hi everyone this is al jazeera america, i'm john siegenthaler. death, the sentence for the boston marathon bomber. the crash, new questions about the moment just before the train jumped the tracks the engineer talks to investigators. on the offensive, isil makes a strategic gain in iraq and threatens to destroy a world heritage site in syria. ♪ so give me one ♪ >> king of the blues, from mississippi sharecropper to

worldwide sensation the life and lasting music of b.b. king. plus our special report derailed, how safe are america's trains? ♪ dzhokher tsarnaev was sentenced to death today by seven women, five men. it was unanimous. while some wept the young defendant was stone faced. >> john it took 14 hours over three days for the jury to come to this conclusion as the judge read back the sentence some jurors were crying as for the convicted boston bomber he did not show any emotion as he heard the jury give him the death penalty on six counts.

sentenced to death, witnesses inside the courtroom say dzhokher tsarnaev seemed stoic as he learned his fate for planting the second pressure cooker bomb in 2013. the blast killed this 23-year-old, and this 8-year-old. the explosion went off seconds after another backpack bomb set by his brother exploded nearby killing this 29 year old. the attack injured another 260 people. all jurors agree he premeditated and planned an attack of terrorism and demonstrated a lack of remorse. the defense failed to persuade jurors that he would not committed the crimes if not for his older brother >> the defendant was an adult who came to believe in an

ideology of hate and exprszed those beliefs combiling, maiming, and mutilating innocent americans on patriot's day. >> reporter: prosecutors added this is not a time for celebration. >> there is nothing happy about having to take somebody's life. i'm satisfied. i'm grateful that they have -- that they came to that conclusion, because for me i think it was the just conclusion. >> i have to watch my two sons put a leg on every day, so i don't know if closure, but it feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. >> reporter: at 21 years old he is the youngest person on federal death row, he is also the first person whom the government considers to be an islamic extremist to be sentenced to date for his involvement in an act of terror on american soil. right now he is any custody of

u.s. marshals this death penalty has to be formally accepted by the court, so that is something that will happen over the next few months, but of course it is probably expected his attorneys be file an appeal. >> yeah this could last for years, but some defendants decide to drop the appeals. >> right. on the state level we have seen executions dragging on for years and years bu not on the federal level. timothy mcveigh was sentenced in 1997, and within four years was executed. >> thanks so much. now on the latest on the deadly amtrak train crash in philadelphia. john terrett is at the scene with more. john? >> reporter: that's right. the revolution about the wind shield and the fbi being involved came from the ntsb

press son for instance within the last three hours. another revelation was that they now interviewed the driver of train 188. the national transportation safety board has been front and center every day since tuesday's crash. friday was thank final public event before retreating behind the scenes to analyze the data. the headline their interview this afternoon with the train engineer. >> we found him to be extremely cooperative. >> reporter: the board's spokesman is robert sumwald. >> he recalls ringing the train bell as whenth through the station, but has no recollection of anything past that. >> reporter: the fbi has been called in to investigate mysterious cracking on the wind shield. in new york where train 188 was headed tuesday, the first

funeral from the crash took place. he was killed in the derailment a mid-shipman at the naval academy in maryland. he was in his sophomore year. at the crash site on friday the cleanup was well underway. crews are slated to work all weekend to recorrect the tracks. if all goes well full service will resume tuesday. in philadelphia city center a key rail hub for years, the mayor thanked those who were first on the scene on tuesday night. >> there's no doubt the philadelphia fire department, police department and all of our first responders saved a lot of lives the other night. putting themselves in a significant amount of danger in the dark not knowing whether or not there was potential for explosives or again, some other highly dangerous situation. >> reporter: amtrak is committed to introducing positive train

control, the fail-safe mechanism that overrides speeding trains are being put in. only then can this track go back to being a key section of the country's busiest rail commuter route. and john more on the mysterious cracks on the wind shield. they heard from an assist important conductor on a local train say she her own engineer say their train had been hit by a projectile. and then the amtrak engineer said yes mine was too. it appears to be cooperated by a second assistant conductor who was in the seventh carriage of the train that crashed. he said he recalled two major impacts. none of this explains why the train was doing 106 miles an hour going into a bend that required a speed of just 50. >> john thank you. we'll have more coming up in our

special report derailed: how safe are america's trains. the wreckage of a missing u.s. marine helicopter has been found in nepal. crews found three bodies at the crash site today. military officials say it's unlikely any of the passengers on board survived. the helicopter was helping with earthquake relief when it disappeared on tuesday. debris was discovered on a steep mountainside in eastern nepal. house republicans have temporarily closed the door on so-called dreamers hoping to join the military. the narrow vote blocked a provision aimed at helping undocuments immigrants who arrived in the u.s. as children to enlist. had it passed it would have gone to the secretary of defense for consideration. caesar vargas is the co-director of the dream action coalition. he was brought to new york from

mexico at the age of five. he has become a national leader in the dream movement. what is your reaction to this. >> john thank you for having me. it was definitely disappointing, we're seeing again the republican party being lead by extremists like steve king who has compared dreamers to drug meals. however, for us we're going to continue to fight, because at least my dream is to serve this country and be uniform, because i do believe that service is something that is very important and i warrant-- want to give back to the country i call home. >> how do you fight back? >> we don't even need this legislation, because this wasn't even legislation directed at the department of defense, this was just a resolution saying that the department of defense do this, because you already have the power. so here the president has authority and the power to do that right now. next week we have -- we can have

dreamers go into enlistment right away. so for us it's pressuring the administration to remind him he has the power, and to allow us to serve the country we call home. >> what is the political impact of this for the republican party if you are going to fight this? >> well, the reality is that we saw another vote by the republican-lead congress really attacking or not even giving the opportunity to young people to dreamers, at a time when 2016 is right around the corner and the latino electorate is going to be crucial. we saw hillary clinton coming out in support of dreerms and in support of immigration reform so republicans are really shooting themselves in the foot again by a lot of this legislation that is really targeting or pretty much closing the doors on young dreamers and latinos. >> but you can't win the vote if you don't have those votes in congress, and if you people don't get out and vote right, then you don't change things in

washington. >> and that's the thing in 2008, 201, mitt romney learned that adopting a very extreme far-right immigration stance is going to get you only 24% of the latino electorate. so for us like my family is -- are citizens and we are going to make sure we are supporting the right candidate who has given us the opportunity to join this country, and serve the country we call home. republicans are really going to have a tough time going into 2016 and the republican presidential candidates will have a tough time. >> other than this issue, what is the big issue of latinos coming up in 2016? >> like many latinos we all care about education and health care but when a party like -- like -- like the republican party is -- is speaking about deporting grand mothers, like when they are talking about deporting a grandmother like in my family

you know, my family care about issues but when we're going to make sure we're adopt -- we're going to support can do it it -- candidates that are not deporting grandmothers. >> caesar vargas thanks very much. striking farm workers in mexico are heading back to the fields with a raise. workers in bahah california had been on strike since march. the average farmer had been making about $8 a day. today the mexican ministry announced that the rate is going up to $13, and the workers will be eligible for health care. in iraq isil moved a step closer to reestablishing its presence in anbar province. officials say the group seized the main government come pound in the provincial capitol of ramadi. it includes the governor's office and the police

intelligence offices. government forces recently took back the northern city of tikrit from that group. and isil is now threatening a unesco world heritage site. isil is closing in on the ancient ruins of palmyra. if isil seizes the site it will destroy everything there. palmyra has already suffered damage during the civil war. isil has ransacked and demolished several ancient sites in iraq. hundreds of men, women, and children packed in to wooden fishing boats in asia. they are part of a persecuted minority known as the rohingyas. thousands are still adrift turned back by sea and local governments. >> reporter: this is not a

rescue. the thai royal navy found this boat off of the coast. it is filled with around 380 men, women, and children. from western myanmar and bangladesh. the people on board say the traffickers and the captain escaped and that they ran out of rice and water about ten days ago. they say 12 people died during the trip. >> translator: the people are star ving and dying, because we don't have food or clean water. two more people over there are dieing from starvation. yesterday one man jumped off of the boat and drowned because he went crazy. at least ten people have jumped ship. one died while some of the others made it to nearby fishing boats. >> translator: i don't have anything left and they killed my mother and my relatives. the people in the village said they were going to malaysia so i made the decision to follow them. >> reporter: a few fishing boats pulled along the boat to provide

water and a sack of rice and it was a thai fisherman that reported the boat to the thai navy. the navy was also trying to trace a phone signal coming from a passenger. >> dropping food packs is better than nothing, but it is not enough. really what should be done is thinking first and foremost about how lives can be saved. don't think yet what you are going to do to these people. save the lives first give them proper treatment and then you can take the next step. >> reporter: many wanted to go to malaysia where their family members are. the thai navy says it spent the night fixing the boat engine and then let everyone go. there may be as many as 8,000 migrants in these seas but with every government in the region denying them permission to land they are just going nowhere slowly. coming up next on this broadcast, one of the most dangerous cities in the united states, and how police

there are trying to change that face-to-face. plus after this week's deadly amtrak crash, we'll look at the problems facing the u.s. rail system and how to fix them. and former undercover cia officer valley plain will join ugh this weekend to talk about the threat of nuclear proliferation that's sunday 8:00 eastern, 5:00 pacific time. ♪

>> for almost a year we have watched the protests listened to the debates about america's police. today president obama paid tribute to officers killed in the line of duty. the president spoke at the national peace officers memorial service outside of the capitol. he honored 131 officers who died last yeek, and thanked their families for their sacrifice. >> we hold them up as heros

because that's what they are. it takes a special courage to be a peace officer. to be the one people turn to in their most dangerous moments. to be able to run into a dangerous situation when everybody else is running the other way. >> the president said we must work harder as a nation to heal the rifts between the police and the people they serve. flint, michigan is one of the most dangerous cities in america. the police are working to reverse that trend now. bisi onile-ere followed one flint officer for a day to see the challenges police there face. >> as a law enforcement officer, yes, i -- i see a lot of the violence, but i also see a lot of the good. >> reporter: officer terry lewis has been a member of the flint police force for 17 years. >> how are you today? >> i'm looking for address 2949. >> >> reporter: today he is patrolling a public housing

complex known for shootings and illegal drugs. tight for space i took the back seat while a camera rolled up front. for safety reasons i was asked to wear a bullet-proof vest. >> i have lived in three of the four sections of this city as i have grown up. i have seen it when it was at its peak when it was thriving and i -- i have seen it at its lowest. >> reporter: at that peak flint was a powerful force in the american auto industry. today the predominantly black city is plagued by high crime, high unemployment, and violence. have you ever had to use your gun? >> i have. still a little tender subject, and it has been nearly nine years. >> reporter: at a time when police departments across the country are under scrutiny flint is considered one of the most dangerous cities in america. what was your reaction to seeing

the represents unfold in ferguson and -- and baltimore? >> personally it was disheartening. >> reporter: has it all impacted on how you respond or act when dealing with people? >> impacting how i respond to people no. i know me. i know my character and my integrity. i know that i'm a representative of something much larger. and brutality doesn't come across my mind. i have these -- these are door knockers -- >> reporter: here like in many communities across the country, distrust of law enforcement spans generations. budget cuts are partly to blame. a police force of a little over 100 officers has half the manpower that it should. but years after the state of michigan took control of flint's finances, the department is now in a position to hire and invest time in the community.

officer lewis is trying to bridge the gap by reaching out. >> where do we think that the majority of these shots are being fired? >> back there. >> back there. >> back there. >> in the circle. >> reporter: in the city's south end, officer lewis has become a familiar face. some avoid him, others welcome him. with the help of state and federal grants the police department is stepping up community policing efforts. >> i have a -- a felony. and my felony is like nine years old. >> uh-huh. >> and i'm trying to get that expound -- expunged. >> do you think you made a connection today? >> absolutely. you can't be here for a paycheck, you have got to have a heart for people and a community, and want to see change and be motivated to help that change. because this is part of the choice neighborhoods area --

>> reporter: in flint the road away is uncertain, but with a focus on building a stronger relationship with the community, officer lewis believes the city is on the right path. bisi onile-ere al jazeera, flint, michigan. music fans around the world are mourning the loss of b.b. king. he died last night in his home in las vegas. he was 89 years old. he played his trusty guitar lucille almost to the end. he gave his final performance last fall before health problems took him off of the road. john hendren reports. >> reporter: the world of blues has lost its king. gone but anything but forgotten, b.b. king was an icon to fellow bluesmen he was solace and inspiration to fans. >> he brought an energy and determination to his work that just kind of ungulfed you, and even if you weren't interested

in the music, he captured you. that is rare. >> reporter: with his fluttering fingers, and resonant soulful voice, b.b. king crafted an unmistakable sound. ♪ >> reporter: he began by playing on street corners near the plantation in the u.s. state of mississippi where he was born. ♪ >> reporter: and in a career that spanned half a century, road to become the king of blues. >> i like to do what i am doing and would do it for nothing if somebody would pay my bills, but they are paying for something i like to do anyway. >> reporter: king's record live at the cook country jail was taped in chicago. radio host richard steele remembered king on his friday show shot in a chicago barbershop. >> he was a country guy and

never lost the honesty of being a small-town guy who used to pick cotton. here in chicago when b.b. king came to town it was like -- you know, a celebration. everybody got dressed up. women got dressed up to look nice to go see b.b. king and people south side west side everybody loved b.b. king. >> reporter: king rewrote the book of blues with his cocomplex spring bends inspiring thousands. he always gave his guitars the same name lucille. he had 15 grammys to his name and was in both the blues and rock and roll halls of fame. ♪ >> reporter: b.b. king died in his sleep, age 89. ♪ [ applause ] coming up next on this broadcast, eight dead in philadelphia, just one of several railroad accidents in the united states.

our special report derailed: how safe are america's trains?

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and what does it say about the country's rails? dangerous oil transports. from the money to the technology, what will it take to reduce the risks? tonight the facts you need. our special report derailed: how safe are america's trains? ♪ good evening, everyone i'm john siegenthaler. what happened in philadelphia was tragic for many it was also a wake-up call for america's troubled rails. they connect us as we know they can fail us without warning with deadly consequences. the fears go around passenger trains especially with oil tankers. the questions point to power, money and accountability. we're going to look at all of those issues in this special report. we begin with the amtrak crash how a routine trip turned horrific in seconds. >> reporter: the darkness added to the horror only flashlights

to point rescuers to screens. >> there's people stuck in here. >> reporter: while inside passengers relyied on each other. a son helped pull his mother from the wreckage. >> i just kept hearing my son say, mom, mom, let's get you out of here. >> we were pushing out the emergency exit. i was outside and there were people screaming and bleeding. >> reporter: and there was kindness. one passenger's shoes were blown off. >> season told me i was delirious delirious, and they carried me off. my shoes are not my shoes. i lost my shoes, and lady gave me her shoes. >> reporter: 243 on board, so many hurt buses were needed. >> did you see some of the victims and survivors? >> d