man-- >> i'm-- yeah, and i'm a race man. >> thanks very much. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ this is "al jazeera america" live from new york city. i am morgan radford. guilty on all counts. a boston jury will now decide whether boston bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev should face life in prison or death. anger grows in south carolina over the police shooting of an unarmed black man. en the police chief says he was sickened by what he saw and, of course, there is gang russ weather. we are tracking the threat of tornados over the midwest from missouri to pennsylvania.

♪ guilty: that's the verdict boston bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev heard in court after two days of deliberating jurors believed the the 21-year-old and his brother carried out the attack that killed 4 and injured more than 2060 people. our very own john terret is here on today's verdict. what's next? >> morgan a whole new trial is next. effectively, that's what's going to happen because today was thend of the guilty phase. next comes the sentencing phase. the jury must decide whether dzhokhar tsarnaev should die for his crimes hors d'oeuvre life in prison. >> guilty of all charges against him, dzhokhar tsarnaev listened but didn't react. one by one the 30 counts were read out, 1 through 17 that carry the death penalty.

among those counts use after weapon of mass destruction, bombing of a place of public use, malicious destruction of property resulting in death. >> the jury weigh the aggravating circumstances, such as the killing of a young boy, the use of these devices causing massive injury. and those are aggravating circumstances. >> reporter: the prosecution strategy was straightforward. he had already confessed. the video evidence showing him near the finish line and the harrowing aftermath was all the jury needed to know. the so-called flash decision many had expected didn't come. the jury took just over 11 hours to come up with its verdict after asking the judge for clarification on at least two points. tsarnaev's defense team never disputed their client took part in the april 15th, 2013, bombings and in the days of carnage that followed including the shooting of mit police officer sean collier and the death of elder brother tamerlan

run over by dzhokhar tsarnaev. they argued he participated in the boston attacks but was a troubled 19-year-old living under the spell of his radicalized brother. >> the fact that he was 19, the fact that he was a follower, the fact that his brother bought most of the items, the jury then weighs how bad was this crime versus some of these mitigating circumstances? and they need to decide unanimously whether or not this person gets the death penalty. >> reporter: the second phase of this federal trial will now begin with the same jury tasked with deciding whether dzhokhar tsarnaev will die or spend the rest of his life in a cell. for karen brassard who was injured in the bombing, she says the next chapter will be filled with anxiety? >> we are aware this is not a process that's going to be over any time soon. it's probably going to take many years to get through this.

but it will be good to have it that much further behind us one more piece to the puzzle being done. >> reporter: legal experts say in many ways this trial is only just starting. defense attorney judy clark has kept several others alive like ted kazynski and rudolph. >> the u.s. attorney for massachusetts has tweeted that the date of the penalty face for the tsarnaev trial has not yet been set. >> john, thank you so much four people lost their lives during the boston marathon bombing and the manhunt that followed. martin richard, crystal campbell lindsey lu, and sean collier. 8-year-old martin arnold his family were near the finish line when the second bomb went off just a few feet away. martin was killed. his sister mother and father were badly injured. then there is crystal campbell. she was a restaurant and catering manager, and her family

says she was a very caring person who spent years helping to support her ailing grandmother. then there was lindsey lu. she was a 23-year-old grad student at boston university originally from china. lu's friends describe her as kind with a passion for music. sean collier, the 27-year-old campus police officer who was gunned down inside of his patrol car. his parents say he gave his life doing what he was born to do which was to serve and to protect. in south carolina today, protesters are calling for justice in the police shooting of an unarmed black man. the officer, michael slagger has been fired and is facing it murder charges. a warning, the video of this shooting all recorded by an eyewitness is quite graphic. jonathan martin joins us from north charleston. good afternoon to you. the mayor wants to have more transparency in the police force, but what exactly is his plan? >> reporter: good afternoon. good evening, morgan.

perhaps the biggest and most mead plan are changes that the north charleston police department will have officers equipped with body cameras. there was a huge outcry from people saying we need body cameras because this video that has been seen all across the world was not available and people were saying including some lawmakers, that we need body cameras so the mayor has moved quickly announcing today that the city has received a grant to purchase 100 body cameras and he's also issued an executive order to get 150 more through the city council so again, despite this overall investigation continuing the mayor is saying we are going to take immediate action and equip these officers with body cameras to avoid questions in the future. morgan. >> jonathan, it's not just body cameras people are out there talking about. i mean there has also been several reallies today -- recallies and what are those protesters asking for? >> they want answers to some key

questions. they asked today during this news conference in fact interrupted a lot of these protesters did. they first want to know: were other officers present when the shooting happened? did they witness it? they also want to know: did any officers who showed up after the shooting took place, if that's what happened, did they attempt to administer cpr to walter scott? during the news conference the mayor nor the police chief could really answer either of those questions definitively, really referring everyone to the south carolina law enforcement division. they are the group handling this. these protesters want those answers. on the longer term scale, they really want to see reform in the police department. we spoke with one. rally organizers a short time ago. >> we need a citizenship review board. we need a department of justits review. we need an overhaul of north charlestonty police department. we need the mayor out because he has been overseeing this operation for a very long time. everybody who is a native that lives in north charleston knows

this. >> reporter: again a lot of the people here, morgan are saying this situation was not isolated. it just happened to be caught on camera. again, they are asking for some stem-wide changes in the city. they have another rally. they plan to meet near front of city hall tonight at 9:00 o'clock. >> we will keep our eyes on that. thank you for joining us from north charleston south carolina. the reality is scott's killing is just the latest in a string of violent shootings of black men across the country including that of missouri teenager michael brown but voters in ferguson have made a pretty important step towards equality. they have elected two african-americans to the city council. that's ella jones and wesley bell. this is a city where at the time of brown's death, only three members of the city's entire police force were black. well now the six-member city council is half black, half white. voter turnout in ferguson was reported at more than 29%, which is nearly double the turnout of the april 2014 election.

moving overseas a u.s. service member was shot and killed in eastern afghanistan today. officials say an afghan soldier opened fire in jalalabad after a meet meeting of afghan and american officials. jamie mac entire is live at the pentagon. good evening to you. what else do we know about today's attack? >> reporter: morgan, you know i have to say pentagon officials were sort of holding their breath as days went by without a single u.s. casualty. in the year then weeks and months and today, the word came that there had been an attack in eastern afghanistan, a u.s. military official was part of a -- a u.s. soldier was part of a security daily that was protecting a u.s. diplomat meeting with a provencial governor in jalalabad. the u.s. diplomat left and a

truck pulled up with a man dressed in an afghan uniform opened fire with a machinegun killing the soldier, wounding several other troops in both u.s. and afghan. it was the first american casualty this year of the new support operation dubbed freedom sentinel. >> i think this under scores afghanistan continues to be a dangerous place, that while we have made substantial progress by supporting the afghan security forces in building up the capacity of those forces and building up the strength of the central government that our men and women who are serving in afghanistan are continuing to take a risk in service of this country. it's why we owe them a debt of gratitude for their service of the country. >> u.s. combat mission officially ended december 31st of with the last two combat deaths recorded on december 12th. the latest were 22-year-old army specialist ywyatt mashtin and ramon morris killed just two

weeks shy of the end of their combat tour. the 13 years of fighting have killed now 2,216 u.s. troops with more than 20,000 wounded and with thousands of u.s. troops still on the ground there is no expectation here that that will end up being the final number. morgan? >> when we hear numbers like that and we see photos like the ones we just saw on the screen, that's heartbreaking. we heard josh earnest say that this continues to be a dangerous place. so how long will it be before u.s. troops really start coming home for good? >> reporter: well, you know the president has extended the next through this year. so almost 10,000 troops will stay there. then beginning next year in 2016, the plan is to begin that drawdown and some of the troops will actually be coming home for good. until then they will have to keep sending replacements in to rotate people in and out. then the idea is that the full mission would be over at the end of 2016, with just a small staff to protect the embassy in kabul

and maybe some sort of special forces counterterrorism troops based there as well. u.s. troops are going to be in harm's way for still almost -- almost a year and a half. >> jamie mcintire reporting live from the pentagon. thank you for being with us this evening. iran reportedly is sending two warships to the waters off of yemen although ran'sphon minister says he supports a cease fire. the saudi-led coalition led strikes against an air base in southern yemen. jordan is pressing a draft resolution at the u.n. that would ban all armed shipments to the leader of the houthi rebels and delve demand they end their military campaign. the latest on the that fighting: >> reporter: war planes strike houthi positions in the capital sanaa. a building a t.v. channel owned by the houthis was hit. the saudi-led coalition has

stepped up its military campaign to present houthi fighters from capturing the port city of aden. >> last week battles show no signs of stopping. forces loyal to president abdullah sa hadi to control the city. the houthis backed by army units loyal to former the former president hold ground. the saudi-led coalition has warned its military campaign won't stop until the houthis disband. in the meantime iran has sgloid two navy vesselsdeployed two navy vessels. it's a move that is likely tom create more tension in the region. saudi arabia accuses iran of delivering weapons to the houthis to destabilize the region. but for tehran the shifts are part of an anti-piracy campaign and diplomacy is the only way to

yemen's crisis. >> there is no doubt that yemen could not be governed by one fax. all faxes with popular should standing to to form a government of national unity. >> airstrikes have now entered a third week. it's aim, according to saudi army officers is to destroy military capabilities of the houthis and their allies. >> army commanders and units loyal to the former president has told us they have decided to join the legitimate government. they are based in schabawa prove incident and the coalition welcome did their decision. >> reporter: soud i recognize are hoping for massive action within the army to isolate former president sala who remains powerful in yemen. on the border crossing with saudi arabia there are still people trying to escape.

>> actually the situation is getting worse. that's why the company advised us to leave immediately. >> international aid agencies are concerned about yemen's deteriorating humanitarian situation. the first boat carrying medical supplies to hospitals in aden has arrived. doctors without borders says almost two tons of medical supplies have been delivered to local hospitals. hasha mybara al jazeera. >> a warning about al-qaeda in yemen. a defense secretary ashe carter says the group is taking advantage of the chaos in yemen and making some major gains. the u.s. considers al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula to be the most dangerous branch. in fact carter says washington will need to rethink its strategy to prevent threats to the west. speaking of carter the defense secretary is about to arrive in south korea and his next stop on

the first tour of asia as pentagon chief. he began his trip in japan earlier this week and talked with leaders there about possible revisions, the defense cooperation agreement between the u.s. and japan. in south korea kia carter plans to meet with officials to discuss key security issues including north korea's missile threats. governedan chang is a contributor to "forbes," north korea takes on the world. jord gordon thank you for being with us. my pleasure to have this. how big is the defense secretary's trip to asia? >> important for our allies. they have been worried about the u.s. commitment to the region. so that's why he is there. and he's gone talk to people who are very skeptical about the united states right now. and so therefore, this is a crucial trip. >> speaking of crucial, how crucial is it that the u.s. is now backing japan and playing a bigger security role in asia? >> five years ago, this would have been inconceivable that the

united states would be pushing japan to actually act beyond its borders because everyone was still worried about the japanese after -- even after 70 years, after world war ii but none the let's now, people are much more concerned about china. so this whole idea of japan adopting a bigger role really has not met objections from countries in the region except for china. >> so we are talking about japan. we are talking about china. but what about south korea? i mean how important that relationship with the u.s. in really buffering against possible threats from north korea? >> north korea is much more active right now. they very well may have a missile that can hit the west coast of the u.s. with a nuclear device and so right now there is a whole issue of missile defense in south korea. the united states wants south korea to deploy the f.a.d. terminal high area defense area missile, and so right now you've got south korea e pretty skeptical about it, at least the president, all thoughtthough the defendants establishment wants it. now, it's going to be whether

south korea actually office this over the objections of china. >> what do you think is going to happen? >> i think that they will do it because the united states has 28,500 troops on the peninsula and it makes it very difficult for south korea to say, yes, we want you to be here but we are not going to defend you. >> what's interesting? i mean do you think south korea is a bigger threat to the united states or a bigger threat to ease asia? >> -- east asia? >> certainly south korea but the problem is that, you know even though it's just south korea that they are focused on or sometimes japan but the point is, that's incidents can mushroom out and envelope the whole region. indeed this is what happened before world war i when you just had serbia and it sort of mushrooms out. this is the same thing that could happen right now. that's what people in the region are worried about. north korea doing something that just gets out of control. >> given all of these countries and all of these issues we have just discussed, what do you think is the most pressing issue right now as we speak? >> i think the most pressing issue is the japanese role in

the region because that is so comprehensive. if we see japanese war ships in the south china sea, china will probably do something about that because they don't even like them in the east china sea around japan. to have japan to start to act beyond its boarders thousands of miles from its shore is really a game-changer for the chinese. >> that you think will be troublesome? >> i think it will but i think it is necessary because the united states needs friends in the region original. china is acting more prove okaytatively those islands in the separateleys in the south china sea. that's worrying countries like vietnam and the philippines and indonesia. so this whole region has an interest in w459 united states does and what japan does as well. >> something that defense carter will have to key his eye on. gordon chang, we appreciate you being here. >> thank you. next millions in the midwest brace for what could be some of the most severe storms

of the season plus: >> reporter: record numbers of california sea lions covering the docs here in oregon i am 09 lower columbia river. we will have more on why they are here and the damage they are doing to salmon runs.

severe weather in much of the midwest t from a system that could potentially spin off some damaging tornadoes. kevin corveau is here with more. >> we have been watching the potential of this storm all the way back to sunday. it's been well-predicted. it is turning out to be what we thought it would be. the radar anywhere from village tom texas, we are looking at severe weather now. it was down here towards just the south of st. louis, missouri, i want to show you here what it looked like earlier

today we were looking at hail some places up to a quarter, up to a golf ball to softball size hail as well as the rain we saw over three inches in two hours of rain. this is what it looks like right now. our main concerns are up here across parts of missouri and down towards oklahoma as well as in to kansas. we have seen quite a bit of activity in terms of hail. right now, one torn reported to the south of st. louis, but it is going to continue for the rest of the evening. right now, we have tornado warnings and watches in effect as you can see from texas all the way back here towards parts of illinois. the big difference between a tornado watch and a warning. a watch, when they think it will happen later in the day. a warning is when it is happening right now. we have the conditions imminent that they have already occurred. >> that's one of the things that it is very very dangerous. one of the things causing all of the severe weather is the temperatures. as you can see, we are talking

about temperatures in st. louis, 76. so there is a big temperature difference across much of that area and that really fuels those storms. >> all right. kevin corvieux thanks so much for joining us this evening. off the cost of the ernesto sea lions are struggling and thriving as some starve over in california. near oregon others are gorging on smelt andsam salmon. alan schauffler is in estoria, oregon. there is are some serious issues to an excess of sea lions? >> that's right. some serious stench issues i can report from my downwind position but seriously issues with how much damage these animals can do to the salmon runs. normally, they would be here this time of year. california sea lions on their regular my graduate occur pattern

pattern. in past years, it has been nothing like this. look at this video. i counted 650 of these animals out here on the docks today, a bit of an estimate but 650 here there are thousands in the lower colombia river. and what we are being told is that this is 10 times as many as they would have seen five years ago ago. two years ago, you would have seen less that half. they eat a lot of salmon. they can do damage to the chinook runs in the spring. biologist with the state and federal government are doing all they can to track them monitor them move them from areas where they might eat salmon. they are not popular with local fisherman like captain jeff kitely. >> sea lion are taking fish right off your client's lines, that's not good for business. >> it's not. it makes a nice story maybe 20 years later, but it's really irritating when you sit here for

10 hours and wait for one springer because it can be that tough to get springers and you finally hook one and the sea lion takes it right off of your line. it's very very frustrating. >> by springer he means springs chinook. the real concern is 150 miles up river, at bonville dam, the first man-made barrier they come to and they pool up underneath the dam. they are easy prey foresee lions. biologist have been youthnizing the worst offenders up there. they think they may have to do more of that because of the huge crowd at the mouth of the river who might be pushing inland. >> you mentioned youthnizing them. that will can be pretty popular with animal contribution -- conservation groups. >> they don't like the euthanization program at all. they would like state and

federal biologist to find some other way to deal with these animals. the worst offenders at the dam can be trapped, trans shipped. they will swim back to the dam because they knewow there is easy feeding there. this is something they have done over the last essentially years and they will probably continue to do. the worst offenders will be captured and then put to sleep. >> all right. alan schauffler thank you for being with us. a south carolina officer was fired and is now facing murder charges for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man. up next i will talk with the mother of amadu diala, the unarmed blagman shot 41 times by new york police back in 1999. change is coming to ferguson. we hear from wesley bell one of two african-americans just elected to the city council. stay tuned.

a white police officer in south carolina has been fired and charged with murder. michael schlager has been charged with shooting an unarmed

black man. a warning: the video of this shooting all recorded by an eyewitness is quite graphic. he opened fire on scott. shooting him in the back as he was moving. look at this. he was moving away from the officer. scott had been stopped for a broken tail light. an eyewitness recorded this deadly encounter. charleston's police chief said even he is disgusted by this incident. >> i have watched the video. and i was sick ended by what i saw? >> no justice. no peace. >> people protested outside of city hall this morning. the demonstration took place hours after the murder charge was announced. today, the victim's family spoke out. >> that was the most emotional thing i have ever seen. i am very very upset concerning

it. i almost couldn't look at it to see my son running defenselessly, being shot. it just tore my heart to pieces. >> north charleston's mayor was quick to respond. he has ordered all officers to wear body cameras. there is already legislation pending that would require all state and local officers to wear those body cameras. that's a move that could cause south carolina an estimated $21 million. joining frus washington back in 1999, police gunned do you know her son, amadu dialo, who was unarmed. the officers in that case were later acquitted. ms. dialo, thank you for joining us this evening. i want to know: what was the first thing that went through your mind when you saw that video? >> thank you so much for having me. when i saw the video, my heart

broke because it was so difficult to watch. however, my heart goes out to the family of the deceased man, and i think that this is helping so much to bring the changes that we all have been calling for, for many years. we have been we have seen through this video that some police officers may not have followed their guidelines that they are supposed to, to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening. the video is a powerful tool that can help for the new era. when amadu was killed it was not a possibility to have a video then. but now we have this technology action and it's helping. >> you mentioned this video, ms. dialo. but what do you think that says about our justice system that it took this video, perhaps, to

have this charge? >> that in fact the criminal justice system whenever there is a law enforcement shooting case is difficult to bring light to the real story. >> there is no balance because our loved one died and they cannot speak for themselves. now, this video can speak for the men who was killed. we can see the light through the video because law enforcement are armed and given the tool and the power that they need. and sometimes they do abuse their power. and once again, i said to all people who have cameras, they can take opportunity when they see this kind of incident from happening, they can -- about to happen, they can try to help the

community because remember the, the community have no power. all we can rely on is this criminal justice system and sometimes, more often, we are always let down. >> ms. dialo, you mentioned being let down in the fact that this type of video wasn't available in your son's case and in your son's case the four officers who were indicted got off. so this time around how confident are you that we will see a conviction? >> yes. you mentioned the four officers who killed amadu in february 4th, 1999, were indicted but we were a victim of not only the move the change of venue to move the trial to al by an and, also it wasalbany and, also, it was. if the did he ceased loved one is dead, he cannot speak for himself. i want to emphasize we families of victims are rallying and

calling for, to have executive orders in many states to appoint independent prosecutor so they can help us because the police is working closely with the d.a. and sometimes, it's difficult to convict your own family member. >> so you are stressing the importance of an independent prosecutor. katiana dialo, thank you for joining us. it's been our pleasure to have you with us. >> thank you so much for having me. for the first time, ferguson city council will soon have the same number of black and white members. just yesterday, voters turned out in large numbers and voted to add two more african-americans to the council. one of the winners is wesley bell. now, he told my colleague, tony harris, that police reform is one the top items on his agenda. >> with respect to some of the things that i want to do first is that i want and i have been -- and i ran to on this.

and it was about community oriented policing and police reform. we have two openings that i intend to be very active in filling. and i think with my background, i am someone who can enhance that process. you know community, who whatever chief we bring in in ferguson, they need to be about the community. i don't think a police department should be judges by how many tickets a police officer -- or police officers should be judged by how many tickets he writes. i would rather them be judged by how many people he knows in his community. our entire campaign, our, as we like it, our entire movement was about public service and that oftentimes our public servants forget that part of the title. they forget the service part. and as a result everything that we doll is about getting people involved making them feel valued making them feel a part of the process. as barack obama showed when

people feel that way, they come out and support. and now we are far from the numbers that president obama was able to pull. >> yeah. >> but for, this it's a record turn out. >> . chicago's mayor is promise agnew governing style in the first ever run-off mayoral election. rahm emanuel won tuesday after failing to security appear majority back in february. this afternoon, the former white house chief of staff vowed to get chicago's financial house all in order and said he will look for ways to improve education in the city. he manuel will have -- emamnuel will will some have been transformed from factories to high-end lofts. but areas real infested with crime. john hendren has more. >> reporter: the city of big

shoulders is lifting for tunes, not just the gucchi and boehner shops, in the city's gold coast et. property values tourism and retail sales are rising nearly city citywide. nearly. but this is the tale of twochicks. one to the north, processing perous and mostly white. the other, for miles along the south and west sides, neighborhoods where police activity is a daily occurrence. here it is blighted black and intensely poor. >> when we go north, coming back here is depressing. all we have is liquor stores. we have to hold the governors, legislators accountable for why we live like we are in a third-world country. >> one possible reason: this neighborhood may be home to the nation's first black president but chicago has had just one african-american mayor in its 178 year history. >> everybody wants the black vote but people are not willing

to protect the black community's interest. right now, we are the last on the totem pole when it comes down to construction contracts in the city of chicago. we have 88% unemployment amongst african-american youth right now. so we are struggling right now. >> reporter: schools are funded by local income taxes. those in wealthy neighborhoods perform better. those in poorer neighborhoods perform worse often leaving students unprepared for work and forming what sociologists call a pipeline to prison. in illinois i more black men are in prison than in college. once there, for most the chances of getting a job, any job, simply evaporate. thaddeus brooks has been looking for work since he left prison in 2013? >> the first thing they say is: do you have a criminal background? and i say yes. they say unfortunately we are not hiring anyone with a criminal background. these doors are consistently constantly slammed in my face. >> reporter: generations of alabama black men to work their way away from similar past with

similar results? >> right now in chicago, we are watching this genocide unfold. not just chicago. it's nationally but in chicago, we are seeing it, and 20 years from now we are going to ask people: what's your biggest regret? and they are going to say, that was the genocide. we could have saved all november lives. >> en those who can find work here live with the constant threat of violence. this postal carrier was shot 11 times earlier this month as he climbed in to his car to go to work. john hendren, al jazeera, chicago. >> reporter: today's power politics rand paul's presidential campaign got off to a notable start thanks to some harsh attacks on his fellow candidates and a few self-inflected wounds. david shuster, what is going on? >> morgan hours after he formally declared his presidential runvan senator rand paul sat down with politico. he unloaded on the likely democratic frontrunner hillary clinton for her con vo versial

e-mail practices and questionable clinton foundation funding. >> whether we see this trail of money that's going around about from government to foundations to bill clinton to shareholders of big companies that had to be approved by hillary clinton when she was secretary of state, there is a lot of stuff there that is i think, going to shake the confidence of americans in her ability to lead in an honest fashion. >> candidaterand randy paul took a shot at form ter flal georgia jeb bush and called him yesterday's news and added this. >> for a long time people have wanted to go with safe. this is safe. his brother has been president. his dad has been president. let's go with safe. well romney was kind of safe and we hope maybe didn't exciting enough voters to actually win. >> paul is blunt but matter of fact in most of his interviews. this morning, however, when king enged on the "today's show," he got testy with host savannah

guthrie? >> wanted to cut defense spending and now you want to increase it 16%. i wondered if you have mellowed out? >> why don't we let me explain. >> sure. >> instead of talking over me. okay? before we go through a litany of things you say i have changed on why don't you ask me a question. have i changed my opinion? >> have you changed your opinion? >> that would be a better way. >> is iran industrial not a threat? >> no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. listen. you have editorialized. let me answer a question. >> paul says his previous positions on several issues have been repeatedly over simplified and mischaracterized. the kickoff for paul's campaign website was also a bit rough. the site featured a page where voters could endorse his candidacy but they were stock photos from an italian photographer based in jaefrment in other words, these are not photos of american voters. they are european models. another section of paul's website where he says he believes education is a equalizer, a video contained

hand paul opposes a 1 size aducation. to be fair the first presidential candidate, mitt romney unveiled an iphone app that promise add better america with americia misspelled. >> friends of hillary clinton say the former secretary of state will make her presidential campaign announcement any day. when clinton last ran for president in 2008, she made the formal declaration through an online video? >> i announced today i am forming a presidential exploratory committee. i am not just starting a campaign, though. i am beginning a conversation. >> again, the clinton camp says her 2016 announcement will come soon perhaps as early as tomorrow. finally, secret service has had its share of driving miss handicaps lately. they are still offering driving lessons to the first family. first lady michelle obama said

secret service agents taught the obama's 16-year-old daughter, malia how to drive. in a television interview, mrs. obama said quote the secret service taught her, actually because they would not let me in the car with her. first lady said melia sometimes drives outside the white house grounds though always with a protection detail. mrs. alabama added it made sense for them to give the driving less options since neither she nor the president have driven a can a are for seven years. >> thank you for that politic aducation. we appreciate it. spring filled missouri residents have voted in favor of rolling back provisions of gay, lesbian and trans gendered citizenship. a little over 548 were against it. for repealing the protection call the vote a win for religious citizens and small business owners.

>> refer end phil snyder is the senior minister at brentwood christian church in springfield, missouri and an advocate forqual. >> rights for the lgbt community. thank you for joining us this evening. it's our pleasure to have you with us. but i want to know what first went through your mind when you heard of this non-discrimination ordinance was repealed. >> well thank you for having me on this show. obviously, there was a tremendous sense of disappointment. we had really hoped that this would be a moment in time in which springfield would move forward with equal rights and dignity for all people. we were cautiously optimistic and it was so close that needless to say, we felt very disappointed, but at the same time we are so encouraged because in springfield missouri to have nearly half of the voters stand up for equal rights and dignity for all people including gay and trans gendered people is a huge step forward in this bible belt town.

>> you mentioned how close it was for our viewers. that was 51% who voted to repeal it and 48% who voted to keep it, but what do you really think that says about your community? >> well it says a lot of things. i mean one thing it says is that our community is changing along with our nation. for a vote to be this close k you know 10 years ago would have been unheard of. it says that more and more people see the value of gay and trans gender people and see that they should be treated as human beings just like anyone else, if you will of dignity, care respect and compassion and so on the one hand, while there is terrible disappointment we also are var encouraged seeing that we are moving forward as a city and also a did a nation. >> ref rend i have to ask you about the other side of this argument. i mean opponents of the ordinance say this would have actually had negative implications for religious business owners who don't want to serve the lgbt community.

as a minister what do you say to them? >> if you look at it from a variety of perspectives within a biblical tradition, you will see that often time there were people in the bible who were deemed as sinners, as outcasts yet jesus showed them tremendous respect. jesus showed them extravagant hospitality. so even those clergy colleagues of mine who think that homosexuality is a sin -- i do not but my clergy colleagues who will think it is a sin, still yet by that model we have in jesus, we are still called to treat everyone with respect and to show everyone hospitality. >> refer end, i want to go back to something you said just a moment ago. you mentioned the national movement. you know the truth is we have been here, done this got the coffee mug and the t-shirt. we have seen this all before. indiana and arkansas both came under fire for their laws which some say discriminate against the lgbt community. so are you at all worried about what people will now think about

springfield? >> well more than anything my heart goes out to my friends who live in springfield who are gay and trans gendered. i have people in my church who have been fired because they are gay. i have people in my church who can't be honest about who they are with their employer because they are gay, and they have heard their employer say that they won't hire anyone who is gay or lesbian. so my heart brakes for them. i woke up to a springfield missouri as a straight white guy, it didn't affect my life like it affected their lives. none of my rights were violated but the fact that i have dear friends and members of my congregation whether or not can be fired because they are gay or evicted from their house or denied just basic accommodations to be served in a restaurant or by a business it just breaks my heart. >> certainly a lot on the line. refer end phil snyder is the

senior minister at brentwood church. thank you for being with us. from a musical instrument with little more than decorative furniture, pianos are losing their popularity but not in china. stay tuned.

green spaceagrees a huge payment is due as greek prime minister alexis cyprus is visiting moscow. rory challands has more. >> reporter: alexis cypras paid his respects at the tomb of the unknown soldier well aware europe is watching his visit clovis. this is geopolitical theatre for greece and russia. it shows russia it has options beyond the euro zone.

russia shows the eu its unity is fragile. punishment denied a bail-out was in the cards though assistance was discussed. >> the greek side has not addressed us with any requests for aid. we discussed cooperation in various sectors including the possibility of developing major energy projects. >> before coming here cypras had been warmed by the european -- warned not to break the eu's line on sanctions. russia has long complained that it's weakness following the collapse of the soviet union was exploited by the west. now that it senses fragility within the european union, it wants to use that for its own benefit. grease is one opportunity for russia -- greece is one opportunity but there are others. >> victor orbin welcomed putin to budapest in february. he described the sanctions as russia as like shooting one's

self in the foot. >> the far right parties, a russian bank with links to the kremlin has length the party nearly $10 million though the final figure is rumored to be far higher? >> it's opportunities, not ideology. you can have an alliance with a right-wing party in france or a left wing party like cypras's in greece. these are parties that need friends, that need financing, that need backing and they find it more easily in moscow maybe at a better interest rate than they do at home. >> europe may not like it, but russia is certainly not the only country practicing the non-ideological arts of real plic as russia tries to show it's a global power once more, it's doing the logical thing, making friends and influencing people. rory challands, moscow. >> for a look at what's coming up at the top of the hour john seeingenthaller is here? >> coming up at 8:00.

>> change is coming to the police department in north charleston south carolina. what's being done after video shows an officer shooting an unarmed black man in the back. reaction from author comment ateo and t.v. host tavis smiley? >> we have to stop saying this is an isolated incident. it is not an indictment on all officers but it is no longer an isolated incident when we see these stories happening all the time. >> the renewed calls in recent months to better track police shootings. plus saving an ancient culture that survives to this day, the threat to an isolated village in central america and the help they need. also tonight, they call them fractivists, singers, bonnie raitt who have recorded an album of protest songs against fracking? >> fracking under ground. >> the man behind the project talks about how the idea came together in our first person

report. those stories and more coming up in just about six minutes. morgan. >> all right john. thanks so much. >> sales of pianos have been declining in the united states and europe but in china, they are booming. al jazeera harry faugh fawcett reports. kids are behind the keyboard trend. >> another morning at the keyboard for 8-year-old yoshanie. she has been playing since she was six two to three hours a day. her skill and enthusiasm shine through. across china, an estimated 40 million children are learning the piano, a craze attributed to the lang lun report. >> i have been to one of her concerts when i was very young. my mom used to say to me listen. she is so good. she plays piano so well. she said that over and over again. >> one of china's greatest classical music starts langlang

arrived as middle class, one child families were looking for new ways to invest in those children's futures. the result music schools where competition for places means children need to have had private lessons just to get in. >> a few families get together and socialize. many families have pianos now. the parent thinks great. look i have a kid who is well behaved behaved. >> the eyes land where the music school is has a long european influenced history, piano ownership is predicted to grow by a third by 2020. all that demand requires supply. china isn't just the biggest piano market but manufacturer thanks to enormous companies like this. >> a mixture of millions and

2,000 sure-fingered staff produce 140,000 pianos every year a figure that's doubled since 2007, even in an economy who's growth is slowing, here, they believe the piano business is a safe bet? >> more and more people become wealthy and it's a very concern about the children's education and, also the culture in the family. >> china which has about three pianos per 100 households has a long way to go to reach european levels of 20 to 30 but with tennessee of millions of children devoting themselves to musicianship, that gap is closing. harry fawcett, al jazeera, southern china. >> check this out: scientists at nasa are sounding more certain that alien life will be found in the universe. nasa's chief scientist said there could be direct evidence within the next 20 or 30 years. in fact another nasa official says, it's a matter of when not if. nasa said if alien life is

found, it won't be little green marshan marti a. ns but more likely small mike kroebs. john seeingenthaler will be right back with you in just a few short crobs. john seeingenthaler will be right back with you in just a few short moments. scan short moments. scan

>> for police accreditation across the nation. >> when i first saw it my heart dropped. >> plus, tavis smiley. talks about police. and on all counts, the boston marathon