debates, and it has done nothing to hurt him in the polls. no one has yet worked out how to beat him. you can find out much more about the stories we're following on our website. the address is aljazeera.com. ♪ new clues as to the motive of man who opened fire at his job in kansas, killing three people. bernie sanders returns to south carolina, a day before the primaries, in a last-minute attempt to gain ground on hillary clinton. >> so you are going to be starting a trade war against your own -- [ cheers and applause ] >> marco rubio and ted cruz team up to take on donald trump. and all eyes on iran as

voters head to the polls to choose a new parliament. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i richelle carey. we are learning more about what may have been behind shooting that left three people and the gunman dead in kansas. now the sheriff says police had gone to see him about 90 minutes before he opened fire. >> he has been served a protection order at 3:30 that afternoon. 3:30 he gets served. 5:00 we have the first shooting. >> john henry smith has more. >> reporter: police say it was late afternoon when the 38 year old began randomly shooting other drivers from his car,

leaving two people wounded. hours after he was served with an order of protection, he began randomly shooting other drivers from his car, leaving two people wounded, then they say the painter at excel industries headed to his job. 150 employees were on duty at the lawn mower plant. >> the gun was strapped to him. he was ready to go. >> there was a report of a shooting in the parking lot of excel, and then the report came out about an active shooter inside excel. >> we heard a pop pop, and we thought it was metal falling on the ground, and then doors open and people started screaming coming out saying go to the front, go to the front. >> there was a particular law enforcement here in heston that responded right away, and even though he took fire, he went inside of that place and saved multiple lives. >> reporter: that officer acting

alone reported bishot and killed ford. later police surrounded ford's home but found no one else inside. >> i just can't believe that the guy that shot people up lived right across the street from us. >> reporter: ford was a father of two with a record of criminal offenses in florida and kansas. earlier this month ford posted video of himself online shooting a weapon into a field, and he posed with firearms in pictures posted to his facebook account back in january. and yet people who new him say they didn't see this coming. >> i never would have thought in a million years he would have done it. prior to work today, he talked to me as we were walking in to clock in this afternoon. >> he was a nice guy. i mean we hung out, and everything was hunky dory. >> john henry smith, al jazeera. there is just one more day

left before voters go to the polls in south carolina for the democratic primary. hillary clinton's family is campaigning there for her today. bernie sanders is returning to the palmetto state after focusing the last few days on super-tuesday states. ines ferre joins us. so hillary clinton has a big lead in south carolina, so why the focus there? she seems to have this thing on lock. >> reporter: well, hillary clinton is really playing up her connection with barack obama because in 2008 he carried this state in the primaries with the black vote. she is hoping to do the same thing with the african american vote. she has been talking about issues such as jobs, higher minimum wage, health care and gun control. at a rally she spoke about the charleston shooting last year, and how the attacker was able to

obtain a gun. >> i'm going to work with you and all of the people who support common sense gun reform, to get comprehensive background checks to close the gun show loophole, to close what is called the charleston loophole. >> reporter: and with a 24-point lead in south carolina, the clinton campaign is really hoping for a breakout win going into super-tuesday. they hope if they can get a big enough win, they can get this notion back up again that she would be the inevitable nominee going into tuesday. >> okay. bernie sanders is returning to south carolina today. what has he been saying on the campaign trial that might connect with the voters there? >> reporter: well, this morning he is in minnesota. he had a rally there this morning, and he has been going out to ohio, illinois and michigan. yesterday he was at a rally

talking about campaign finances, comparing himsz with hillary clinton, the type of donors she has gotten her campaign and the donors that donate to his campaign. >> we're going to ask middle class and working families of this country for the help. and in the last nine months we have received over 4 million individual contributions. [ cheers ] >> reporter: and bernie sanders will be here today. he is got two rallies. they will be dueling rallies with hillary clinton, because they will be having one right here in columbia, and also about an hour south of here. >> ines ferre, thank you very much. immigration has been a key issue in this campaign. and one of donald trump's proposals to build a wall is trumping strong reaction from

mexico's former president. fox question hispanics who say they support trump. >> i would like to know who those hispanics are, because they again -- they are followers of a false prophet, and he is going to take them to the desert. and if they think they will benefit with an administration lead by don trump, they are wrong. they must open their eyes, please you hispanics, latins in u.s. open your eyes. >> we don't surrender making our decision -- our decision-making skills to mexico, rome, the vatican. i mean, we make up our own minds. >> polls from the nevada caucuses show trump won the hispanic vote there. as for the republicans they are gearing up for the next big contest that is super-tuesday.

candidates will compete in a dozen state primaries and caucuses. challenges had one more chance at last night's debate to stop donald trump's momentum. michael shure tells us, ted cruz and marco rubio aimed all of their fire on the front runner. >> you are a loser -- >> i don't know anything about bankrupting four companies either. [ cheers ] >> reporter: the republican debate in houston was a verbal boxing match. the punches started early over immigration and border security. >> if you build he wall the way you build trump towers you'll be using illegal workers to do it. >> reporter: senator marco rubio and senator ted cruz traded turns hitting donald trump. >> it's interesting that donald promises he will appoint justices who will defend religious liberty, but this man for 40 years has given money to

democrats. >> reporter: trump insisted he is the only one who could reach across the isle. >> i watched ted stand on the senate floor for a day or two days and talk and talk and talk. we have to have somebody that can make deals. >> i watched him repeat himself five times four weeks ago -- >> i saw you refeet yourself five times, five minutes ago. >> john kasich touted his accomplishments as governor. >> i inherited an $8 billion hole in ohio. i have common sense regulations, tax cuts, and a fiscal plan. >> reporter: at times there was so much yelling in the center, it was hard to tell who was landing the punches, and harder for the moderators to keep control. but the candidates were determined to be heard, because

next tuesday, super-tuesday, could decide the nomination. michael shure, al jazeera, houston, texas. new developments today in the flint water crisis. the "detroit free press" and detroit news say email records show officials in the governor's office urged flint to return to detroit's water system in 2014. two lawyers warned of the dangers months after the city switched. governor snyder just signed a $30 million plan to reimburse flint residents for their water bills. new details on the size of a gas leak in los angeles suburb. it discharged more than 97,000 tons of methane. at its peak 60 tons of natural gas was spewing from the pipeline each hour, that's equal to the emissions of 600,000 cars. now to syria where a truce

is set to take effect in a few hours. russia says it expects the members of the u.n. security council to support the plan. sergei lavrov spoke. >> translator: of course nobody can give 100% guarantees, but there is serious ground to secure this move and make it stable. >> james bayes is at the united nations. james what is the natest on this? >> reporter: well, the latest is some important developments in the coming hours ahead of that truce or cessation of hostilities which is supposed to start at midnight damascus, the beginning of saturday, that is here in the u.s., eastern time, 5:00 p.m. before that, to give it a little bit more weight going into it, the u.n. security council will be meeting two hours before that 3:00 pm eastern time. they will be passing a resolution, we believe to endorse the idea of this cessation of hostilities.

and we wait for 5:00 pm eastern, when everyone will be watching very, very closely, whether there is a lull in the violence in syria. they are hoping that perhaps there could be a significant lull. >> and james, so, yeah, let's more about that. is anybody optimistic that this is going to work? >> reporter: yes, i think certainly the u.s. and russia are hopeful that if there is a bit of a lull, if they can perhaps get some more humanitarian aid into some of the besieged areas, then perhaps you have the atmosphere, where you could within a week restart those stalled geneva talks between the syrian parties, and the other thing that is going to happen i think is we'll here from the u.n. special envoy, and he, before the cessation is supposed to start will come up with a new date for those talks. it has moved a few times, i'm

told, but the date is likely going to be the 7th of march, back in geneva trying to get everyone around the table again. >> all right. james bayes thank you. >> reporter: iran is in his first historic relations since the nuclear deal. and soccer's future at stake. fifa chooses a new president.

iran today is choosing its new parliament. voting has been extended for another hour, thanks to a larger than expected turnout. the election should shift the country's direction. one is parliament, the other is the assembly of experts. that group of three -- theologians will choose a new supreme leader. voting today does not guarantee change. the panel of clerics barred about a third of candidates from even being on the ballot. >> reporter: they thought there would be a turn out of perhaps 70%, and it is looking that way, voting extended for a couple of hours, at least as far as we

understand it into the evening here on friday at this historic beautiful mosque in the center of tehran, the queues of voters have been stretching around the block all day long. and they still are well into darkness now. and that would tend to favorite the reformists and moderates. it is expected they will win in the tehran district. but that only accounts for about 12% of the seats. hard line support in the rest of the country remains extremely strong. with the sanctions against iran lifted the country is eager to expand trade and boost the economy. iran pistachios could have an effect. >> reporter: these trees are

winter bare now, but soon these branchs will be loaded down with nutty leddy louseness. >> each one of those buds will produce a cluster, and each cluster can have anywhere from two to 25 nuts on them. this looks very good. >> reporter: after years of punishing drought, this farm manager forecasts a bumper crop. >> reporter: we have about 115% of our normal snow pack. >> reporter: the industry is worth about $1.3 billion. but politics are complicating things for u.s. pistachio growers. suddenly they are facing stiff competition from iran. iran is the world's number one pistachio-producing country. the u.s. is in second place. now that most of the economic and trade sanctions have been lifted, iranians are free to

export their pistachio to many parts of the world, and in many parts of the world, people seem to think that iran's pistachio taste better than california's. at the american pistachio grower's association, officials say iranian competition in the export market is fierce. >> iran has taken control of certain markets worldwide. china would be a good example, because of their proximity to china, they were able to shift there at a cost much more competitive than what we would be able to sell into that same marketplace. >> reporter: he is confident iranian pistachio won't put a dent in the u.s. domestic market due to high tariffs. >> we are not concerned. >> reporter: but in one part of california people go nutty for iran's nuts. so many people of iranian

descent live here it is take themm themmed tehran-lagas. >> it's the best in the world. there is only one problem with the persian pistachio. if you start eating, you have to finish it. >> reporter: and that's the story in a nutshell. rob reynolds, al jazeera, los angeles. movies for and by the fans. how technology and the internet are helping amateurs become more polished.

al jazeera america. it costs a lot of money to go to college. but budget problems are causing headaches for some college students in illinois. al jazeera's andy roesgen has the story. darren martin was voted mr. csu at chicago state last year, but even he can't conjure up a solution to losing his scholarship money, which could mean no diploma this year. >> me being a senior, if i was a transfer, i could be reclassified as a sophomore. >> reporter: chicago state and 11 other illinois higher education institutions, depend in part on state money. but the state legislature is

locked in a budget standoff with first-term republican governor. for an unprecedented eight months and counting, there has been no state budget, which means csu hasn't received 30% of its budget, that's $38 million. >> we have basically essentially put everything on the table, including all personnel, including all programs, including buildings. >> reporter: the school which serves mainly minority and lower-income students has warned it could have trouble staying open next month. spring break has been canceled and this semester shortened all in a race to get to the end of the school year before the money runs out. >> i really need my education. i can't think of any other place to be but here. >> reporter: the roughly 7,000 students here are already feeling the pinch. >> i already work paycheck to paycheck to pay my bills and

things so now i have to find a way to pay for school too. so it's just -- it's crazy. >> reporter: student activities director wonders if her program and job are in jeopardy. >> our students who have been leading, despite -- they are the ones keeping us going. so their optimism is really helping us. >> students at csu have spent weeks protesting. they blame both democrats and republicans, but especially the governor for vetoing a budget bill that would have kept funds flowing to the school. the governor in turn blames bad fiscal management over the years at csushgsu. >> they have been abusing taxpayer dollars, and wasting money for years. >> of course there are inefficiencies we need to improve on. we certainly don't believe we have a $38 million inefficiency.

>> bernie sanders's appearance has special meaning? light of a recently discovered photo of him being arrested in protesting for minority students. >> he understands what we go through, and what we need to further our education, and how hard it is to pay for your education. >> reporter: there are proposals floating around the state legislature that could restore the budget separately from the state budget. and the school's president insists as grim as the outlook is now, this budget stalemate won't be the death nail for this 150 year old school. >> we will rebuild and recover. >> andy roesgen, al jazeera, chicago. hollywood is gearing up for its biggest day of the year, the oscars, but the future of film making may not be in the l.a.

studios. super fans are remaking films. and they are getting so good, some studios are taking legal action. >> reporter: fans move to make films. we're talking superfilms here. take one favorite movie, and add your own twist. the captain on the bridge here, that is the director of a star trek fan film. the short movie was so popular, he started making a full length sequel with cash from fans. but this production has come out of warp speed because of a legal battle with star trek's owners. >> it has given the fans the opportunity to fill in holes of their favorite franchise that they have never been able to do before. i think people are amazed at the quality of most fan films these

days. >> reporter: from star trek to star wars, they are all out in the universe. lucas film holds aweirds every year to honor the winner of the best fan film. there are just three steps you have to go through, first of all the funding, but who needs the bank manager, you have social media, crowd funding, you get the cash and the sky is the limit. then there's the equipment. broadcast quality equipment is readily available. everyone is a potential filmmaker. get some friends along, you have even got yourself a crew. and then there is distribution. cinema, for get that. you have got the internet, immediate transmission and immediate feedback. >> just because people have the tools doesn't mean they are going to use them directly. >> reporter: this man directed many fan films.

his adult take on power rangers has had more than 17 million views so far. for him, it's all about making a statement. >> what i try to do when i make fan films is try to infuse some sort of idea into it, within the mythology. >> reporter: for most fans it's just a hobby. they say they keep the spirit of the film alive long after they leave the box office. creative people out there. an unbelievable site in hawaii. dozens of the world's top surfers got a chance to surf waves more than 40 feet tall. tens of thousands of people watched as the surfers really risk their lives for the perfect wave. surfers have been waiting six years for the conditions to be right. thank you for joining us.

i'm richelle carey. the news continues next live from london. keep it here. ♪ if you are just joining us here on al jazeera, you will see that live shot there from fifa headquarters in zurich, the votes have been counted and that is the fan -- man is going to be taking over as president. there was a surprise upset, actually in that first round of voting. gianni, infantino is now the new president of fifa. he has a very big job ahead of him indeed. let's pick up with lee wellings live in zurich. so we have got our