well. >> the garden also offers a glimpse into local kashmiry culture with visitors treated to folk music and dancing, and is looked after by the government department of horticulture which deports most of the seeds and bulbs from holland. >> a state of emergency declared after thousands of gallons of oil spill along california's coast. >> the oil is difficult to contain and collect once it's on the water. >> cleanup crews working around the clock trying to protect wildlife. >> the u.s. and cuba talk about reopening embassies. >> dozens of osama bin laden's

private documents revealed. what it shows about the organization he built. >> this is aljazeera america. good morning live from new york city i'm randall pinkston. there's a state of emergency in california this morning where crews are scrambling to keen one of the state's most beautiful beams. a ruptured pipeline spilled 105,000 gallons of oil up to a fifth of that may have reached the sea. beaches are now closed for memorial day weekend. we are joined with courtney for the latest. this area has been hit before, hasn't it? >> yes and cleanup efforts are underway there as environmental workers try to contain the spill. this accident occurred along the same coastline that had a spill

in 1969, the largest in california's history and helped launch this countries environmental movement. >> it's terrible, you know, this is some of the most pristine coastline we have in the county and to see it just covered in crude oil it's terrible. it's really sad. a few pelicans started washing up. we had a few other sea birds a few sales, as well. it's really sad. >> the chief executive of the company apologized for damage done to the wildlife and environment. for the company ail plains american pipeline has history of safety and environmental violations in the u.s. and canada. the 6,000 miles of pipeline are regulated by the state department of transportation and state fire marshal. interstate pipelines like this one are also regulated by the federal government. federal regulators have investigated the leak's cause the pipe's condition and

regulatory violations. that pipe underwent testing two weeks ago but those results haven't been analyzed yet. the pipe which was built in 1991 will still have to be excavated to find the cause of the rupture. >> the company has owned the deep water horizon drilling rig will pay millions to people affected by the 2010 spill in the gulf of mexico. transocean will pay more than $210 million to some business owners and individuals. the company also reached a deem with b.p. and halliburton to end legal claims against each other for the spill. >> the gulf oil spill may have caused dolphins a die at a higher rate than normal. scientists looked at tissue samples from dolphins that died between 2010 and 2012. they had diseases likely caused

by oil exposure. >> a military training accident in hawaii last weekend killed a marine and injured two others. there is still no discovery of the cause of the crash. during dement, two crashes killed 22 marines. >> talks between the u.s. and cuba over restoring diplomatic ties focus on reopening embassies in washington and havana. some in congress are have itical. here is an exchange between a top official and senator opposed to the administration's cuba policy. >> in national security terms we believe the engagement with cuba through diplomatic relations will be far better or our interests than the previous policy of isolation. >> i don't know what we've gotten in return. we have gotten nothing in return, but the cubans have gotten plenty in return and if

that's a way of negotiating, we have a real problem on our hands. >> raul castro expressed concerns about washington's pro democracy plan for cuba. he calls them i will liam. >> members of congress are wrapping up business before the memorial day holiday. still pending renothing the patriot act that expires june 1. rand paul spent more than 10 hours last night filibustering any renewal. he said there are economic implications for tech companies if the law is renewed. >> even as washington grapples with the diplomatic and political fallout of mr. snowden's leaks, the more urgent issue companies and analysts say is economic. despite the tech companies' assertions that they provide information on their customers only when required under law and not knowingly through a back door the perception that they enable the spying program has lingered.

>> the house last week approved a bill ending the n.s.a.'s bulk collection of phone data. senator paul claims president obama has the ability to end that program without congressional action. >> we are getting a new look inside the world of osama bin laden. u.s. intelligence agencies released hundreds of books letters and documents found inside his compound after the raid that killed him. we have details from washington. >> the documentation paints a picture of a leader increasingly ignored and isolated, a man urging followers not to gather in large groups in case of drone attacks and not to use email for sensitive messages. he called on them to focus on striking inside america and its interests abroad. he also advised against regional attacks especially in yemen. later, others within the organization would champion so-called individual jihadist attack through the middle east

and elsewhere. there was a sign of a schism inside al-qaeda. >> if you still can this is the last chance to remedy the jihad break down that is mostly caused by your followers. >> muslim in-fighting that some say led to the formation of the islamic state of iraq and the levant. former c.i.a. analyst says bin laden believed the key to al-qaeda's success would be to drive the united states out of muslim lands. >> he felt the key to their survival was their support from the united states, therefore they needed to attack the united states, undermine the confidence of the american people, causes the american people to force their government to withdraw from these areas and then they would achieve their goals. >> bin laden the husband and father also revealed with four wives and 20 children, he had family concerns and worries. i miss you so much, he wrote to one daughter and urged all this is daughters that american good

people. the documents are said to represent a tiny portion of what was seized and give a rare glimpse into the person who once was the most wanted man in the world. al jazeera washington. >> ambassador james wills is a former director of the c.i.a. and he says releasing those bin laden documents was a mistake. >> i think that generally speaking, since we are now at war and deception is an important part of war, we should use whatever information comes to us in such a way as to confuse the enemy. if we have a lot of information we should make him think we have very little, if we have a little, we should make him thing we have a lot. we should deceive in order to defeat him. i'm afraid the obama administration think is of this more of a police action, which is what actually we called the korean war even, not wanting

temporarily to admit that it was a war either. i think trying to pretend that this is something like a police action is a very bad approach toward things. >> the obama administration says it carefully investigated the documents and that they present no security threat. >> this morning isil is in control of yet another strategic place in syria making big gains there and in iraq. over the weekend isil took over ramadi west of baghdad and today the ancient syrian city of palmyra is in the group's hands. they control most of anbar province, as well as major roads leading west and north. the united nations is making an appeal for fighting to stop in palmyra. it is a unesco world heritage site. isil has destroyed several cultural heritage sites in

neighboring iraq. there are fears the same thing will happen in palmyra. >> the advance came quickly. isil launched an offensive against palmyra last week and now the strategic city has fallen. palmyra is an important military prize, a hub on the road west to damascus and east to iraq. what makes palmyra perhaps even more valuable is its magnify sense. it is a vast treasure trove. the city called the venice of the sands was a watering stop on the silk road controlled by rome until the third century when the city itself became so rich and powerful that it challenged the romans and built an empire of

its own from turkey to egypt. palmyra's temples and ruins would be a rich site for looting, money to fund the isil war machine. syria's antiquity's director said hundreds of statues and artifacts have been moved from the city to protect them. larger monuments cannot be moved. the rich merchants of ancient palmyra built themselves elaborate funeral monuments. the british museum in london has a collection of some of the life sized stone portraits that sealed their too manies, all known by name from the farewell engravings. this wealthy woman wears elaborate, expensive jewelry and opens her veil so all can gaze upon her face. historians and activists say

splendors like these are why palmyra must be saved. the ruins are not dead. they connect us to the living human story of past, present and future. >> syria has six unesco world heritage sites. isil and the syrian civil war have put all at risk. >> the u.s. is sending 1,000 anti tank weapons to iraq's military. a state department official said it will prevent isil from using armored trucks for suicide attacks. it is a tactic isil fighters used to take control of ramadi. >> isil is still on the offensive. it's taken 30% of the district which is not far a few kilometers from a main government base where troops, shia militiamen have amassed for a counter too much which has not begun. isil really still has the momentum. we are hearing from the iraq

prime minister ababadi calling on volunteers to join the army, also promising to speed up the training of the local police and arm sunni tribesmen promises and commitments he has made in the past but there has been little progress. clearly the need to strengthen the regular forces, right now it's the shia militiamen who will wage a fight in the sunni province and the government needs to show the different communities in iraq that this is not going to be a shia war against a sunni province, but beefing up the regular forces and the local police is going to take time. the government has yet another problem, struggling to cope with a humanitarian crisis. >> reporting from baghdad. >> german chancellor angela merkel said she cannot imagine russia returning to the g8 as it flouts national law in ukraine.

high on the agenda is a political solution to the crisis in ukraine. european union leaders will dry to bolter ties with six former communist nations. >> malaysia ordered search and rescue missions for thousands stranded at sea. the announcement comes after malaysia and indonesia said they will end their policies of turning away boats most of which are filled with rohingya minority. zambia will take in refugees. it is part of their sacred duty to help other muslims who are in need, they said. >> in today's digit albeit, aljazeera.com offers a first person account of the political crisis in burundi. in the african country, there is a crackdown on reporters and broadcasters targeted by the protestors and government amid demonstrations over the

president's efforts to run for a third term. >> some radio stations have had their lines cut so that they just physically can't broad confident in the countryside. others have been closed by court order. in the last 10 days, a number of them have been attacked and burned, men in uniform were firing ransacking the building and set alight several radio stations in the capitol. >> radio stations is one of the only forms of communication in rural areas. for more, head to aljazeera.com. >> a whistle blower goes after a major poultry producer. we'll hear what really happens before chicken reaches your plate.

welcome to al jazeera america. it is 7:47 eastern time. taking a look now at today's top stories. amnesty international said qatar is not in the rink for labor reforms. >> investigators are looking at the cell phone records in last

week's amtrak derailment. the engineer has no recollection of the crash. the ntsb is trying to determine if he made calls for sent text messages while at the controls. >> a pilot who landed outside the capitol last month is due in court today facing nine and a half years in prison. he said he made the flight to call attention to the influence of money in politics. >> a farmer raising doubts about a major poultry producer. he is questioning perdue over its practices. we have a report from the farmer who turned whistle blower. >> we just came from a farming family. i mean, my dad did my grandad did, his dad and his dad. >> 49-year-old craig watts has farming in his blood but the kind he's doing his forefathers

wouldn't recognize. >> a sea of white wall to wall. >> a factory farmer, he has been growing chicken for poultry giant perdue for more than 20 years. he's in a legal batting because he says he blew the whistle on the conditions under which he's contractually bound to raise the conditions, conditions determined by purdue in which the company marketed to consumers as humanely raised and cage-free. >> they are calling this cage free. you couldn't get a damn cage in here. >> purdue decides how many should fit in each house and when to take them back. 28,500 were placed in this house as chicks. >> they're at the shape now where it's three steps and flop, that's what they're bread to do. >> the births breasts are so heavy, check barely lift them

off the litter that is comport. >> you can feel how hot it is here. >> put your hand up under his wing, how hot that is. that's smoking. >> that is really hot. >> a raw deal for the chicken and said watts for the contract farmers who shoulder the costs of this the chicken houses and then altering them to meet perdue's changing guidelines. >> you are totally leveraged on debt to keep those houses paid for, so they got you. >> doing the right things is treating the chicken humanely. >> when he saw this commercial featuring jim perdue, he said he could not stay silent. >> the birds are about this size this age. those births have a hair an acre a piece to roam in, the litter brand new pine shavings, the equipment spotless. >> frequently named a top producer for perdue, he said he

first took concerns directly to the company. >> they would come and meet and then they would get up and never any follow up, not once. >> so he went public, writing op eds, even testifying on capitol hill about poultry farming conditions. when those efforts came to nothing, he did something no one saw coming. >> this is the first time i have been invited by a contract farmer. >> he opened his barn doors to animal welfare advocates. the results a video that has logged more than 1.8 million hits on you tube to date and produced an unlikely partnership between a factory farmer around animal rights activists. >> we are definitely an unhome alliance. >> within two days of the video posting, watts received he a surprise inspection. perdue also released this statement, claiming waltz was not following the company's guidelines or providing appropriate animal care.

that was just the beginning. watts understands the company amped up their inspections then the bombshell perdue notified him he would have to undergo twice weekly inspections whenever chickens are present as part of a performance improvement plan for poultry welfare and bio security. >> the relentless inspection and out did it didn't make watts nervous, but more determined. so determined in fact that he took another unprecedented step and slapped perdue with a whistle blower lawsuit. >> filed by the government accountability project the complaint alleges perdue violated employee protection provisions by retaliating against watts after the video was posted. we asked perdue for its side of the story but it refused our request for an interview. in its response to the whistle blower complaint perdue alleges watts was unhappy with the money

he earned and failed to euthanize sick and injured chickens to stage foot only, adding that the firm reasonably required him to retrain on animal welfare and bio security. watts isn't looking for a big payout. he said that's because the potential payoff for contract farmers like himself will be much bigger than money. >> the whistle blower, if it's favorable will give a farmer somewhere to go. he won't worry about i can't say anything. wee need an outlet. we don't have that now. we need a government to protect us. >> al jazeera fairmont, north carolina. >> a solution for cleaning up space debris may involve shooting it out of the sky. nicole mitchell is here to explain. plus david letterman says goodbye after three deke cased on lately night t.v.

>> there are 15,000 tons of debris orbiting earth. let's bring in nicole mitchell for faced environmental impact. why is there so much space junk. >> we keep putting satellites into space. when they're done, they're just left there for the most part. satellites for weather television phones, not just that, this is a recreation by the european space agency showing how much stuff has been building up. the objects are bigger just to

show that perspective but we've had big collisions already so if some of those hit each other that adds up into smaller particles. in 2092 satellites hit resulting in an additional 2,000 pieces of debris. this is a small aluminum ball, the size of an m&m. look how much damage that little piece going $15,000 does, not only create as creator but pushes out the bottom sides. if that hits something like the international space center, you can imagine how much damage that can do. i said that was going 15,000 miles per hour. average space junk can travel over 20,000 miles an hour, so it's just a high speed projectile. a new proposal by the japanese,

putting up a new telescope that can identify the space junk and if they add a laser to it, they could shoot the stuff out of the sky before it gets to the space station to cause damage. >> late night t.v. has said goodbye to a legend. david letterman signed off after 32 years. the late night episode was filled with guests from celebrities to family. >> your extensive plastic surgery was a necessity and a mistake. >> thank you for being my family. i love you both, and really nothing else matters, does it? [ applause ] >> letterman's the longest serving talk show host in u.s. history. the show was nominated for 67

awards. he was the first comedian to go back on april after the september 11 attacks. thanks for joining us. stephanie sy, back in two minutes with more al jazeera morning news.

a state of employed in california as crews clean a massive oil spill along the coast. [ gunfire. >> isil gains ground in iraq and syria, capturing palmyra days after taking hold of ramadi in iraq. >> the push to end the war on drugs. a look at the impact and who should get a second chance. >> it's beginning to look like i'm not going to get the tonight show.

>> david letterman signs off after more than three decades. >> good morning. this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. >> a state of emergency this morning along one of the most scenic beaches in cool california. a major pipeline ruptured. the spill is 20 miles west of santa barbara. we have the latest. how large is this spill? >> good morning, it is large. officials estimate that after the onshore oil pipeline ruptured over 100,000 gallons leaked out. an estimated fifth of the spill or 21,000 gallons of oil has reached the pacific ocean threatening beaches and wildlife. >> cleanup is already underway

along nine miles of scenic california coastline with environmental workers struggling to contain the mess as ships try to corral the two slicks. it's unclear how long it will take or how much it will cost. >> we have response crews combing the beaches looking for affected wildlife. >> the california department of fish and wildlife does not have account of how many have been affected. shell fishing along the coastline is also trying to protect the nesting sites of two endangered shore bird species. >> it's terrible. this is a coast that is some of the most pristine in the county and to see it covered in crude oil, it's terrible. it's really sad. >> popular camp grounds at two state parks west of santa barbara will be closed over

mother mother yell day weekend. the pipe built in 1991 will need to be excavated to find the cause of the rupture. it was thoroughly tested two years ago and underwent similar testing two weeks ago but those results haven't been analyzed. california's governor has declared a state of emergency in santa barbara county. part of the proclamation read the spill continues to threaten marine life in the area. local governments and businesses along the santa barbara county coast will suffer long term impacts from this oil spill. the chief executive of the company that runs the pipeline apologized while visiting the scene on wednesday. >> deeply regret that this incident has occurred at all. we apologize for the damage that it's done to the wildlife and to the environment and we're very sorry for the disruption and

inconvenience it has caused on the citizens and visitors to this area. >> the accident occurred along the same stretch of coastline that was covered in a massive oil spill in 1969. that spill is the largest in california's history and helped launch the country's environmental movement. >> the company has owns the pipeline, plains all american has a history of safety and environmental violations in the u.s. and canada. this accident will probably lead to closer scrutiny of pipelines nationwide. >> thank you so much. the company that owned the deep water horizon drilling rig will pay millions to people affected by the 2010 spilling in the gulf of mexico. transocean will pay more than $210 million to business owners and individuals. the company also reached a deal with b.p. and hall burton for legal claims against each other. dom finance may have died at a higher rate than norm

approximately away tissue samples from dolphins that died from 2010-2012 had lung disease's caused by oil exposure. >> they get pneumonia from a breathing the fumes g.i. problems by eating contaminated food and consequently, they could have severe issues with the brain with the heart with the live and the kid knees. >> the report is part of the official data used to determine the environmental damage caused by that the deep water horizon spill. >> there are no plans the ground the osprey aircraft after a crash claimed the life of a second marine. that training accident in has wipe also creditly injured two others. there is no word on what caused the crash. during the development, two test crashes killed 23 marines. >> investigators are looking closely at the cell phone records of the engineer in last

week's amtrak that train derailment. he has no recollection of the crash that killed eight people. the ntsb is trying to determine if bostian made calls or sent text messages while at the controls. >> isil has made a gain in syria, capturing palmyra which will make it easier to advance against the capitol damascus. earlier this week, the group seized two gas fields near palmyra. that city is home to priceless ancient artifacts. there are fears now isil could destroy them. >> this castle has stood watch over syria's central plains for hundreds of years part of the ruins of the city of palmyra a you necessary co world heritage site. it was at the center of the battle for control of the city as syrian government forces tried to push out fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant.

>> there are about 140,000 people here, including some displaced from homes and resort. people are afraid. there's no water. we can only use local wells and there's no power most of the time. >> palmyra is surrounded by gas fields and home to the regime's prison a military airport and a weapons depot. the ancient city's on the outskirts, a complex of columns too manies and temples. it is one of syria's most precious architecture jewels. >> heritage sites should not be used for military purposes, but of course, the news are alarming. i appealed yesterday to all parties concerned to protect palmyra and to leave it outside the military activity. >> fighting between rebels and government forces has already damaged the site. the u.n. says it was used as a

syrian military camp. activists released video they say shows the ancient walls peppered with bullet holes. they've accused syrian soldiers of looting artifacts. the u.n. says war is raising other parts of the world said cultural history. last year, 300 heritage sight have been damaged or destroyed in the conflict. aleppo was shown in 2010, this is how it looks now. isil fighters have ransacked ancient sites over the border in iraq. they've taken power drill to say 3000-year-old statues and smashed valuable pieces at mosul's museum. this area of the world is seen as the cradle of civilization. now more than ever, palmyra's future is in the balance so, too, the lives of those who live

in its shadows. >> palmyra's fall comes details after isil took control of a key city in iraq. a state department official says the u.s. will send 1,000 anti tank weapons to iraq's military, meant to prevent large car bomb attacks like those isil carried out in ramadi. >> it's taken 30% of the district, which is not far from a make that government base where took place shia militiamen have been preparing a counter offensive which still has not begun. preparations are underway, but isil really still has the momentum. we are hearing from the iraq prime minister oop badi saying that he's calling on volunteers to join the army, also promising to speed up the training of the local police and arm sunni commitments he has made in the past but there has been little

progress. clearly the need to strengthen the regular forces, right now it's the shia militiamen who will wage a fight in the province. the government needs to show this is not a shia war against a sunni province, but beefing up the regular forces and the local police is going to take time. the government has yet another problem. it is struggling to cope with a humanitarian crisis. >> reporting from baghdad. it's latest territorial gains could pad isil's treasury. isil became the richest terror group in the world as of last year worth $2 billion. the bulk of that money comes from taxing and exploiting iraqi businesses. that generated $600 million just last year. another $500 million came from raiding iraq's state owned banks, including an estimated $429 million worth of gold and cash taken from the central bank

of mosul. smuggling oil out of iraq and syria brings in up wards which $1 million a day for isil. the group made $20 million last year on ransom's paid for the release of hostages. >> we are getting a new inside look at the mind of osama bin laden. u.s. intelligence released books, letters and documents seized in the raid that killed the al-qaeda leader. manual's for making bombs books on america's war on terror, am died application forms and love letters to his wives were recovered. >> a presidential hopeful trying to prevent the patriot act from being renewed with a filibuster, rand paul filibustered a renewal, saying there were economic implications for tech companies if the law is removed. >> even as washington grapples with the diplomatic and political physicalout of mr. snowden's leaks the more urgent issue companies and

analysts say is economic. despite the tech company's assertions that they provide information on their customers on the when required under law and not knowingly through a back door, the perception that they enabled the spying program has lingered. >> the house last week approved a about him to end the n.s.a.'s bulk collection of phone data. senator paul claimed president obama has the ability to end that program without congressional action. the act espires june 1. >> the senate could begin debate on a bill to give the president fast track authority to negotiate trade deals. congress will be a i believe to approve or reject those deals but not change them. >> a new h.i.v. clinic is set to open in austin, indiana the rural area experiencing the worst outbreak in state history. >> cline in a will showcase efforts to promote clean energy today. beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world. >> interest rates likely will

not go up in june. notes from the last federal reserve meeting show officials are concerned about slow consumer spending and economic problems in china and greece. senator yellen will speak tomorrow. >> new reaction after five banks admitted to manipulating international markets to boost profits. under a settlement, citigroup j.p. morgan chase royal bank of scotland and barclays are pleading guilty to rigging foreign he can change rates. a fifth is guilty of rigging rates related to retirement accounts. some say this company is not being punished enough. >> even if it's criminal, they are going to get waivers to continue the business, so there's really in the end not a big difference in the consequences, not for the bank,

but especially not for the people who are really in charge. >> she understands it does not seem the culture is changing at the banks years after the 2008 financial crisis. >> a new report shows income inequality has grown at an unprecedented rate over the last 30 years. the u.s., average income is 19 times higher than the bottom 10%. on average the richest 10% earn 9.6 times more than the poorest. mexico is one of the few developed countries where the rate is higher than ours. the richest there earns 30 times more than the poor. >> officials have pointed to income in quality alleges a cat lift for the violence that hit baltimore last month. residents say the city has been devastated by the war on drugs. as america tonight reports a new state law in maryland aims

to undo some of that damage. >> i was pulled over, the officer said step out of the vehicle and put me in handcuffs and told me that my vehicle reeked of marijuana after i asked why i was being arrested. >> did you have a lot of marijuana. >> it was about two grams. >> two grams of marijuana about enough to roll four giants is no longer an arrestable offense in maryland. in 2014, state lawmakers decriminalized anything less than 10 grams, but while the laws have changed the old laws continue to haunt many, like brown. >> how did that minor marijuana arrest affect your dream of becoming a teacher? >> well, unfortunately, i was deemed in eligible to volunteer or work in baltimore city public school system. >> america's public enemy number one in the united states is drug abuse. >> since president nixon

declared a war on drugs in 1971, the department of justice estimates it has cost taxpayers $215 billion a year. that's well over a trillion dollars. now that 15 states decriminalized having small amounts of marijuana and four other states plus the district of columbia legalized it, many are left still paying a price for an offense that is no longer a crime. >> house bill 244 maryland second chance act of 2015. >> maryland's governor just took a step towards solving the problem. he signed the second chance act into law but shielding criminal records is controversial. delegate john cluster is a former police officer. he combed through arrest records to test second chance. >> so, this business owner's going to talk to this person and say have you ever been convicted of a crime.

they're going to say yes, one time. in reality he had 24 convictions on his record that he's not -- the business owner is not going to be able to find out about. >> how would you describe the war on drugs? >> i describe it as a war on black people. >> denied the teaching profession she dreamed of because of her drug conviction, brown is now leading a group called out for justice lobbying on behalf of exoffenders like herself. >> i know there are a group of people that need someone that understands their issues and are going to fight and lead and be the person that really helps them make change when it comes to people with criminal records. i guess i've been put in this position to help lead that charge. >> adam may, al jazeera baltimore. >> in today's digit albeit, aljazeera.com offers a first person account of the political

crisis in burundi. journalists traveled to the country where there is a crackdown on reporters and broadcasters amid the president's efforts to run for a third term. >> journalists have been threatened, some radio stations had their lines cut so they physically can't broadcast. others have been closed by court order. in the last 10 days, a number of them have been attacked and burned. men in uniform were firing, they were ransacking the building and they set alight to a number of radio stations in the capitol. >> radio i also one of the only sources of news in rural areas for more on this story head to aljazeera.com. >> looking for support from russia iraq's prime minister visits moscow seeking more arms to fight isil. >> a place to stay in cuba, helping americans find a home

away from home.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. taking a look at today's other top stories from around the nation, police in washington d.c. are looking for a man in connection with the mysterious murders of a wealthy family. they believe whoever killed the man, his wife, son and housekeeper held them captive for 10 hours. three of the four victims were beaten or stabbed before the house was set on fire. police are hunting for a suspect this morning in the shooting death of an oklahoma police officer. the 29-year-old was killed in a shootout one day before her three-month-old baby was to be reds from the hospital. she was going to start her maternity leave today. >> nebraska's legislature voted to abolish the death penalty. it is the first time a conservative state voted to do away with capitol punishment since north dakota did in 1973. the governor promised a veto. ledge later say they have enough votes to override it.

>> iraq's prime minister is in moscow for a meeting with russian president vladimir putin. the trip comes in the wake of the fall of the key iraqi city of ramadi to isil. what are both sides hoping from the meeting? >> abadi is looking for additional arms to fight isil. they buy military gear from russia in additional to the arms from the united states. middle eastern countries don't like to be solely dependent on one supplier when it comes to equipping their armed forces. there are political overtones to the meeting and the united states is watching closely and to understand why it helps to take stock of both country's relationship with iran. shia iran is the major power broker in iraq. those militias are stepping into fight isil after iraq's army abandoned the city of ramadi at

group. the iraqi army is mostly sunni. making the security forces less sectarian is a goal or abadi and u.s. abadi is undermining his own power and reinforcing iran's influence. from the kremlin's perspective tehran is a welcome ally. russia has lost diplomatic foot hold in the middle east and looking for a stable government to cozy up to. moscow sees arms sales as a part of that and lifted the ban on missiles to tehran less than two weeks after an agreement was struck over iran's nuclear program. by deepening ties with iraq, russia is by extension deepening them with tehran. >> you said the kremlin sen tehran as a natural ally. do the iranians see russia the

same way? >> certainly in the fight against isil, everybody's on the same page, but there's not such a great history between these two countries. russia did occupy parts of iran during world war ii. even though that may seem like a long time ago, in that neighborhood memories are long. >> this isn't to mention the cam application with air i can't on top of all of this. thank you. >> malaysia has ordered search and rescue missions for thousands of people stranded at sea, coming after malaysia and indonesia said they would end their policy of turning away boats filled with myanmar's percent cute rohingya minority. >> talks are under way between the u.s. and cuba over restoring diplomatic ties, focused on reopening embassies. some members of congress are critical of the effort. here's an exchange between a top state department official and senator opposed to the obama

administration's cuba policy. >> we believe the engagement of cuba will be far better for our interests than the previous policy of isolation. >> i don't know what we've gotten in return. we have gotten nothing in return, but the cubans have got plenty in return. if that's our way of negotiating, then we have a real problem on our hands. >> cuban president raul castro also expressed concerns this week about washington's pro democracy programs for cuba. he calls them illegal. >> as dip mow mats discuss the future of u.s. cuba relations entrepreneurs are cashing in. there are now rentals offered on the island. cuba hopes it will mean more american tourists. >> this is the western tip of cuba known for its natural beauty and for its tobacco. the raw material of cuba's famous cigars.

it's a magnet for tourists who stay in the town, where almost every other house has turned into a bed and breakfast hotel. >> he and his mother around just waiting for guests to show up. like many here, they are now linked into an american room rental network the u.s. website, air b. aped b., who's fastest growing market has suddenly become cuba. >> we hear that lots of americans want to come to our country. we want to receive them the best way possible. >> until last month a u.s. government ban put cuba off limits to air b.&b. >> there were cubans trying to log on to make their house available to americans or europeans who want to travel, and they had to block them.

>> but no longer. americans can now book a room logging on to the site attesting that they qualify under one of 12 categories allowed by the obama administration for travel to cuba. >> i want to enjoy it because it's something that won't last. i can go to paris and see it for 20 years but coming here in 20 years won't be the same. >> there is one problem the easing of travel restrictions is the prerogative of the american president. that means all of this could go away if the next american president isn't so keen about opening up to cuba. >> right now thousands of americans are rushing to see the once forbidden fruit of the caribbean while cubans cross their fingers that the relaxation of travel to the island will be more than a short lived honeymoon.

al jazeera cuba. >> defining marriage in ireland as the nation prepares to vote in a one of a kind referendum on same sex unions, we speak with one of the lead advocates. >> it's called justice delayed. congress investigates a backlog holding up thousands of rape cases nationwide.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 8:30 eastern, taking a look at today's top stories. a state of emergency is in effect on part of california's coast, crews scrambling to clean an oil spill. a major pipeline ruptured, spilling 100,000 gallons of oil. a fifth of it went into the ocean. >> isil is inching closer to damascus. it took control of palmyra a you necessary co world heritage site. earlier this week, the group

seized two gas fields near palmyra. >> rand paul spent more than 10 hours last night filibustering renewal of the patriot act. he said there are economic implications for tech companies if the law is renewed. the act expires june 1. >> ireland becomes the first country ever to hold a nationwide referendum on same sex marriage. 18 countries currently allow gay couples to we had. some states in the u.s. and mexico do, as well. while we wait for the supreme court to rule here, ireland could make history as we report the outcome could be surprising for a conservative catholic nation. on friday, voters in the republic of ireland will decide whether to amend their constitution to legalize gay marriage. >> did you vote? of course i voted. >> gay rights supporters say that would give same sex couples more legal protection and broader social acceptance.

ireland's main political parties are on their side and polls suggest a majority of voters support the measure. they're facing opposition. >> you should be able to have reservations about gay marriage without called a home phone. >> the leader of the catholic church said the change would interfere with their position on marriage. >> we believe marriage between a man and woman is a gift from god. >> there is a shift in the last 30 years. the church is not the political power it once was in the country. ireland decriminalized homosexuality and began lawing civil partnerships four years ago. >> you are now husband and husband. >> those unions, unlike marriages are not protected in the irish constitution. >> irish senator joins us live from dublin. she was the first openly member

of ireland's legislature and spearheaded the yes campaign. so great to have you on the program. i understand you were born and raised in washington state moved to canada. you got married in canada and then moved with your partner to ireland, when homosexuality was settle criminalized there. could you have fathomed being in the position you are now and irish society being in the position to vote on gay marriage? >> it's an extraordinary moment in this country when ann louise and i married in canada over 13 years ago now, we had no idea that actually we'd come to this point in ireland where it would be put to the people whether or not our marriage there would be recognized here. we did take a case when we returned to the country here to see could we get it recognized. we lost in the high court. we were on our way to the supreme court and in the

meantime, it was the prime minister of our country who ultimately decided let's just put it to the people. it's been an amazing campaign. many of us have been out for the last 14 weeks on the ground having conversations with hundreds of thousands of households, talking to them about their fears and concerns and how ireland could be ultimately a more compassionate fair and generous country if people say yes. >> speaking of concern the archbishop of dublin said this would fundamentally change the philosophy which underpins cohesion in society. what is your response to that? my response would be that i would respectfully disagree with the archbishop that in fact what's happening here is we're asking people to simply extend marriage to same sex couples to extend the happiness that comes

with that. perjury that matters and family matters is the base of a stable society. if more people can marry, that's got to be good for irish owe silent. >> a day before this vote, what is your sense of how often it's going to go and is it keeping you up at night? >> i didn't sleep much last night, actually. it is an extraordinary moment. i've just come from an event where our prime minister and our deputy prime minister bolt heads of our coalition political parties who were there gathering with those who fought so hard on the yes campaign for our final gathering sharing with each other how often do we think it's going. we feel quietly confident. we feel quietly confident now that it's actually going to pass. even though the polls have started to narrow, never once has it gone below 65% and the

irish people who are freedom fighters, and fair and generous will actually say yes and we will become the first country in the world to do it that way. >> it seems like this is personal for you. >> it's personal. it's personal and louise and i when we got married there was no conversation, no public conversation about marriage for same-sex couples. when we came back, we were very much alone. we started a case and eventually got supporters working with us and has blossomed into that the civil rights movement of this decade in ireland. >> do you think this referendum is going to have an impact on other countries including the u.s. having similar debates? >> well, what i know is clearly it will. what i also know is that even when we were running our case in the high court what was going on in the united states, both in the courts, as well as the

advocacy of people like the human rights campaign, we were in such, helping us try to understand how to advocate for the issue what were the legal issues at stake extending equality to all people so that they can marry the person they choose to love. there is no question in our mind that we will experience freedom finally for the citizens in this republic, but what the signal sends to people in all countries where it is criminalized, where it is a death penalty to be openly gay that this will please god set off a wave of freedom and pride and encouragement to other countries to at least be more compassionate and tolerant and ultimately offer full freedom to their lgbt citizens. >> a sophisticated cyber attack on a major insurance company has

compromised the information of 1.1 million people. blue cross blue shield said the attack happened last week, attackers getting names to names, birthday, social security numbers, medical information was not -- some calm it a nationwide crisis. more than 400,000 rape kits in the u.s. that have yet to be tested. congress is looking into the issue. as bisi onile-ere tells us, it is closely watched in detroit. >> i thought i had found a fate worse than death and it was living and it was living with the fear that this man would full if i am his promise to return and to kill me or maybe worst, he would kill my children. >> debby smith sexual assault survivor and victimmion' right advocate shared her story with the subcommittee looking into

the backlog of 400,000 untested rape kits in cities across the u.s. >> rape kits remain untested, sitting on the shelf. the consequences can be nothing short of devastating. >> in 2009, more than 11,000 untested rape kits were discovered in an old detroit police warehouse. six years later and hundreds of kits still haven't been processed. >> the fact that i have to now have fundraisers to source this office is what we have to do. >> is that normal? >> no, it's ridiculous, but that's what we have to do. >> that was wayne county prosecutor kim worthy in 2013. through d.n.a., so far she says her office identified more than 288 serial rapists but only 15 have been convicted and with the statute of limitations looming, in some cases time is running out. >> the only way this is going to get solved in any great deal of time is with the help of the private sector.

>> worthy is working with a non-profit to raise $10 million to investigate more cases. tuesday, the state pledged $3 million to the existing task force. >> we're putting six investigators who were working side by side, the wayne county prosecutor's office, her attorneys and investigators. as far as i know, this hasn't been done to this magnitude. >> this woman said she has been sexually assaulted three times. >> it has no place in our stiff in this state, in this country. when it happens, it is really sad. >> $40 million will be set aside to help deal with rape kit backlogs. >> each untested kit represents a real victim and their struggle for justice. i believe it's our responded to honor the bravery of survivors and tell them we are going to do everything we can for our part to stand up for them and we'll

do everything in our power to track down the people who have assaulted them. >> in cities like detroit the money could go a long way toward helping victims of sexual assault find justice. bisi onile-ere, al jazeera detroit. >> georgia's child welfare system is undergoing major changes. a 2013 investigation found the child protection agency ignored abuse claims. some children died. as robert ray tells us, some are working to push reform. >> the child welfare system across the country is in desperate need of funds and workers. a lot of times foster kids slip through the cracks and bad things happen. one example here in the state of georgia, marie who is now nine years old a horrible thing when she was eight months, she was beaten so severely by her mother and her mother's boyfriend that she lost the ability to use her legs. today, a different story even though she is disabled, she's with a lovely mother and a happy

family. enough it's no secret that georgia's child welfare system has been a mess. there's a new director, bobby indicatingle. he was adopted as a kid so understands the system and he thinks he can make it the best in the world in the years to come. >> in the current fiscal year, we've added to 78 case workers. that is in excess of 10% of the original amount that we had and so that's made a huge difference. the morale is up, the case loads are down, and that makes us be able to do better assessments for families and to provide better work p.m. >> the fact is, there is a lot of work to be done. when he took office, there was over 4,000 investigations open, and 4,000 kids waiting to see what their future is. but, as time moves forward there's a new law as governor nathan deal here in georgia

signed so that bobby has a direct line to him as he pushes this agency forward and hopes for new better days. robert ray, al jazeera atlanta. >> you can see robert's full report tonight at 8:00 eastern. >> president obama's issuing a dire warning together graduates at the coast guard academy that denying climate change amount to say dereliction of duty. patty cull has in has the story. >> class of 2015, ahoy. >> the penalty's speech gave them less to cheer about. >> the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than they have been in 800,000 years. >> u.s. penalty barack obama arguing that global warming is a threat to national security and taking aim at republicans who say climate change isn't

happening, like this u.s. republican senator. >> do you know what this is? it's a snowball. >> one brought a snowball to the senate floor to prove it. he's not alone. according to the pugh research center, out of 39 countries americans were among the least concerned that global warming poses a threat to their homeland. if you break down that number, there is a clear partisan divide. liberals say climate change is a threat, but only 25% of conservatives agree. republicans who control congress are hawks when it comes to defense, so the president is trying to tie the two issues together. >> severe drought helped to create the instability in nigeria exploited by boko haram. it's now believed that drought and crop failures and high food prices fueled the early unrest in syria which descended into civil war in the heart of the middle east. >> he warned the military will be busier responding to domestic disasters like they had to in

super storm sandy. that strategy could be effective. >> i think he is of course trying to deepen the footprint of those climate security debates and it's obvious when men and women in uniform start debating these issues, that has tremendous impact on the american public. >> unlike other world leaders the u.s. president has to convince his own people and politicians that climate change is real before he can convince them that combating it is worth the cost. >> protestors are calling on nestle to stop bottling water saying it's wasting a natural resource that's in short supply. nestle said it is trying to streamline operations and reduce waste.

>> the international space station capsule will touch you down. one obstacle that cargo will have to deal with is space junk. there are 300,000 tons of debris and it's getting worse every year. let's bring in nicole mitchell. this is really space pollution. >> as you mentioned already all those tons, we're talking about 700,000 pieces and adding by the tense of thousands every year. pieces are at least the size of a half inch. that's significant, that's the size that can cause damage. since the 1960's, more satellites come up. we just send more up, and eventually things happen like they explode or crash into each other. there was a big crash for example in 2009 of two satellites. you can see that reenactment in a second here. this is all from the european science agency doing this. one explosion added 2,000 more

particles. i mentioned that half inch number. that is how big that little ball you see about the size of an m&m. if that hits an aluminum block look at creator that can leave. that's the damage that they're talking to places like the space station. the japanese are about to put up in a couple years in 2017 a new observatory with telescope. they are proposing let us add a laser to that, fund that so we can start shooting it out of the sky. not so sure it's feasible, but it's one proposal to try and control this growing problem. >> sounds like a game of asteroids. >> its does, or science fiction. nicole mitchell, thank you. >> saying good night and goodbye. >> thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale. >> a look at some of the last laughs as david letterman wraps

up 30 years in late night.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 8:49 eastern, taking a look at today's top stories. you are looking live at chile's president giving the state of the union address in santiago. she replaced key members of her cabinet this week in a bid to

overcome corruption scandals. this is her second material in office, one plagued by low approval ratings because of slow economy and political in-fighting. >> a live picture at oakbrook, illinois where mcdonald's workers are taking demands for better wages to a shareholder's meeting. they want a minimum wage of $15 an hour. mcdonald's raised pay one dollar an hour but only at privately owned stores. >> thousands of students are deep in debt after corinthian colleges went bankrupt. michael shure has the report. >> at 33, michael thought that he would be living the american dream. >> i was ready to get ahold of a nice career that would enable me to find someone special in my life, start a family, do the

whole nine yards. >> instead he says he was trapped in a for-profit college nightmare. >> i was exactly that kind of sponge where they could just soak me into their pool of lies and greed and just squeeze me for everything that they could pick up. >> in fact, everest college a subsidiary of corinthian colleges took more than $37,000 in federal loans that he is responsible for paying back. according to a 2011 study by the national bureau of economic research, students who attend for-profit institutions are more likely to be unemployed, have higher debt and more likely to default on their loans. just last week, we asked education secretary arnie duncan whether enough is being done to help them. >> is the department of education sort of on high alert with this problem right now? >> for-profits are taking taxpayer money not doing a good job and leaving their students in a worse position than

started, that's un10able at every level. we continue to challenge that status quo. you see corinthian and others start to go shut down and we need to challenge so we need to do more and we'll do that. we also need congress to do the right thing here and we're going to challenge them to be a better partner and not fight us as we try to get accountability here. >> the lobbying wing of the for-profit colleges has increased. in 2011 it was $10 billion. >> it's clear we need to get wall street out of education. >> according to a 2012 senate study, the average cost of a two year associate's day degree at a for-profit college stands at $35,000, as compared to $8,300

as a community college. mark has seen enough. the former high schoolteacher wants to end what he sees as a perverse cycle including campaign donations for for-profit players like the late john speaker ling. >> the former c.e.o. founder of the university of phoenix a big donor both to your party to nancy pelosi and others. how big an obstacle is that for you? >> it is a huge obstacle, but i think if we can use this moment to shine a light on this horrible, horrible way in which this horrible model of education for low income americans for single moms and our veterans, the way that the bad actors and for-profit sector are being permitted to exploit the current system. >> now he and hundreds of others are refusing to pay their

student loan debts and demanding they be discharged. >> by the end of my time, i accrued $37,162 in student debt. >> how much of that have you paid? >> none. >> how much do you intend to pay? >> none. >> we asked what secretary duncan was going to do about it. >> this is in new territory. in the past 15 years, we had four requests of the department for discharge now the numbers are much larger. we are working very, very hard and want to be as thoughtful as we can and where students have been wronged, poorly served with that we want to meet them more than halfway. >> the students await that announcement and representative the representative and his colleagues know they're up against tougher opponents in the for profit education industry. >> turns out they have friends in high places. >> michael shure, al jazeera washington. >> the girl scouts of america will welcome transgunnedder members. that's been the policy for several years however conservative groups recently

called on the organization to change the rulings. instead, the group issued a statement that reads in part if a girl is recognized by her family, school and community as a girl, girl scouts is an organization that can serve her. >> on today's culture beat, that's a wrap for david letterman. the late night host signed off after more than three decades on air. we have a look at his final show. >> our long national nightmare is over. >> our long national nightmare is over. >> our long national nightmare is over. >> our long national nightmare is over. >> our long national nightmare is over. letterman is retiring. >> you're just kidding, right? >> that was how david letterman kicked off the finale of his 33 year late night career.

introduced to a standing ovation in the ed sullivan theater he has done over 20,000 episodes. >> a high percentage of those shows absolutely sucked. >> it wasn't filled with tears just that classic letterman definitely deary occasion. >> i'll be honest with you it's beginning to look like i'm not going to get the tonight show. >> clips of the most memorable moments over the years. >> welcome to taco bell. >> what do you want? >> hi, can i have a kids meal with a soft taco. >> are you mexican? >> no, i'm not. >> if you're mexican the meal's half off. >> you are not, you are not, you are not funny. >> some of his biggest stars showed up to do the final top 10 list. >> i'm just glad you're show is being given to another white guy. >> thanks for letting me take part in another hugely

disappointing series finale. >> dave, i'll never have the money i owe you. >> in the closing moments letterman honored his wife and son sitting in the audience. >> thank you for being my family. i love you both, and really, nothing else matters, does it? >> and then, he said goodbye. >> people who watch the show, there's nothing i can do to ever repay you. thank you for everything. you've given me everything, and thank you again. >> randall pinkston, al jazeera. >> steven colbert takes over the late show in september. thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy in new york. al jazeera continues in doha, next.

>> it's not looking pretty. i gotta pay my bills. >> you gotta do somethin', you know? try to keep your head above water. >> sunday... $38. thursday... $36. for this kind of money i really don't give a s**t. >> a real look at the american dream. only on al jazeera america. >> part of our month long look at working in america. "hard earned".

>> my name is imran garda the show is called third rail, when you watch this show you're gonna find us being un-afraid. the topics will fascinate you, intrigue you... >> they take this seriously... >> let me quote you... >> there's a double standard... >>...could be a hypocrite >> you're also gonna get a show that's really fair bold... never predictable... >> the should be worried about heart disease, not terrorism... >> i wouldn't say that at all... >> you'll see a show that has an impact on the conventional wisdom that goes where nobody else goes... >> my name is imran garda

i am the host of third rail and you can find it on al jazeera america >> hello welcome to the news hour in doha. coming up, isil gains ground, the group takes control of more territory in iraq's largest province and seizes an ancient city in syria. >> searching for refugees in the sea. >> california declares a state of emergency as over 400,000 meters of oil spills into the