men in the jungle say they'll continue their work. armed and determined to step in, and fill the gaps their government has been unable to. al jazeera. >> as always, there is lots more on our website aljazeera.com. get the latest on all the stories we're following. >> no way out thousands of refugees trapped in syria while isil and the government battle. there may be an escape plan in the works. >> a jury decides the fate of the accused boston marathon bomber what the verdict hinges on. >> voters in ferguson, missouri head to the polls to elect a new city council. could low turnout derail hopes for change and more racial diversity?

>> good morning, welcome to al jazeera. the jury in the boston marathon bombing trial will begin deliberations. dzhokar tsarnaev faces 30 counts including several that could lead to the death penalty. the defense tried to persuade the jury that he was manipulated by his older brother tamerlan. >> the words lawyers used in closing arguments monday were consistent repeatedly referring to the now 21-year-old dzhokar tsarnaev as a kid or teenager under the influence of his older brother. the prosecution repeated the assertion over and over again that the tsarnaevs were a team and partners in the boston marathon bombing that killed three and injured 260. besides words the prosecution relied heavily on images of the 2013 attack during their 90

minute remarks during which some of the courtroom wiped away tears. tsarnaev faces 17 counts which could result in death. the prosecution hopes they buy their argument. >> he's expected to be found guilty because his lawyer admit his involvement but this defense strategy is clearly designed to save him from the death penalty. they're laying the groundwork in this first phase so when the same jury begins the second phase considering mitigating factors and aggravating factors and decides what penalty to give him, death or life in prison, they will have this ground work laid. >> the family of the youngest victim yesterday attended as well as victims who lost limbs in the attack. if the jury finds dzhokar tsarnaev guilty of voluntarily conspiring with his brother the sentencing phase could last

several weeks. >> kentucky senator and palm is set to announce he's running for president. paul is famous for his libertarian stance, but that could impact his standing with republican voters. we have more. >> a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words. we've come to take our government back. >> he faces a fractured republican party with completing ideological wings something that will make it all the more difficult for any represent candidate. >> rand paul enters a race with a giant bullseye on the back. he is not a popular figure inside the foreign policy battle within the republican party. he falls outside the r.n.c. platform and he is bringing a libertarian tea party flavor to this campaign. it's a question of whether that will resonate with the establishment minded republicans who not only pick the nominees,

but also fund them. >> there are all right sign that is paul is moving away from his libertarian roots. paul once defined himself as an anti abortion rights conservative now says doctors should be use discretion, in cases where the life of the mother is in jeopardy. at adds with his ideologies, he opposes gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana but says those decisions should be made by states, not the federal government. he's come out in favor of immigration reform, advocating tighter border security, but also finding a place for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the u.s. paul advocates a strong national defense, but one of his first legislative proposals was to make extensive cuts to the department of homeland security. >> it is something that should not and cannot be tolerated in our country. >> powell's 13 hour filibuster in 2013 shows he's willing to go against the grain.

he was joined by a few other republicans, but members of his own party including former presidential candidate john mccain called the move to block a vote on president obama's choice to head the c.i.a. i will-informed. mccain penned an op ed called rand paul's rant. >> it's time for a new leader, one you can trust, one who works four and above all it's time for a new president. >> paul hopes to tap into an outside washington sentiment a move that will make him attractive to many tea party conservatives, but may not stand up against the more establishment candidate like jeb bush. the fact that palm is part of a political dynasty and able to draw upon support from his

father. >> we'll have complete coverage of the announcement at 12:00 eastern right here. >> voters head to chicago to choose the next mayor. rahm emanuel he is rung for a second term. the vote went to a runoff because rahm emanuel couldn't win an outright vote. he is running against garcia. after months of racially charged turmoil in ferguson, missouri, residents willing have a say in city government there, three council seats up for grabs. currently only one of the six city council members is african-american. randall pinkston is here with details. what's at stake here? >> this municipal election could impact ferguson's political leadership. in all of the city's history there's never been more than one african-american on the city council. there are now three ward seats open. in ward one there are four

candidates, two are white, two are black. in ward two, one white candidate, one african-american and in the third ward, both candidates are black. there is all right one african-american on the city council in ferguson not running for city council. no matter what happens. the council is guaranteed to get at least one more african-american than there is now. >> we have to go back to the shooting of michael brown by the white police officer. many accuse the city's political leadership about doing nothing of harassment of african-americans by a white police force. two thirds of the residents are african-american. activists hope electing more african-americans to the city council will result in better treatment not only by police, but by all. officials. >> the justice democratic found racial discrimination is a problem in ferguson, but isn't lope voter turnout also a problem and that's why the city council looks the way it does today? >> absolutely.

lo voter turnout low voter participation. the voting population among whites and african-americans is about equal but only 6% of eligible cast ballots in 2012. whites weren't much better at 16%, but it was enough to maintain all white control. turn toout is a key factor. we'll see whether that activism we've seen in the seats translate to the ballot box. >> power at the polls. thanks a lot. >> international officials warn that thousands of palestinian refugees are starving to death at a camp near damascus. aid agencies have been unable to reach the yarmouk camp for more than a week after isil launched an offensive on the capitol battling government forces with 18,000 civilians caught in the middle. stephanie decker joins us live from beirut. the situation is scribbled as more desperate than ever. what is the u.n. doing about it?

>> the head of the u.n. body that deals with palestinian refugees provide the u.n. security council yesterday on that monday, saying exactly what you said, that it was a more desperate situation than ever, calling on the international community to put political pressure on the ground to try and solve this to open a humanitarian corridor for these civilians to get out. around 2,000 have managed to get out, but there are still 16,000 caught in this camp. there's also negotiations going on on the ground, a member of the p.l.o., the body that deals with the represention of palestinians is talk to the u.n. and government to solve this. when you're dealing with isil, any form of negotiation is very difficult. >> the camp once housed 170,000 refugees and only 10% remain. fewer than 20,000. give us a better idea of what life is like for the people that

remain. >> that's right. we're hearing about this camp now, but it has been under siege for over two years. when you talk about conditions, they are desperate. these people that remain are wholly dependent on aid and handouts. there is no electricity in the camp no running water or food. these people depend on soup kitchens for food and need to go to certain location to say pick up water. that now not at all possible. isil has snipers on the roof of the building, so trying to move around in open areas where there may not be a battle going on is virtually impossible. there is incredible fear and we're told from people inside that the medical situation in terms of aid medicine, supplies coming in to deal with those wounded is impossible, because no aid has come into the camp for the last seven days when the battles began. >> isil controls most of the area up to 90% we've seen

reported. is there any protection for these civilians who are caught in the crossfire? >> the big answer to that is no. we are hearing now that isil has been pushed back slightly, we're told they are now in control of 60% of the camp, but there's no one there protecting the civilians. they are caught in the middle of internal group fighting with each other. they are also caught now the syrian regime using barrel bombs on the camp in the last few days or so. we hear reports from a body that monitors the war that at least 20-barrel bombs hit, also shelling there are no bunker to go to there. there's nothing where they are safe. when it comes down to the civilians, an absolutely desperate situation. >> stephanie decker for us in beirut, thank you. >> we want to bring in syria campaign manager, also joining

us from our beirut bureau, just a desperate situation there. are aid agencies able to get in at all and distribute aid in yarmouk? there's very little that international aid agencies are able to do at the moment, because it's just impossible to get aid through. many people we've spoken to in the camp this morning have used up the last of the food reactions that they had from a u.n. agency that works with palestinian refugees who distributed over a week ago now. they are absolutely desperate. the same with drinking water the trucks people rely on trucking water into the camp, because the main pipeline was cut last year by government forces, so the trucks haven't been able to get through and the hospital in yarmouk camp was seized by fighters, so there have been some local volunteers,

humanitarian volunteers trying to provide medical assistance to people from another location, but it's obviously incredibly limited without medical supplies able to come in. we've seen several hundred thousand i'm sorry several hundred families who have been moving out to surrounding villages in the area around yarmouk, but they are very, very far from being safe areas. they are still besieged by government troops. it means it's very difficult to get assistance to those displaced families as well as those who remain in yarmouk. most of staying in their houses, hunkering down to avoid the fighting. >> i want to show you a picture of crowds waiting in line for food. this picture from more than a year ago in yarmouk and there was just a sea of people waiting for food. a lot of people have left now. you don't see those big lines. would you encourage families in yarmouk to at least try and get out and where can they go?

>> well, i think that is the real problem. there is very few places for them to go. those who have left in the last few days, the few hundred families that have managed to move out of the camp itself have just been able to get as far as surrounding villages, but they're still in a besieged area. it's very difficult for them to imagine them being able to move past government forces. yesterday, the palestinian representatives to the u.n. called on governments around the world to step up and relocate the refugees to safe place for other governments to be offering them a lifeline. that is absolutely essential. the picture really demonstrates that the unimaginable suffering that people in yarmouk have been facing having going on not just for the last week, but for years as they've been besieged, they've been hit frock the air they've been prevented from aid entering the camp, so it's

really a desperate situation. so many people describe themselves there as living like ghosts not really being able to live but just trying to keep going for their children in the hopes that help will one day come but that hope keeps being dashed. last year, we saw three humanitarian resolutions from the u.n. security council but they've been ignored and undermind at every turn. we will need to see the members of the security council and powerful governments around the world using their political muscle to really bring this protection to civilians and humanitarian access opened up. the security council met yesterday, late yesterday in new york to discuss the situation urgently and again they called for increased access. that's only going to happen if other governments bring to bear the pressure on the warring parties. >> camilla, thank you so much. >> in yemen the u.n. says more than 100,000 people have left their homes in search of safety. more than 100 have died in the latest fighting in the south as

the saudi-led coalition continues bombing houthi rebels. the red cross hoped to bring in a major aid shipment monday, but violence interrupted aid delivery there. >> turkeys president is in iran today despite growing tensions between the governments arriving this morning and has already met with president rouhani. later today he'll sit down with him. last month turkey criticized iran for trying to dominate the region. >> turkey has lift add ban an twitter, you tube and facebook after the companies complied with court orders and took down this image. it shows a prosecutor held at gun point before being shot, and he later died. the government called the photograph terrorist propaganda. the ban was fiercely criticized on line with users posting cartoons and other images mocking the ban. critics saw the block as another example of turkeys crackdown on social media and the press many calling it government

censureship. some posted servers to be used to avoid the block. >> a jury orders a $150 million payment for a car crash blamed on a faulty design. we'll hear from the attorney of the family.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. taking a look at today's top stories, critics are challenging a new law in malaysia for indefinite detention. critics say it could target political opponents of the government. >> a fourth new york man faces charges of raising money for training isil fighters overseas. he is accused of giving $1,600 to a 19-year-old to help him travel to syria. he is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow. >> closing arguments are set for today in the murder trial of former nfl star aaron hernandez accused of orchestrating the he death of a semi pro football player. >> chrysler is debating whether to appeal a case of a young boy killed in a car accident. a jury ordered $150 million to be paid to his parents. the issue, whether the placement of the fuel tank caused the 1999

jeep grand cherokee to burst into flames after it was rear ended. >> on behalf of my clients we're pleased. we think the jury sort the through chrysler's denial of responsibility and reached the common sense conclusion that putting the gas tank 11-inching from the end of the vehicle and hanging six inches down is not safe. chrysler got a fair trial and the jury reached the right result. the judge gave everybody a fair shake, lots of evidence came in, and this jury, these 12 private citizens from a very conservative venue heard weeks of evidence before reaching their decision. i think they got it right. i anticipate the court of appeals is going to agree with that. this is the first case arising out of the fuel fed fire involving a rear impact that has

ever gone all the way to trial. chrysler settled every other one confidently before it could get to the public eye. i do hope after this, more people will have the courage and bravery that this family had to go all the way. that will allow other people to learn about the danger. there's a lot of people driving these jeeps who don't even know their gas tank is hanging down at the very rear of their vehicle. chrysler's own engineer has admitted is "vulnerable to impact." there is pressure to give up ahead of time, because sitting through two weeks of a trial like that is not easy on any parent. they were tough and persevered and i admire them for it. >> in 2013, chrysler did recall more than 1.5 million jeeps with similar rear fuel tanks. the jeep in this case was not part of that recall. >> a university of virginia

fraternity plans to sue rolling stone off the an article about rape on campus, saying the magazine defamed them in the article claiming a gang rape happened at the fraternity house. a review found the reporting flowed and article was retracted. the magazine apologized. >> air pollution has long been linked to health problems. research said the effects could begin before birth. >> an offer to help california farmers suffering years of drought may come with serious long term consequences.

june it's pretty clear that pollution is bad for the environment and hour health, but a new study shows how much pollution impacts children and infants. it's even worse before a child is even born. let's bring in nicole mitchell for today's environmental impact. what kind of pollution are we talking about here? >> we're looking at hydrocar bans and specific types in air heating oil things of that

nature that are used and specifically their impact on children still in the womb. home heating oil coal, gasoline we tested 40 mothers. that's a pretty small sample in the third trimester for pollution in their systems. they followed up with the children through age seven looking at their brains and m.r.i.'s. they found the left side of the brain was a loss of white matter. those are areas of damage versus the roads is a healthier looking brain and that damage correlated directly to behavioral problems, including attention deficit lower processing speeds and a lower ability to take in and respond to new information. it's new some of the cognitive issues but this is the first time they correlated illusion to prenatal problems. placenta problems, growth issues heart defects those are early stages of pregnancy and

then in later stages of pregnancy with, reduced birth weight and premature birth. all of that is on top of once a child is born, pollution causing respiratory problems, higher chances of asthma and things like that. regardless whether someone is onboard with climate change, global warming pollution itself definitely a health risk to human beings. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> all this month we look at the issues facing our fragile planet. california's drought is leading to an unusual offer for farmers. one agency will buy their water for more than that he can make selling crops. there are long term consequences to making those deals. >> just to give an idea of how often bad the drought is, we're at lake orville, one of the major reservoirs in this state. there is a brown band behind me, that is the water mark.

on the top is where the water level used to be. the lake is now half empty because of the drought. it's precisely situations like this a california governor jerry brown has that brought relief bill, one week ago, $1 billion for drought relief. we have a situation where different parts of the state southern parts of california, northern california, different water districts are battling for the same amount of limited water. >> our agency is making bids, other agencies are making bids, so we're competing for a very limited resource. we are seeing prices unprecedented this year and it's reflective of how bad the situation is. >> a very interesting thing happening right now is that some rice farmers in the area, they've actually done the math. they get a water allotment and realize that producing rice doesn't make at much sense as selling off the water directly and just not doing anything for this season. los angeles is eyeing the water

that these rice farmers have. these are definitely strange days in the state where you have one drought stricken part of the state buying water from another drought stricken part of the state. al jazeera sacramento valley, california. >> you can watch the full report tonight at 8:00 eastern here on aljazeera america. >> the duke blue devils waking up with the college basketball championship winning its fifth title last night under coach kryzewski defeating wisconsin. tie jones was named player of the game. post game comments from bo ryan creating controversy. he said this: many of the players were seniors. that was followed by a tweet from senator mccasket. congrats for duke, but i was rooting for students going to college and not just doing semester tryouts for the nba. thanks for joining us.

tony harris is back in two minutes with more aljazeera america morning news. >> monday - a climate emergency. >> those species could not be here in 10 years. >> nasa steps in to help protect the future of the planet. >> the tropics regulate our climate. >> techknow heads to costa rica to see how one rainforest is fighting back. >> wow! some of these are amazing. >> 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. monday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> part of al jazeera america's >> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet

>> there's heavy security everywhere >> mass killings... government corruption... misguided influence? >> i wanted people to know, this regime, was evil... >> fault lines investigates

the impact of the u.s. involvement in south sudan >> fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... >> they're firing canisters of gas at us... >> emmy award winning investigative series... >> we have to get out of here... south sudan: country of dreams only on al jazeera america >> to the jury, after weeks of emotional testimony a jury convince deciding the fate of the boston marathon bombing suspect today. >> a bid for the white house. rand paul set to throw his hat in the ring for the 2016 presidential race. >> runoff vote, people in chicago return to the polls to decide whether mayor rahm emanuel or his opponent, jesus garcia should lead the city.

>> this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm tony harris. >> in less than an hour, the jury in the boston marathon bombing trial will begin deliberations after a month of sometimes gruesome testimony they will decide the fate of suspect dzhokar tsarnaev. attorneys on both sides used closing arguments to fight over one key point who was responsible for the 2013 attack, tsarnaev or his older brother. we have more. >> that is the key question when it comes to the case of the younger tsarnaev brother is he an impressionable youth led astray by his dom nearing brother for a radicalized killer. the jury begin that wrestling match starting today. their answer will likely be a matter of life or death for the

accused bomber. >> closing arguments in the trial of dzhokar tsarnaev found the defense repeatedly referring to the now 21-year-old as a kid or a teenager was of his older brother, tamerlan. >> they said it's not for tamerlan tsarnaev, these attacks would not have taken operation. >> the prosecution asserts that the tsarnaevs were a team in the boston marathon bombing that killed three and injured 260. >> they needed to prove that the defense is trying to show otherwise that the younger brother was a true partner in every part of this. >> as was the case throughout the trial the defense attorney judy clark was careful not to assert dzhokar tsarnaev's in sense, at one point telling the jury there is no excuse, no one is trying to make one. planting bombs at the boston marathon was a senseless act. the defense receipt rated that the only fingerprints found on the bomb making materials were tamerlan's and cell phone

records show dzhokar tsarnaev was miles away when the materials which purchased. the prosecution used his own words to dispel the notion that he was a could not fused teen, the prosecutor reminded jurors of what dzhokar tsarnaev carved in the boat, stop killing our people and we will stop, pointing at tsarnaev, the prosecutors said the defendant and his brother considered themselves to be soldiers and they were bringing their battle to boston. he shows a day when the eyes of the world woulden on boston, he chose a day when there would be civilians on the sidewalks and targeted those civilians men women and children. during they are mine minute remarks, the prosecution repeatedly showed the jury harrowing i am ma'ams of victims, men women and children. one in particular. some wiped tears from their faces. tsarnaev faces 30 counts, 17

could result in death. >> he is expected to be found guilty because his lawyer admitted his involvement. but this defense strategy is clearly designed to save him from the death penalty. >> now, if the jury finds dzhokar tsarnaev guilty of voluntarily conspiring with his brother, the sentencing phase could last several weeks and that's when we'll find out if dzhokar tsarnaev will live or die. >> thank you. >> people in chicago are heading to the polls to decide who will run the city in today's runoff election. former white house chief of staff rahm emanuel is looking for a second term as mayor after failing to win an outright majority in february. we have more on what's at stake. >> the polls open in chicago at 6:00 a.m. in the mayoral runoff here in chicago the incumbent mayor rahm emanuel facing off against his challenger, jesus garcia both democrats in a very

democratic city. the mayor is facing a number of tough issues, his stance on schools. he faced off against the chicago teachers union, one of the first teachers strikes in did he go cased here in chicago as well as providing over the large evident mass closing of schools in u.s. history. these actions alienated a strong base in the chicago teachers union as well as amongst teachers here in chicago for the incumbent mayor and that is something his opponent seized upon getting support of the teachers union as well as other grassroots organizations. he has proposed himself being the every man who has lived in the city of chicago in a neighborhood that has been plagued by violence, being somebody he says who can relate to the every day fears of people here in chicago. still, mayor rahm emanuel has enjoyed a significant lead over his challenger. all the polls in the last weeks indicate that he's been ahead by double detects. for both campaigns getting

voter turnout is important. it was low in february. an sentee balloting has gun gone up but it's spring break in chicago and both campaigns have pushed to get supporters out to the polls. >> the vote in chicago is just one of the stories getting attention at aljazeera.com. one demographic largely ignored by both mayoral candidates is the homeless, while the many in that community face obstacles casting ballots. illinois makes is a bit easier for them to vote. homeless people with two forms of i.d. can list a shelter as an address when registering. the city has 138,000 homeless, but it is unclear how many of them vote. >> the republican race for president heats up today. in just a few hours kentucky senator rand paul is set to announce his run for president. the first term kentucky senator is famous for his stance on the role of government. we have a look at rand paul, the

candidate. >> i will speak until i can no longer speak. >> from a 13 hour filibuster on drones. >> the other side loves that, loves spending, doesn't care how much your kids or grandkids will have. >> to arousing speech on the perils of federal debt. >> several trillion dollars of debt under president obama is too much. >> to controversial comments on the civil rights act of 1964. >> i abhor racism. i think it's a bad business decision to ever exclude anybody from your restaurant, but at the same time, i do believe in private ownership. >> the 52-year-old kentucky senator rand paul is described as the fire brand of the republican party. i and his father served in the senate simultaneously. >> he has an opportunity to go farther than his father in part

because he is going to be a i believe to cap purr a lot of libertarian leaning folks that his dad captured. he's trying to broaden the base out. >> rand paul was born in 1963 in pittsburgh. after graduating from duke medical school, he became an eye doctor and married his college girlfriend. inspired by his father, he's been active in politics since college. he started a watchdog group called kentucky taxpayers united encouraging state legislators to vote against tax increases. following the 2008 financial crisis he became increasingly involved in the fiscally tea party movement. in 2009, on the anniversary of the boston tea party. he announced he was running for senate his first run for office and he won handily. >> we've come to take our government back! >> he's been voled the favorite candidate in the conservative political action conference for the past three years. >> kentucky senator rand paul won with 31%.

>> while many people are trying to feed red meat to the base, he's been going to ferguson, missouri to places like detroit, michigan, he's been playing in quarters where you don't necessarily find republicans a whole lot. >> those who love liberty must rise to the occasion. will you? will you lovers of liberty will you rise to the occasion? >> he may be broadening his reach-out to voter constituency that is might otherwise ignore him, buts also, too that could definitely hurt him at least in some camps who are locking for a different type of republican candidate and have many, many options in the more than dozen republican candidates who were ultimate lay going to jump into the presidential fray in 2016. >> a message of lower taxes makes him an outsider with an insider's edge. mike viqueira, al jazeera washington. >> who is rand paul?

a 52-year-old medical doctor in his first term as a kentucky senator, elected in 2011. he has libertarian roots, he is pro life and against most government spending. rand paul is the son of former representative ron paul, who mailed several unsuccessful bids for president. the senator is not exactly a favorite among republicans. >> rand paul enters the race with a giant bullseye on the back. he is not a popular figure inside the foreign policy establishment of the republican party. his domestic politics fall outside of the r.n.c. platformen some case and he really is bringing a libertarian tea party flavor to this campaign. it's a question of whether that will resonate with the establishment minded republicans who not only pick the nominees, but also fund them. >> paul angered some in his party coming out in favor of immigration reform. he has called for tighter bored security but says there is a place for the estimated

11 million undocumented immigrants in the united states. >> the death toll is rising quickly in yemen. the u.n. says more than 540 people have been killed and 1700 injured in just the past two weeks. saudi arabia is leading a coalition bombing houthi rebels who forced the countries president to flee. the u.n. says the violence has incident resulted aid delivery. >> pakistan is still on the fence this morning about joining the coalition in yemen. the prime minister is calling on iran to weigh in. so far not a single parliament member has spoken in favor of sending troops to yemen. also on the agenda today demonstrators will take to the streets of nairobi kenya demanding better security after the garissa attack. >> increasing threats and attacks on people who defend women's rights in afghanistan. laws in place to protect women there are rarely used. >> the u.s. postal service

issues a limited edition stamp honoring maya angelou. >> in ferguson, al jazeera sits down with the candidates in today's history-making municipal election. >> the kings of the court duke! the blue devils edge wisconsin to win its fifth national championship. it was followed with controversy.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. taking a look at today's top stories now a fourth new york man faces charges of raising money for training isil fighters overseas. he is accused of giving $1,600 to a 19-year-old to travel to syria. he is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow. >> it is still not clear what killed a man and his seven children in maryland. family members blame carbon monoxide poisoning. his electricity was cut off. >> closing arguments today in the murder trial of aaron hernandez. the former patriots tight end is

accused of orchestrating the death of a semi pro football player. >> voters in ferguson, missouri off to the polls the first local election since the city became a symbol of america's deep racial divide after the shooting of michael brown last august. as we report now, there is more than just local politics at stake today. >> this year, an unprecedented election for ferguson, eight new city council candidates, four of whom are black. brown's death of a catalyst, but also influential. each candidate had their own interaction with ferguson's police department. >> my children have been stopped. i didn't do anything. i was complacent. >> i was pulled over, and sat on the curb and my car searched and to be honest with you, i didn't realize it was wrong until i got in law school. >> i've had state police put a gun in my stomach dare me to

while they make me watch them beat my father, and dared me to help. >> the sleeping giant has awakened. >> do you think the african-american community was sleeping when michael brown was shot? >> yes i'll be honest with you yes. >> adrien hawkins wesley bell, lee smith ella jones they're all vying for seats on ferguson's city council and are up against some challenges. for one it's low pay for a lot of work. council members are given just $250 a week, most also hold full time jobs. there's an even bigger challenge. low voter turnout. a washington post analysis estimates that in the 2013 municipal election, only 6% of blacks and 17% of whites turned out. this is where michael brown was shot and killed by a ferguson police officer. from a voter perspective it's

also important turnout here is notoriously low. during the last election, representatives one by just 23 votes. >> the real reason for that as i see it is that their constantly voting for the same people. >> 76-year-old lee smith is running for city council in ward three. for him everything changed in september, when he went to a heated city council meeting. >> look around you we're not going to let you go back to, at usual. >> smith's opponent for ward three city council wesley bell, a criminal justice professor and judge who is also black. >> how big a factor is race in this election. >> we can't act like race is not an issue. it's always there it's a matter of how much of an issue it is. >> most candidates agree while race will be a big forecaster, it's not the defining issue in this election. >> for me, it's not race, it's

who's qualified. >> al jazeera ferguson, missouri. >> britney packdad is the director of teach for america for st. louis. she was also appointed by the governor of missouri to the ferguson commission. good to see you, good morning. i think i have the numbers right, four blacks running for three open council seats in ferguson. have you ever seen anything quite like this? >> no, and actually over the last 120 years we've only seen three black candidates run in ferguson. we're seeing something of historic proportions the community being responsive to the cries of their neighbors and of protestors all over the region. >> there is a chance ferguson could have a total of what, three african-americans on its six member city council. based on your read of ferguson today, is that a likely outcome? >> i think it's very possible. i think what ferguson has shown us for over 200 days now is that

business as usual the status quo is simply unacceptable. we shouldn't be judging ferguson by what has happened before, we should be judging ferguson and all of st. louis by the commitment of its residents and commitment of citizens to say something different needs to happen. >> i want to talk to you about this commission you're on here. december i think it was of last year, you were named to the governor's 16 member ferguson commission. you were established to address issues of racial right and economic equality in the st. louis area, not just ferguson. how would you describe the commission's work so far? >> really the commission has been led by the community. our very first meeting we let the community tell us what the most important issues were and in order of ranking that is how our meetings have been conducted. we began with community police relations, moved to talks about our municipal court system which has been often reported and then the third most important issue

was education. we talked about education economic empowerment and lately, racial be justice and healing making sure we're responsive to that call is what's been important to the commission. >> racial healing make a note that have, yeah, i think that is important. hasn't the justice democratic essentially provided you and the commission a really compelling read on the extent of the problem in ferguson? i mean it found discrimination against african-americans on an industrial scale right? so what questions are you asking in drawing conclusions on how those issues need to be addressed? conclusions, what to do moving forward to fix the problems highlighted in the justice problems regard? >> i think it's really important, you used the word highlighted in the justice department report. it's important to royce that persons in citizen and natives of st. louis county have been telling these stories for quite some time and those stories of

valid and important. the justice department report is leverage so the commission has been taking that, as well as the report from the policing task force on which i was privileged to be a member and help represent st. louis and our issues. we've been using those reports as an opportunity to say look, we've got indications from the highest offices in this land that something needs to be done and very specific recommendations that we can potentially push for. >> don't you have an idea of what needs to happen moving forward? i mean as you sit on this commission you bring all of your experience, you bring your work as a teacher now working with students, young people who have their own ideas and have their own stories. don't you have an idea of what needs to happen moving forward? i'm wonder be are you just listening or are you suggesting? >> well, we're doing a little built of both. we are suggesting after lifting right, so it's really important that we are listening to all voices young voices in particular.

i will say that as we've been listening to folks, there have been some very, very clear priorities from people. one of the clear things is that there's not a single strategy, it's not just about anti bias training not just about swift prosecution for officers that take on armed citizens lives. it's not just about, you know, healing in schools and different policing tactics in school. it's about all of those things and then some, certainly municipal court reform has to be on the agenda, as well. >> is there a chance that the report could be released before september? there is a lot going on now. the justice department is i guess just wrapped up a few days of talks with city officials there. it seems like there is momentum, there are conversations going on now, the idea of waiting to september to release a report, you know, maybe the moment's missed. is there a chance that the report could be finished before september? >> weaver actually put out our 100 day report about a month ago

to respond to that very need that you're talking about. >> got you. >> also our working groups that are tackling those issues in very specific order have been putting out reports and have been putting out particular recommendations that can be adopted by the commission. those are all veil on line. i encourage people to read that and encourage people to get on twitter and read the ferguson protestor news letter and look at we the protestors.org and look at the combination of recommendations and stories made across the community. >> is change be coming to ferguson? what's your sense of it? >> the community of ferguson, which includes peaceful protestors has knocked on over 5,000 doors over the last weeks in order to assure change will come and come swiftly to ferguson and that ferguson can be a model for the rest of the region and country on how to make sure that justifiable moral outrage turns into real change. voting is important political

change is important but there will continue to go protesting, efforts made to ensure that we see systemic change and not just momentary change. >> britney that was good, thank you. >> thank you. >> good stuff, thank you. >> in today's tech beat, bee populations are endangered especially in cities. it's hard to find space to breed them. some bee keepers in seattle are using the open land around the airport as a bee haven. tech know has the details. >> as one of the busiest airports in the northwest sea tech international serves 30 million passengers each year. although most don't realize they're sharing air space with a half million bees. >> we're standing in the middle of one of the three apearies here.

it has formed the flight path project. >> it is to save the bee. >> why is it important to conserve bees? tell me about colony collapse. >> first of all bees pollinate one third of everything that humanitarians eat. since 2006, there's a syndrome mostly affecting commercial bee keepers in which the colonies enter a doom cycle and can't produce enough bee to say survive so those populations collapse. >> we wanted to develop local northwest bees that are better at surviving the winter than the california bees that come up in the spring. we are here at the airport where we have a little green island. >> vacant land surrounding an airport may seem on unusual option but the safety buffer,

roughly 1,000-acres represent city's growing demand to find solutions in the middle of heavily urban populated areas. >> we can for the most part control the drones that are in the air and we can control the colony jeanettes and set up a situation to select our very best queens to mate with our very young drones and create our own strain of sea tech airport flight path bees. >> despite facing the many challenges they face, please don't call them enter bees. >> there is no magic bullet. the answer to the bee problem is not this how much complicated chemical industrial thing. it's something that all of us can do, plant flowers no chemical inputs and let your

lawn grow an inch taller. that's the solution to making healthier bees, not a magic super bee. >> tune in to tech know today. >> the future of batteries looks like a foil packet, but it's an aluminum iop battery that recharges in a minute. researchers say it makes it better for wearable deviceles. >> the miseries mounting for thousands at a syrian refugee camp, with a lack of food, medicine and water. >> the new drug some researchers believe could be a game-changer in the battle against alzheimer's disease.

>> the republican race for president heats up, rand paul set toe announce his run for the white house. the kentucky senator is in his first term, but is among the top of the pack for 2016 con tenders. >> voters in chicago choosing the next mayor today, rahm emanuel hoping to win after he did not secure a majority vote in february. his opponent is cook county commissioner jesus garcia. if garcia wins, he would become chicago's first latino mayor. >> a rescue operation is underway on the outskirts of syria's capitol at a refugee camp. isil fighters stormed the yarmouk camp last week. thousands of refugees are trapped there and only a few escaped. we have more. >> they speak of incredible

fear. these are some of the people that managed to get out of yarmouk. these pictures were aired showing the army and palestinian factions helping them get to safety. in a matter of 30 minutes, they could have executed all people you see in the school, because isil called from the mosques if we catch one of you working with the palestinian group fighting or with the government, they will cut our heads off. they have no mercy. >> for the first time, video of isil had been posted on line showing the inside of the palestinian refugee camp. they've been fighting palestinian groups and others here for the past six days. this camp has been besiege would for more than two years by the syrian government because rebel groups are also based here. it's people starving with no running water and no electricity. now, isil's presence and syrian regime bombardment in what used to be a densely populated camp is making a terrible situation even worse. even though some people made it

out, most of the 18,000 people who tried to survive here are trapped. >> we cannot pay for anything! we are not on anyone's side! we want the whole camp to be safe! >> the palestinian liberation organization is sending a delegation to syria to try and help solve the crisis. no aid is making it into the camp we're told by activists inside that the lack of medical supplies makes it impossible to treat the wounded. isil's storming the camp i guess a shock here, they're mere presence terrifying people. the u.n. warns of a humanitarian catastrophe if the fighting doesn't stop. >> stephanie decker joins us live from beirut. the u.n. describes the situation in the camp as nearing a catastrophe. my question to you is this, is the u.n. at this point because of everything that's going on in that camp effectively powerless to do anything meteorologist meaningful

to help the people there? >> i think it is fair to say that they're trying to increase the pressure from the international community. we had the head of the group that's the u.n. agency that deals with palestinian agencies address the u.n. security council calling for international political pressure to try and stop this, also to hope a humanitarian corridor. it's incredibly difficult to do this when you have an active war going on inside this camp. one of those and i have fighters being isil, how do you negotiate with isil? we know that's incredibly difficult. whereas there is a push to raise awareness because the people inside are fully dependent on aid and none of that aid is getting win that is very, very difficult. >> we're seeing pictures from the camp now. there were upwards of 170,000 refugees in the camp, now less than 20,000. as we see these pictures,

describe what life has been like for people living there through at least a couple of years of fighting now. >> that's right this camp has been besieged by the syrian government because there is rebel groups based inside it, so they're fully democrat on aid. the situation is no electricity no food, no running water so they have to leave their homes to go to soup kitchens and places where they can pick up water to survive. none of that has come in over the last week. also the medical supplies now needed to treat the wounded that's not arriving, so incredibly difficult. this is a situation exacerbated by this war. they've suffered over the last few years. in 2013, horrifying pictures out of this camp of people starving, almost 200 people died due to starvation bodies completely

emace 80ed. with this battle, it's only getting worse. >> bodies are being removed from tikrit. the mat scores last summer of believed to be the worst single atrocity in recent years. isil overran the military base as the iraqi army collapsed. it may hold as many as 1700 corpses. the bodies are dead soldiers. >> turkeys president is in iran despite growing tensions between the two countries. he has arrived and met with president radio manny. he will sit down with the countries supreme leader. last month the turkish penalty slammed iran for trying to dominate the region. >> turkey lifted a ban on twitter, you tube and facebook

after the companies complied with court orders and took down this image. it shows a prosecutor held at gun point before being shot and he later died. the government called the photograph terrorist propaganda. the ban was fiercely criticized on line with users posting cartoons and images mocking the ban. critics say the block has another example of turkeys crackdown on social media and the press. some posted a list of servers that could be used to circumvent the block. >> greece's prime minister is due in moscow, his trip against the backdrop of tough negotiations between greece and european creditors over the terms of a bailout package. is tsipras making a turn to the

east? >> he was originally scheduled to visit moscow in may but pushed the trip forward one day before greece is due to make a half billion dollars repayment on its i.m.f. bailout loans a lump sum that will strain the deneeded coffers thanks to european creditors repeatedly rejecting greece's proposal for less punishing conditions for bailout funds. he and the see reside as control risks michael moran point out not one to eclipse the power of europe. >> whether there's a russian

alternative, i think is open to discussion. i doubt it. the e.u. is a far larger economic power and offers greece a road back to some form of prosperity. russia would isolate greece and would be the road to a exit not just from the euro zone, but also europe union. i don't think that's where even tsipras wants to go. >> russia is in a poor financial position to shower athens with money. brussels could feel rather annoyed. >> if the kremlin can't offer a new bailout and some funds what's it in a position to offer? >> one russian media outlet reported that russia could sell greece gas at a discount and that would always be welcome. another thing that could be discussed is exempting greek agricultural products for those

tilttit for tat sanctions russia has. >> yet grease actually slapped a price tag on the reparations it says that germany owes greece for the nat decide occupied of world war ii. it was 279 billion euros that i.m.f. bailout package was 240 billion euros. >> rankerrous, yeah. >> a rolling stone article about campus rape, the university is fighting back, saying it is going to sue the magazine. rolling stone retracted a story after an independent review by the columbia school of journalism found it flopped. >> chrysler may appeal a verdict

that found it guilty in a car crash death. a georgia jury ordered the company to pay $150 million to the family of a 4-year-old by the name of remington waldon. the jeep he was riding in exploded when it was rear ended. the jury determined the placement of the fuel tank led to the explosion. we spoke to the family attorney. >> the jury reached the common sense conclusion that putting the gas tank 11 inches from the end of and hanging six inches down is not a safe place to put it. this was the first case arising out of the fuel fed fire following the rear impact of one of these jeeps that has ever gone all the way to trial. chrysler settled every other one confidentially before it could get to the public eye in a courtroom. >> chrysler says the jeep met all safety standards. in today's healthbeat, some hope for suffering from alzheimer's.

more than 5 million americans have the disease. now a bio tech company from massachusetts says early tests show its drug could reduce the presence of plaquing in the brain believed to be responsible for the onset of alzheimer's. a senior fellow at ford ham universities institute of humanitarian affairs good to see you. the company is reporting the positive results so far. what's the drug, that it been tested for safety and efficacy at this point? how significant are these initial findings? >> the drug is an antibody. they've looked at people who don't seem to get alzheimer's and said they may have an antibody to prevent this protein that builds in the brain clogging the neurons. >> what's the name of that protein? >> beta am lloyd plaques.

the proteins stop the brain from functioning. antibodies fight proteins. if we can get an antibody that would target amyloid proteins, maybe that would restart brain functioning. early results are good. that's important. every year, we're spending close to $200 billion in america alone treating alzheimer's. >> in the early results some based on animal tests is it based on human data? >> first of all they've done animal safety profiles to make sure it works. >> and moved past that, ok. >> now we do have a cohort of people they followed over a period of i think it was two years, whether it seems to have slowed or improved cognitive -- >> that's what i want to get to next. i'm reading that this was an

early stage phase 1b. study and you'll need to explain that to me with a relatively small number of patients. you'll need more patients and more time to get more results right? >> these studies are massively expensive. when you're trialing a drug, you want to make sure it's safe and secondly it worse. you start with small numbers of patients so you don't expose large numbers to risk and so you can do fairly cheaply proof some likelihood it's worth pursuing. the phase two trial will be larger number of people for a long time. the trial of a drug might cost $100 million. to get a drug that works you're probably looking at spending a billion dollars over a long period of time. >> wow. >> yes. >> that's the other point over a long period of time. we're a long way away from a drug aren't we? >> if you think about the amount of money we spend object i mean, so 5 million people in the u.s. at the moment have alzheimer's.

we spent massive amounts of money on research and don't have any drugs that work at all for the moment. we have drugs that slightly improve the levels of a brain transmitter which slows it, but basically nothing. >> the next set of results build upon the last, right? >> i think we're in a very interesting era of drug research now looking at much more fundamental disease mechanisms. we may well find in the next few years that even if this is an antibody that targets a protein specific to the disease we may find gene therapy that is deal with things more widely and get better at preventing alzheimer's. >> appreciate it, thanks very much. >> india's prime minister is taking aim at the environment out with a new plan to provide realtime pollution data for 10 indian cities. activists are cheering the move. >> when people in new delhi want

to know how polluted the air is they're breathing they come here to the weather department. this has become an increasingly important issue for millions of people across this city, as international health organizations have report that new delhi is the world's most polluted city. to deal with this issue the government introduced a national air quality index a move that's widely welcomed by environmental groups. >> it's really important because this will give people the chance to take precautions especially those who are suffering from lung disease and heart disease. this is a one step forward but we need to do a lot more. >> the indian government is rolling out this air quality index in 10 cities across the country, and it's going to expand this program to more than 60 as time goes on. the big question is what does this mean, what does the collection of this data and publication of data in realtime mean for people on the ground,

for instance, if a city like new delhi record as high level of air pollution on consecutive days will it mean a change in traffic conditions, a change in the way in which construction happens, what will it mean for millions of people in their daily lives? all around, a great idea, many people saying this is a great start when it comes to public awareness, but the big question is how will this actually change the situation in some of the word says biggest cities? >> the air quality the way it is in india can affect anyone. a new study shows exactly how bad air impacts in children and infants, it's even worse before a child is born. let's bring in nicole mitchell for today's environmental impact. how badly can air impact young people kids? >> we've always known a extreme old groups and young groups, the most susceptible but even in the womb, we can see some of these problems. that's a new published report out.

running gasoline or heating oil coal they took 40 mothers and tested them in their third trimester for pollutions in their system and than followed up after the children were born at least through age seven looking at their brains on m.r.i.'s. the left side showed damage to the white matter. that correlates to behavioral problems a lower processing speed and even lower ability to take in and respond to new information. that's not the first time we found prenatal problems linked to pollution. previous research has said things like zero to two months, the placenta might at develop as well growth issues, heart defects and then later once you get past that two month period, reduced weight, premature birth and then in young children, that's when we start to see more issues like lung problems,

respiratory problems, asthma, so especially when the babies are developing and everything is very susceptible pollution a big impact. >> in the womb, it's new. the young and old really feel adverse effects of bad air. good to see you. >> you too. >> honoring legendary singer billy holiday on what would have been her 100th birthday.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. taking a look at today's top stories, critics are challenging a new law in malaysia, officials say the measure is designed to top terrorism. >> blues legend b.b. king in the hospital today. a representative for the 89-year-old musician said he suffered dehydration. king has battled type two diabetes for 20 years. >> the world's oldest person has died just five days after getting the title. she was 116 years old and lived in arkansas. she had hoped president obama would come to her 117th 117th birthday party in july. >> honoring legendary jazz singer billy holiday in today's culture beat, she would have been 100 years old today. holiday has been an inspiration

to many modern day musicians. as john siegenthaler sat down with one of them who just released a attribute album to holiday, he explained why lady day has been so influential in the music world. >> i think it was just like nothing i'd ever heard before. i mean, you've heard a voice like the way she sounds is like immediately interesting. you know, no one sings like her. >> when do you first remember hearing her voice? >> i was three years old and i was with my mom going through her record collection, and i froze when i found her picture. it was in black and white. she wasn't looking at the camera. she was glamorous with the flower in her hair. i thought wow this woman doesn't look like the rest. i wanted to know more. my mom played the vinyl and it was like that voice. ♪ ♪

>> so you did a tribute album yesterday. >> to me, she's my musical mother. she taught me everything i know about jazz, about singing. >> how do you get into the head of an artist that you were trying to pay tribute to? do you recall do extensive research and try to learn about what she felt and thought? >> i do. i listened to a lot of rehearsal tapes. to me, that says everything about how and artist worse in music. she would stop her pianist and say no, no, no, i want to do... funky, she uses that word. and hearing somebody say i want to do it funky in the 1940's was wow, she was really ahead of her time. >> and yesterday so troubled. >> yeah, i mean it was a hard time. i think you have to remember, she was the most popular and highest paid black entertainer

in her time, you can imagine the -- >> the pressure. >> the pressure. as a woman she is really without precedent. ♪ >> she's the first beyonce in a way. >> that's interesting. why do you say that? >> the microphone was a new invention. she was the first kind of singer to have a very intimate voice and use that in a new way and she lived lavishly. you can see in her photos, she was beautiful wearing furs and minks and rolls royces. >> it cop says to many different things and the same things, as well your tribute. ♪ it's so powerful.

as you describe, it's slow. >> yes it touches and emotional chord. obviously that's what you're trying to do. >> to me, strange fruit is a brutal brutal song, difficult in the subject matter, but it should be. it's something that you have to really look at and feel in your heart. >> am i hearing the sound of a whip? >> well, it's a sound of -- it's the sound of slavery whip crack, or, you know, pick ax breaking up the ground, or hands clapping, you know, for me, i wanted to bring it back to that time. >> the duke blue devils wake up with the men's college basketball championship winning its fifth title under coach mike kryzewski defeating wisconsin 68-63. freshman jones was named player

of the game, but post game comments from wisconsin coach bo ryan are creating controversy. he said every player that played through our program ok, we don't do rent a player. many of the wisconsin players were seniors. that was followed by a tweet from missouri senator mckass cell who wrote i was rooting for a team who had stars that are actually going to college and not just doing semester tryout for the nba. duke has been credit sides in the past for sending players to the pros without graduating. >> coming up in two minutes from doha the latest on the fight in yemen and the situation at the yarmouk refugee camp in syria. tomorrow morning we'll have the ferguson election results and from chicago potentially ushering in a historic new era for both cities. that's all of our time knowledge news hour, tony harris in new

york. thanks for watching. have a great day.

>> 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... >> weeknights on al jazeera america. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day. breaking it down. getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find... the inside story.

>> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> welcome to the news hour in doha. june we nor they are colors and watching us and we are watching them. >> saudi forces train their eyes on the border as airstrikes expand in yemen. >> kenyan students rally for more security following last week's university massacre. >> the u.n. demands access to yarmouk refugee camp in syria as