes medical marijuana more accessible. >> there's support for you and you can find exactly what you need in a safe, loving environment where people care about you. >> city council member and medical marijuana user sherry horn said seniors are emergings

a a new powerful voice in the fight over legalsation. the generation that lived from the great depression aren't sitting this one out. >> we are not talking about seniors in a nursing home, they play tennis, golf, and are mentally stimulated and physically stimulated and want to continue living. they want a quality of life, and we look at medical marijuana as just one more tool in the tool box. >> we are finally coming into hey, this is something that's really helping us and it's not hurting anyone, so why can we not have access to it? >> seniors here finding there's more than just one type of green that's providing joy and comfort during their golden years. al jazeera california. >> coming up on aljazeera america: >> this is a fundamental concept of liberty. >> right but you have to own that then. >> t.v. host john oliver grills

edward snowden on the leaked n.s.a. documents. we will look at the week ahead. cuba the issues on the agenda of the upcoming summits of the may. >> america's first climate refugees >> this is probably a hurricane away from it being gone. >> who's to blame? >> 36% of land lost was caused by oil and gas industry... >> ...and a fight to save america's coastline. >> we have kinda made a deal with the devil >> fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... award winning investigative documentary series... the disappearing delta only on al jazeera america >> part of al jazeera america's

>> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet

>> welcome to al jazeera america. here's a look at today's top stories. ukrainian president poroshenko said he would be open to giving a voice to pro-russian separatists. >> a parliamentary commission is drafting amendments that would let separatists vote on giving regions more autonomy. >> talks to end syria's civil war underway in russia this morning. key opposition groups are not taking part. >> a man accused of killing three college students will be in court today. investigators say the killings stemmed from a parking dispute. >> a look now at the week ahead.

>> the summit of the may, will be held later this week in panama city. the event has been held every three years since 1994, a chance for leaders from the americas to come together and discuss issues that affect the region. we have correspondents in argentina and mexico, but we begin this morning with this report on cuba. >> cuban president castro is heading to panama city for the summit of the may and it promises to be historic. this visit is a first for cuba. all eyes are focused on whether castro and president obama will shake hands. if that happens it will be a handshake for the mist books and a part of each man's legacy. castro's government seems to be focusing on first raising those flags, bought a cuba and the united states want their official embassies to reopen in havana and washington. the second is the u.s. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

cuba wants off. there's every indication the u.s. is willing to play ball. we can finally start talking about what normalized relations between these two countries really means. venezuela is in the mix and could spoil this moment. the u.s. slapped sanctions against venezuela and president maduro is likely to be a thorn at the side of president obama. expect all of this to play out at this year's summit of the may,. >> president of argentina has long been friends with the cuban government. they'll be happy to meet up with raul castro. their diplomatic push to get britain to the negotiating table is over the future of what they call the malvinas islands and

the british call the talk lands. she didn't get what she wanted at the last summit of the hearings in cartagena in 2012. she'll be pushing much harder here at the summit in panama. whether the rest of latin america is concerned, we'll have to see. they'll certainly expect solidarity with argentina. whether that amounts to much in the long term is very unlikely. >> in mexico city, the country's president will be heading to the summit of the hearings in panama keen to talk about the reforms his government enacted including education energy and tell communications. it's been a difficult last few months for his government, chief among them is the disappearance

of 43 students and local police and local government were involved in that disappearance. in a way this will be a way for him to escape from those issues and show himself and mexico in a more positive light on an international stage. he'll be meeting outside of the summit with the president of brazil panama and the united states barack obama in a meeting in which they'll talk about trade and economic and social development. in general for mexico, they'll be hoping for a smooth summit in which they can once again show the country as one of the region's leaders and a country that's moving forward. >> at the last summit in 2012 in colombia all the latin america voted to have it cuba this year. canada and the u.s. opposed. president obama's relationship with his brazilian counterpart has been icy since a state visit was canceled over surveillance accusations in 2013. he was dealing with accusations

of corruption and a stalling economy could use a trade boost from the u.s. >> after china brass still is the u.s.'s second large evident market. the topic of china is sure to come up. beijing has lent nearly $20 billion in the past decade, more than anier lending entity. to discuss more, vice president of the council of the may eric farnsworth joins us. and foreign minister from mexico city. great to have you with us on the week ahead. >> mr. farnsworth. >> good to see you. >> i'll start with you. i know the tone of the leaders is certainly important here at the summit. what needs to happen at the summit if anything for lawmakers to be satisfied moving forward in cuba? >> what concrete actions come out of this particular meeting, there will most likely be a handshake, interaction we don't know exactly what, a meeting

perhaps. the question then becomes what's next. the other question is what will be the posture of the other countries. it's all the countries of the western hemisphere and some of them will be focused on the factual that they don't much like the united states whether or not there's a rapprochement with cuba. venezuela could become an issue is a very real and pressing issue. that could steal some of the thunder in terms of the positive momentum and feeling in terms of the u.s.-cuba rapprochement. >> what is the dialogue that needs to take place? >> there should be a dialogue between venezuela and the interamerican community regarding its constant systemic and increasingly brutal violation of human rights of

basic freedoms and of representative democracy. unfortunately, it looks like as always the latin americans will not want to take on venezuela on this issue nor will the united states because it does not seem to want to have a discussion or a public debate with venezuela get in the way of the rapprochement with cuba. >> what will make the summit a success? >> it won't be a success. the handshake will be important keeping maduro quiet will be important, having obama not be taken on as an adversary would be important. i think that's about as much as can be expected. these summits have never really been that important or that significant. it's not going to be a big deal either way. >> mr. farnsworth, you're final thoughts? >> i think that would be right. it would be helpful if some

countries would say enough of the old world antagonism, we have common interests lets pursue those and leave the political theater behind and make real progress. >> appreciate your time on the week ahead. >> before we go, let's look at other events coming up. on tuesday residents of ferguson missouri will vote in the first municipal election since the death of michael brown last august. the violent protests that followed. many hope the elections will bring about change. >> ash carter will visit asia in japan and south korea discussing security issues, including china's military and the issues surrounding north korea. >> the n.r.a. will holds its 144th annual meeting in nashville. speakers include ted cruz, bobby jindal, sarah palin and donald trump. >> edward snowden sat down with

john oliver, the comedian and defended his leaks. >> how many of those documents have you actually read? >> i've evaluated all the doubts in the archive. >> you've read every single one. >> well, i do understand what i turned over. >> there's a difference between understanding what's in the documents and reading what's in the documents. >> i recognized the concern. >> because when you're handing over thousands of n.s.a. doubts, the last thing you want to do is read them. >> i think it's fair to be concerned, did this person do enough were they careful enough. >> especially when you're handling material like we know you're handling. >> hmm. ok so the interview took place in russia where snowden has been living since fleeing the united states. >> senator rand paul is expected to announce his candidacy. with it comes to running for congress everyone has to endure

a difficult campaign. despite a congressional approval rating blow 13% dozen was incumbents ran unopposed last fall. michael shure said this is an effort to change that. >> this is jeff sessions. last november in his bid for reelection the republican lawmaker received nearly 800,000 votes, while his campaign twitter had only 12 tweets, his campaign facebook only four posts, and he had no opponent. amid unprecedented discontent with congress, many voters if they even got to the polls didn't have a chase once they did. half of georgia's congressional delegation ran unopposed. from massachusetts, it was two thirds. in all, more than 30 house members ran unopposed and many of those names like john lewis charlie dent and joseph kennedy also didn't have a primary

opponent. enter crowd pack. >> every voter in every district should at least have a choice of who to vote for. it turns out that in certain parts of america in november last year, you did not have a choice. >> they see the problem as big yet fixable. >> what we want to do is give politics back to people, to give them a real sense of control over the political process that is really lacking at the moment. >> to do this, crowd pack has started what they call their unopposed project raising money to field candidates in each district where there is only one name on the ballot last time. >> the money will be distributed to the opponents future opponents are the unopposed members of congress who ran in 2014 so let's make sure it did not happen again in 2016. >> donors are asked to contribute any legal amount all in order to fill some voids. hilton and crowd pack concede that the claims of main in

politics is not about to change. >> you've got to start with the reality that money is really important and therefore political donations is probably the most effective way that people can make change happen. >> crowd pack is non-partisan. their point is that an election takes two. >> for us, it's a principle of democracy that everyone should have a choice. it's not for us to judge whether a particular candidate is better or worse or whether a particular party is better or worse. that's not our role. our role is to help democracy work better. >> can it work or is it a waste of time and money to field an opponent just for the sake of offering a choice? many we should ask herric cantor former representative with eric cantor. >> stanford university is joining a number of other small colleges offering free two i guess for some, waving fees for families who earn less than

$125,000 per year. can you lower that a bit? those students will still have to contribute at least $5,000 a year through part time work and summer jobs, harvard yale and princeton have similar initiatives in place. let's bring in abassociate professor at columbia university's teacher's college. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> lower that number, stanford, give us a real break here. is this significant from stanford and these other gold plated heavily endowed universities? >> on a sort broad level it allows us to have a conversation about the higher education. >> and me to poke at it a bit. >> then we have to understand that stanford has the ability to do things others can't with a $25 billion endowment as opposed to the $24 million of most universities. they have the flexibility to

make these kind of decisions. for them, it's a win-win in many ways. they get to lead the conversation and two because it signals that they have some care about who it is that they come as students at the university. >> $125,000 is still a lot of money. >> it's a lot of money but -- >> i can't wait for this but the. >> people in and around that level probably won't be able to get into stanford, too underprepared in their schools. so it's nuanced. >> might be universities actually get some pushback from the ultra russia, the ultra elite who like the idea. they equate high price with prestige and like keeping the top 1% nice and walled off. >> it sort of feeds this larger narrative and stanford has pushed this, those who have more are helping out those less

fortunate. >> thank you. you made the point better than i did. that's good, that's good. >> we're picking up for these folks who can't do for themselves but cause poverty to remain in certain communities the poor schooling that lead to those that get into stanford. >> amen. >> it opens up a really, really sort of tenuous conversation for us to have more critical conversations about the pros of admissions. >> i wonder how many of those conversations we will have. how difficult will it be for other private universities and public universities to match in any way and to do what these schools are doing? >> those with high endowments have the possibility to follow suit. it becomes a trickle effect, also becomes competition. >> it does. >> we can't that i they are more ethical than we are, we have to have these conversations, as

well. it helps to have conversations about not just giving these breaks but also lowering tuition at large. >> what a concept! >> yeah, yeah, i think that is the kind of -- >> what is the argument against doing that? >> it's the prestige issue. people it's almost like, you know clothes. they're brand names. if you lower the prices, the perception is not as press prestigious and we've all fed into that. >> talk about the hyper corps corporatization of colleges. >> making money even if it means giving some to make some later or get p.r. or press that's a piece of what's happening here. it ends the up feeding the bottom line at the end of the game. >> cutting prices, is that really going to solve the

problem of this debt bubble surrounding students going and being pushed back in the start of their lives? there needs to be a bigger, more encompassing solution to the price and the cost of higher education. >> absolutely. not only do we have to have a conversation with the price of higher education we talk about k through 12 education and students getting into these colleges. there's a longer societal issue. what are the factors that are creating and maintaining post that allow folks not to afford colleges or create, you know, programs to prepare students to get into these college to say begin with? coupled with the situation with private institutions is the increasing tuitions in public universities, as well. >> right. >> and those things coming together makes it out of reach for certain populations. >> what a pleasure.

man, that was fun, thank you. >> thank you. >> now to washington state and to a place known as washaway beach. for the last century the coast has been eroding about 100 feet every year, maps constantly redrawn as homes get closer and closer to the ocean. lets bring in nicole mitchell for today's environmental impact. is this caused by man or nature? >> a lot of erosion going on across the country is impacted by climate change, global warming. this is a little less, though, a little more the geography. one of the things that erhodes the coastline is large waves. they have large wave energy on the west coast in general especially in the nest and some storms that hit like the one in december that washed away three homes here can be in influenced intensity wise. some things that make this the fastest eroding place on the

west coast is the geography. this is an estuayy, one river coming into it and an opening to the sea so the flow going through that kind of chews away at the land where it's got that mouth opening to the sea. this terrain especially also that unique problems, water likes a nice straight line. it doesn't like to have to curve too much. look back to the 1800s, it was almost making a right turn. way back last century 500 feet per year were eroding. now that it's more of a moot line it's 100 feet per year, still significant. it's a fine sand that we see in this area. that erhodes more quickly than a gravel or pebbled beach. one impact of all of this, if you're looking for a property deal because this is what could happen, you know, you might buy a place that is only going to

last five or 10 years. >> it's a great deal. >> just know you won't get insurance and it's going to be a cash purchase. >> today we feature a story trending in thailand, environmentalists are increasingly paying for their activism with their lives p.m. campaigners against mining projects and garbage dumps face death threats. over a 10 year span, 16 environmentalists have been murdered. their pictures and memorials are a reminder of their fight to keep their villages uncontaminated. the killers are suspected of being contractors for local businesses. >> dark martyr, the massive machine that discovered the so-called god particle i also back in action after a two year hiatus. >> batter up, opening day for major league baseball with rules designed to speed up the game.

he game.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. the red cross hopes to airlift medical supplies and aid workers

into yemen today but has not gotten there yesterday. saudi-led airstrikes are still hitting houthi rebels and they are finding a hard time finding airlines to take in the aid. >> an independent review called a rolling stone article about rape on a virginia campus into question. >> in our science beat this morning, it is hailed as a new era for the field. the world's largest particle accelerator, the one that discovered the so-called god particle is back up running today after a two year jump grade. it could shed new light on the

mysterious world of dark matter. >> more powerful than ever, over the last two years they've been upgrading the accelerator. sunday scientists fired two particle beams around the circuit known as the collider, the l.h.c. these are baby steps for researchers here. >> it would take us about two months, six weeks to two months to establish the first stable collisions for the experiments because we have to commission all the instruments all the systems one by one. >> in 2012, a breakthrough was announced. >> it is a great day for particle physics. >> scientists discovered an elementary particle that gives mass to other particles earning it the nickname the god particle. the following year, two scientists behind the theory got

the nobel prize in physics. >> there would be no atoms no nuclei the fundamental building blocks was matter and there would be no stars there would be no galaxy, man nary system and finally no life. >> magnets with accelerating systems boost particles. soon they'll travel at almost the speed of light and analyzing their collisions could reveal new scientific secrets. eventually they'll look at dark matter the invisible matter which makes up 80% of the known universe but can only be detected by advice able matter. there could be many more discoveries over the lifetime of

this underground science city. >> tonight wisconsin and duke face off for the men's basketball title. that matchup comes after the badgers took down previously undefeated kentucky. the women's final tom, notre dame place you con. the huskies crushed the university of maryland by 23 points to advance. notre dame's win was a tight one, beating south carolina by just a point. the 2015 major league baseball season is now officially underway the cards beat the cubs in the season opener. you may find the games moving faster. new rules limit the time between innings. there is enhanced security checks at ballparks. >> two days culture beat is all

about a song that holds mysteries. many wonder if the document will help uncover the meaning behind one of the 20th century's most iconic songs. >> for sale, the iconic american pie. what you are looking at is the manuscript and first time the opening words were written to the song a long, long time ago. he always refused to commit to what american pie is really all about. over and above the fact that he said it was inspired by the death of buddy holly. the song has been overanalyzed by academics including at harvard university because of its mysterious lyrics. how about this, now the half time air was sweet perfume while sergeants played a marching tune. because the players tried to take the field the marching

band refused to yield. do you recall when was revealed the day the music died? >> whoever buys this manuscript gets access to previously unseen lyrics. don mcclean wrote these words. they never made the into the final cut. join us tonight to find out more about the mystery behind "american pie." >> coming up from doha, the latest on the fight in yemen. tomorrow morning, it is election day in ferguson, missouri. the city could see major leadership changes sings the death of michael brown. thanks for watching.

>> welcome. waiting for aid people in yemen in desperate need of supplies as fighting continues around the country. >> the united nations said the situation in yarmouk refugee camp in syria is beyond humane. >> mourning in ken in a after a deadly university attack. >> i'm reporting from ukraine