had. they need an independent procedure for taking care of these scandals both on and off the field. >> reporter: the patriots went on to win the super bowl in february. there are no plans to take the championship away from them. more on those stars as well as the day's other stories on aljazeera.com. dozens killed hundreds hurt in nepal after a new earthquake hits an already devastated area. secretary of state john kerry visits russia sitting down with president vladimir putin for the first time since fighting began in ukraine. and police open their own investigation decades after newborns were allegedly stolen from a st. louis hospital. ♪

this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. nepal is on edge yet again this morning after another large earthquake shook the nation. today's quake measured 7.3 in magnitude. the epicenter was near the chinese border about 50 miles from kathmandu. dozens are reported dead and at least a thousand are injured. it is now well into the evening in kathmandu and people are preparing to sleep out in the open. our correspondent is in kathmandu. >> reporter: a building that survived the earthquake from two weeks ago has come down in a spectacular way. as you can see people over here are trying to clear the mess around here. there are suspicions that a taxi and a motorbike might have been

buried under the rubble and it's impossible to tell right now. >> unfortunately the road was open and someone thought that the taxi might have gone through. so that's why we are digging over here. >> reporter: right. >> [ inaudible ] in the road here. >> reporter: yes. >> [ inaudible ] some of the taxi -- >> yeah. >> that's why we have all of the equipment that has been deployed and they will remove this material within one hour maximum. >> reporter: officials are still afraid of what might happen with the rest of the buildings. there are other buildings which look very dangerous with massive cracks, and those could go down if there are other after shocks. >> she joins us live now. we saw those pictures from earlier. is the search and rescue mission going on right now into the

night? >> reporter: yes, it is still going on. the armed police the army as well as the police are still working through the rubble. we have also been -- in a sense, lucky that all of the choppers the american chinese, and indian choppers are around. they have also been working through the evening at least -- we could hear them just a while ago, and search and rescue missions are still actively going on. >> what sense are you getting about the ability of authorities especially at hospitals to respond to the number of injuries that we're hearing about? >> reporter: the hospitals are in a much better position than before because there have been volunteers mobilized. doctors doctors -- alert and already mobile nice-- mobileized on the

ground. the government's response has also been faster so overall the response has been faster and -- but the magnitude of the disaster and -- is -- is still yet to be known because we -- we -- there are still going through the rubble and we haven't found out how bad this could be. >> this latest earthquake was almost as big as the first one, which struck a couple of weeks ago, killing more than 8,000 people. what is the sense among the residents there? are they completely traumatized? >> they are petrified and it is quite a scary thing when there are earthquakes below your legs. people who were just starting to normalize, and starting to go bam home they are absolutely petrified. people are preparing to spend the night outside. a lot of the houses which were

qualified as yellow as in they could be used after some maintenance, those buildings have now come down. so it will be a while before people are going to trust their homes. >> did you experience the jolt from the quake yourself? and can you describe what it felt like? >> reporter: horrible. that's what i would say. >> yeah. >> reporter: i was actually trying to go -- yeah. i was back at home there was -- people started screaming, coming out in -- in a rush and everybody was in a state of panic, and all you can do is freeze. that's what i felt like. i was just frozen to the ground and after a while, you know, when the shaking stopped, you -- when you stopped -- when you get up you just keep shaking for a while, and after shocks are still there. i mean -- the -- you feel constantly being jolted.

it's not a very comfortable feeling. >> i imagine constantly feeling on edge. thank you so much from kathmandu. >> yeah. a five-day ceasefire is set to take effect in just a few hours in yemen. the u.n. envoy arrived today in sana'a. trying to negotiate a peace deal. saudi-lead air strikes have been pounding the capitol. houthi rebels have fired back. secretary of state john kerry is in russia where he is meeting with president vladimir putin, he sat down moments ago with the foreign leader in sochi. it's kerry's first visit to rush since the start of the ukraine crisis. iran and syria are also on the agenda. let's go live to rory challands. could there be a break through in this meeting? or at least the beginning of a thaw in u.s. russia relations?

>> reporter: well never say never, stephanie. there are people in russia who have been musing in the last couple of days for john kerry to come all the way over to russia maybe he is bringing a softer stance towards russia. but they are treating this more as an opportunity to keep the channels of communication open. a chance to talk to the boss the guy who makes all of russia's foreign policy decisions, really. because there are lots and lots of issues that divide these two countries. only one, really that unified them at the moment. >> what specifically is on the agenda? and are you expecting some sort of a news conference at the end of this meeting? >> reporter: yes, we are expecting a news con fresz about 7:00 in the evening local time. that's about an hour and a half. it depends on how long this

meeting with putin is going to go on for. what they are talking about, three main topics of conversation. i mentioned the one there, where they have some common ground, really that is iran where getting iran around the -- the table has been one of the key achievements of russian and u.s. cooperation. but then there are things like syria and ukraine, where the two countries are still polls apart and seems little chance of getting to much. >> how is the meeting being portrayed there by local media in sochi? >> well as i said the russians have been speculating that perhaps if john kerry is coming all the way over here maybe he has something to bring with him in terms of a moderated u.s. perspective on russia and the spokesperson for the kremlin basically said that it's not

russia that -- that initiated this thaw in relations. they basically see that it is the united states's fault for what is going on in ukraine, that that -- that that has split these two countries apart from each other, and that russia as they say, are always open for dialogue and always open for a friendly gesture. >> two different narratives inneed. rory thank you. malaysia says it plans to turn away any new migrants arriving on its shores unless their boat is sinking. most of rohingya muslims fleeing oppression in myanmar. and there are reports that more people are stranded off of the coast. i apologize we are having problems with getting that report. we'll try to get it to you in a moment. following an al jazeera report police in st. louis are investigating a string of

decades old cases involving newborns allegedly stolen from their mothers in birth. nearly 70 women, all african american have come forward. one was reunited with her daughter after 49 years. her lawyer said a lot of women have contacted him since hearing about her case. >> there are certain nuances which won't go published right now. however, there is a great deal of similarity in ages most were 15, 16, 17, 18 years of age at the time they gave birth. they were all african american. they were all of extraordinarily humble means and all presented to the hospital alone, and not one of them was advised of the passing of their child by a doctor, which was the protocol as per the policy of the hospital, and the standard of care in the medical industry at

the time. it's clear that there could not have been the -- the action taken just with ms. price and her daughter diane, without a very coordinated undertaking between people in positions of authority not just at the hospital and in the administration, but with the city of st. louis who ran the foster care system with the bureau of vital at theistics, and the state of missouri who later become the power that operated the system in the state of missouri and without those coordinated efforts and also legal undertakings in courts. either you have got lawyers who were unscrupulous which to some in the public that might not be difficult to believe, but also you have issues with judges who had to scrutinize these files before granting adoptions. >> he says he is also getting

calls from people who grew up in adopted families and suspect they may have been stolen as newborns. telecom giant verizon is buying aol for around $4.4 billion. aol owns a number of websites including the "huffington post" and "tech crunch." verizon says the partnership will help it concentrate on some issues. coming up greece makes a big payment on its bailout plan but could it leave the country even more broke. ♪

a crucial vote is expected in the senate today on legislation that would grant president obama the authority to fast track trade deals through congress. patricia sabga joining us now. is it even possible to pass a

major trade deal without this fast track authority. >> well, anything is possible but it is very, very very unlikely that any trade deal is going to be nailed on the head without fast track legislation. and that's because congress could go in and cherry pick the parts that they don't like. so imagine if in the trans-pacific partnership, you are never going to getting a agreement. >> and that is really what this is about. this huge trade deal with pacific rim nations. what is president obama's big argument for it? >> this has been a hard sell ever since january when he asked for fast track approval. his big argument is this will have strong labor and environmental standards, that it will be a good deal for american workers and american businesses and create more wealth. and trade deals do create more wealth, of course the big

question is who gets most of that wealth. and what we have seen with other trade deals is the majority of that wealth here in the united states for example accrues to the owners of capitol whereas labor tends to lose out because jobs goes to other countries where labor isless expensive. >> and obama is getting a lot of pushback by people in his own party about this. what are the main arguments against? >> the two most populous against is people are very concerned that the tpp, the trans-pacific partnership, will put downward pressure on wages which are already stagnating and it will cost american jobs. there is also another big concern over sovereignty because of these state provisions that basically enable multinational corporations to sue governments for adopting policies or regulations, say environmental regulations or financial regulations that could

potentially harm the value of an investment. >> and that means a potential erosion in those regulations. patricia sabga. thank you. greece had to dig into its reserves to make its latest payment to the imf. greece is trying to renegotiate its deal with european nations, but the finance ministers the country is running out of cash. >> reporter: it promises to be a long tense summer in greece. the protests are small now, but could grow bigger if the new left-wing government is forced to compromise on austerity in return for much-needed bailout funds. in brussels talks with the other euro zone countries, the european central bank and the imf are progressing to unlock billions in aid for greece. but there is evidence of scepticism skill about a new economic plan offered byes and

-- by athens. >> more time is needed to bridge the remaining gaps. we having joint interest with the greek authorities to get that agreement as quickly as possible. there are some time constraints. there are liquidity constraints, but hopefully we reach thatting a agreement before time or money runs out. >> reporter: greece must wait a little longer and try a little harder to get its hands on an $8 billion slice of aid. the existing bailout program expires at the end of june and the government in athens must pay public sector salary and pensions. greece is under immense pressure to reach a deal here. >> red lines by necessity are flexible. but there is time for common

ground. >> reporter: the government insists it will stick to its red lines on labor reforms and pensions, no more cuts and no plan b. that's the promise that was made in february. the problem is keeping that promise could cost the government and greece the ultimate price, bankruptcy and an exit from the euro. jonah hull al jazeera, brussels. a decision by the obama administration is delighting oil companies and angering environmentalists. the federal government has given shell oil permission to drill off of the coast of alaska. >> reporter: battle lines aren't just being drawn in alaska they are also being drawn in seattle. critics say the waters that shell wants to drill in are too remote, and too important for shell to proceed as planned. >> reporter: the approval from

the federal bureau of ocean energy management to allow shell oil to drill in alaska met with a cheer from the petroleum institute quote: shell says it would like to begin drilling this summer. the u.s. geological survey says the ground underneath the sea holds 90 billion barrels of oil, which would explain why shell has spent $6 billion exploring the area in the past eight years, but this area serves as a habitat for a large and diverse group of species like walruses polar bears bow-head whales and many others. critics say what happened to

wildlife in the 2010 gulf of mexico explosion could also happen in alaska. >> we learned unfortunately in 2010 that exploration drilling can result in catastrophic accidents. the deep water horizon was drilling when it exploded and sank >> reporter: environmentalistings say the cleanup of a spill would be far more difficult. it's too remote to get cleanup equipment to quickly and conditions are harsh, with waves cresting to 50 feet or more. in 2012 the company ran a rig aground, though no oil was spilled. >> there is no proven way to clean up spilled oil in icy arctic conditions. none of the techniques that shell proposes to use in response to major spill has been tested successfully in the arctic ocean. >> reporter: shell turned down a request for an on ka are issue,

but responded to the environmental concerns in an email: shell currently has two steerable oil rigs on the way to seattle, where they'll stop before making their way to alaska. but protesters in chi axe, who call themselves kayak-avist, say they are going to use their kayaks to blockade the rig in elliott bay. fighting over a killer whale. peta plans to sue the miami seequarium. and detroit is again warning it will shut off the water if residents don't pay up. activists say the ak tick is a violation of human rights.

detroit is once again getting ready to turn off the taps. as many as 25,000 residents could see their water shut off for not paying their bills. >> reporter: the notices are going out. detroit residents who are behind on their water bills will have ten days to sign up for a

payment assistance plan or their service will be shut off. the warning is familiar. last year detroit's water department made international headlines when it cut off water to thousands of delinquent customers. and had you been delinquent as well last year. >> yes. yes. i had problems last year because i'm disabled and don't have no income. >> reporter: this woman is more than $1,600 behind on our water bill. how concerned were you walking in here today? >> i was real nervous. i don't want to be without water. >> reporter: detroit's water department began its aggressive policy to collect on over $90 million in unpaid bills in the spring of 2014. the shutoffs sparked outrage, protests, and even drew the attention of the united nations. the city eventually rolled out a payment plan and offered financial assistance to those in need. but today it's estimated that

more than 20,000 residential water accounts remain past due. you are saying that bills should be based on what you can afford. >> bills can be based on an affordability component. it is done with electricity and gas across the country. and for whatever reason our city is resistant to that formula. >> reporter: maureen taylor believes the water shutoffs are a violation of human rights. i know there were people here with the united nations, but really no one has come in to intervene and say what the city is doing is wrong? >> what the heck is it about low-income people not being able to pay their water bills that makes most of the world stand mute as if this is okay. because it is not okay. >> reporter: last month the water department said it was increasing the payment assistance already being given

to low-income customers, and this woman is among many who stand to benefit. how much has it been reduced. >> oh wow, i only have to pay like $50 a month. >> reporter: but if she fails to make a payment, she risks falling behind again, and the financial assistance could dry up. the world's sea water level is rising even faster than previously believed. the rise has accelerated in the last 50 years coinciding with the melting of glaciers. animal rights activists are threating to sue the miami seaquarium for what peta calls cruel conditions. >> reporter: she's miami

seaquarium's biggest star. >> lolita the killer whale! >> reporter: but activists call her the world's loneliest orca. performing and living in the same tank for more than 40 years. now animal rights groups are promising to sue to free her, alleging a string of violation, saying the killer whale is confined to a small, shallow, and barren concrete tank exposed to the hot sun, resulting in a stunning level of deprivation. federal officials added lolita to the endangered species list in february. >> this is now a whole new law that applies to her. she is now a protected animal. >> reporter: one issue is the size of this pool. it's 20 feet deep but activists say it is not nearly large enough for low tee ta. it is the smallest and oldest tank in the country.

activists want lolita released and perhaps reunited with other whales where she was captured. miami seaquarium has repeatedly depended lolita's care. >> plain and simple if you release her, she is going to die. >> reporter: you are convinced of that? >> absolutely. 100%. >> reporter: freeing her would be too traumatic for the whale. and dismissed allegations she is suffering or unhappy. >> she has a trained group of professionals that care for her day in and day out. she is cared for better than many children in this world. >> reporter: jonathan betz al jazeera. >> thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy the news continues next live from doha and for the latest headlines you can check out our website at aljazeera.com. have a great day.

♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello and welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha with the top stories on al jazeera. the saudi-lead coalition targets a houthi armed depot in yemen hours before a proposed ceasefire is due to start. running for safety again in kathmandu, dozens are killed as a big aftershock shakes nepal. no refuge