supplies to the international space station. the second time touchdown has ended in fiery failure. the engineers are hoping the third time will be a charm. a reminder you can keep up to date on all of the news by going to our website, aljazeera.com. challenging president obama executive action on immigration, you are looking live at a protest in new orleans, as a panel of judges prepares to hear a lawsuit that seeks to block any path to citizenship. we are outside the courthouse. american boots on the ground in ukraine. we'll get the kem listen's response to a symbolic move by the pentagon live from moscow. and an ohio man set to appear in court within the hour

accused of working with al-qaeda to attack the united states. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city i'm stephanie sy. oral arguments at a federal appeals court in new orleans. the judges are set to consider president obama's executive actions on immigration. advocates are rallying in front of that courthouse and in washington where you are looking live right now. three judges on that appeals court will consider whether to lift a temporary hold on the plan that would shield millions of immigrants from deportation. a texas judge in february blocked it at the request of 26 states. jonathan martin is live in new orleans this morning. what is going on at the courthouse right now? >> reporter: well good afternoon, stephanie. the oral arguments just started about 30 minutes ago.

we expect them to last for about two hours. you see the crowd has gathered here, most of them supporters of the president's initiative. they have been out here all morning. today we have justice department lawyers inside a lot of them are here to argue that the president's plan that he announced last year to shield some 5 million to move forward. but fact in february a u.s. judge issued a nationwide injunction stopping the president's order at least temporarily after 26 states sued saying it would be a burden and also said the president stepped outside of his authority, and a lot pointed to costs that may be involved like issuing driver license's to some of these persons. oral arguments started here today. each side given an hour to present their case. and we could see a decision made possibly in a few days.

>> well the people affected have been waiting for resolution for a long time. are they optimistic this ruling is going to go in their favor in the fifth surcut? >> reporter: a lot of them are realizing that this could be an uphill battle. the fifth circuit court of appeals is widely considered the most conservative panel. you have three members on the judging panel, two are .sare, and they realize that that could have an impact on how this decision goes but a lot of people waiting to see what happens as this issue of the president has really divided a lot of the country. you see 26 states have joined the lawsuit, while 12 states and d.c. have filed briefs against the lawsuit in support of the executive action. and even more significantly, municipalities have filed in support. so you really do see that the

states, the cities that will benefit and they understand the benefits of this. so again, we get back to the political play. >> so we have a reporter in the courtroom, of course no cameras allowed in federal court, so we're going to be listening to oral arguments, hearing what both sides have to say, again, three judges on this panels no decision expected today, but a lot of people are waiting to see what that decision will be stephanie. >> jonathan martin thank you. the kem listen is warning the west about the arrival of u.s. troops in ukraine. the u.s. ambassador tweeted the news that the brigade is on the ground. the soldiers are in the country to train the ukrainian national guard. but the kremlin says it could destabilize the region. rory challands is life in moscow. rory what more can you tell us about the u.s. paratroopers, and

what they will be doing? >> they have come from italy that's where the brigade is usually based, but this agreement between washington and kiev was reached back at the beginning of march. the deployment was actually delayed a little bit, but now they have hit though grounds earlier on this week they arrived. they are going to be training the ukrainian national defense units, basically. and they are not the only international forces who are already in the country. we know that the united kingdom has up to 75 military advisors who have been schooling the ukrainian army and things like battlefield medicine and logistics and intelligence and 200 canadians are also going to be arriving before the beginning of summer so this is clearly something that the -- that the government here in moscow is not happy about at all. >> yeah let's talk a little bit

more about that. what is the reaction thus far from moscow? >> reporter: well the usual sort of diplomatic rhetoric of disappointment, i suppose, the kremlin's spokesman said this was not contribute to the peace process in ukraine, and it would destabilize the country. what russia is really worried about is the further encroachment of nato on russian borders. that's really what this whole ukrainian crisis is about. and why it started. but there's something else that the russians are going to be watching for very closely. they are going to be looking at who exactly is being trained by these paratroopers. there are various irregular brigades that are being incorporated into though outfit that these -- these american troops are going to be training. some of these irregular brigades

have quite right-wing affiliations, if those particular militias are being trained by the u.s. troops then it will give the russians a very good case for saying that america is training fascists and as they say neo-nazis. >> yeah that is the russian narrative, at least. rory thank you. let's bring in mike lyons. major lyons great to see you as always. what is the significance of 300 u.s. troops being on ukrainian soil training ukrainian troops? >> i'll call it trip-wire diplomacy. it gives the russians pause for what do they do next? do they move more troops into the south? what are they going to do at this point in time. it's an irritant from their

perspective. any u.s. troops training ukraine soldiers to possibly fight against russians is a threat to them. >> could these american troops end up in some way being confronted by the pro-russian rebels and possibly even russian troops? >> right now they are well west of where russian troops are. they are closer to the eastern european countries as well. >> so they are on the other side of the country. >> yes, but they the border. they could train more troops that reach back out to where the russian soldiers could be. they're going to try to make them become better soldiers. >> how is this in the u.s. interest? >> this is about showing our allies that we're going to support our friends. ukraine is not an ally. >> not a nato member. >> but look at the countries

just to the north, and how are they going to react and see what russia is doing in ukraine and not think that they are possibly next. and they joined nato just to make sure that that wouldn't happen. what would happen if little green men started showing up in those countries disrupting them. what would nato actually do. that might be the next step. >> i want to talk about some news that is breaking because i know you spent time in iraq. iraqi officials say that a man has been killed he was a former top advisor to saadam hussein. how significant is his death? >> well i think he has probably been hiding in plane site and was killed likely by a sha shia militia. he was not going to turn over to

the iraqi government and get anything reconciled. he was going to jail and to be executed like saadam hussein. >> how many of those guys are with isil? >> yeah the 55 that were in there, most have been killed or captured but you have for example this individual he was in his 70s. it's not like he was doing anything tactical but he was providing that spiritual look with regard to people that we're going to set this organization up that will continue to fight the iraqi government. >> the former [ inaudible ] are part of isil's organization, and that's where they get a lot of their fire power from. was there any way around that. could those leaders have been brought in to for example maliki's government and not join isil? >> you have to go back to 2004 when we dismantled the iraqi

government we should have expected this would be one of the consequences. they were well trained -- i remember the iraqi guards and those individuals that i met when i was in iraq they had better equipment, they knew what they were doing. >> those are real military men. as are you. thank you. >> thanks steph. also in iraq the pentagon says u.s. troops will continue with their training mission near ramadi. thousands are leaving the city after a series of isil attacks. american forces are conducting training not far from ramadi and u.s. officials say there are no plans to withdraw them. martin dempsey is down playing the latest set back. >> we would much rather that ramadi not fall but it won't be the end of the campaign. we have got to get it back. >> iraq's prime minister has been in washington this week, meeting with u.s. leaders.

syria's president is speaking out today highlighting syrian national day. it is meant to be a day of unity, but there is no end to the civil war in cite. thousands living in lebanon say bashar al-assad's words mean nothing to them. mohammed reports. >> reporter: today we have spoken to all of the refugees here who say that they are not marking syrian national day in any way whatsoever. there is not any sense of any kind of pride in syrian national day. what we have encountered here are people who's lives have been devastated who have children here who are just trying to get the most basic fundamental medical care. if you look behind us there is a line there. those are mothers and their children. many children born since they have been here trying to get vaccinations so that they don't get sick. now you have a huge refugee community here in lebanon. in fact one quarter of this tiny

country's population is comprised of syrian refugees because of the political situation here you can't have official encampment that's why you have makeshift camps like this. and in that interview that bashar al-assad gave said with the swedish newspaper, he talked about how sweden was one of the few european countries that has really open its doors to the ref gu community. >> so this is good thing to do to give people refuge but if you ask the syrian people who fled from syria, what do you want? they don't want to flee syria because of the war. they want to end that war. that's their aim. that's our aim. so i think it will help people in -- if you give people refuge the rest is to help them going back to their country. an ohio man is due in federal court facing federal charges he provided material

support for terrorism. prosecutors say he travelled to syria to train with an al-qaeda-linked group and was planning an attack in the u.s. >> reporter: the government alleges that this man, travelled to syria for terrorist training. he allegedly made this trip just two months after gaining american citizenship. >> the benefit of being american is he has good paper. that means he is able to travel he has the u.s. passport. that is a goal. law enforcement has been concerned about this travel pattern for quite a while. >> reporter: the fbi said he left columbus ohio in 2014 with a oneway ticket to greece and then slipped into syria. the federal enindictment alleges that while in syria, he attended a training camp run by the al-nusra front, an al-qaeda affiliate. he trained in shooting weapons,

breaking into houses explosives, and hand-to-hand combat. during that time prosecutors say he learned that his brother had been killed fighting for isil. mohammed said he was happy about his brother's death and that he would join him soon. with his training complete prosecutors say he was preparing to begin fighting in syria, when a cleric instructed him to return the united states. mohammed later talked about doing something big. his plan was to attack a military facility and his backup plan was to attack a prison. he wanted to target armed forces police officers or any other uniformed individuals. the fbi said he started making plans to storm a texas military base, and kill american soldiers execution style. >> we have to be concerned about americans doing this. >> reporter: he was arrested by local authorities in columbus ohio back in february and was

transferred to federal custody thursday. he'll be arraigned today, and is expected to plead not guilty. federal officials say about 180 americans have joined isil or al-qaeda in syria or iraq or have been arrested for trying to do so. two dozen more cases of hiv reported in a small indiana community. what is behind the outbreak and what the state is doing to stop the spread. plus finding baseball prospects is getting harder in venezuela.

welcome back to al jazeera america. it is 10:48 eastern. taking a look at today's top stories. ♪ a memorial service this morning for the victim of the germanwings plane crash. they gathered in a cathedral in

cologne. mexico is on high alert after thieves stole potentially deadly radioactive material. it's the latest in a series of radioactive material thefts in mexico. and president obama meets with italy's prime minister at the white house today. the two leaders are set to discuss a host of issues. they will likely also discuss italy's efforts to save thousands of migrants trying to reach europe by boat. the obama administration has until today to respond to a lawsuit challenging a secret government program. the program lets the government turn off mobile phone service during so-called critical emergencies. it was created after attacks in london that relied on mobile phones to detonate bombs. health officials in indiana say 24 more cases of hiv have

been diagnosed in a small rural town. the outbreak has been connected with dirty drug needles. >> reporter: kevin admits he is an addict hooked on a powerful painkiller. >> it's kick but true. >> reporter: he's also the face of a new epidemic one many thought was on the decline in the united states. >> friend of mine and myself went down and got tested for hiv, come back positive. blew me away. last thing in the world i expected to hear. >> reporter: he lives in austin in scott county indiana. it is facing the state's worst outbreak of hiv ever. more than 100 cases since december. users say clean needles are hard to find in indiana. indiana governor temporarily suspended a law. >> today i declared a public

health emergency in scott county indiana. >> reporter: teams of workers arrived to provide testing, doctors, counseling and an needle exchange in an attempt to contain the outbreak. with little experience of its own, indiana turned to an established needle exchange in chicago for advice. >> we began surridge exchange in january of '92. >> reporter: they rely heavily on addicts like doug who can take the needles to users. yet when the program was brought to austin he said he almost immediately ran into resistance from local authorities. >> the local health department came. >> reporter: he also heard reports that law enforce was

continuing to crack down on sir rin j program. the chief is used to arresting drug users. not helping their habit. >> if it is going to save lives i have to support what they are telling me will work. from the law enforcement side of it i can't support it. because we're giving these people things to use drugs with. so i'm torn between both sides. >> reporter: so it bothers you that you cannot arrest at least at the moment. >> oh absolutely. >> reporter: but dan says such an attitude could lead to a public health disaster. >> unless we get serious about publish health we will be suffering from this for quite a while. >> reporter: jonathan betz al jazeera, austin indiana. needle exchange programs are rare in the u.s. because of a

lack of funding. california's governor is revealing his plan today for cutting residential water use by 25%. jerry brown met with business leaders who will be affected by the cutbacks. the state has been stuck in what is called an exceptional drought for the better part of the past four years. governor brown says he will not relax new rules. the measles outbreak that rocked california in december may be over. unless a new case pops up today, the state will declare the outbreak down. the wave was traced back to disneyland and ignited a debate over the anti-vaccination movement. california is now considering a law that make vaccinations mandatory. acting out on a flight that caused an emergency landing.

so i hope that getting to the top of mount everest gives somebody else inspiration to

change their lives. >> a former u.s. marine who lost his right leg in afghanistan is attempting to climb mount everest everest. he wants to show amputees are capable of great physical feats. we are learning more about an alleged indication of plane rage. flight 577 was scheduled to fly to new hampshire. but a female passenger attacked her seat mate with a pen. >> she just went nuts and me screamed really loud almost like a little girl. >> the plane returned to the gate the woman was removed. she later got on another flight. the man refused to press charges. as virginia lopez reports increased political tensions are making it harder for baseball

teams to scout abroad. >> reporter: this is the last time these players will be practicing in this venezuela, their home country. after 15 years, a u.s. team has decided to quit their training school in this town and move to the dominican republic. >> translator: baseball doesn't escape from all of the problems the country is going through. but the work the academies do is done our product is the individual and that talent is here. >> reporter: american schools across the country have been closing their doors, but now knew regulations are expected to cut down on the visit of american scouts who come to towns like these in search of talent. jose knows all too well what it means to play major league baseball. he was among the first venezuelans to be signed up more than two decades ago. his two sons have are followed in his footsteps.

>> translator: i was the example that paved the road for countless more. all that i am is thanks to baseball. if scouts don't get visas, they will simply go to other countries. >> reporter: as teams aman aman -- abandon their training facilities they also take with them the hopes of the young. this man knows he could very well be one of the last to go. >> translator: americans will stop coming and that blocks the future of players here. it's a terrible situation because our friends won't make it and it's very frustrating. >> reporter: 12 of the 16 camps initially operating in the country have left. a career in professional baseball transformed the lives of players and their familiar list. [ applause ] >> reporter: whole communities also benefited, but now all of that is likely to change. virginia lopez, al jazeera. more than 200 venezuelans

have played in major league baseball. an emotional night for a san francisco giants fan beaten outside of a dodgers game four years ago. but he has made a comeback. he has been a paramedic for the main giants team before the attack. doctors say he is making a miraculous recovery. space x's dragon cargo craft has reached the international space station. it brings thousands of pounds of food clothing and equipment for the iss. and nasa is showing off an electric rover. it is a prototype. it boasts a top speed of 70 miles an hour and can take a tight corner. it might also be well-suited to travel here on earth.

thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy. the news continues next live from doha. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ well tom the news hour i'm richelle carey in doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes. a former general for sue dam hussein is killed in iraq. south african police open fire against foreign workers who armed themselves with machetes after a series of attacks on their shops. ♪ u.s. troops arrive to help