>> nobody should have to live like this. >> we made a promise to these heroes... this is one promise americans need to keep. this is al jazeera america, i am randall pinkston in new york with a look at today's top stories. tragic end. a six-year-old boy is dead after police in louisiana open fire on the car he was riding in. casting votes, opposition leader among those in myanmar taking part in the first democratic election in nearly 30 years. critical clue. an egyptian official reveals how the cockpit voice recording end of a russian jet that crash ed in the sinai peninsula.

hard breaking situation. should a child suffering from a terminal illness have the choice to end their own life? we'll take a deep look at dieing with dignity. and character controversy. the up official mascot of one new england college that some students want to change. ♪ ♪ two police officers are charged with murder after being involved in the shooting death of a six-year-old boy with autism in louisiana. one official describes video that led to the arrest as the most disturbing thing he has ever seen. louisiana state police moved quick there on arrest two police officers for killing a little boy and wounding his father. investigators say six-year-old jeremy davis was trapped in the front seat his father charles at

the wheel of his suv in a police chase this past tuesday night. police say jeremy was killed and his father wounded when two police officers opened fire on a dead end street in marksville, louisiana. >> both of those individual were bothing booked on one count of second degree murder. and one count of attempted second degree murder. >> initially greenhouse and stafford were placed on leave while investigators poured over 911 calls, conducted eyewitness interviews and reviewed the crime scene. >> we took some of the body cam ridge footage, will not talk about it but i will tell you this, this is the most disturbing thing that i have seen. >> police have not explained why greenhouse and stafford were chasing the man. initial reports that police were trying to serve a warrant turfed out to be false, authorities say he had no outstanding warrants. megan dixon was charles' fiancé. >> i don't know what he was thinking. i don't know why he wouldn't

just stop. he didn't do nothing wrong. >> nothing is more important than in badge that we wear on our uniform. and tonight that badge has been torn apart. >> state police say the man was unarmed. >> nothing indicates any fire coming from that suv. >> for more on this case let's bring in vincent hill from atlanta. he's from our nashville -- he's a former nashville police officer. what is your reaction on the speed of this initial investigation? >> i have to caveat what the head of louisiana state police said. obviously the dash cam -- i am sorry, body cam i' video was vey well trouble to go come to a conclusion of two count of second degree murder. there is something in that video that the public is not yet privy too that will tell this entire story. because usually you don't see a case move this fast directly to an arrest, there is a grand jury proceedings, shooting board, so many other steps before you have that arrest. so there is something in that video we are just not seeing yet. >> can you tell us in your

anecdotal knowledge of national police standings, is there a general rule that officers follow when a child is in a vehicle that's being pursued? >> well, yes. absolutely. each department has its own pursuit policies. for instance, where i was in nashville there were certain policies when we could and couldn't chase. i don't know the policies of this department, but regardless of what the policy is, there is such thing as officer discretion. you know, we have to take in to consideration did those officers know the child was in the car. you know, that's still speculation at this point. but, you know, they could have used their discretion at any time to stop the pursuit. >> do we see a new trend here where police authorities are responding quickly when there is video involved. >> yeah, i think so. especially if there is something that is questionable. any time you are talking about a six-year-old, of course, that's very troubling. and i think the head of the state police there said it best, you know, as a father, you know, it's hard to swallow that pill of why this little boy died.

>> okay. soy let us be probably the first to take public notice of this. the officers appear to be to me to be racially mixed if not african americans. the victim was obviously a little white kid. what are your thoughts about -- >> correct. >> -- how that dynamic may have played a role in the decision made by the police superintendent? >> i don't know that the actual race versus the age of the victim there was more of a factor in that. >> former police officer, vincent hill, thank you very much for joining us on al jazeera america. >> thank you, randall, always a pleasure. police in austin are being investigationed for a video that appears to show them punching and kicking jay walkers. the incidents -- >> whoa, whoa, whoa, what the [ beep ], [ beep ], [ beep ]. >> the incidents occurred early yesterday morning, four friends say they tried crossing a street just before the light turned green, they claim the officers stopped them and tensions escalated quickly. two of the jay walkers were

taken to jail after they were restrained the. a third woman was handcuffed but released. the austin police department has released a statement saying th this: a solemn tribute in egypt today at the crash site of a russian passenger jet. russian emergency service workers placed flowers and a child's shoe on top of the plane wreck i think in the sinai desert. at the same time, egyptian officials confirmed there was a loud noise heard in the last second of the cockpit voice recorder. al jazeera's paul brennan reports. >> reporter: it's been seven days since metro jet 9268 fell out of the sky taking 224 people to their deaths and flowers were

laid on saturday at the crash site in the desert. and after a week of leaks and rumors and speculation, finally an official statement from the egyptian crash investmen invest. >> debris is scattered over a wide area. more than 13-kilometers in length, which is consistent with an in-flight break up. some parts of the wreck i think are missing and it is hoped to locate them in the coming days. >> reporter: the lead investigator confirmed that metro jet flight 9268 was 23 minutes and 14 seconds in to its journey. it had reached an altitude of 30,008 hound 88 feet and still climbing. it was traveling at 281 knots. the auto pilot had been engaged and everything seemed normal. then ca a catastrophe on the vv research. the cockpit voice recorder. >> a noise was heard in the last

seconds of the cvr recording. a spectral analysis will be carried out by specialized labs in order to identify the nature of this noise. >> reporter: a team of 47 investigators from five countries are working on the various aspects of the inquiry. an additional group of air bus advisers brings the total to 58 people. there was no mention of whether the debris had been tested to explosives. and no indication of when the voice was heard before the plane broke up. the effort to bring tourists out of egypt will can't. at sharm el-sheikh airport, the chaotic scenes have calmed down. thousands of tourists are being told to wait in to the resort and not come to the airport until a plane becomes available for them. but not everyone is fleeing. the foreign minister of hungary assuring his egyptian counterpart that hungary will

not mikey i didn't want off limits. >> these decisions can have very serious consequences. currently what i see is no one has provided us with any kind of evidence that would have made me put a travel ban on egypt. and until i am not provided with any kind of such evidence, i will not make that kind of decision. you can be sure about that. >> reporter: but there is much we cannot be sure of. questions still to be answered about what happened to this plane. missing wreckage must be found, complex analysis conducted. and if it is a bomb, those responsible must be identified. paul brennan, al jazeera. u.s. defense secretary ash carter minutes nod words today about russia in a speech at the ronald regular an presidential library he a cased former cold war enemy of endangering the war order. >> in europe russia has been

violating sovereignty and actively trying to intimidate the baltic states. meanwhile in, syria, russia is throwing gasoline on an already dangerous fire. prolonging a civil war that fuels the very extremism russia claims to oppose. at sea, in the air, in space, and in cyberspace, russian actors have engaged in challenging activities. and most disturbing, moscow's nuclear rattles races questions to russian strategic that bill. their [ inaudible ] for norms against luke lahr weapons and whether they respect the profound caution nuclear age leaders showed with regard for the brandishing of nuclear weapons. we do not seek a cold, let a loan a hot war with russia. we do not seek to make russia an enemy. but make no mistake the united states will defend our interests

and our allies, the principled international order and the positive future it affords us all. we are taking a strong and balanced approach to deter russia's aggression and to help reduce the vulnerability of allies and partners. we are adapting our operational posture and contingency plan as we on our own and with allies, work to deter russia's aggression and to help reduce the vulnerability of allies and partners. >> secretary carter added that the u.s. addressing the russian threat in a variety i have ways including modernizing america's long range bombers and nuclear arsenal. it's been a historic day for china and taiwan as their leaders met for the first time in 66 years. the meeting held in singapore lasted less than an hour the talks come ahead of january's presidential elections where taiwan's president is leading the opposition at the polls. no agreements were signed.

future impact of today's meetin is unclear. al jazeera's andrew thomas reports. >> reporter: like taipei through the mist it's not easy to see taiwan's future. part of a unified china, or an officially independent state. not many think the status quo affected independence but without recognition as such can last forever. that's why the meeting between the leaders of mainlands china and taiwan on saturday, the first since the split of 1949, mattered as did its timing. in january, taiwan's people will vote for a new president. the ruling k mt party is unpopular. seen as too close to beijing. support for its position eventually won [ inaudible ] china is low. the meeting for some was another step in the wrong direction. >> translator: i am both concerned and angered. what i am concerned about is the

future of taiwan what, a am angry with is how could the president have sold out the island's future. but others see the pro independence d p.p. party and its supporter as the risk. likely to antagonize beijing, jeopardize economic links with the mainland and even risk conflict. the people here may be vocal but they don't necessarily reflect the majority. most people in taiwan know that whoever wins january's election will have to work with beijing. a couple of kilometers from the protests, most were pragmatic about the summit. >> translator: if the leaders can communicate, it's one way to show we are in peace. >> translator: it's a good idea and it's well timed. i have faith in the president. >> reporter: the d p.p., too, knowing its candidate is likely to win january's election. wants to keep the lines of

communication open tann the d p.p. has to be pragmatic because they could take over next year. they have to show people they are apable of engaging with china 56789 taiwan's people struggle to see their few he should january's election may burn off some of the mist. andrew thomas, al jazeera, taipei. voting is well underway in what's being called the first relatively free elects in myanmar in 25 years. 70 americans are monitoring the vote. she cast her vote. she's legally blocked from running but her party is expected to win the majority in parliament. me an par had decades of military rule, scott heidler is live with more. what can you tell us about turn out. and have there been any points so far of voting irregularities? >> reporter: randle, i can tell you for sure that it's being monitored and the carter center that you just mentioned, two of

their teams came here to this polling center here in i can't thin.as far as any irregularitin election day, today, sunday, we are about five hours in. we have about another five hours to go, no reports of that. there are 11,000 election monitors across the country. that's both local as well as international. there is also been a special police force trained. so each of the 40,000 polling stations across the nation have a special police officer there to maintain security. but most of the accusations, all of the accusations of any kind of irregularities, there have been accusations of 10s of thousands of names being left off lists of registered voters, those came over the last several days, several weeks, nothing, though, today on election day, randall. >> so, scott, we understand there are some 30 million registered voters in myanmar. what do you expect for turn out?

>> reporter: well, the turn out here, again, we are at a polling center at a primary school here, you can see the registered voters list behind me, those white sheets, people were lining up at 4:00 in the morning to come and cast their ballots, polling didn't start until 6:00 and for a good chunk of the morning, the early hours it was take something people nearly two hours to cast their ballot and they still came. when the results are expected, because there is no sophisticated exit polling or opinion polling here, preliminary results from the election commission aren't expected until tuesday, so a couple of days from now. and those, again, are preliminary, official results haven't expected for about two weeks, three weeks after polls close in just about five hours from now, randall. >> scott, thank you so much for joining us and keeping a watch on the vote in myanmar, we'll be checking back in with you later. while vote ears cross myanmar are lining up to cast their ballots the majority of

myanmar's rohingya population are not. wayne hay is is in the capital of the ra rakhine state. >> reporter: there is no democracy here. this is the largest refugees camp that was set up three years ago when muslim communities in rakhine state came under attack. for many people they have been here ever since, for three years and their rights have been completely stripped away. the laugh of the rights was their right to vote. they have been able to vote in previous lexes not so this time. there are around 100,000 people in this camp. most of them are rohingya muslims who are regard ed in this country largely as illegal immigrants from neighboring bangladesh, despite many of them have been here for general indicatiogenerationsthere is a . in the fact they believe that any change has to be good. that any change to their

swaying, a change in government has to be positive. it must be remembered that she and her party, the nld have not said anything in terms of support for the rohingya people. so we have seen no evidence that the lives of the people or the leadership would change for the better. >> wayne hay in myanmar. nine more people have died from an incident during a nightclub in low mania. the death toll now stands at 41, more than 100 people remain hospitalized. mass protests over the tragedy this week led to the abrupt resignation of the prime minister. the. the obama administration is expected to lean heavily on a correctional facility in colorado from its plans to close guantanmo bay prison. it will release its alternative plan for detainees at guantanmo in a few days. several sites have been assessed as potential locations.

112 detainees remain at guantanmo, 53 are cleared for release. the debate over the right to die is always emotional. even more so when it deals with children. a deeper look at the decisions by parents on when their kids will be allowed to die with dignity. and character controversy, why some people want the am burt college unofficial mascot lord jeff to be put in the history books.

it's too time of the month when we take a deeper look. tonight we talk about death with dignity. typically a difficult discussion on end of life decisions when dealing with terminally ill adults, but this time we are going to discuss children. al jazeera's richelle carey with the story of one teenager in alabama. >> reporter: rene hoover's 14-year-old son alex is dieing of a weak heart. a condition that has worsened in recent months as his aortic valve narrows and restricts blood flow. >> alec was born with critical [ inaudible ] he was. >> reporter: his life has been a series of hospitalizations and countless painful medical procedures including heart catheterizations. now because he also has autism and does not speak. hits mother says he doesn't understand what's happening to him. for alec, even doctors' points are take fire.

>> there is no point in putting him through his ultimate fear every day for the rest of his life. >> reporter: alex's doo doctorsy his prognosis is grim. even if he had open heart surgery he would need countal more for the rest of his life. >> his entire life would be medications, surgeries, he would have no quality of life as a child. >> reporter: as his mother and guardian, hoover decided enough was enough. >> there coombs a time when you have to make peace in your heart and do the right thing for them. >> reporter: so she signed an advance said helping care directive also known as a living will. it says that if alec goes in to cardiac arrest again. he should not be resuscitated. but hoover lives in alabama, a state that does not recognize do not resuscitate orders for people under the aim of 19. so if alex goes in to cardiac arrest while he is at school, administrators will abide by the laws of the state.

>> they tell us we'll put this in his record but we are not going to follow this. we don't have any policy. there is no poll a policy. there is no law, there is nothing on the book alex is literally the first kay. with the absence of a federal or state policy governing advanced directives or do not resuscitate school system have his to rely on procedures that are in place in the school. >> reporter: until the law changes, whatever says she has no choice but to remove alex from school. because she doesn't want him resuscitated if his heart fails while he's there. >> he misses school. he misses his teachers. he misses his friends. familiar not to be able to go to school and finish out, you know, the last days that he has it breaks my heart. >> reporter: administrators at alex's school are caught in the middle. >> he's a great kid and we really love him and we are working really hard with lots of different people to try to come up with good options for him to participate and be taken care of. >> i am fighting for him to be able to have the comfort and the

dignity and for it to be okay for people to sit and hold his hand when he was dieing. i'll fight for it with the last breath in me. >> joining me tonight is a professor from southeastern university. and from santa fe, new mexico, susan dwyer a philosophy professor from the university of maryland. thank you both for being with us, we'll begin with you, if we talk about whether or not parents have the right to die. let's define exactly what we mean. you talk about three different forms in end of life decisions. >> yes, the right to die actually includes a number of different forms. as you said, three are primary. one is the kind that we are talking about with the case recording alex. that's the right to refuse treatment. people who are very ill have the right to say, no, you can't touch my body. and they can refuse even life-saving and life-sustaining

treatment. the other two types that have generally been making headlines these days, are physician-assisted suicide also indicate aid in dieing, they call it correctly aid in dieing. that's the kind of situation in which a terminally ill person requests and receives a precipitation that he or she can use to end his or her life when they believe that's the right thing to do. the final form is a more active form of euthanasia, and active euthanasia by someone else is the kind of thing that is illegal in all of the united states. and that would be where someone else takes that final act ending the person's life. >> of course in the u.s., oregon, washington and vermont are the only states where physician-assisted suicide is legal, correct? and as you point out, no states approve of euthanasia. and then right to refuse, i suppose is allowed on a case-by-case basis at hospitals

around the country? >> that's absolutely right with regard to the right to refuse. no state does allow euthanasia as you said. california very recently voted in a form of aid in dieing, physician-assisted suicide that. will take effect at the beginning of 2016. now, the right to refuse, every single state authorizes a person's right to refuse in some way, shape or form. but exactly what you said, it's a case by case situation in terms of when that right to refuse is executed. >> let's move now to the ethics of the issue you. to our philosopher tonight. professor dire. what is the underlying philosophy foundation for the right to die? why do most modern societies oppose it? >> well, first of all i think i would like to change the way in which the question pose the. to talk about a right to die is very, very awkward. rights are typically thought to be some kind of protection

against the state or other parties infringe on the ground a liberty. but it's not as if we have a choice about dieing, we are mortal. so to talk about a right to die is a little odd i want to make that note. >> let me just clarify then -- >> what she said -- >> what i should have said is the right to determine the moment at which 11 will allow one's own life to be ended. is that better? >> right. right. that's much more helpful language and i think that's helpful in the public debate to be clear that that is what we are actually talking about. ma and what philosophers have gem said about this is that certainly adults are thought to be what's called autonomous, namely competent to make important did he sinces about important life events. in accordance with their own values. so for example, the right to marry a person of your own choosing, rights to association of various kind are all premise

odd this idea that we are able too mick these important life decisions for ourselves, it seems somewhat ironic to many philosophers that we don't yet legally have recognized the exercise of our all tonight my at the end of our lives, where perhaps that's the most important decision we might make. it will be the last decision we make and we want to make it in accordance with the value that his we have lived our lives with. now, you asked the second question which is why people oppose it? the polls a bit all over the place on this. again get back to the issue of language. it depends how you pose the question. should terminally ill adults, for example, have aid in dieing, if you pose the question that way, actually a majority of americans say yes. if you pose the question in terms of whether or not someone, a third party may kill a terminally ill patient at that person's request that is active euthanasia the majority of americans are opposed to it.

so language matters. i actually think the feeling of the country is that all tonight my iautonomyis so important anda very important area that should be protected and the laws should respect that. >> back to you now. with respect to alex's case there is the school saying they will not recognize the paint's dnr order. is there a general rule in not accepting the dnr for teens. >> i can understand where the school district is coming from. apparently in alabama it is unclear whether the advanced directive the dnr order would have applicability to a person less than 19 years old. in many states it might be possible to have a dnr ford a patients who is less than 19 years old. the only thing would be that, of course, it's not that patient

signing the order or request the order. it is the patient's parents. and the school district in the case of alex is really in a tough position. they really, you can tell from their feelings there that they really would like do what is best for alex. i believe that everybody believes what is best for alex is to allow him to have peace in his final days and to not be resuscitated only to face more pain and more agony. however, they do have to worry about themselves, they have to worry about their own liability. and in a less than clear case, i can definitely understand why they wouldn't honor that. >> hold that point. let's now talk about the fact that alex's story is not the only right to die case raising eyebrows right now. there is another one in oregon where the patient is even young he should let's watch this report from richelle carey and then we'll pick up the discussion. >> reporter: another case that has made national headline is his that of five-year-old

julianna snow who is dieing of an incurable neuromuscular disease called cmt. she has under countless medical procedures since birth and has trouble breathing. her doctors say bluntly that there is no light at the end of it up and no hope of a miracle to save her, her parents both devout christians decided to include julianna in on a decision, in a book title my duh they are wants to choose heaven over hospital. she included that julianna made it clear she doesn't want to go to the hospital again. so we had to let go of that plan because it was selfish. richelle carey, al jazeera. >> okay, back now with our guests, attorney and philosopher. now, let's go to you, please, professor dwyer. talk about the difference between-y motional judgment and moral judgment with little julianna. her parents see her suffering,

screaming when they gets treatment. we saw her shaking in the hospital bed. the parent understandably are emotionally upset. but what does philosophy say about the interplay between one's emotions and one's moral judgment? >> wow, that is a very, very big question. let me try and narrow it down in terms of what's going on here and perhaps the best way to construct that is to talk about whether or not the parents emotions will in some sense cause them to make improper and morally wrong judgements about their child. there are certainly certain emotions when we experience them in excess, for example, anger, envy, fear, that can cause us to misjudge all sorts of issues, including moral issues. but i think that many of our emotions, are emotions of love, for example. and compassion.

actually, can embellish and amplify good moral judgment making. so i think the parents here clearly want their child not to suffer anymore. now, i don't know what their thinking is on the moral issue here about whether ask to what extent they are justified in not taking their child to the hospital. if they think that there is a better option for her, and they are convinced of that, then so be it. that would be the grounds on which they make that moral judgment. but i don't think it need necessarily be in any way a bad judgment simply because they are experiencing these parental emotions which are perfectly understandable. we would worry if they didn't experience those emotions. >> back now to the legal issue at play here. we have been seeing somewhat we call straps on the bottom of our screen about the law in belgium which apparently gives some minors the right to choose the

moment at which they want to take their own life when they are terminally ill. what do american laws say about the age of decision, if you will, with respect to the decisions that a young person can make? obviously there is an age with respect to driving a car, there is -- there are ages with respect to voting. what about age with respect to life and death decisions? >> well, in america it is a state by state determination, of course, what age is considered the age of me george a majorityr something like decisions like that. just like with driver's license and the age to marry. most states settle right around the age of 18. but that doesn't mean a child younger than 18 is totally precludeed from medical decision making. there is something in a handful of states that's called the mature minor doctrine. and the mature minor doctrine says if there is a child,

meaning someone who is less than the age of majority, who is mature enough, that is who has the life experience, who has the intelligence, the common sense, the understanding, that is appropriate for making a decision, then that child could go ahead and make his or her own decision with regard to certain medical matters, including things like abortion and end of life decision making. >> and certainly we want to point out that by no means are we trying to blame anyone for anything, we are just trying to explore a very difficult discussion. i want to thank both of you for joining us and giving us your insight on al jazeera. thank you very much. still ahead on al jazeera america, a texas judge shot multiple times in her driveway and tonight the suspect is still on the loose. plus kevin with the weather. >> meteorologist: that's right, we are watching an unprecedented event unfold right now as a

cyclone just following 110 days ago makes its way towards generally i'll bring you the details and the time frame we expect it to make landfall.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. police in texas say a judge who was shot last night is expected to rolph from her injuries. the judge was ambushed outside her home in austin, the suspect remains at large. she is the top presiding judge in travis county, texas, she is a former prosecutor first

appointed to bench by then republican governor george w. bush in 1999. she switched parties in 2006 and criticized former gulf he were rick perry last year after she mate comment that she thought were threatening to the grand jury investigating him. >> meteorologist: we are following cyclone meg right now. last week it was a previous see clone, we haven't seen a cyclone across this since in to the 1990s and prior too that we have only see three since 1891 across the arabian sea as you can see receipt here. we are following cyclone meg but i want to show you damage that our previous cyclone did as it made it's way towards yemen, massive amounts of flooding at 21-inches fell. also eight fatalities across the league region, now they have not record from this cyclone when this new cyclone is making a little wait a minute this is unprecedented and has never

happened across this region, i want to go closer in, you can see right here it's making its way across parts of the island belong to go yemen right there. it is equivalent to a category two storm, right now expect it to go up to a category three as it makes its way towards the west. and as it makes its way closer to mainland of yemen we don't think it will come down very much in intensity before it does make landfall here. so we do expect to see probably a category one, maybe even a category two equivalent as it makes its way across. still very heavy rain showers expected. flash flooding, very arid region so the water had when it falls doesn't have very many places to go it will fall in to dry riverbeds and we expect to see massive blood ago long the coaster regions, i want to take to you the caribbean. there is quite bait of rain to the gulf coast. >> thank is kevin.

migrants were rescued and thousands boarded ferries to get to the mainland they have been stranded because of a strike by the ferry workers union the vast majority will move toa to the balkans towards the europe. shouting merkel must go, several thousand anti-migration protester marched through berlin they are angry that german chancellor angela merkel are opening borders and welcome being migrants. >> translator: mrs. america is naive or follows some strange ideologist or could be controlled from some external force, she's going too far with the opening of the borders. this isn't doingable, this isn't possible 1234-6b8. >> germany has received 7,750,000 migrants this year. critics have said the united states is not accepting enough

syrian refugees. >> reporter: ahead according to the state department the u.s. has historic i taken half of all fully resettled refugees globally. melissa chan takes a look at the program. >> reporter: after 10 years apart, angelique welcomes her relative and most of all her mother to america. the journey for these refugees who had fled war-torn republic of congo is part of the refugees settlement program the largest in the world. >> we are so happy to be in america. they have been waiting so long, five years. >> reporter: at the airport, the new arrivals meet not only family members, but their case manager, who will help them over the next few days and weeks start their new lives in albuquerque.

>> first with some starter money, but also with everything for applying for social security numbers, registering for school or taking a crash course in english. >> i think the first week, fax, you start to feel the shock. they realize that they are really here. >> reporter: refugees often show up at the airport with nothing. so ahead of their arrival. the office prepares the basics. an apartment for three months. and everything in it. he and his wife left kabul in august. their time in the reception and placement program is wiping down. and they feel pressure to find work. >> i have business and management, but i cannot speak second language [ inaudible ] but i am fortunate. i i can find job as i want. >> reporter: you might think new york city, chicago, or los angeles would be better places for strangers in a strange land to move to. those are multicultural

metropolises but the united states took in almost 70,000 refugees in the last fiscal year and not all of them can move to a big city. many refugees head to medium sized cities including nashville, phoenix, las vegas, boise, cities that aren't too big and aren't too small. >> the community where people know each other. care about each other, there is affordable housing. good jobs, the schools are welcoming. and refugees find cities like that very comfortable. >> my resume maybe a little different. >> reporter: he keeps trying. meeting with his career counselor, working on his resume, determined that his degrees will matter if not immediately, then down the line. but for the latest arrivals, who have not had the chance to think that far ahead in to the future, they are just glad to be alive. >> translator: the fact that i am here is because of the grace of god.

he decided i will not die in the congo. that i will come to america. >> reporter: nephews, feces, ma moo the theynieces,mothers and n the most unlikely place but one of promise, safety, and security. melissa chan, al jazeera, albuquerque p.m. still ahead, an historic day for both china and taiwan as the leaders met for the first in 66 years, what this means for relations between the two countries. and a game consider that once belong today john lennon auctioned. the jaw-dropping amount the instrument fetched, neck.

♪ ♪ the leaders of china and taiwan met today for the first time in over section decades. the talks were held in neutral territory, singapore, and lasted less than an hour. the chairman to promote peace tie ban's outgoing president called for a reduction in hostility and a resolution of disputes across the taiwan straight with the chinese president, it comes ahead of january's presidential election in taiwan where the opposition leader appears to be leading in the polls, jennifer harris joins us now, she served as a member of the policy planning staff at the u.s. department of staff and as a staffer at the u.s. national intelligence council. miss terrace, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> everyone was saying it was just a some pollack meeting. if it is why even bother? >> right. normally i think it's fair game to criticize progress by the number of meetings had. but this case is really

different. this is a situation where we have not seen these two leaders come faith as you said 66 years. and symbolic though it is, it is a true first. and many people hope that it is the first foray in to a new chapter. >> so what motivated president xi to make the visit? what do you think is behind the public as al? >> so with these upcoming elections in taiwan, there is a real sense on the main land that whatever is coming next will not be more friendly than the dance partner that they have right now across the straight. >> you see china building these artificial island and placing military facilities on them in the south china say, how does that factor in to residence xi's res relationship with taiwan and taiwan's relationship with the u.s., we think we still have to mutual defense pact with them?

>> that's exactly right. you have seen china prosecute a two-fold strategy vis-a-vis twice juan the direct overture to his taiwan whether it's missiles or friendlier jess cures of the soared that yo of e seeing today. you have seen them very methodically go around and predicate aid for countries in africa, or latin america of disa vowel of ties in taiwan and they have been very success he feel in isolating taiwan from the rest of the world. it's just about the u.s. and a handful of countries recognizing taiwan so the fact that the u.s. continues to do so and sends arms and send as a defense partner is really one of the major lifelines that taiwan has left. >> do you think it means that the u.s. will have to step up its military presence in the

south china sea if it is going to be a rational work against china's expansion? >> i think the u.s. will have to step up its pressure in the south china sea for many reasons, it's almost already determined. china has already overplayed their hand in that ryne un. and we are starting to see push back from everywhere from japan to taiwan, to indonesia. and certainly the last week's deployment of a u.s. navel did hdestroyer was washington's latest signal that it intends to step in a little bit. >> thank you jennifer harris for being with us on al jazeera america. jennifer harris of the council on foreign relations sharing your insights on the historic meeting between the leaders of china and taiwan. still ahead, a mascot continue jersey at one university.

>> tough that the country gave up on me. >> look at the trauma... every day is torture. >> this is our home. >> nobody should have to live like this. >> we made a promise to these heroes... this is one promise americans need to keep.

controversy over a college's unofficial mascot is named after lord jeffrey amherst a revered british commander in the 18th century. but he also advocated for the mass killing of native americans. al jazeera's john terrett reports from amherst college.

>> reporter: amherst college football the lord jeffs on the field at the start a glitch match with rival rivals trinity college from hartford college, everyone is cheering on the lord jeffs but not everyone is keen on the mascot's name. >> i think it's deeply offensive. >> reporter: amherst college in the rolling hills of western massachusetts is one of the most prestigious and ethnically diverse in the country. but its unofficial mass to the is lord jeffrey amherst who has set to have favored wiping out native americans by giving them blankets infected with small pox. the college is trying to stay out of the issue prefevering to leave t it to students and alums did seed whether he stays or guys. >> it matters he norm justicely tenormously to thea limb nigh a. there were alumni on both sides of thish and i students on both sides of the issue.

the discussion is what's important. >> reporter: but michaela tatum is neither of the native american -- leader of the native person students on campus, she says while the discussion is important, sometimes she thinks that's all the college does. >> how many times can we have the same forum and discussion that we have had countless times at this point. i can't tell you how many meetings i have been without there being any real action. >> reporter: the controversies is a not new the redskins football team in washington, d.c. is mired in controversy the free berg community high school in illinois has a team called the midgets and just this week the sporting goods company adidas announced that it would offer financial help and design resources to any high school teams that wanted to transition away from a controversial name. tom summers is tailgating with his friends ahead of the big game at amherst, his dad was on the football team and tom says he's a little conflicted about the mascot issue. >> i do realize that the lord jeff there are some negative historical connotations i am not oblivious to that by any means

for me personally i have seen lord justify just as a mascot. >> reporter: to be fair the name lord jeff country reall doesn'tp that often. it's not on uniforms, you can find it on t-shirts and other items of cloth that go can be bought here in amherst and occasionally in the school newspaper when they were writing about the sports seems in their columns. virginia has is spear h spearhen effort to have even those handful of references remistled a poll has been order for december so students can vote on the issue. >> we intends to ask do you or do you not want to keep lord jeff as our unofficial mascot. >> reporter: then you'll know. >> we'll can velshi concrete evidence 67 a few years ago a moose wandered on to the campus and many students have suggested the moose might replace lord jeff one student dresses up a aa moose for the anum home think coming game. but for today everyone is just support the team. whatever name of the mascot. john terrett, al jazeera.

amherst, massachusetts. john lennon's long lost guitar sold at auction for nearly 2 1/2 million dollars. it's one of the highest prices ever paid for rock and roll memorabilia. the acoustic gibson was used to record some of the first beatles songs it was stole friend lennon in 1963 and resurfaced in san diego over 50 years later. owner originally paid $100 for it in the '60s, not knowing that it belong today a music lends edge. legend. china welcomed home a giant panda born overseas it was the at the present timeth to return. it was a 26 hour journey that left him reluctant to leave his cage but with plenty of bamboo on offer he quickly made himself at home. he will be kept in i can't were quarantine for about a month before meeting of the had you been lick, austria is one of the nation that his agrees to sends

all native-born pandas back to china once they reach two years of age. thank you for joining us i am randall pinkston in new york "al jazeera investigates" vinnie side next. this is a film about neighbors who'd lived alongside each other for generations. it's an investigation into why they starting killing each other - in the nam