mike viqueira at the white house, will this satisfy the critics or just stoke the fires?>> reporter: well, i think for the timing, the critics will be mollified. and shinseki, it's not often that the white house will allow an outgoing cabinet secretary to make a parting speech. and that for sometime by secretary shinseki, the white house had to sign-off on that. they knew the choreography, and they knew that they were going to be calling shinseki here to the white house immediately after that speech and the course that the events would take. and they offered shinseki the opportunity. and i think it's a very significant sign of respect from the president to shinseki, and the president saying several times that he has great respect enter him and he considered him a friend and good man. he said i can't explain the lack of integrity among some of our leaders in the healthcare facility. it's a breach of trust. and i will not defend it because it's indifferencable and we know what happened in the hours following those comments. >> mike viqueira at the white house. and we contin

our white house correspondent mike viqueira is in washington. what else can we expect to hear from the president today? >> reporter: we can look at today as the third in the three-act play. the president had the surprise visit in the heart of afghanistan over the memorial day weekend on sunday there addressing the troops. some of the 32,000 left there now after a peak of 100,000 at the time of president obama's surge way back in 2011. then we saw the president yesterday, another surprise appearance frankly in the rose garden where he put some flesh on the bones of something he announced long ago, and that was his goal to remove all american combat troops out of afghanistan by the end of the year. what was new? the number that will be left in that residual force you just described by the end of the year, 9800, by the end of next year half that pament and by the end of 2016 a normal embassy force with security personnel of course around him. but then today what's being billed as a major foreign policy speech, the president said yesterday he wants

. >> mike viqueira for us at the white house. mike, there are serious allegations beyond cooking the books. what is the president saying about it, and what is the president going to do about it. >> reporter: this is galling for president obama and this is an issue president obama has been talking about since he was senator on the committee of veteran's affairs in the senate, campaigning on his pledge to reduce the wait times in the va. these are chronic problems, they go back decades if not generations. the president has thrown money at these programs, yet the wait persists and many are calling on the president to fire his va secretary erik shinseki. let's listen to nor of what the president had to say. >> he has put his heart and soul into this, and i said to him today, i want to see what the results of these reports are, and there is going to be accountability. >> reporter: rob neighborrob nan disattached. accused of cooking the books, showing that veterans only had to wait 14 days to make an appointment and getting in to see a

we turn to mike viqueira on capitol hill. and any idea what has come out of that. >> the united states and it's allies and the eu have broadened the sanctions against russia if it escalators significantly in the ukraine. and the question is, what is the threshold? what is the trigger? they are tied to the russian economy, much more than the united states, and in a sense, this is an old story that has been going on for months now, and also on the agenda, the comments by vladimir putin, letting it be known that he would favor a postponement on the referendum in eastern ukraine, something that the united states views as ill legitimate. and also the may 25th elections. if russia were to interfere with the may 25th elections, if they were to go forward with the referendum, followed by rush troops spilling over in the ukraine, well, russian officials say that could be the trigger to increase the electoral sanctions against russia, but again, they have to get the europeans onboard, mike. >> what can you tell us about the travel warn

mike viqueira, thank you very much.rida could the hard hit by any affects of climb hat change, there are fears the coastline will disappear and greater fears that the sunshine shade is ready. that tash is, what are coastal communities doing to keep the water out? >> i am stands on the ground a major road here on miami beach and after high tied and a heavy rain, i found myself up to my shins in flood water. that's why the state is in the midst of a massive construction project. installing these drainage pipes and pump pumps underneath the rd and trying to elevate it six-inches to alleviate flood in this future but one expert we spoke to says these efforts are for not. more than 1200 miles of picturesque coastline lure people to live and visit the sunshine state. but the tropical paradise of south florida will one day be worked away by the ocean. scientists say it's not a matter of if, it's when. >> we are really living on borrowed time and we are going to enjoy it. but i can't appreciate the over exuberance for building

and mike viqueira is at the white house. it won't be easy for president obama to change things, will it? >> the lines were drawn in the president's first term. remember the cap and trade legislation? the white house was hopeful, and it failed spectacularly, and many think that it cost the democrats seats in the long-term. we have a situation where conservative democrats in places like louisiana and arkansas and alaska are pushing things like the keystone pipeline extension. and that's being pushed by the conservative democrats this week, going rogue against the president. and the president today gave a series of interviews to meteorologists, talking about this, and he met in congress over the course of the last six years. >> in the last five years ago, we have seen some resistance from congress, and part of the reason of putting forward this assessment, which involved hundreds of people, experts, businesses, not-for-profits, and local communities sharing their experiences, is we want to emphasize to the public, this is not s

mike viqueira is live on capitol hill. mike, break down what happened inside the meeting today? >> reporter: policy makers in washington have been focused on this question of when and what those broad sectoral sanctions of the west are threatening to impose against russia if they continue with their aggression in ukraine and it appears from everything we have just heard that they are, in fact, doing that. when would they be triggered? this is the key question. and policy makers have dodged all around that question, perhaps, mindful of the fact that it's difficult for get europeans to go along as dependent as they are, much more so than the united states with trade with russia. a little bit more clarity today. victorian newland, the assistant secretary of state for european and eurasian affairs testifying before that house panel today said one trigger would definitely be if the russians sought to disrupt those elections the united states has emphasized these elections in a couple of weeks on may 25th that are scheduled for ukraine. as to what will be sanctioned, the west has talk

mike viqueira is at the white house. do we have a heads-up about what the president might be saying? >> reporter: not yet. this scandal has grown over the course of the last week. rob neighbors is the deputy chief of staff in the west wing to go to the veterans affairs department and look at the allegations. the genesis of this, 40 veterans died waiting for treatment at the phoenix, arizona v a facility. that's the allegation. it's evolved into a storm that's engulfing other va centers around the country. the issue is this. there are bonuses ladled out and incentives for the va to handle veterans' medical needs in as rapid a manner as possible. the va is overwhelmed and unable to do it. these are long-standing problems, so the allegation is they made these dummy waiting lists to mask the effect that many were waiting weeks, if not months for treatment. so the president now in the midst of what has become a scandal here. there's no question about it, del. he has summoned eric shinseki, the president of veterans affairs. t

mike viqueira is at the white house. good to see you. what did the president say about the main component about this plan. >> reporter: it's the first bridge built in new york state in 50 years. that bridge, the tappan zee bridge over the hudson rive built in 1955. it's head of schedule and below budget, that's certainly good news and that's the backdrop the president chose to promote of what he wants to do in terms of transportation funding. if congress doesn't act transportation funds are going to run out of the money by the end of the summer. that could cost some 700,000 jobs. he has a proposal to spend another $300 billion to address some of the problems that we just heard about, trying to get that grade up from a d-plus. here's what the president had to say about his program for transportation barack obam. >> obama: we're using the same plan to projects all across america. we're announcing 11 more projects to accelerate from boston south station to peninsulpensacola bay bridge toh and south seattle. we're cutting bureaucratic red ta

mike viqueira joining us live from the white house. mike, thank you for joining us this afternoon. >> boko haram's leader has threatened to sell the school girls in the market. they have done more to rescue the girls and end gender-based violence in that country. a spokesperson at women for women international. amber, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> give us an idea, amber, what it's like to be a female in nigeria. >> it depends on where you are, michael. it's challenging for women, particularly women in nigeria are unable to access education, which is the pathway to find employment to support themselves and their families. and the struggle is really seen when you look at where you live in m nigeria. in the rural parts of nigeria 10% of girls and women are seen as having access to education. throughout the country is roughly 55%. the experience of having access to formal education is very difficult. the majority of women we work with, we've trained over 50,000, and to give you an idea of their lives and the supp

mike viqueira is at the white house with more.t will not be easy for president obama to change some people's minds on capitol hill, does it. >> you are right. the die was cast. the partisan's lines were drawn. the cap and trade legislation put forward. a lot of promise, the white house was hopeful, it failed and many think it cost democrats seats over the long firm. we had a situation where democrats from louisiana, arkansas, alaska, in the senate are pushing things like the keystone pipeline. it is pushed by the conservative democrats, going rogue against the president. they gave a series of interviews to meteorologists and he talked about some of the recalls trants that he met in congress over the course of the last six years. >> we have been signing this for the last five years. you've seen some of the resistance from congress. part of the reason for putting forward the assessment, involving hundreds of people, experts, businesses, not for profits and local communities sharing their experiences is we want to the emphasise to th

. >> reporter: mike viqueira live at the white house. take us through the specifics of the troop withdraw. >> reporter: you know, it's been a long time coming. this is a promise that he had made on the campaign trail. and he has been saying all along that the u.s. u.s. combat role s going to end. however, the agreements he hoped to reach with the afghanistan government, how many troops will be left there, and exactly what their mission will be. at the height of mr. obama's afghan surge, the sift had 100,000 troops on the ground. by the time of sunday's surprise visit in afghanistan that number was 32,000. you heard the president say that there would be 9800 troops with that number cut by half by the end of the year and then there will be normal security presence at the embassy office, and 2,184 americans have died in the war in afghanistan. the president making the announcement saying he wants to turn the page. >> the bottom line is it's time to turn the page on more than a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused on the

mike viqueira joins us from the white house with more. >> let's go flow some of the biggest races on a big day in american politics kentucky was the match up. mitch mcconnell beat back a challenge from his right, businessman matt bevin, with 60% of the vote. he'll case connecticut secretary of state alison lundergan grimes a democrat in a tight and expensive race in the fall. in georgia, it's bad news for tea party conservatives in the go senate. at this hour the two most conservative, five republican candidates are praling badly, david perdue, and jack kingston are leading. karen handell is in the mix. for a right to face democrat michelle nunn. in pennsylvania new coming tom wolf beat allyson schwartz, a sitting member of the house of representatives, to take on tom corbett in november. in arkansas, mark prior won the primary as the conservative representative, tom cotton, they'll go head to head in a race that could determine who owns the senate. tea party-backed republicans are expected to fall short in races for the senate and congress. have you to say it's been a tough day for

mike viqueira joins us. good to see you.ho is mr jaaba and who is he meeting with at the white house. >> fully years ago president obama first, after some hesitation, called for the ouster of bashar al-assad, since that time it's been one bad news after the next. bashar al-assad's forces have the upper hand on the battlefield as well. allegations from human rights watch and others that there has been a series of barrel bomb attacks. homs has been turned back to bashar al-assad. the humanitarian crisis, ghastly as it may be continues, and the geneva petitions process appears to have fallen apart. against the backdrop the president comes to washington. he's been with a week, met with secretary of state john kerry publicly last week. today more hush, hush. a scheduled meeting with the national security advisor, susan rirks the white house -- susan rice, the white house letting it know that president obama may drop by, all informal, not high profile. and some press officers telling me moments ago that - susan rice's press office

mike viqueira has more. >> reporter: it was president obama's fourth trip to afghanistan. each and every time it's cloaked in secrecy for security purposes much the first trip in almost two years, visiting the troops, their commanding officers, the american ambassador there, speaking to the troops at bagram. it was decidedly focused on american troops, this memorial day weekend, not getting involved in meeting with afghan officials - for an obvious reason - they are in the middle of a run off. hamid karzai, a thorn in the side of the obama administration for some time on his way out. it is a crucial time for another reason. the united states government and the afghan government appear to be inching closer with hamid karzai's departure with a status of troops agreement. what is their role in 2014 - that is is a long-time promise for president obama to remove american troops, ending their combat roll. president obama saying that the afghan forces - it's turning out better than expected. by no stretch of the imagination is the situation in afghanistan can completely secure. h

white house correspondent mike viqueira joins me now.ike, the president says he's losing patience with climate change deniers, and the gop response to this report appears to be setting up another battle. what are your thoughts? >> i mean that's absolutely right. we saw the senate republican leader who has his own election coming up in november, and virtually the only people who vote in midterm elections and non-presidential elections are the hardcore base motivated supporters, and this is both of those angles. the president has serious problems with those on the left, particularly those who are part of the environmental activist community, they're angry about keystone, he hasn't killed that. and many suspect that he's going to approve it after the midterm elections. they're angry about fracking, and there's almost a panacea to america's energy needs, saying that the united states is going to surpass russia and saudi arabia as top oil and gas producers. we have seen mitch mcconnell on the floor of the senate today, saying that this is a s

mike viqueira, what are the races? >> we'll start with kentucky, the biggest race. the polls closed an hour ago and we know that mitch mcconnell, the senate republican leader, has beaten back a challenge from the right, from mat bev-in, and he goes on in november for an expensive race. more bad news for the gop, the most conservative candidates are not expected to make the runoff. david perdue and karen handel. the top two will face michelle nun, the daughter of sam nunn. and in idaho, another sitting member of congress is expected to beat the tea party backed candidate. mike simpson over brian smith. for governor, arkansas and org on for senate races, but overall, john, it's expected to be a bad day for tea party backed candidates. >> explain that, mike. >> we have seen in the last several cycles, republicans, and this is a midterm election, where only the hard corp voters are expected to come out and carry the day, and especially in the primary. the fact that the tea party are losing is significant, and suggests that the movement has peaked, at least for the timin

mike viqueira and in washington. let's talk about promises versus there was, is the new report much of a game changer. >> i think it will harden the political counter. it's a mid-year election. politically, not to mention in terms of climate and ramifications that come from the report that the administration made public. you know as well as i that this is likely to entrench the opinions heading into the election, and you are right, there's a political element, no question. in order to fire up the base, it is the only people you can rely on to turn out in non-presidential years. >> the obama administration - i mean, moving forward, is this a signal from them that this is the number one environmental issue of the final two years of the obama presidency. >> that is a great question. and we hear about the president's refocus on environmental issues. for a couple of reasons. many in the environmental community, activists, are not happy with the president. he delayed the key teen pipeline decision, enhanced and talked laud

mike viqueira is live at the white house right now. give us a breakdown of america's speech. >> reporter: part reconciliation and part rebuttal to the president's critic who is have been vocal, and it's not just criticism of president foreign policy, criticism o. the president said while america continues to be the indispensable nation, we need to partner with those against those who break international law. he announced a $5 billion fund for countries to partake in training around the country. he talks about working with congress to assist syrian rebels fighting bashar al-assad. let's listen. >> a critical focus of this effort is the ongoing crisis in syria. as frustrating as it is, there are no easy answers, no military solutions that can eliminate the terrible suffering any time soon. as president i made a decision that we should not put american troops into the middle of this increasingly sectarian war. i believe that is the right decision. that does not mean that we should help the syrian people stand up against a dictator who bom

mike viqueira is at the white house.e, bring us up to date on what is happening right now. >> reporter: in the last 48 hours we have seen an about face and a change of heart from the democrats on benghazi that republicans had been clamoring for. speaker boehner appointing a committee about three weeks ago. but up until yesterday nancy pelosi said democrats were not going to be participating. she had held back any direct answer. seven republicans, five democrats were her objection. she want to give republicans the stage alone, they would be attacking, centering their fire on hillary clinton and no one has to be reminded that she is the front runner to run for president in 2016. and that's what though advocating stays off in the beginning had anticipated. and now john kerry subpoenaed to testify about benghazi. this coming to us villa reuters. he will be testifying before this benghazi committee at a date yet undetermined if the committee according to reuters withdrawals its subpoenas. so some developments that rep sent a

mike viqueira is live in washington, d.c. it's been two years since the president last went to afghanistan. >> we heard the whoosh of marine one landing on the south lawn. it's the fourth time the president has made a trip like this, undercover of secrecy, even the press traveling with him is told not to tell anyone of these overnight trips. the president landing just before dawn met with american commanders there. the american ambassador. it's memorial day but more importantly, the year the president has promised to remove american troops from their combat role that has left in 13 years. we'll have more of what the president told the troop. >> afghans will take full responsibility for their security and our combat mission will be over. america's war in afghanistan will come to a responsible end. >> the president has a major foreign policy speech, that's how it's build at the white house. coming up wednesday at west point. >> so far, afghan president karzai has refused to sign that deal that would allow the u.s. to keep a sma

. >> randall in washington, and we have our white house correspondent, mike viqueira in washington as well. and mike, there have been many scandals in washington. obamacare, and benghazi and this one has legs. >> you're right. it has not been seen as a partisan principal like benghazi. or obama obama. >> i have to cut you off. >> shinseki has presented me with the review of the facilities nationwide. and what they found was that the misconduct has not been limited to a few va facilities, but many across the country. it's totally unacceptable. our veterans deserve the best. they have earned it. and last week, i said if we found misconduct, it would be punished and i meant it. secretary shinseki has begun the process of firing many of the people responsible, including the senior leaders at the phoenix va. he has canceled any bonuses this year for senior executives, and he has ordered the va personally contact every veteran in phoenix waiting for appointments, to get them the care it they need and deserve. this morning, i think that some of you also heard rick take a truly remarkable act

mike viqueira live in washington for us.e, thank you very much. >>> already local reports coming out of nigeria saying 24 security personnel have been killed by boko haram. it happened at a nigerian military base. it's also being reported that a senior police officer in charge of that area is one of the people that was killed. we will bring you more information as it becomes available. meanwhile, there are new questions in nigeria, a top military official there saying they know where the missing school girls are, but will not use force to rescue them. the 276 girls seized by boko haram have now been held for more than a month. and as erica reports, for some criticism of the military is commonplace. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: in the wake of mass protests and prayers. nigeria's defense chief made an important announcement by the much-criticized military mission to rescue the missing school girls abducted by boc boko hara. >> the good news for the girls is that we know where they are but we cannot tell you. we cannot tell i where they ar

mike viqueira reporting from washington, thank you. coming up, grading president obama's foreign policy and a programming note, at 10:00 a.m. eastern, we'll be bringing you the president's speech at west point live. >> in afghanistan, a car from the u.s. consulate under attack, two americans hurt in that incident. it happened in one of afghanistan's largest cities. u.s. embassy and kabul saying the adjustment government is working with afghan authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. >> a pregnant woman in pakistan has been stoned to death by her own family. the woman, just 25 years of age was the victim of a so-called honor killing. she had apparently ejected an arranged marriage and instead married the man she loved. she was attacked outside a courthouse bay group of about 20 people, including her father and her own brothers. her father has been arrested, police are now looking for all the others involved in that attack. >> california state lawmakers are proposing new gun legislation in response to last week's mass murder in

iwe'll go to mike viqueira, who is the white house for us. >> reporter: long wait times and cooked books. president obama said if that's what really happened, if that's what really happened then things have got to change. critics say we've heard this all before. heads must roll. with allegations of deception and misconduct mounting. >> if these allegations prove to be true it is dishonorable. it is disgraceful, and i will not 20 tolerate it, period. >> reporter: president obama's angry comment came after he met with his be beleaguered veterans secretary erik sh she kinsey. >> the reports emerged last month of staffers cooking the books submitting phoney documents to make it seem that veterans were receiving timely care when in reality several even died. >> tough words are just not enough when it comes to this issue. we need action. >> but it's not only republicans. the american legion was also critical, respond together president in a statement. the question is this. if the administration had known about these issues for at least four years why is it just now taking action? the legion ha

were manipulated in 60% of facilities investigated, and al jazeera white house correspondent mike viqueira has been covering this story all day, and mike, the problems at the v.a. hospitals do not end with shinseki's departure. >> reporter: i think the public pressure will go down. the heat, the scrutiny from the press will go off. but these problems are systemic. they are decades old, and many reacting to shinseki's departure. republicans and democrats saying this management structure has to be uprooted, pulled up by the roots and changed from top to bottom. this issue had been cascading. turning into a controversy, a scandal. there were no fewer than two reports outloi outlining the deception and mall feance. some 1700 veterans on the books as having appointments they were never able to see the doctor, and 40 died waiting to do so. now a second report comin coming from erik shinseki and rob nabors, outlining the figure you pointed out. 64% of v.a. facilities nationwide, not just phoenix, experienced the same cooking of the books. shinseki was here at the white house here in person to del

. >> mike viqueira in washington. take us through the specifics of the troop withdraw plan. >> reporter: the president has long promised withdrawal by 2014. it's something that he has campaigned on and promised ever since. his surprise visit outside of kabul was a precursor to the announcement he made today. he laid out the numbers. at the height of mr. obama's serge, by 2010 and 2011, u.s. had 200,000 troops on the ground. by the time of his visit was 32,000. 9800 americans left in afghanistan. that number cut in half by the end of 2014. and by the end of 2016 the president promises the u.s. will have a normal emabout as is presence and over 13 years of war. now the americans who do remain over the course next two years in country in accordance with this agreement will have a role of counter terrorism, aiding and training of afghan forces. they will not be involved in front line combat. >> the bottom line is it's time to turn the page on more than a decade of so much of our foreign policy was focused on the wars in a

mike viqueira is live for us at the white house with more. >> reporter: tony, there has been a change of tactics among washington democrats. over the last 24 to 48 hours, you know about that special committee that john boehner formed at the end of other committee investigations that have gone on now for the better part of two years into the attacks of the bengahzi compound, the american consulate that left four americans dead including ambassador chris stevens. they say there will be seven republicans and five democrats. they said it was a witch hunt to drum up support in an election year. suddenly an about face from nancy pelosi. then we hear from john kerry, they were threatening to subpoena john kerry on the standing committee. not the committee already in existence chaired by darrell issa. he chairs the over sight committee. kerry gave an offer. i'll testify once but only to one of these committee. darrell issa's committee or the special committee. the up shot, john kerry will be before darrell issa's committee june 12th. democrats see this as a political witch hunt but they do no

mike viqueira joins us no washington. suspect it will be the hottist topic, in fact. >> funny, this will be the third overseas requessea's trip the president has taken. they finally threw off the yoke of oppression in 1989 after result of ten years of upheaval and solidarity. they're worried now. they're looking at events in ukraine. they see the up tick of russian aggression and have historical reasons for nervous. now talking about l & g ports. they want more l & g from the united states. they're talking about loosening export restrictions. then the president leaves that hotbed and goes to the g-7. this is a punishment for vladimir putin. it's no longer part of the g-8. putin is playing a sophisticated game. last week he said yeah, these sanctions are hurting us. we are very concerned about what's happening. we're going to pull our troops back from the board with ukraine. we're not going to be fomenting any unrest and we'll respect the election. clearly what's doing and any number of analysts will tell you that he's dri

. >> reporter: mike viqueira, al jazeera, washington. >> president obama outlined a number of proposal in his overall vision. libby casey joins us from washington, d.c. walk us through some of these proposals. >> reporter: tony, the white house saying let's let other countries take the lead. we'll help them control terrorism in their own borders. another looking for human dignity and human rights not just for the moral causes but because it will help the united states. president obama used today's speech to focus and shift his gaze to what will happen in his last two years in office. the two years he wants to leave a legacy on regarding foreign policy. problem called for a balance between solving the world's problems. >> the question we face, the question each of you will face is not whether america will lead but how we will lead. not just to secure our peace and prosperity, but also extend peace and prosperity around the globe. >> how to strike that balance is the question. and both critics and supporters are wrestling with just what a powerful america abroad looks like. mark jacobs s

mike viqueira is standing by at the white house. mike, 60% of clinics were cooking the books. in the wake of that, could the secretary stay on board? >> reporter: it was 64%. nationwide. remember, this scandal started in phoenix. there was yet another report on wednesday that started this firestorm that culminated in the events of this morning. but that report were wednesday said in 1700 cases in phoenix alone veterans were shown to have appointments when they were never able to see a doctor. as you said, cooking the books. events really culminated in erik shinseki delivering his interim report in person and offering his resignation. as you just heard the president say he accepted that resignation. why? because this had just become such a firestorm. in congress there were many democrats who had joined republicans and it could not be seen as a partisan witch-hunt. this was bipartisan. a veteran who had lost both le legs, and now a congresswoman from the president's home state of illinois. she herself joining the chorus. the president and secretary shinseki came to the same conc

today president obama announced his exit plan for troops in afghanistan, and mike viqueira is in washington to tell us about it. mike? >> it has been a long time coming for president obama, and with today's announcement, the president hopes to turn the page to a new era in american foreign policy. appearing in the rose garden, president obama made the announcement that he has been working on for years. >> it's time to turn to foreign policy. >> what's new are the details, the number of troops that will stay in afghanistan and their mission. at the height of mr. obama's afghan surge between mid 2010 and spring 2011, the u.s. had 100,000 troops on the ground. and that number was 32,000, and by the beginning of next year, there will be 9,008 americans left in afghanistan, with that number cut in half by the end of the year, and by 2016, the u.s. will have a normally embassy presence. in 13 years of war, 2,000 americans have died in afghanistan. in his sunday visit to american troops, the president told them that their mission was almost completed. >> al qaeda is on it's heels in this part of t

we get more from mike viqueira. >> it's a another example of president obama going around congress toct his agenda. the president announcing moves to promote solar energy. among them, $2 billion to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings. support for training programs at community colleges around the country. and new standards for electric motors. he is also encouraging the use of solar power in public housing where the federal government has a stake, and touting the increased use of solar in major american businesses like wal-mart. he spoke at a wal-mart where he hit republicans one more time. >> unfortunately inside of washington we have still got some climate deniers who shout loud, but they are wasting everybody's time on seat l -- a settled debate. >> but he received some backlash, they say the low wages at wal-mart fly in the face of another one of his agendas. the white house promised back in august that they were going to put solar panels on the roof here of the white house. they produced a video to announce that those solar panels are now online. >>> the 2000 presiden

mike viqueira joining us live from washington d c. >> one thing the president didn't do on the trip is meet with the afghan president. hamid karzai turned down on invitation to join president obama at the airfield. jim walsh, a research associate at the mit securities studies programs says it's really no surprise neither president made the extra effort. >> i think president barack obama had his fill. he's not the first american president to feel a lack of relationship. they are having a run off in a month. there'll be a new guy in office. the white house correspondents are saying we don't want to get involved in the elections or interfere in domestic politics, if i had to guess, i'm guessing obama is done with hamid karzai, he's a lame duck going out. he doesn't want to deal with hymn. >> james walsh. mit. >> both candidates in the run-off said they'll sign an agreement to keep the u.s. on the ground. the president's message was important for the african people to hear. >> both afghan candidates who are going to run off on 14 june confirm that they will sign, it will be in the top of t

to mike viqueira in washington. republicans are not the only ones kind of duking it out. what is the latest on the governor's race in pennsylvania. >> in pennsylvania, there's a congress woman allyson schwartz, from the swing district outside of philadelphia running against an upstart, tom wolf, and he appears to be on the winning end as far as the polls are considered going into this minisuper-tuesday. >> another for you. what is at stake more broadly. for the public and policies that could potentially impact all of us? >> that's a great question, tony. it's nothing short of control of the senate and the legacy of president obama in his second term. if republicans take control of the senate, and the smart money from analysts is they have a better chance of doing it than not doing it, then the president's legacy is called into legacy, immigration, spending, raising the minimum age, the progression is gridlocked. >> this is shaping up to be a difficult day for tea party conservatives. has that movement peaked? >> you know, that's a great question too. it's a possibility. m

. >> reporter: mike viqueira, al jazeera, washington. >> president obama outlined proposals for his policy. libby casey with us. if you would, walk us through some of these proposals. >> reporter: the president focused on using force only when necessary, trying to differentiate his policies from the policies of the previous administration. he talked about the international order and coming together, acting as a model in the future and success stories where the international voice could speak collectively. and terrorism was the big one. a big focus the president acknowledged, and he said, really, that at this point they need to have a new strategy going forward. >> so libby. >> drawing on the successes and shortcomings of our experience in afghanistan to more effectively partner with countries where terrorist networks seek a foothold. >> reporter: to that end, tony, this $5 billion request that he plans to make of congress to train in other countries, to train overseas, to be able to create more of an international presence, groups who can go out and deal with these precision-oriented strik

. >> mike viqueira for us. we'll look at another way of tackling the issue. >>> the problem of crumbling infrastructure is felt coast so coast. even perfectly built roads have a limited capacity to carry traffic. jacob ward, is here to talk about something that can pack more roads on cars more efficiently. >> it's a 20th century problem, making the roads more structurally sound, getting them ready for cars. it's not a question of how many roads we have, but what we do with them. >> reporter: repairing infrastructure, tunnels, roads, is a problem. traffic requires not new roads, but new ways of organising the cars on them. >> the amount of vehicle traffic has dramatically increased, particularly in locations like california. however, building additional freeway infrastructure is prohibitively expensive. in order to increase a lane, the amount of real estate you have to buy off of every - off the neighbourhood is huge. >> instead of lanes we may need lanes and streets and highways to communicate. >> the system co

mike viqueira live in washington. >>> coming up, donald sterling's wife says she has no intention of giving up her and a half of the clippers, will she be able to hang on to the team if her husband is voted out? finding kids as young as kinder garden age - controversy surrounding a new bullying plan. >>> donald sterling and his wife shelley are taking to the airwaves to clear the air and hold on to ownership of l.a. clippers. donald sterling sat with anderson cooper and said she's not a racist. shelly sterling said if she divorces her husband, she'd own the team. n.b.a. a looking to take ownership of the team after leaked recordings. sports attorney darren heitner joins me now. let's start with donald sterling's cause. a lot of people look at the situation from the outside in. how can someone be forced to sell anything in this country. special sports don't operate the way a lot of other companies do in this company. if you are an owner, you agree to a certain set of rules. what legal recourse does sister-in-law have. >> that is correct. every n ba applicant, anyone wanting to own an

. >> mike viqueira for us. thank you. >>> president obama announced some changes to his cabinet. he's nominating san antonio mayor julian castro to be his next secretary of housing and urban development. and the new budget director donovan would replace sylvia burwell. castro and donovan will need to be confirmed by the senate. >>> there are new allegations of misconduct at a veteran's affairs medical facility. a whistle blower told a miami television that some patients at the miami medical center are dealing drugs while others are physically abused. the administration covering up the problems. this comes amid allegations that patients at a number of v.a. hospitals died while waiting for treatment, and staff covered up the delays. >>> tennessetennessee passed a w allowing execution of death row inmates if injection drugs are not available. >> we've been following this for a while. many states have been having problems getting the drugs they need for lethal injections. that's partly because pharmaceutical companies in europe are refusing to send drugs. most inmates who have died o

mike viqueira, what is russia saying? >> there are two critical event coming up. it's important to look at remarks made by vladimir putin at an international economic conference in st. petersburg. first confrontational words about president obama by vladimir putin. he was asked by an american reporter what do you say what it's said you don't tell the truth. vladimir putin said who is president obama to judge, he should sit in a court room. more significantly were conciliatory remarks. why did he make them? the may 26th elections on sunday. this is the threshold. the west set a threshold. if russia and vladimir putin are seen as undermining the election, say the g7 and the e.u., harder sanctions will be put in place. that's number one. the g7 meeting coming up, president obama flies to brussels in a week and a half, where some things will be decided, and if russia and putin are seen as interfering with the elections, he could be in for harder sanctions. as we talked about, there's division between the united states and the europeans. they are more reluctant to put

mike viqueira is here to tell us more about that. mike, interesting move. julian castro is a guy president obama chose to deliver an address to the democratic convention. and the nation kind of became somewhat enamored by him in the way that they had with president obama many years earlier. >> it's funny you should mention that. two auspicious addresses to the democratic convention. the president cookin asking juln castro to give that keynote address. both were raised by single mothers and both have harvard law degrees. in 2004, ali, it's a bit of musical chairs. both of these individuals are very well respected. julian castro just elected to third term as mayor of san antonio. the population of san antonio is growing. he's 39 years old. a lot of people talk about him as potential vice president running mate material. hud secretary is probably not the sexiest post in washington these days or in any administration, but he's talked about a rising star taking place of shawn donovan who has done a very good job. >> think about it, mike, think become to housing

mike viqueira, al jazeera, the white house. >> detroit is not the only major american city to pursue a bankruptcy. officials from stockton, california, and in court today and complained they have tried to reach a deal with the city's last major creditor but can't get a deal. the city is asking a judge to approve the bankruptcy reorganization plan just the same. lisa barnard joins us from san francisco. lisa, which creditor is fighting stockton's reorganization plan and why does that group feel like it's being treated unfrankly? >> franklin templeton invest orders say they are being unfairly discriminated against by the city of stockton, and that is why they are suing the city and the trial that started this morning is expected to last for the next few days. on the stand this morning, we understand was stockton's chief financial officer for the city. franklin they wereton lawyers say stocktone's other creditsor would get 52% or more of what they are owed by the city where the bankruptcy provides just 350,000 back of a $35 million loan the investment group gave the city. >> money paid

mike viqueira is standing by at the white house. the president says the incoming afghan candidates have to aroouf that. any doubt whatsoever at the white house they will do that? >> reporter: both the candidates in the june 14th runoff -- you heard the president talk about it -- have said that they will, in fact, sign that bilateral security agreement. this is obviously something that's a matter of contention with the sitting afghan president, the latest of a series of snub and disputes between the obama administration and karzai. way back in december over the holidays, the white house gave an ultimatum, sign that bsa now or risk never having u.s. troops on afghan soil again. that deadline slid and slid until these elections now. two runoff candidates as we said have both vowed that they will sign the agreement enabling the president to come out and essentially put some flesh on the bones of an announcement he made time and time again, david. that is, the u.s. combat role will be over by 2014. what's new? the president laid forth th

. >> let's go to mike viqueira at the white house. we just heard from a top presidential advisor who is saying this is the most comprehensive report on climate change, so how much can the president do on his own in response to this particular report? >> there's one big thing the president is slated to do, set himself a deadline of june 1, less than a month from now. that is new severe regulations by the estimate of some in the industry of coal fired power plants. the country gets most of its electricity from the burning of coal. that nobody needs to be told is a major contributor to global warning. the key stone pipeline decision very controversial. there is a debate about the impact that will have. that permitting is put off until after the mid term elections come november. was, the president can jaw bone, use his bully pulpit. he's going to do that today. he has television meteorologists coming into the white house this morning to give a series of interviews to talk about this issue. >> scientists around the world saying that global