ate richie benoit. and you can get a great deal more on our website, which will talk about the medical supplies getting into yemen. to find out more details on that and other international affairs, aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. ♪ severe storms tear through three states causing major destruction. communities picking up the pieces. mending ties. president obama speaks with raul castro ahead of the summit of the americas, how their trip to panama could change u.s.-cuban relations. and new questions over a police shooting in south carolina. dash cam video shows what happened in the moments before a white officer killed an african american man.

♪ this is al jazeera america, life from new york city. i'm randall pinkston. crews right now are still searching homes and businesses for people missing after severe weather in the midwest overnight. the storms struck iowa illinois and the worst damage west of chicago. more than a dozen people were hurt when a restaurant toppled over. these images tell the story. massive piles of debris everywhere. officials saying it is the worst damages they have ever seen. >> lots of challenges safety issues, and you have a lot of debris piled up and we're not sure what is in there. so it's going to be a lot of hand work working with heavy

equipment, and we're hopeful our search will be fruitless in the sense that we won't find anybody. >> reporter: temporary shelters are open. diane eastabrook has more. >> reporter: this was a massive storm that blew through here and it came just as night was beginning to fall. >> oh my gosh -- >> reporter: a tornado ripped through fairdale illinois. here it is from another angle. officials say the fwiser damaged every single building in the village, destroying many of them. >> the damage is pretty significant. housing affected are severely affected. they are gone for the most part. there's no -- it doesn't appear to be houses are minor damage. it's a pretty much just devastation. >> reporter: some homes simply toppled over. in nearby rochelle a close call the twister shredded this restaurant more than a dozen people trapped inside. >> we pulled in and ran inside.

got a couple of picturesover the tornado right across stleet. and the owner said in the basement. >> reporter: fire officials say fortunately no one was seriously injured. the system also brought baseball-sized hail and torrential rain. the wild weather was part of a line of severe storms. authorities worked through the night and say they won't have a solid idea of just how severe the damage is here until later today. emergency crews don't think there are anymore fatalities but they are going to be picking through the debris to make sure everyone is accounted for. >> the weather system is now moving east. forecasters saying there is a threat of severe weather said from the gulf to the mid-atlantic region. president obama is in panama this morning for the kick off of the summit of the americas. and the spoke with cuba's

president raul castro on the phone on wednesday. the two are expected to sit down this weekend for a face-to-face meeting. it has been more than five decades since a u.s. president held a formal meeting with his cuban counterpart. last night secretary kerry held a two-hour meeting with cuba's foreign minister. lucia newman has more on the anticipated meeting from panama city. >> reporter: realistically we're expecting them to at the very least shake hands and be in the same room and that may sound like not very much but it's extremely significant. it was 53 years ago that cuba was expelled from the so-called family of nations of the hemisphere. cuba has -- has been not allowed to take part in any of

hemispheric gatherings but as the latin america countries have become more independent this became a strain. the fact that cuba is back here means that for the first time the united states and cuba can speak to each other instead of through other people or at each other. all of the talk in panama is about the historic meaning between president obama and president castro. in havana life remains pretty much unchanged. >> reporter: time often seems to move slower in cuba. shielded from the rest of the world by the half century long u.s. embargo, and a centralized government that only allowed change when it thought the time was right. but now change is the main topic of conversation here. raising hopes, expectations and some fears. >> there are negotiations on a number of issues that are very

important for both countries. and that's the way of building blocks to build trust. which is one of the most important things that over the last 50 years have been lost. >> reporter: with washington and havana talking, everyone has opinions. and nowadays they are not afraid to express them. >> translator: the most important thing is to lift the blockade. that's what caused our people the most damage. >> translator: the united states must establish relations with cuba to reach an agreement. they must respect one another. >> reporter: what i would like to see is better human rights more social justice and freedom of speech. that's what cubans want. >> translator: it has been 50 years of hostility. we'll wait and see what happens. >> reporter: with the united states so close and the cuban exile community there so vocal, cubans there feel like

they know their neighbors. they have been enemies for so long but now it's only a matter of time before this well guarded section behind me becomes the official american embassy, and before this sea becomes a link between two neighbors. fidel castro and his brother recall have made a virtue out of surviving in the face of adversity. >> raul has emphasized he wants a relationship with the united states, and he has received that the united states has some legitimate interest that shouldn't be challenged. >> reporter: more than 50 years of animosity and the resentment that that breeds will not be eliminated overnight, but there is a cautious optimism these

days on the streets of cuba. pakistan's parliament has voted against joining the saudi-lead coalition battling houthi rebels in yemen. planes carrying badly needed medical and aid have landed in yemen's capitol. it is the first delivery since air strikes began there two weeks ago. the red cross and the united nations says the shipments include food and water for about 80,000 people. funerals began today in kenyan for students killed in last week's massacre at the university. friends and family carried the white coffin of one of the victims. gunmen killed 148 people when they stormed the college last week. al-shabab says it was responsible for the attack. six suspects have been arrested. one of the most anticipated

announcements in politics may happen this weekend. hillary clinton will announce she is running for president. guns on campus the latest state pushing to allow college students to carry concealed weapons. ♪

now to south carolina where there are new questions today about why a white police officer shot and killed a black man. dash cam video shows what happened in the moments before officer slager shot walter scott. >> reporter: the dash cam video shows the mer dees driven by walter scott slowly pulling into a parking lot. the officer asks for license and registration and then explains

the stop. do you have insurance on the car? >> no. >> later after he returned to his cruiser, scott tried to get out. >> stay in the car. >> several minutes later, scott gets out again and runs. you hear slager give chase, but no more of the encounter between the two men is visible. what is visible on the eyewitness video is slager shooting scott in the back and killing him. the eyewitness says slager's assertion that he has taken the taser and threatened him with it wasn't true. >> he wasn't hurt by the taser. he was just trying to move and get away from the taser. he never tried to take the taser away or try to fight with the cop, no. like i said the cop had control of the situation there. >> thursday another north charleston man came forward to

recount an incident nearly two years ago when he believed officer slager used excessive force against him. >> he never even told me why he came. he said he had a service call around the corner about a guy up here involved in a break in. and he said i'm going to tase you, so i put my hands up and he still tased me. >> reporter: with slager facing a murder charge his mother says she is struggling. >> i can't imagine him. he loved being a police officer. i can't imagine him doing something that is just not like him. it's not his character. i hope gad takes care of

everybody involved. not only my family but the scott's family because i know they are grieving like i'm grieving. in massachusetts a police officer is facing assault charges for allegedly punching a black suspect. >> he is a big believer of transparency. when something like this comes forward if there's enough evidence to support the claim we go forward and take out the appropriate charges. >> reporter: officials say the incident happened in december at the police station and was caught on surveillance video. the suspect was handcuffed in a holder cell when officials say the officer allegedly punched him to the floor. former secretary of state hillary clinton is reportedly preparing for a major announcement this weekend that she will one for president. al jazeera has not confirmed the date and time but reports say

the announcement will come via social media on sunday. clinton would be the first democrat to throw a hat in the ring for 2016. >> reporter: this winely outside of des moines recently hosted a democratic fund raiser. presidential candidates and hopefuls from both parties are criss crossing the state. >> since we're the first one it gives them the opportunity to come here first and start their ground game so to speak, and that makes us fairly important to this process. >> reporter: here in iowa among democrats there is much talk about hillary clinton. her name dominates the conversation. when will she declare, and how seriously will she take iowa. back in 2008 she seemed to make iowa for granted. >> there are a couple of democratic hopefuls out there besides hilary.

the woman from massachusetts. i like her. >> i'll have to learn more about the other candidates because there may always be somebody better. but i wouldn't be sad if she was elected. >> reporter: some want a wide open field. some are calling for senator elizabeth warren to enter the race. and democratic hopefuls like jim webb and martin o'malley are trying to get in on a field that still does not include hillary clinton. several hopefuls will address the nra convention in nashville this weekend, including ted cruz. tom akerman joins us live from nashville now. tom have event had become a must attend for g.o.p. politicians in recent years. >> yeah there are nine candidates -- or perspective candidates, who will be speaking to the convention today.

and each of them will try to outdo each other in terms of how loyal they are to the nra's agenda. marco rubio, the florida senator who is expected to announce as early as next monday will be looked at with particular awareness, because he has -- although his marks are pretty good with the nra in the past, he has been considered a little bit soft by their standards, and now he's trying to retrench his position by saying he is behind a bill to make rights of gun owners in the district of columbia actually stronger than they are today, abolishing their gun registry. so you'll hear a lot of that rhetoric here. actually the 70,000 people or so who are attending this they may be paying attention to the candidates but you can assume from you are a gun rights

advocate then you will be voting republican. and this is basically an attempt to -- just to get that report card that a firmly inscribed in their record book. >> we have mentioned ted cruz of course the other announced republican candidate is rand paul. and he is not going to be there. how significant is his absence? >> reporter: rand paul was not invited because the nra says they couldn't accommodate all of the an candidates. but rand paul is aligned for many years with a group that is considered even more purist in terms of gun rights. it's considered actually a competition to the nra. they consider the nra too soft and for that reason it's apparent that rand paul is not

coming, and he said basically he is not worried about the snub. >> okay. tell us about this irony. at the convention the national convention of the national rifle association, guns are banned. what do you make of that? >> reporter: well that isn't exactly the indication. there are plenty of guns in exhibit in the hall behind me but the -- the difference is there are no guns allowed to be worn or carried by the attendees. that's a big difference -- or i suppose it is a big difference especially when you are talking about people who assert their right to carry guns anywhere. but it doesn't seem to bother anybody. there are no metal detectors here. but guns are in profusion here even though they are behind glass cases and some are

mock-ups. >> and they are likely in vehicles parked in the garage but that's another story. thank you very much. florida is the center of a major guns right debate. whether some owners should be allowed to bring concealed firearms to college campuses. as robert ray report there is some strong opposition. >> there has been a shooting in the library. stay where you are -- >> reporter: in november a former student stormed on to the compass of florida state university and started shooting. police killed the gunmen but not before he shot three students, paralyzing one of them. >> i think people inherently have the right to defend themselves. >> reporter: fuelled by this recent shooting some state politicians are pushing a bill that would legalize concealed carry of handguns on florida public university campuses.

>> you can carry in a restaurant -- >> reporter: iraq war veteran and republican state representative is sponsoring the bill. a lot of people think that 21 year olds don't have the experience that backpacks and bullets don't mix. what do you say to that? >> my first response to age issue is we don't have a problem with the 17 and 18 year olds entering the military. >> there is going to be a lot of suspicion and worrying. it is going to be a state of absolutely chaos, and it is only going to lead to a dangerous situation and lead to more opportunity for students to get injured or possibly killed. >> reporter: if the bill is passed it would require that each person be 21 or older and have a concealed carry gun permit to walk on any campus here in the state of florida

with a loaded handgun, but the main concern now from a lot of people is weapon's training, which very little is required. >> i mean we're talking 45 minutes and then you shoot a 22 into a little target and call it a day. boom you are certified with a permit. >> reporter: we talked to some students who said kids are kids they are drinking some are doing drugs, hormones are raging guns shouldn't be in their hands. >> when i went to college, all of that happened off of campus. and they can carry there now. so if they are carrying off campus then why letting them carry on campus would suddenly create all of these problems. >> reporter: in a recent joint statement, the florida board of governors, university police chiefs and presidents from all 12 florida public universities

voiced strong opposition to the concealed carry laws, they wrote: al jazeera reached out to florida state's president, the campus chief of police and students for concealed carry at fsu, they all declined our request for interviews. >> they did not want guns -- >> reporter: in the meantime state lawmakers have until may 1st to vote on the bill that could allow guns on florida campuses. robert ray, al jazeera, tallahassee, florida. a suspected gunman is in critical condition after police say he shot and killed a guard in suburban washington, d.c. police say it began when the man kidnapped his wife leading to a car chase and gunfire. researchers are calling

promising the first human trial of a new type of hiv therapy. researchers say using powerful antibodies could reduce the amount of hiv in the blood by up to 300 times. the therapy would replace or supplement current hiv drugs. coming up on al jazeera america, an automated warfare, the human concerns over robots that kill.

>> unpredictable... uncontrollable... and under eighteen >> you have kids here who've killed someone. >> award winning journalist soledad o'brien takes us inside the violent world of kids behind bars... will a new experimental program be their last chance? >> i have to do my 100% best so i don't end up in a place like this again.. >> al jazeera america presents... kids behind bars: a soledad o'brien special report only on al jazeera america >> 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... the united nations is still grappling with what to do about so-called lethal autonomous weapons systems, military tools designed to fight the enemy without putting soldiers at risk. jake wood explains. >> reporter: human rights watch has now identified what it says is a ethical loophole in the system. there's really no rules at all, and the worry is we're going to enter a word with no accountability. if a commander somehow accidentally set one of these

lethal robots loose on the wrong people, there would be no one to blame. we would live in a world where you could simply casually activate a robot and no one would be held accountable. so let's look at how close we are to a world like this. all branches of the u.s. military are trying to figure out how to use robots to be more efficient. the navy ran this exercise in virginia in which a single highly valuable boat was protected by 13 smaller boats that carried weapons, sirens flashing lights but no people. they are robot boats. when the envoy encountered an enemy vessel those robots detected it and surrounded it. pilots are often the weak link in air combat.

and the navy has an autonomous fighter jet that can take off on its own and land too. the idea is that a group of these aircraft could be dispatched on very long-range very dangerous missions. carrying bombs bigger than current drones can carry and flying as fast as regular fighter aircraft. you wouldn't have to worry about losing a human pilot and robot can maneuver better. right now robots can guide themselves in the battlefield, and make recommendations, but they aren't pulling the trigger everything. the next step is doing everything. it's already sticky enough when

you have a robot that can do everything except actually pull the trigger. what human right's watch and other organizations are worried about here is we're entering a new world, a world in which the robot takes care of everything including the killing itself. jake ward in san francisco. nearly 50 victims of the 2009 shoots at fort hood have received purple heart and defense of freedom medals. an emotional ceremony was held this morning. dozens of survivors and family members received the medals. the army psychiatrist has been sentenced to death in the attack that killed 13 people. thanks for joining us. the news continue next live from london. and for the latest headlines go to our website at aljazeera.com.

♪ medical supplies land in yemen, the first since saudi lead air strikes began, 16 days ago. ♪ and you are with us here on al jazeera, i'm david foster. also coming up in the next 30 minutes, pakistan frees on bail the suspected master mind of the mumbai attacks infuriating india. the presidents of the u.s. and cuba expected to meet for the first time since relations