only on al jazeera america >> part of al jazeera america's >> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet ♪ this is al jazeera america, i'm john in new york and the top stories, attack on a bank a coward account and i.s.i.l. killed more than 30. thousands making the risky voyage overwhelming italian villages and pope francis asking the world for help. warnings across the nation midsection and number of hiv cases in indiana jumps yet

again, 2 dozen new cases in just a week. ♪ [sirens] and we begin with especially violent day in afghanistan, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up outside of a bank in jalalabad, at least 35 people have been killed another 100 hurt. afghanistan's president says i.s.i.l. is behind the attack and warns the group is establishing a dangerous presence in his country and calling on all afghans to stand up against them and as jennifer glasse reports the blast comes as they are making big changes to its government. >> reporter: suicide bomber detonated his vest in a crowd of people lining outside of the jalalabad bank and salaries are paid here and the target was civil servants. passersby tried to help the injured and move the dead.

>> translator: i saw many people, dead bodies and injured people on the ground ambulances arrived very late and many people died of their wounds. >> reporter: two other blasts around the same time targeted a shine and another bank highlighting the difficult security situation. president ashraf ghani says groups affiliated with i.s.i.l. are to blame. >> translator: today the taliban did not take responsibility, dash took responsibility international terrorists are responsible and are not our people. if you are afghan or muslim come and stand with us. if you are influenced by foreigners then this is a warning. >> reporter: ghani called this a new war. he asked afghans to unite against what he called international terrorists. the attacks came as parliament proved all of ghani's cabinet picks and taken six months to get here and ghani says it may have taken a long time but it will be a strong government to implement reforms he promised but still no nominee for defense

minister. jennifer glasse al jazeera, kabul. the latest on the fight against i.s.i.l. united states launched 20 strikes yesterday and 7 in syria and 13 in iraq. iraqi ground forces secure the largest oil refinery after clashes with i.s.i.l. fighters and battle days after they captured a small part of the complex. heavy towning is forcing people to flee and thousands left with the clothes on their back and enbar providence turned the city of 200,000 into a ghost town and i.s.i.l. captured three villages on the outskirts on wednesday, tents, food and aid sent to thousands who fled. in the mediterranean another rescue of migrants trying to go to africa and saved 74 people from a sailboat just before it sank today about 100 miles off the coast. 450 people were unloaded in a

port in sicily today. the migrants came from ethiopia and syria included 50 children. italian authorities arrested to traffickers, in the past week italian ships picked up 10,000 migrants and many of them fleeing war and persecution and paul brennan is in sicily with more. >> reporter: flow of migrants from libya continues and we had a new boat land in the port of polermo in sicily in the last 112 hours bringing a total of 93 people and 71 men, 19 women, one of whom is pregnant we understand and three children too. there is one glimmer of good news and that is we have spoke tone the coast guard saturday morning and what they are telling us is they are not aware of any ongoing rescue operations that are continuing as we speak. it seems that there are no boats that are issuing may days right now. it would appear though that it's likely to be a brief respite

because as you can see the weather here is good and the mediterranean and the flow has been such and the desperation is such that boats are put in to sea and be strong force in order to deter them from putting to sea in the first place. as far as other issues go the prosecutor of this town is promising he will prosecute any traffickers and said he already started to prosecute some traffickers arrested on the boats by the italian coast guard and promising more prosecutions will take place. the other thing is over in washington the italian prime minister has met with president barack obama and the subject of the migration from north africa came up there. from the american point of view it has to do with security concerns and he said look it's not just about security and i quote it's to do with justice and the dignity of mankind. paul in sicily and the wave of people seeking safety as swamping refugee centers in

southern italy and government orders say they will be taken to reception is centers in northern italy and ear marked more than $4 million to help look after them and phil is there and reports a tide of resentment is also rising. >> reporter: there is a storm on the way here and not just in the lit literal sense and migrants keep coming to italy's affluent north and money is ear marked to house them, the people are not happy. this historic town has barely changed over the years but its population has especially recently because like much of italy it's struggling to cope with that huge number of migrants who keep arriving and you know the thing about the north is typically it's the more money and manufacturing and industry and a lot of money here. but for the people who live in these parts they say do you know what we have our own problems, we need that money to be spent on us not the migrants. [chanting] on saturday this protest was

organized by the northern league anti-immigrant party. it wants italians to stop the local government using its cash to look after those new arrivals. >> translator: italy's economy cannot bear the situation. we are in a deep economic crisis and we should come first and the others second and it's not racism and the point is itly doesn't have the resources to take a hit. >> reporter: supporters cannot sign a petition quickly enough. >> translator: disaster continues and we have been invaded and a big problem of security our wives and children cannot work in the evening anymore, this is a big problem. >> translator: too many are arriving here. there is not enough space for everybody and not enough jobs. >> reporter: on the edge of mantuit the migrants have their own space, this is a community segregated from a community, a tale of two towns.

>> i'm happy anyway and have so many difficulties in libya when there is a war everywhere so you come here and you have some people are feeling that way we don't want you here in our country. it's hard you know. >> reporter: it has withstood countless battles over the centuries but not of this kind and surrounded by an moat cutting it off from the outside world and you can see the irony here it cannot keep people out any more the face of this place is changing. phil with al jazeera, in northern italy. >> here are numbers with the seriousness of the crisis in perspective, the italian coast guard this week rescued 10,000 people fleeing africa and the middle east. last year more than 3500 people drown crossing the mediterranean sea. over all more than 51 million fled their home countries last

year, the largest number since the end of world war ii half of the refugees from afghanistan, somalia and syria and pope francis called on the world to wake up to the migrant crisis, during the first ever meeting between pontiff and italy's new president the pope praised the italian government response and also called on europe and international community to do more. >> translator: it is clear that the proportions of this phenomenon require a much wider involvement. we must not tire in urging a broader commitment and a european and international level. >> reporter: italy's president echoed the call saying eu must take action. thousands of miles away south africa president vowed today to end attacks on migrants six have already died there, earlier this week there was a heavy police presence at johanesburg townships and looted and built

street barricades and we have more from johanesburg. >> reporter: come to inspect what is left of his shop he came to south africa six years ago to try and earn money for his family in ethiopia. >> with money and stuff, lost it. >> reporter: he says his shop was attacked by people who accused migrant workers of taking their jobs. he says they stole everything he has including all his savings. >> i don't know these people is coming and taking stuff and money and clothes and shoes. everything is taken. i have children. i have wife. and people support me.

you kill me. you kill me jesus. i kill you. >> reporter: south africa landlord says he is ashamed about what happened. >> criminality. >> reporter: it's very obvious the level of poverty in this neighborhood here in johanesburg and people have very real needs and grievances with the government in terms of lack of jobs and services here. it seems that he was the victim of opportunists and criminal elements here and decided to stay and try and save some more money before he returns to ethiopia however there are more workers here in south africa that have decided to leave. south africa's president visited a camp in durban where workers are getting ready to return to their home countries. >> those who want to go home they must know that when we

arrange everything with balance and they are still welcome as they came. >> reporter: these people are heading back by bus and the words mean little to them now. >> and we are fighting for people who want to kill us so how can i stay here. i have money for the country. >> reporter: he has no choice but to take that risk. he says he cannot go back to his family in ethiopia empty handed. charles stratford, al jazeera, johanesburg. new developments driving yemen deeper in kay us and the saudi-led coalition made agreement with local tribes to guard and control key oil fields and saudi forces are blocking the country's ports all to keep the conflict from spreading into saudi arabia. mohamed has more from the saudi arabia border with yemen. >> reporter: according to the coalition spokesman heavy weapons and artillery have been

observed moving from sanaa to here and this is unusual because the bulk of the fighting is happening now in the center of yemen and around the city here and also in the other areas. very far away from sada and not a retreat according to the spokesman. it is rather a movement of troops and heavy artillery to where it started and close to the border and have seen clashes happening now and again across the line and seen saudi troops being killed by the houthis. the spokesman talked about the death of one saudi soldier yesterday during clashes in the -- on the border. so there are by the saudis that fresh clashes and attacks on the saudi border and one of the main objectives of this war for saudi arabia is to make sure that the war in yemen doesn't spill over inside its own territory and now it is a tough situation where after more than three weeks of

air strikes on the houthis, the houthis are still asset to saudi arabia. one of five teens arrested on suspicion of a terrorist attack made a court appearance in melbourne and planned attack during a war remembrance ceremony to be held next week and will remain in custody while he awaits an up coming court date and terror threats in australia escalated within the past six months. global finance officials see a number of growing threats to the economy's post recession recovery. topping the list is the looming possibility of a greek debt default. international finance officials wrapped up two days of talks in washington d.c. they are pledging renewed efforts for a more rebust economy. up next, indiana's fight in hiv cases, two dozen in the past week and police and health officials are contributing to the problem.

passengers getting cabin fever after severe weather is blamed for keeping their plane on the tarmac for hours. >> you know i drive a pretty old, crummy car so maybe we will upgrade that soon or something like that. >> reporter: and employees in a seattle company are already planning what they will do with their new $70,000 minimum salary we will hear from the company's ceo about why we made such a risky move.

♪ new hampshire is crawling with republican presidential contenders right now 19 gop presidential hopefuls are in the granite state this weekend and republicans hosting a two-day conference to let people know the crowded field of candidates and focused on how they were different from the others and how the party is different than hillary clinton. >> i have to say as i was coming up i was a little bit startled because i could have sworn i saw hillary's scooby-doo van outside. and then i realized it couldn't

possibly be that because i'm pretty sure y'all don't have any foreign nations paying speakers right? >> to win again and for us to be the dominant party, for us to win, not just texas, not just georgia, for us to win ohio for us to win michigan and win pennsylvania colorado all these purple states new hampshire, to win the purple states that are not easy any more we need to be the party that defends the entire bill of rights. >> i want to talk to you about the need for fairness and our tax code system. i want to talk about the success to pay more in taxes to the government. i want to talk to you about what a great success president obama has done in the middle east this historic agreement he is negotiating with iran and i want to talk to you about my grandparents who i'm -- immigrated. i'm sorry i have the wrong notes. this is hillary clinton's

speech. this is not my speech. >> reporter: the hopefuls clear out hillary clinton will arrive and due in new hampshire on monday. more severe thunderstorms in areas from texas to nebraska and thousands without power in texas, the day after severe storms battered parts of the region with heavy rain and high winds and other areas experienced heavy flooding and tennis ball sized hail and also in texas lightning may be to blame for an oil tank explosion that sent flames 100 feet in the air there. winter weather in the rockies caused passengers to be stuck on a grounded u.s. airlines for hours and passengers' cell phones capture the tension on there and some took up the offer to get off but without checked luggage and out laws keeping people on the tarmac for more

than three hours and said they apologize for the inconvenience but safety is always the number one priority. austin indiana has a sudden major uptick in hiv, 130 now in a town of just 4,000 people. one way to stop it is convince drug addicts to hand over infected needles for clean ones and it's controversial and the governor doesn't like it but there is an exception and saying the approach may not stop the virus. >> most of this is oxy cotton track marks. >> reporter: scars of addiction mark kevin's body. >> the part of my neck that is new. >> reporter: part of an unprecedented outbreak of hiv in indiana, centered around rural scott county, 130 cases, 24 new ones in just the past week a stunning 18% jump. spread largely from drug users like pauly sharing dirty needles.

>> it was nothing to share a needle, it didn't matter. >> reporter: sparking new concerns if the help to stop this hiv outspread in its tracks. >> reporter: ordered last month is working well enough. >> participants there ready to be part of the solution to breathe life into the governor's declaration of emergency and the local health department came and severely limiting the number of syringes people can get. >> reporter: this is similar to chicago where they can exchange dirty for clean ones no questions ask but indiana they are not only limiting needles but officers are cracking down and arresting people who have them. >> we shouldn't be arresting for any paraphernalia or needles. >> reporter: and al jazeera was there when they told the police not to make arrest. >> if you find somebody with clean needles and that is all they have got you need to let them go. >> reporter: syringes illegal

in indiana except for medical but because of the outbreak the governor suspended the law and pauly says last week they raided his home and got his clean needles and arrested a friend and charged her with having a syringe. >> i heard a couple reports of that and that is incredibly disturbing. >> reporter: did not respond for comment and people who register will not be arrested and dozens have already come forward to turn in hundreds of dirty needles. >> this is a place that never had a needle exchange program before and are implementing a model that they are comfortable with and will work for the population that is here. >> reporter: worry the approach is too timid and pauly is feeding a fear that law enforcement is targeting users. >> nobody wants to go to jail and the ones afraid to go to jail are using dirty syringes and they will continue to share and hiv is going to continue to

be in scott county. >> reporter: indiana lawmakers are considering expanding needle exchanges to more places and that faces stiff opposition and studies show nearly a quarter of the state's counties are at risk of similar out break. across the country fast-food workers demanded a $15 minimum wage and they protest and workers in seattle are figuring out to do with the generous decision by their boss and al jazeera has the story of the ceo who is slashing their workers to $30. >> not just another day here. >> hands sweaty, and nervous. >> reporter: calls to a mandatory all staff meeting where dan price laid out a new payroll plan. >> a minimum $70,000 pay rate for everyone who works here. >> reporter: it did not quite sink in at first, at a time when fast-food workers are protesting

pay hikes and pressure from organized labor across the country to raise the minimum wage above $7.25 an hour their ceo just upped the anti substantially and when it did sink in he got a standing ovation. >> people were crying happy tears and saying things like i can afford to have a baby now and afford to buy a home now. >> i drive a pretty old, crummy car and maybe we will upgrade that soon or something like that i don't know it makes my life a lot better. and i don't know better and opened up a lot of choices. >> reporter: 70 employees here will be getting a raise, some of them very significant. 30 or so will be bumped up to double or more than double their current salary when they hit that $70,000 level. that adds up. how do you pay for all of this? ceo dan price for one will be taking a pay cut, down to $70,000 from nearly a million, the rest is going to come out of what would have been profit.

>> it is going to impact me personally but i'm prepared to do it. it's a sacrifice i think that is well worth it and i think it's really going to pay off in the end. >> reporter: price and management team expect less employee turnover and no productivity and more customers. >> i think we were averaging about two e-mails a minute today. this is actually for people who want to do business with us. it's just rolling in. kudos to you, smart move partnership, interested in your services. >> reporter: they also understand it's an expensive gamble. >> i wanted them to have the right amount of pay at a minimum where they could keep that focus and not be distracted by the basics of you know trying to pay your rent and all those things that should be kind of a given for somebody that is smart and working hard. >> reporter: and the new minimum could push the happiness to a maximum and allen with al jazeera seattle. and still ahead on al jazeera america, the race to save christian artifacts at

place against i.s.i.l. hooking teens on nicotine and it's quickly becoming big business. ♪

welcome back to al jazeera america, here is a look at our top stories, 35 people are dead and more than 100 hurt after a suicide bombing in afghanistan, forces say a man in a motorcycle detonated a bomb outside of a bank in jalalabad and blames i.s.i.l. and called on the entire country to fight. italy today more migrants brought into that country, 450 people were unloaded in a port in sicily today. officials arrested two abode and saved 74 before their sailboat sank 100 miles off the coast and italian ships picked um more than 10,000 migrants.

gop hopefuls in new hampshire for a two-day conference and focused on aspects how they are different from other republicans and their party is different than hillary clinton and former secretary of state will be arriving in the state on monday. the fate of president obama's sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration law is now in the hands of three judges of the fifth circuit court of appeals, 26 states came together to argue in their chamber against the president's executive action. the case will echo three the 2016 election and beyond and jonathan martin has more from new orleans. >> reporter: it's a major task for president obama's executive action on immigration. several hundred undocumented migrants and immigration reform advocates rallied outside the federal court of appeals in new orleans. [chanting] inside for 2 1/2 hours a panel of three judges heard oral arguments and soon will see if the president's policies will

move forward or remain on hold and 5 million undocumented migrants from being deported and grant them work permits. >> translator: international organizations that are here all of us in the street we believe it's going to touch the hearts of judges and we will win. >> reporter: in february a u.s. district judge in texas ordered a temporary injunction on the president's executive action after 26 states filed suit challenging it. at issue are deferred action programs that protect undocumented migrants who arrived in the u.s. as children and undocumented parents of american born children. >> translator: i am in the process of being deported right now, this would help me stay here with my family. >> reporter: in court justice department lawyers argue states can't undo a federal immigration policy but the texas solicitor general who stated leading the lawsuit said referring deportation would mean financial burden for states as they would be forced to spend more on law enforcement, education and

healthcare. ♪ outside the court those in favor of the president's immigration move out numbered those against and opponents were vocal as well, deborah smith traveled from mississippi. >> we built this country on backs of immigrants and who we are. but we have to follow we are also a nation of laws. ♪ but supporters remain optimistic, many realize a ruling in their favor may be tough as the fifth circuit court of appeals is considered the most conservative circuit in the country, two of the three judges hearing the case are republican. no decision was made after this hearing friday, the three judges have taken the information under advisement and could be days or weeks before a final decision is made. jonathan martin in new orleans. i.s.i.l. vow to destroy christianity and they are trying to save artifacts from being demolished by the fighters.

>> reporter: winding through the hills in northern iraq one of christianitys most sacred sites comes into view and this is the monestary and used to be with patriarchs. >> from the 7th century and monks are buried here and also buried here if i.s.i.l. reaches here they will destroy the historic place and it's so important to christians and all of iraq's history. just 12 kilometers away is the front line with i.s.i.l. the kurds who in the 18th century ransacked this place are now protecting it. this monestary is made up of a series of caves and preserved because this is an important pilgram site with few tourists because of the threat on the

doorstep and i.s.i.l. set out to destroy christianity and wants the worlds to know about it and the first have been ransacked and thousands of artifacts destroyed. what little was saved was moved between churches and being closely guarded in secret locations across iraq. >> they came and told me say they have just you have five minutes and i take it my clothes and my passport and these five books. >> reporter: in irbil we tracked down the archbishop of mosul and look at what he saved. the bible is handwritten. >> in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit. >> reporter: losing this history he says has been a loss of dignity. >> and there is 160,000 people

they sleep in the streets and i.s.i.s. taking everything. >> reporter: another one and gabrielle goes further. >> translator: if it continues like this it's judgment for all iraqi history and culture, if we accept this or the people of iraq and all of the history and culture will be murdered if we let this happen it will be our destiny, so it's in your hands to help or leave these people. >> reporter: and if that call continues to go unanswered he says, the legacy of the first people of this country will be wiped out, kim vanel with al jazeera, northern iraq. iran army had an army day with parade that showcased the new domestic missile system and press reported that it's similar to russia's system addressing crowds before the parade rohani accused the government of killing incents children and

spreading hatred through the region. in columbia peace process at risk after 11 soldiers killed in an ambush and president manwel responded to air raids on rebel camps and both sides don't want talks to collapse but military escalation risked bringing that process to an end. the soldiers were ambushed in this village as they slept. apparently surprised by attack in the middle of the sunni ceasefire. >> translator: awoke by explosions and i jumped from the bed and ran to my kids and we all piled in one corner where we could feel somewhat safer. >> reporter: days after the incident the signs of just how devastating the attack has been are here for everybody to see. holes in the ground where the grenades exploded or bloodstains on the floor, even the boot belonging to one of the soldiers and the fear for the people who

live here that the war is back. the village sits at the center of a drugs and weapons corridor and coca plants are easy to spot in the surrounding hills. locals say the ceasefire and the government suspension of air raids have brought relative peace. after a resent military antidrugs ground operation, the villagers have feared the rebels would retaliate and they did. >> translator: we had asked the soldiers a month ago to please move away, and bombings will resume and bring more violence we need to talk to succeed. it's easy for the people in the city to say war is the answer when we end up being the victims. >> reporter: outside the regional military base in kali people bring flowers for the dead soldiers. for some the attack has wiped out what little confidence there was. >> translator: it's time to end the peace to process and it's a lie and giving them space to

kill our soldiers. >> reporter: the government appears to be committed to resolving the conflict but it's complicated. >> the problem in columbia has always been that there are numerous armed groups moving about the country inflicting violence, in different ways. and it is extremely hard in a context that is columbia to avoid these kinds of encounters. >> reporter: both the government and have invested much in the process and say they want a final agreement but military escalation and other attacks risk setting back a process that had looked so positive i'm with al jazeera, columbia. guatemala civil war ended in 1996 but some conflicts remain and for many the rule of law seems out of reach, as david mercer explains that forced many in the mining, community to look for justice in a more traditional way. she is desperate, last year a

long-term colleague persuaded her to cosine a $8,000 loan but her coworker defaulted and now she owes more than she can afford and rather than hire a lawyer she decided to take her case here to indigenous mayor's office. >> translator: i spoke to a lot of people and they told me that the people who make decisions here are not influenced by money and bribes. they say that they treat everyone the same. they are very straight. >> reporter: after hearing both sides of the story and reviewing documents, officials rule in delia's favor an order her name removed from the creditor's list. her's is just one of more than a dozen cases that will be looked at today. for centuries after the arrival of the spanish guatemala continued to practice their own form of law. but in 1960 civil war broke out and the government clamped down

on the traditions. it was only when the peace accords were signed 36 years later that their justice system made a come back. the peace agreement brought with it guarantees to recognize the right of indigenous communities to manage their own affairs, since then mian law has been slowly spreading throughout communities like this. outsiders often associate mian justice with the rise in public lynchs in indigenous communities since the end of the civil war but mian law is filling a power vacuum by a failing justice system and curbing delinquency and mian justice and relies on value and conconscious to resolve crimes and community service and family participation are some ingredients used in punishment of offenders as well as reintegration into society

and while the leaders who work here do not receive a salary they say serving their people keeps them motivated. >> translator: our vision is to look beyond the present to the future and the work we are doing doesn't just help us know but teaches our children how to give back to the community and how we hope to strength enthe law. >> reporter: with 220 cases resolved last year the mayor's office is inspiring mian leaders and offering hope for more peaceful communities, david mercer al jazeera guatemala. helping people moving in the neighborhood. >> coming to supper with us and i'm not saying i'm jesus to these people but i think that when you suffer with people and you share in their suffering then there is a -- that transforms the ways you work together. >> reporter: they call themselves relocaters, next how

religion is helping baltimore from being one of the dangerous cities in the nation and warning from c.d.c. e cigarettes are quickly becoming popular with teenagers and experts say the work to prevent smoking may be going up in smoke. ♪

the men influenced gyrocopter is heading home to florida and under house arrest and doug hughes was charged with operating an unregistered aircraft and violating air space and postal worker pulled off the stunt to talk about finance campaign laws and back in washington for a hearing next month. e cigarette explosion turned vaping in a multi-billion industry and new data shows use

among middle and high school students tripled between 2013-14 and they are using some old tricks to get new users hooked and christa has more. >> reporter: matt myers is president for tobacco free kids and spent his career taking down big tobacco and now watching his work unrival. >> a teenager today has not seen the marlboro man or the ad on tv and our concern is the product and how it's being marketed has the potential to undo literally 30 years of progress in reducing tobacco use among america's children. >> no one knows what the health effects are of puffing these things hours a day everyday for 20 years. >> reporter: former new york city health commissioner behind some of the toughest antismoking laws in the country >> we work hard to counter act

the cool factor of smoking cigarettes and the concern is if e cigarettes are cool it may spill over and regular tobacco cigarettes will be cool in the future. >> reporter: in lower manhattan they offer dozens of flavors, part of a new phenomenon known as vaping. peter helped open this business the culmination of his own battle with smoking. >> i was a smoker for 26 36 years and looking for a way to quit and saw an ad and bought an e cigarette and did research and saw an opportunity for me to stop smoking and thought there was a great business opportunity in this. and we have just exploded. the world has found out about ecigs and there is alternative to smoking a product that kills you and we offer ways to learn more about that and to experience or try it and hopefully go home with something that is a better alternative. >> sell a lot of flavors, a lot of controversy about the

flavors. >> there is. >> the idea is that they would appeal to minors do you agree with that? >> the strawberry vodka or lemon vodka appeal to minors? >> i would say it is. >> reporter: liquid nicotine is a mystery and controversial and what is inside depends on who you ask but absence of science what happens in the long-term is fueling passion and politics on all sides. >> i don't think anybody knows where this is going to go in five or ten years but tobacco companies are businesses and wants to make money selling whatever they can sell. if they can create a whole new market for people who are afraid of tobacco cigarettes but not afraid of e cigarettes the only way we will prevent from marketing to nonsmokers is to some form of regulation. bmw recalling a large number of mini cooper and 91,000 are being recalled due to defective

airbag and it effects the 2005-2008 models of the mini cooper and mini cooper s. the passenger side detective mats may prevent the car from sensing someone is in the seat. recall is set to begin may first, bmw will replace detection mats for free. they are moving in one of the city's dangerous neighborhoods and they say they are moving in to help others. morgan has that story. >> reporter: dr. matthew loftus taking a stole through the neighborhood with his two-year-old daughter and the family physician moved her more than five years ago after growing up in a middle class town 20 miles from city but why? it's in the heart of inner city baltimore and one of tell most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. so this is sandtown look at all these houses that are completely boarded up, is that common? >> yeah a lot of vacant houses.

>> reporter: known as relocaters. >> stepping on glass and random computer mouse. >> reporter: christian people who believe the only way to help poor communities is to move into them and become neighbors. >> it helps you to live, you know, on a more equal plane and people and see people you know less of like oh, i'm here, i'm coming in to help you and more like we are neighbors and figuring this out together. ♪ he is a member of new saw and a church that says everyone should have a say in giving strength to suffering. >> we pick up residents that are here i decided to take up residents here. >> reporter: that is the pastor here. >> i've been through so much stuff in my life.

>> reporter: he says about 25 mostly white middle and upper class families at his church have relocated to inner city baltimore. you say this church was founded on the principle of incarnation ministry, what does that mean? >> think of the word incarnation and think of christ in heaven and didn't say to heaven god saved him, he comes down and takes on human form and he invested himself in the struggles of human kind and that is what we try to do invest ourselves into the struggles of people here in sandtown. >> reporter: you are saying god wasn't a commuter god. >> no. >> reporter: i'm not going to be a commuter man is that what i hear you saying? >> yes. >> reporter: you did move the heart of sandtown but let's keep it real baltimore is one of the top ten most dangerous cities in america, were you scared? >> a little bit. you know like there is scary stuff that happens anywhere in baltimore really.

there is definitely a lot of ways that i stick out. >> reporter: after all sandtown is 96% black. a lot of these relocaters coming in are white and you are black. >> yes. >> reporter: and majority of sandtown i'm walking around is black, was there skepticism and were people thinking this is just another form of white gentrification? >> there is a running joke that the drug dealers say the whites moving in were cops and the cops thought they were drug dealers. >> reporter: that is a lifelong resident of sandtown who says sandtown streets are as hard as they seem. >> this is the intersection that changed my life tremendously. i shot a man. almost took his life on this very intersection. >> reporter: spent 3 1/2 years in prison for that shooting and when he finally did get out bennett says it was the same church community that helped him turn his life around. >> it's my mom here and they embraced me and helped me to

realize that i'm part and parcel of this community. >> reporter: this was the only place where he could get a job. bennett has been working there 20 years now alongside people like loftus who helped the community warm to the idea of relocaters. >> it was after they stayed at a very long time and became neighbors and bought homes here and folks started to become more at ease. >> reporter: some critics may say this is a white savior complex, you are a white guy and come in a majority black community and try to help the community, what is it you want people to understand about what you're doing here? >> i would want people to understand that i have come in to be a partner and i think primarily to serve and empower and be led by the people here in this community. >> reporter: and while the community admits there is still a lot left to fix on these sandtown streets. >> hope is not extinct.

♪ and as one resident told morgan help doesn't have a color, new song is with habitat for humanity to build 300 homes in the area and built a school and house for mee mail female drug addicts. ahead on al jazeera america cutting edge technology allowing scientists to grow body parts in labs and using 3d printers to do it. ♪

st. stuff of science fiction growing humor grands in a lab and andy explains how one group of of scientists is using fantasy to turn into reality. >> reporter: here at the wake forest institute for re

re-generative medicine and takes five hours for this machine to manufacture a human ear. >> made out of polycapital-lactone or pcl. >> it's a scaffold for human cells and building bladders and heart valves and muscle and much of the work is funded by the u.s. department of defense but the implications for patients everywhere is never far from researchers' minds. >> we always get the message that everything we do here will eventually move towards human trials and hopefully enhance their life through the work that we are doing. >> reporter: luke is one of those who benefitted from early research and given a new bladder more than a decade ago and now lives a healthy life. the applications for this kind of technology is literally limitless and doctors say it may

only be a few years before bio-3d printers are in hospitals across the world but human impact of research done here that keeps scientists pushing and breaking new barriers. in the future it is hoped the work here will pioneer new procedures to lead to the construction of complex organs like the heart, live or kidneys but the lab's director dr. anthony says despite the progress there is still a long way to go. you are never fully satisfied with what's being done because you know there is also so much ahead that needs to be done so many more patients can benefit from these technologies. >> reporter: but the strides being made here by a staff for more than 50 countries have already changed lives and are bringing hope to many more. andy gallagher with al jazeera, winston, salem, north carolina. back on display sunday in italy, the first time the cloth is available for public viewing in five years and some

christians believe the piece of linen was a burial cloth for jesus and others feel it's a medieval fake and a million people have reserved a ticket to see the cloth and it's made public to mark the 200th birthday of one of the monk founders. a war ship made famous in the u.s. war of independence set sale today from a small island off the west coast of france. it's now making its way across the atlantic ocean and recreating the journey made by a famous french general and has been on board. >> reporter: on the day of the maiden voyage across the atlantic the crew made final prep reparations and recall when the 18th century carried the lafayette to boston with news to general george washington that france would enter the war of independence to try and defeat

the british which obvious of course they did. >> what is it about the greatest thing about this ship? >> happiness because i'm sure i am on one of the best ships in the world today with a good crew and with an exceptional mission. >> reporter: she was given a magnificent send off to many on the shores of southeastern france this is a cherished daughter. >> translator: we are very proud. it's beautiful that this ship is representing our region throughout the entire world. >> reporter: even the president turned up to see her on her way. ♪ and the voyage will take her from the french coast the canaries and to york town with a

blockade of british forces and two-month tour of key location in the american revolution before returning to france in the autumn. >> lafayette is well-known and a household name even if people are not sure of what he did and we have an in and an attached to lafayette as a brand i guess. >> reporter: you can bring the history back to life for a lot of people who have forgotten it. >> to respect history is what you make of it and we can make a great deal of the fact france helped to free our nation as an independent country. >> reporter: this moment has been more than two decades in the planning and preparation it took 17 years to build using 18th century construction methods. well her time has finally come. she has been called the ship of liberty and they were proud here to set her free. i'm with al jazeera, on the french atlantic coast. and that does it for us at this hour and thanks for joining

us i'm jonathan in new york and stay with us because the news continues with erica. this is al jazeera i'm erica in new york with a look at today's top stories, enough is enough with even more migrants rescued from the med train yan today the pope calls on the world to help and mosul takes credit for a suicide bomb in afghanistan and 30 days and 100 including children injured and fueling fears of i.s.i.l. growing involvement in the country and a party in new hampshire the biggest names go to new hampshire to celebrate from the pack and hillary and a deeper look grading education is the common core curriculum smart for american schools. hill