planet saving lives. >> how do you convince a big oil company to use this? >> "techknow". monday, 6:30 eastern. 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 erica pitzi, in new york. here are the top stories. a devastating earthquake in nepal kills many. a number that will rise as authorities realise the full scale of the disaster thousands take to the streets if baltimore protesting the death of freddy gray. >> i'd say he has probably had one of the most race conscious tenures of any attorney.

>> taking a look at the legacy of attorney-general eric holder as he gets ready to leave office on monday altering genetics and the impact of d.n.a. modification on human evolution. we begin in nepal where the sun will rise - begin to rise rather on a scene of devastation, the death toll if a 7.8 earthquake is close to 1400. authorities expect that it to go up as more areas are searched. rescuers dug through rubble searching for life. it began near kathmandu and has spread to nearby china. offers from aid is coming from asia europe and america.

this is the worst earthquake in the region in eight decades. courtney kealy is here with more. >> the government is working with nepal's government to coordinate search and rescue. the u.s. authorised $1 million for humanitarian relief efforts. >> reporter: rescuers searched through the night for signs of life in the rub. the powerful earthquake with a magnitude 7.8 struck noon. the epicentre 60 miles from kathmandu. it flattened historic parts of the city collapsing a watch tour, leaving hundreds trapped under the rubble. >> the threat of aftershops kept maybe from going home. >> what if an earthquake comes again and we don't have a chance

to run. we'll be buried alive. me and my family haven't gone back sense the earthquake the quake set offan avalanche on mt everest, where trekkers attempted an ascent. 10 died on the mountain. seismologist predicted a major earthquake for some time. the rescue effort was described as chaotic. india's foreign secretary said it send aircraft with supplies and responders and more help on the way. >> we have five helicopters in kathmandu and in another area. these helicopters - their role would be to do the local rescue to do the air lift if they have to, and to do full distribution

locally. >> the hardest hit areas, the heavily populated kathmandu valley. there was damage on the chinese border and neighbouring countries. there's limited information coming from the epicentre, except there's extensive damage and the death toll will rise. >> all right. we know you'll keep monitoring this the senior media officer with the international red cross is on skype from geneva, switzerland. thank you for joining us benoire. what is the latest relief efforts from red cross in nepal. >> the red cross is involved in search and rescue. they have been trained for doing that. that's the main activity search and rescue and providing first aid.

>> what do you think are the biggest challenges that aid workers are up against? >> there are several challenges. it's a race against time to find the people that could be still under the rubble. that's the main priority. then the other priority is to - is the people that can't go back to their houses because they were destroyed or they are too scared to go inside or they have been told not to go back inside because the building may develop aftershocks. all the people are in the streets. it's rain it's cold. they'll have to offer shelter. it's mainly to take tare of the people that are injured. >> you mentioned the after shock. we know they are having powerful aftershock. how much of those are hindering

the aid effort? >> it's complicated. they don't have the structure. hospitals are running and functioning. they are overwhelmed because of the number of people coming there. the structure is damaged. it does make everything more complicated. >> how difficult is it to provide aid to a mountainous region like kathmandu? >> there's kathmandu, and then there's a whole valley of kathmandu. the real struggle is the urban setting, which, you know the houses are close to each other. it's very - you have a heightened city of people making it complicated. for the rest of the outside of it the primary access is difficult to access these villages in normal times.

no is some roles and buildings on the way. it's going to be a matter of time to do to each village to make sure - to see how people are, and pore the need. >> -- and support the need. >> experts have warned about earthquakes in this area. how well prepared are the authorities? >> preparedness for an earthquake you can mitigate. we knew that there would be an earthquake in the region because the region is subject to earthquakes. now it's a matter of talking to the ... okay. looks like we lost benoire, the senior media officer with the international federation of the red cross. a week ago nepal paid tribute to 16 who died during an avalanche on mt everest. the country is facing news that

more died in the biggest tourist attraction and source of income. we have this report. >> a rich history is etched into its architecture. nepal is situated between mainly hindu india and predominantly buddhist tibet. this is where both religions converge. it's known as the only hindu kind some, revered as -- kingdom, revered as the birthplace of lord buddha. and it's the tapestry of tradition that proves captivating. foreigners come to see religious monuments that stood for centuries. before parts of it were flattened, kathmandu's square looked like this. until now, the u.n. world heritage site brought in much-needed dollars. nepal is a poor country. the people rely on foreign aid

and tourism. the industry employs the same number of people as visitors that it attracts. nepal's roll call of attractions include everest. april is the start of climbing season. over the last few weeks hundreds have been preparing to begin their expeditions. >> we had a lot of disturbance because of the earthquake in nepal. we had quite a few big avalanches coming down a bit of rock fall. most is okay. some have gone up towards camp one. we'll hear from them soon. i hope all is well up there we are monitoring the latest developments, we'll have more at the bottom of the hour and 8:00pm eastern. stay with us on al jazeera

america for coverage of that powerful earthquake. >> back at home massive demonstrations clogged the streets of baltimore, protesters demanding justice for freddy gray. [ chanting ] the march began on the corner where gray was arrested. organizers hoping to shut the city unified in calls for ain dependent investigation. gray was arrested on april 12th. cell phone shows police dragging him to a police van, he seemed unable to stand on his own. he slipped into a coma and died a week later. he suffered a spinal cord injury. palt more police -- baltimore police say he should have received medical attention at the scene of the arrest. you are looking at live images coming out of the baltimore, the end of a major protest. some protesters up to the police

line there. we heard of one arrest of a protestor involved in pushing and shoving. you see the video protesters with their hands up. let's bring in john john terrett live on the ground. we see the protests are there they are starting to get a little contentious. how is the mood there tonight? >> let me tell you about the day and how it played out. people are angry about what happened to freddie gray and when you met them they express that. two streams of marches came from the west to war memorial plaza, where we are now. they met. there was 2,000 here they listened to speeches from organizers and dignitaries, and they went off.

they are not here they've gone to camden yards. the pictures you showed are at camden yards. there's a major baseball game in baltimore, involving the orioles and the boston red sox. protesters are trying to disrupt the outside of that game. we hear they are successful. there has been arrests bottles over turned. the night is young at the moment. this is happening in baltimore now. it's not yet dark. we'll have to see how this plays out as the evening goes on was it mostly peaceful throughout the day until this point of. >> up until this point it was mostly peaceful. there are estimates of somewhere between 1500, 2,000 people taking part in the marches, and coming to war memorial plaz e. i jumped -- plaza. i jumped into the middle of the

marches as they approached downtown baltimore, to find out what brought them out. >> we are frying to stop the violence between the police and us. they didn't have to kill the boy. it was wrong, it's injustice. we doing this to keep the piece. >> what do you think a march on this scale can achieve? >> i warns. sometimes if you say silent and you don't bring awareness to the problem, it's unhandled. so many times black men are dying over the country, we need something to change. the marches keep it in the news relevant and keep people talking. >> a lot of people in baltimore feel marches on a grand scale that attracts television attention does no good. it attract attention but people forget. what needs to be done is work needs to be built with the community and the police over years.

we have been speaking to people doing that and later we'll play their story as well. >> where do we go from here? what is next? >> you have to see what is happening in camden yards. this is big. arrests, overturning police cars and throwing bottles. it's pretty serious. it's not yet dark. we'll have to wait and see what's as the week goes on. tomorrow is the viewing by freddy grey's body by the family we are norte sure where that is anundisclosed funeral home. and then an autopsy before the funeral thank you, john terrett in palt more -- baltimore the executive director from the distribute office of police complaints joins us. michael, let's start with the investigation into freddy's death. what is your general impression.

>> what the department and authorities are doing now is the first part of the investigation, that's the criminal investigation. that part will determine - inform proves where charges should be issued during the transportation or arrest. >> you may have seen some images out of baltimore today and into tonight. protesters are out there demanding answers. does that community reaction have an impact on how quickly the investigation moves? >> what we are seeing now, one thing that we should be aware of is that the investigation really did not become a full-fledged investigation until 7-8 days after the initial incident happened, after the arrest occurred. and that was probably a result of increased media attention on the event. that means some of the evidence

may have been lost some of the videos may have been lost. people's memories will be distorted in the intervening time period. that 7-8 days will lead to a loss of evidence but at least we know now, that there is a full and complete investigation being done by the police department internally at this point in time. >> the baltimore police commissioner admitted that officers missed multiple opportunities to give gray medical attention, how do you think that will play into the internal investigation? >> it should be disconcerting for people to see an injured man placed into the van. that should be a violation of police department policies and procedures but should a red flag up itself saying there was

a disregard for procedures and an ambulance should have been called for, certainly before he was placed in the van or even when in the van, requesting medical assistance or an inhaler, and those requests went unheeded for a period of time. that should be a matter of appearance in the investigation to determine why the officers did not call for ambulance and placed the individual into the police transport van. . >> looking at the big picture, do you think police departments have an effective system in place? >> what we are seeing now is a symptom of larger problems. in baltimore or larger communities, where the event or critical incidents are

happening, a common denominator is those areas of the country, the cities do not have in pleas a strong system of civilian oversight over the police department. there's no independent investigators to vetinvestigate the police, and there's not a programme to be a bridge between the community and the police department. that's where the community bloggers do, they create a bridge between the community and the police department. in many of the cities where the incidents happened there's no such bridge and what is happening now is a symptom of things that have been going on for years, and have come to our attention now through the media, the mass use the video and cell phone video cameras. it will now be time for the police department to react, to have to take positive action in increasing community relations with the police. it's a symptom of a large

segment of the community and their members. that's something that has to be fixed, it takes a lot of work by the police department and the community. this will serve - we can hope that it serve the purpose of signing a spotlight on a pretty significant divide between the police department and a large segment of the community right now. >> michael tobin, executive director of the d.c. office of police complaints. thank you for joining us. here is a look at what it next for the investigation. we look at the live pictures out of baltimore. the medical examiners office said it could take 90 address to release their report. it's not unusual. freddie gray's body is in his family's care. they are expected to have an independent autopsy performed. the funeral is set for monday, and the baltimore police investigation is expected to be in the hands of the state attorney's office within a week up next on al jazeera

america - the end of an era in washington d c. [ clapping ] attorney general eric holder steps down. a look back at what he calls a golden age at the justice department. and later - days before the supreme court takes up the issue, protestors damage in washington demonstrate against same-sex marriages. marriages.

loretta lynch will be sworn into office as the nation's next attorney on monday. she'll met with local police officers nationwide in an effort to strike a new tone for the justice department. lynch is the daughter of a north carolina civil rights leader and the first black woman to become u.s. attorney-general. she will succeed eric holder who gave a farewell address yesterday. [ clapping ] attorney general eric holder held the office for six years and told the staff that their administration will beremembered as an historic time

in the department of justice. >> 50 years from now, maybe sooner people will look back at the work that you all did and say this was another golder age. that's how good you all are. that's ou dedicated, committed and wonderful you all have been. >> holder is the third-longest serving attorney-general. randall pinkston takes a look at the legacy he leaves behind. >> he's been one of the most divisive attorney-generals history. >> no reason to be timid. >> supporters praise holder for taking strong positions. supporting same-sex marriage. opposing voter i.d. laws. speaking against police practices. >> it undermines trust, and

makes us not good at what we need to do. >> reporter: a harvard professor credits him with changing the drug approach. >> he was steadfast that the government had the wrong approach to drugs. that the men should be rehabilitate and given a chance as opposed to being incarcerated. >> reporter: he launched investigations into police departments, and inserted himself into cases alleging abuse against african-americans by police. >> mr garner's death is aesent that tested the -- event that tested the assistance of trust concerning law enforcement and communities they are charged to protect. >> reporter: but some say holder's policies damaged race relations. >> i'd say he probably has one of the most race conscious

tenures of any attorney-general, and terms of how to enforce voter rights laws other civil right's laws. holder will be remembered for poor relations with congress. >> stone-walling congress is a theme that comes up. whether it comes up in fast and furious, where he was held in contempt and referred to federal prosecutors. he has dared congress to investigate and not provided disclosure when requested. >> fast and furious was a department of justice gun-smaug lipping operation that holder admitted failed. >> we'll feel the effects for years to come as guns lost continue to show occupy at crime scenes here and in mexico. >> reporter: when he refused to turn over documents demanded by a congressional committee he was the first cabinet officer to be held in contempt.

two years later, it revealed how much holder was stung by the citation. >> i realise contempt was not a big deal but it is important that they had proper oversight. >> you don't want to go there. >> i don't want to go there about the context. -- contempt. >> you should not assume it was not a big deal. i thought it was appropriate, but not unjust of the never think it was not a big deal from me. >> i don't need lecture from you about contempt. >> i don't need lectures from you either. >> reporter: another complaint while the department of justice negotiated record fines from the wall street banks after the 2008 economic collapse... the justice department retained a landmark resolution... >> reporter: holder failed to go after top executives. it was predicted a negative

memory of holder. >> he has not brought the country country together in the sense of fair administration and law. >> his supporters disagree. >> he'll be viewed as someone that made an enormous difference in our society, and used his time as the attorney-general to make things happen. >> reporter: on that point critics and supporters mite agree. >> thank you well the 2016 presidential campaign is just warming up. already candidates are busy trying to sway voters and raise money. republican candidates are in iowa for the faith and freedom coalition, and democrats in south carolina courting their backers. next week g.o.p. hopefuls head to nevada. spring leadership meeting in los angeles. fundraising is a concern for all of the campaigns, and coming up we take a deeper look on how

super pacts change the way candidates raise money coming up, the latest on the destruction in nepal after the powerful earthquake. and arc from mt col buk owe volcano in chill yes spreads across argentina.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. devastation and loss in nepal, a 7.8 earthquake struck near the capital kathmandu. close to 400 are dead. searchers are combing through the rubble office of aid coming in from around the world. small squirmishes between police and demonstrators in baltimore. thousands poured on to the street demanding justice for freddie gray, the 27-year-old man who died after being arrested. police acknowledged yesterday that freddie gray should have been given treatment at the scene of the arrest of the

officers failed to provide it a strategic town in the north west coast after a battle with government forces. allegedly it shows fighters in a video, capturing a town the sun is rising in nepal, shining light in to one of the biggest disasters history. the epicentre was 50 miles forth of kathmandu. difficult terrain for any rescuers. international support is needed as soon as possible. >> it's the most powerful earthquake your in nepal for decades. people describe wave after wave of tremors the army searching the rubble for signs of life and body. the numbers killed is increasing. hundreds of body are recovered. >> we have reports of people trapped in the rubble.

the military is mobilizing cranes so people under rubble can be dug out. >> hospital bets have been set up on the streets and wards. treatment is basic. nepal is asking india to send mobile medical teams. the worst damn is in old kathmandu. full of lanes, many blocked by rubble. making it difficult to get in. a 19th century tower has been knocked down. only a stump remains. tourists were climbing the tour when the earthquake struck. >> there has been multiple aftershocks. some big. people are afraid to go back to their homes. most have come to the public spaces and built shelter. looks like a storm is coming and people are bracing for a cold and wet night. around 2.5 million live in

kathmandu. there are reports whole villages have been destroyed. nepal is facing a pager disaster. and it is asking neighbours for help. a statement from ban ki-moon, secretary-general of the united nations reads: more at the top of the hour at 8:00pm eastern. stay with us on al jazeera for continuing coverage of the powerful earthquake. as we have been telling you, thousands jammed the streets of baltimore demanding justice for freddie gray you are looking at live images from baltimore, the tail end of the protest. people are calling for meaningful change in the way police interact with the community. let bring in john terrett, on

the ground in baltimore. good evening. as you said earlier it seems the protests were mostly peaceful until just recently. >> yes, that's right. let me try to explain what happened today. there were two columns of marches from the west of the city to the downtown area to the memorial park plaza. they met and the estimates are there was between 1500 and 2,000 marching ending up here where they listened to speeches by dignitaries and rally organizers. they left here, and went to cam dean yards, a big -- camden yards, it's a big baseball stadiums. orioles are playing at home. protesters went there. we are hearing that there has been arrests, a police car overturned, bottles thrown and windows smashed. we must monitor it to see what happens after the protesters leave camden yards. >> a lot of people who live in

baltimore feel the big one-day protests send the wrong message at the end of the day, they do no good. people forget them and they attract the wrong kind of people into the city that cause trouble. we met a married couple who devoted their thrive to bring together community between the police and african community in west baltimore. here is their story. >> reporter: they set off early saturday afternoon heading to city square. the aim to shut down the area. thousands filled the streets, many from out of town. there's another way, say some. ray and melissa kelly call themselves a power couple. they work full-time jobs but make time to come into a poor neighbourhood, to work or no boundaries.

a group dedicated to help a community that is depressed. >> they see this. the media is covering the protest. everyone wants justice now and we have to recognise the process, and we have to get behind the efforts fighting for the same justice for years. >> he does mean years. no boundaries has been working to improve policing health care and nutritional issues for eight years, and that is why they say a large scale protest like todays is in danger of backfiring. >> we don't go in yelling, screaming, cursing, badgering the police. we do prayer, and we talk to them. we let our voices be heard so that they can help us to make change. >> that works? >> yes, it works. most of the time it works. >> but they say there's much more to be done that outsiders for a day can't achieve.

>> right. melissa and ray wanted me to stress to you that one of the things we are working on is to try to get public involvement in the police review board so when incidents come up, members of the public have more of an input than they are allowed to do. members of the public to be recommended by other sources, names that come up on the board. here in baltimore, we are watching the situation closely, and as far as what happens next gray's body is being viewed by family and friends. a second autopsy, a third, independent, will be purchased on behalf of the family ahead of the funeral, which is on monday. >> john terrett in baltimore. thank you in italy more migrants were rescued from near disaster. the italian coast guard bringing 335 to safety. the first group rescued off the

libyan coast, where they were in danger of sinking. another group, 38 women and a child were rescued from a different boat. after a packed vessel cap side the death toll of people crossing the meted close to 2,000. many of the migrants trying to reach european shores are from africa. katherine soy talked to some considering the journey. >> reporter: almost everyone here knew five young men killed by i.s.i.l. in libya last week. they were headed to europe. the plan to cross the mediterranean sea to italy. in the neighbourhood where three grew up. many joined the families in mourning. they were inconsolable. the pain hard to describe.

>> they were looking for a better life. many friends were desperate to leave. those we talk to say that life is diffult, and staying in ethiopia is not an option. >> these are some of the childhood friends who saw them off two months ago, and they hope to follow soon. as they grieve they have not abandoned that plan. >> i know they are dangerous. it's better than being stuck here. life will be better when i go. >> mikhail attempted to join the march. he never got to his destination, they were turned back at the border. smugglers failed to agree on a payment for the border police. >> the smugglers are brutal. they don't care about anyone, just money. they beat us. >> ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. it's a poor country.

many are unemployed. some analysts believe it's a mentality rather than poverty that drives people to leave. >> this mind set, collective psychology of going to dream land countries of destination, with plenty of opportunities has been a driving factor. >> back in the neighbourhood the vigil goes on. as some of the young people dream of plans to leave the country, no matter what. a silent and sombre protest in gepp eva. hun -- geneva hundreds marching to pay tribute to migrants that died. they are pleading to an end to the tragedy, calling on european nations to do more saying it's too much more than 6,000 have been evacuated from the area surrounding economie's calbuco

follow -- volcano. the ash has spread into the air and nearby argentina. people are watching for scenes of anotherer understandings. -- eruption. like a sleeping goinged, the calbuco reminded chile lying dormant is a cat nap. the more than 10 million-year-old volcano erupted sunday. now many of the residents forced to evacuate were allowed to return to the red zone to check on their homes, and clear roads and roofs as best they could. >> translation: i came to remove the ash from the roof so it will not collapse. we are nervous and do not know when we'll be able to return

home. >> a state of emergency is in effect in towns and cities near calbuco. >> translation: the volcano is unstable and could erupt again. it's an eruption but it could be larger larvea flows, mudslides and explosions that could put people's lives at risk. >> as the calbuco belched huge clouds of ash in the destruction of neighbouring argentina, where air traffic has been disrupted, here volunteers distribute food and water to those trying to salvage their belong engs or fipd their pets. they are sitle in what 48 hours ago were lush green pastures. now these and other livestock are being evacuated. >> there's 600 animals we need to take elsewhere, because

there's too much mash. most of this volcanic ash looks and feels like a collection of stones. absolutely everything here is covered in it. the worst part was not trying to clear this away which could take as long as a year. it's the uncertainty about whether the volcano will go back to sleep or erupt. >> that is something experts tell us only the volcano nose for sure. the fight over same-sex marriage took center stage in washington. next, the protests against it today, and the supreme court hearing coming up this week. later - basketball in cuba the n.b.a. tries to build ties as america's tense relationship with the island nation eases. eases.

. >> . >>

hundreds of opponents of same-sex marriage rallied in washington d.c. ahead of the supreme court hearing on the issue. the organizers of the second annual march for marriage sought to make it clear that their movement is not losing steam. speakers urged the crowd to fight to have marriage defined as being strictly between a man and a woman. >> god did not create it like that. our nation was created by foundations and it's driving like no other nations. we pass the line trouble will come. >> it's in the bible and god said so, between a man and a woman. the supreme court has no authority to redefine or talk about it. it's not in their authority at all. it's not in the constitution to

discuss it. >> the supreme court is expected to deliver a decision before the end of the court's term in june kate kendall is the executive director at the national centre for lesbian rights and joins us from san francisco. thank you for joining us, kate. >> my pleasure. >> there are several same-sex marriages heard by the supreme court, but they address different aspects of the fight. >> there's two questions. the first is the fundamental freedom to marry. is the denial of quality and dignity to not recognise marriage between same-sex couples. the second question is is it permissible for states to recognise a validly married couple who moves to the state from another state where they got married. they are the two questions the court briefs on and the questions that the argument

focuses on. >> there's another case about the marriage to be recognised across lines, will that have an impact if it is ruled in their name. >> that's a case that my organization is co-counsel in. it involves a couple in tennessee. there are four states with appeals before the supreme court. tennessee, kentucky ohio. the 6th circuit was the only circuit to break rank that ruled in favour of marriage equality. i'm confident that the court understands the importance of the issue, that the constitutional principles are out of alignment with how we treat same text couples, and if the court rules states need to recognise marriages performed in other states it settles the

issue, and if they decide that violating same-sex marriage that decides the issue. either one of these questions going our way means we are done and this issue is decided nationwide for every same-sex couple. >> if the court rules against the gay couples in the cases, what will that mean for the 37 states that have marriage equality, and vice versa for the 13 states that don't have it? >> if we have a loss there's no doubt, and i can't sugar coat it. there's no doubt it would be a devastating setback. it would require us to continue fight, it would require another supreme court case for the court to decide the issue. >> i believe and i feel for the hundreds of people protesting who don't know l.b.g.t. people

they are acting out of fear or some misguided religious belief. the fact it over 70% of americans support the right of same-sex couples to marry. i think the train left the station. a loss is devastating, we'd pick ourselves up and continue to fight on of the the principle is dignity under the law. that's what we stand for. >> beyond marriage equality, let's talk about children of l.g.b.t. parents. just because the mums and dads are married does not mean their children are recognised as their children. explain that. >> it's an important point. we care about winning the freedom to marry for same sex couples, it will not resolve many issues. many will remain as hurdles to dit nitty and quality.

and for families headed by same sex couples. i have a son headed to college, a daughter who is 13, and i'm lucky to live in a state, the state of california where my legal relationship with them is protected, and their relationship with us as their parents are protected. there's many state that if a couple can marry, the relationship between the personalities and children is fragile and vulnerable and not legally protected. i feel anyone that has a heart and cares about the best for their children would understand that that is untenable. what it means is that while tuesday will be a landmark if we win, it's a tremendous milestone. we have work to do. >> the fight continues, even if you win the cause. okay. thank you. >> yes, it does. >> kate kennedel executive director at the national centre for lesbian rights. as presidential campaigns gear

up 2016 the big focus is on money. it's all about money. del walters joins us with a preview of coverage at eight. >> there's a lot of money on the table. expensive for the presidential candidates. we'll look at why the campaigns will have abbing to virtually -- access to virtually unlimited money. and why the citizens united ruling drastically changed the landscape. and the latest from nepal where the deal toll substance to rise and rolling out of russia a motorcycle gang on a mission to berlin and why poland is closing their borders. >> all right. see you in a couple of minutes. next - altering genes in a human embryo. why it's causing a backlash among scientists. stay with us.

reachers in china are going

with no scientist has gone before announcing they have altered the d.n.a. in human embryo the implications are wide-ranging. jacob ward is on the science team. >> clustered regularly interspaced pallan dromic repeat. it means small stretches of repeated d.n.a. don't worry about that. worry about what it could mean. it's the basis of a frightening gene-ed itting tech neck, one that can change people and a way of hacking evolution itself. here is how it works. it's a defense mechanism inside d.n.a. that cap destroy an attacking virus, cutting up the dna like a knife. researchers figured out they can trick the mechanism into cutting along d.n.a. sequences, knocking

out genes, and how to insert new genes. all of this means that we can manipulate dna not just in test but any common organism. it could be a remote control for altering a foetus inside a pregnant woman. chinese researchers say they used it to modify human embryos, using it to cut out cells in relation to a drug disease. that's how it could be used in the future, to cut out hundreds of disorders, or create known etic immunity to -- genetic immunity to h.i.v. parent could pick height or body type. it has amazing potential. research into humans is a line no one dares to cross.

if we fiddle around with dna we are changing demonstrate just that one person's body but the genetic inheritance of descendants. kids, grand kids inheriting whatever tinkering is done. that can be a good thing. swapping out the genes, and you have wiped it out in your bloodstains line. that's the trouble. everything you do will be fru in the genes to everyone coming after that person. we are messing with the future of the species. this is not a perfect system. harvard researchers found that the technique worked as intended about half the time. any make is a permanent alt rags to genes passed on to the next generation that's why a group of referencers have called for a global moratorium on human experimentation, feeling that we are not ready to play around at the level. chinese researchers have done it.

they ared itting the basic material of pupil yn being, making it a major moment in the history of science. in a literal and technical sense, we are playing god. >> the n.b.a. is the first sports organization to take advantage of the thaw in relations with cuba. former stars are in havana training young athletes. they want to focus on sports not politics. former players take part in basketball clinics, this is special. in the next couple of years there's a comment for basketers to get exposure. they are leading a camp in cuba making the number of ba -- the n.b.a. to be the first of a sports institute to take advantage of thaw of relations.

>> after 18 years they are global ambassadors, with the league broadcasting to 215 countries and 47 languages, the job is more than ceremonial. >> we are building the bridge. >> they are laying the ground work for a new market and a source of talent for the league. >> in the next couple of years there'll be a change for athletes to get the same exposure. >> they are not alone. the few commissioner hopes that teams will play in cuba by next spring. normalized relations make it easier for talented players to play in the state. leaders look forward to the day when they don't have to choose between their families in cuba

and their careers. >> we pray for that every day. i have many relatives in cuba, my grandmother, aunt cousins and friends, a lot of people that i love and want to see. >> the north american soccer league is fast-tracking a move. the new york team will be the first it play. among the athletes and ex-athletes, the toection is sport, not politics. >> the questions are above my pay grade. these are obviously political issues. >> i'm erica pitzi in new york. the news tips with dal walters. >> this is al jazeera america, i'm dal walters in new york with a look at the stop stories. catastrophe in nepal, widespread destruction and the