>> hello, this is al jazeera, and i'm tony harris in new york. these are the stories that we're following. >> overwhelming evidence details of the u.n.'s investigation into chemical weapons in syria emerge from what was supposed to be a private meeting. stranded in colorado, rising floodwaters mean three towns underwater, and desperate for help. >> the devastation was just unbelievable. we watched block after block after block burn as it gets closer to us. >> reporter: rebuilding again after a fire devastate much of the jerse jersey shore boardwal.

>> president obama clarified his position on the new diplomatic efforts for syria today. we have mike viqueira with us live to provide for details, mike, what is the view from washington? >> reporter: tony, all eyes in washington are on geneva. john kerry there with his russian counterpart trying to come to an agreement to collect syrian chemical weapons and destroy them. they met late last night and they're continuing to meet today the last that we heard. president obama in the oval office in one of these photo ops that we're familiar, he was with the premiere of kuwait. this is the only sound we heard from the white house today trying to keep a low profile all across town, staying on the talking points and trying to let kerry do his work. they don't want to interfere

whatsoever. he the president said he and the premiere of kuwait is sitting in the white house, and they believe it was important for the international community to respond. >> obama: i repeated what i said publicly, just that any agreement needs to be verifiable and enforceable. >> reporter: and meanwhile in geneva we did hear from john kerry an earlier today, moving n two tracks, the one more urgent, what to do with the chemical weapons, and also the political track. they met with the u.n. special envoy and talking about meeting in geneva later in the month, getting together with the--i should say gathering in september trying to work out, trying to revive the political track once those chemical weapons--once the deal is

reached, if the deal is reached. they have to get back on the primarily track and try to end the civil war in syria, tony. >> mike viqueira from the white house. mike, appreciate it, thank you. we'll tell you the rain that has been falling for several days in colorado is just now starting to taper off, but the danger is far from over. the heavy rain led to flooding and mudslides that left behind significant damage, and forced thousands to leave their homes. tamara banks where the rain finally stopped falling. i saw a woman min behind you rug with her dog. tamara, what is happening right now? >> well, tony, the sun is out and it feels really good, but it's just a little too early to exhale just yet. more rain is in the forecast. the big question now is how do we pick up and clean up this huge mess. taking a looking at video from

earlier, there is mud everywhere, debris, all kinds of rocks and trees in the way. this is going to take a really long time to clean up and get our arms around and figure out how much it's going to cost for the cleanup. some communities as you can see are completely submerged. but there is some good news. that community we've been telling you about, just 25 to 30 miles north of boulder is getting help. they've been surrounded and trapped by water and isolated by the flooding through the night. but this morning 100 soldiers from the national guard came out to rescue them, and get them to a safe place in another community, which is terrific news. now the big question is all this clean up. it's a huge mess. i'm joined now with michael, a resident here and homeowner here in boulder. you came home the other night, and you realized something dramatic had happened to your home. >> yes, i was out of town tuesday and wednesday. i came home late wins evening.

it was still daylight, and i knew there was rain and heavy storm, but no idea that it would turn into what it turned into. >> describe what your home looks like and what you came home to. >> it actually didn't flood until sometime in the middle of the night. we went to bed at 11:30, and everything was still dry. when we woke up in the morning it--everything was just damaged and wet. >> you cawet. [ sirens ] >> you can still hear the emergency sirens help to go clean up the emergency. how bad was the damage in your home? >> our basement flooded, like 90% of boulder, but we had water come in on the main floors from the back doors. that was really surprising. we expected ou basement to floo, but the main floor. >> it's gone. one thing i noticed particularly

in boulder, people are helping each other out, neighbors helping neighbors. how much help are you getting? >> i was at work because outside of boulder the world still functions and moves. i came home an hour ago and there were eight people at our house ripping up carpet. >> that has got to make you feel good. >> it does. >> michael, in boulder, a homeowner, this is the situation that many people are dealing with. today is the big clean up. rather than waiting for the government to help them, they're getting the help themselves. rain is expected later on the national weather service says that there is still flash flood warnings and watches throughout the area until late tonight, tony. >> okay, tamara, we're going to get an update on that weather situation in just a moment. we saw sunshine there in tamara's live shot. some relief for the people there. we have the weather update. >> meteorologist: thank you, tony. drier air is moving into those

storms that are pushing across the southwest, and we are luckily seeing a much needed break. temperatures averaging 9 to 10 degrees where they should be. and in seattle, the low 70s, and in redding the low 90s. we're in the 100s and the 80s and we do have flash flood watch in effect across idaho. you can see that steady stream of moisture pushing into new mexico, and it's this patch of rain that will make its way further north and east, and it will make its way into denver later on tonight. that's the reason why the national weather service put out a flash flood warning. that's where we're looking for the heaviest rain to fall around commerce city and aurora, where over 15 inches of rain have fallen over the last 4 hours. that's unprecedented amounts of

rain. later on in the show i'll show you the tropical storm that is going to bring an abundance of rain in portions of mexico and southwestern portions of texas. back to you. >> thank you. and we have new developments on the investigation into the success of chemical weapons in syria. now according to u.n. chief ban ki-moon inspectors found overwhelming evidence supporting that claim, but also that president bashar al-assad, quote, committed crimes against humanity. >> this was a gaffe but a very telling gaffe. normally the u.n. secretary general is very measured and very guarded when he talks about syria, but today he was in the conference room here at the united nations, addressing a gathering of a women's group, and he thought it was a private meeting. on the door it said it was a closed meeting. he thought his comments were off the record but those comments were broadcast around the u.n. on the internal television

system. this is what the u.n. secretary general said when he thought the cameras were not running. >> what happened is that he has committed many crimes against humanity. our team will come out soon with the report. but i believe that the report will be overwhelming, overwhelming report that the chemical weapons was used, even though i cannot publicly say at this time before i receive this report. >> so those are the comments of ban ki-moon talking there about the report b, but the u.n. maintains that they have not got that report yet, but he believes the conclusions will show that chemical weapons were used. that report maybe arrive on ban ki-moon's desk on monday.

a lot of talk that perhaps he'll brief the security council on monday. the mandate of that investigation was simply to say whether chemical weapons were used on august 21st, not who used them. having said that we're told possibly some of the details in the report will give indications of which side was responsible. >> all right, james at the united nations. james, we appreciate it. thank you. the fire that ravaged part of the jersey shore has been contained. more than 80 businesses have been burnt to the ground. the boardwalk ruined again. the town just fixed the damage from last year's super storm sandy. governor chris christie spoke this morning at seaside park. investigators are investigating the cause of the flame, and pledged state report in the recovery effort. >> we've endured. and recovered from sandy.

we will not let these fires destroy those efforts. it may take days, and then the scene can be turned over to the property owners. then there will be more work to do and decisions to be made. >> al jazeera is in seaside park where officials think it could take as long as a week before the fire is completely out. >> reporter: governor christie said the fire has taken a toll on everyone, but he said new jersey will rebuild. you can see some of the damaged buildings behind me, and in some cases only the facade remains. imagine four blocks of this city looking just like this. in some of the buildings there are still some smoldering and firefighters are spraying water oto make sure there are no hot spots left. the famous boardwalk, the firefighters had to use it differently. they tore up parts of it and filled those empty spots with

sand. that's what kept the fire from spreading more. governor christie said the investigation into the cause of this fire is still ongoing and it took take days. >> right now the fire is 95% contained. the cost to fix the boardwalk alone is estimated at $600,000. of course, that doesn't begin to factor in the damage to the local community. >> the devastation was just unbelievable. we just watched block after block after block burning and getting closer and closer to us. >> as soon as i saw smoke i came down here, and i called my bosses to let them know what was going on. i kept them informed. my one boss said it would be okay, they'll have it contained, but with the wind the way it was, and the embers that were going up in the air, i knew it was going to be gone in a merit of ends. >> the emotional side is for the businesses. the business owners, the town that just rebuilt this boardwalk and we just tore up, we had to

do what we had to do, and it worked. >> americans targeted overseas. the violent attacks at the gates of the u.s. consulate. the latest from afghanistan coming up. the lehman brothers collapse five years later, what has been done since to prevent another financial disaster.

we'll tell you where it is and what it can mean for our educational system. coming up.

>> 19 people are dead after a violent attack in western afghanistan. ten were private security personnel. police and interpreters. all at the consulate are safe. as jane ferguson reports the taliban is claiming responsibility. >> reporter: the attack began with an explosion and gunfire.

taliban fighters attempted to enter the u.s. consulate in the far west of the country. >> an explosion took place, and then a number of insurgents entered the consulate gates. we don't know how many there were. >> reporter: the attack included a car bomb. civilian and security forces were among the casualty and quickly rushed to a local hospital. guards from the compound took the force of the blast. >> my brother was a security guard at the u.s. consulate. he was injured as a result of today's attack and is now in the hospital. >> reporter: the taliban said the consulate had been an intended target for some time. diplomatic missions have been targets here for years. the consulate borders iran and it was largely considered secure. james cunningham issued a statement say the united states government condemns the

terrorist attack against our consulate. the consulate staff performed superbly. we're grateful for the quick response of the of the afghan and isaf security forces who secured the facility and kept our personnel safe. >> it is unlikely that they'll leave behind a defeated taliban. gain ferguson, al jazeera, kabul, afghanistan. >> well, ross is here with the sports he had lines and i guess the best you can say about the game last night is that someone at least won. >> reporter: it was ugli, you ain't got no alibi. it was ugly. the streak continues for tom brady. on their opening drive brady

going hawai'i 5-0 hooking up with eric dobson. it's his 50th consecutive game touchdown pass second to drew brees. other than that, brady struggled. ditto for geno smith, but he's a rookie. the patriots held off the jets for the 13-10 victory. at the end of the game things got chippy because they tried to tackle, and the patriots were furious saying it was a dirty play because he went low for the knees, but he's 6'4" and weighs 300 pounds. where he lands is where he lands. the league is reviewing this play. let's take it to team u.s. because they're moving up in the fifa world soccer rankings. moving up six spots after beating mexico, their highest rankingrankings since 2010. mexico dropped to no. 21 while spain is mumero uno.

>> all right. montana is legendary for rivers that run through it, wide open spaces and forests full of towering trees. but the trees in the city of missoula are aging and ailing. now volunteers are going to unusually links to preserve the usuaunusual forest. >> reporter: it's a tall order to take the vital statistics of a tree. but that's what volunteers have been doing all summer long in missoula, montana. counting and cataloging every tree along the city's by ways. >> we had great people with wonderful foresight when they developed m missoula. they knew they wanted trees and parkways and things like that.

we do take it for granted until we start losing them. >> reporter: those urban pioneers made one mistake. they planted almost entirely one species, norway maples. they're now becoming senior citizens all at the same time. >> unfortunately our forest is aging. >> aging and ail. by some estimates, 95% are in bad shape. many may soon fall or may need to be cut down. the old fashioned tape measure is an important tool but tree doctoring has gone high tech. >> it's not just counting them. it's getting all the information on these trees. we'll know what species it is. we'll know it's condition. we will be able to recommend a management plan for everything from planting additional trees to removing stumps to pruning,

and diversification species. >> reporter: while you can't put a price on beauty, there is value in the urban forest. >> trees will clean air from that traffic, people are more likely to walk and bike on tree lined streets than they would on non-tree lined streets. it all lines up to urban development. >> missoula's nickname is the garden city, the goal of the tree census, keep it that way for the next 100 years. al jazeera, missoula, montana. >> a new poll shows by 2-1 margin americans do not want congress to increase america's borrowing limit.

the wall street journal finds it is estimated the ceiling will be reached in october and without action washington will run out of money by 2011. the fight between the president and congress led to a down grade of the country's bond rating. not even back to school shopping could make consumers reach deep in their pockets. the government said retail sales rose less than in august. still it's the fifth straight molly increase, but such a meager increase shows that americans remain cautious in this economy. who says you can't fly creepily. for a short time thursday united airlines were giving away tickets for free--or close to it. buying tickets for $5 to $10 before united closed down it's

bookings. united will honor the tickets but it is considering what to do about them. september traditionally is the worst month for stocks but not so far in 2013. the dow rising for the fourth day this week and three of those were triple digits gains. the dow is almost up 4% of the month, and it closed the day up 75 points. the department of justice is assumsuing the state of floridar its handling of fragile children. critics say the state's nursing home industry is profiting. we introduce to you a tampa father fighting to get better care for his son. >> reporter: it was the start of a new life for 15-year-old a abdul. he had just moved to the states in 2011. he had only been here eight months when he was in a car

accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury. >> we're living in an emergency situation that has not ended yet. >> reporter: for the last two years he has been living at this nursing home in tampa. it's one in a handful in the state that care for medically fragile and complex children. officially they provided excellent acute care and his son improved dramatically, but then it all stopped. >> i felt bad. i didn't know what to do. i was looking for anywhere. >> the department of justice, the dojs suing the state of florida for discriminating against the kids and violating the americans with disabilities acts. there are 186 children requiring intense medical care, housing and nursing homes.

3,000 are considered at risk for being sent to one. critics say it's the result of a reduction in community based services such as at-home care or group home. >> these people do not have voices. that's why they're an easy target. >> reporter: matt deitz represent the gassers and nine other families. he said it costs more to house children in nursing home than to provide at-home or group home care. in the 2011-2012 fiscal year the state paid $95,000 on average to care for kids in a community-based setting. the average cost for care in a nursing home was more than $112,000. the state said it was unfair to compare the care. >> for the past 15 years more and more older people, seniors, have been leaving nursing homes, and more and more nursing homes have been opening up.

what better type of person to put in a nursing home bed than a medically fragile child who is never going to complain about being there? >> the healthcare administration refused our request for an interview, but they said: >> thanks to the lawsuit, they believe they were able to get the state's attention. in early august he moved his son out of the nursing home and into a group home. >> if he had been given the proper service on time, he would have been today in a much better shape. >> and that's the concern of families. while their children wait to get out of nursing homes their conditions ma may deteriorate. >> day two of talks in geneva,

secretary of state john kerry trying to reach a deal to stop a military attack on syria, and saying no to standardized tests. students, teachers and parents take a stand.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm tony harris, and these are the top stories that we're following. the rain is starting to stop in in colorado, but concerns are far from over. national guard troops are hoping to evacuate people from a town blocked off from flooding. seaside boardwalk will have to rebuild. a fire that started at an ice cream shop. u.n. secretary general said it is clear the assad regime has, quote, committed many crimes against humanity. ban ki-moon spoke, and reports

will be completed this weekend. a new round of peace talks to end syria's civil war. secretary of state john kerry met once again to surrendering syria's chemical arsenal. >> now that the assad president joins the chemical weapons convention. >> we're committed to work together, beginning with this initiative on the chemical weapons in hopes that those efforts could pay off and bring peace and stability to a war-torn part of the world. >> and they may hold another round of talks in switzerland phil, the sides are talking

about setting dates for a syrian peace conference. how much do you read into that? >> well, tony, a lot has been going on the ground. a lot behind closed doors, but what we're getting in the public arena gives us an idea of what has been going on. we're starting to see a number of different paths developing at the same time. we heard from sergey lavrov and secretary of state kerry talking about a peace process or developing a peace process, perhaps another geneva meeting, geneva two to bring all the parties together, including the option, and bring peace to end the civil war all together. at the same time the talks about what the international community needs to do in response, the attacks on the 21st of august

when chemical weapons were used, that is very much a point of contention between the russians and the americans. and at the same time we're also hearing the delegations here have separated during the talks today. they aren't done. but that they separated into different camps. the diploma macy camps an. if we look at the an intervention collecting the weapons stock pile, how that can be done, and then at the same time the camp talking about what the international response will be. a lot of different arenas opening up at the very same time here in geneva, but it does look as though there has been some progress made. we have to wait for a third day of talks to hear what they have. >> phil, we appreciate it. thank you. students and teachers and parents across the country are opting out, refusing to take

part in standardized testing. tonya mosley has the story now from seattle. >> reporter: eric thinks highly of his children's elementary school teachers. when the father heard they were opting out from the yearly academic progress test, he was relieved. >> it struck me that there was huge variance in the scores. if you take the temperature with a thermometer three different types and you get three different answers. >> reporter: refusing to give the tests to they are students. the test is given three times a year and has no bearing on district finances or students' ability to graduate. it's just a way to track progress. >> the emphasis and the overuse of testing is exhausting, and a terrible use of resources. >> reporter: the teachers staged the first standardize test boycott in the nation. in may the school district

yielded to pressure and made this test optional at all seattle schools. >> when we stood up to the map test here at our school, we didn't plan it, but we had amazing report from our parents and students. >> reporter: it's a nationwide fight. the highest opt out rate is on new york's long island where 50% of students in one district chose not to take the standardize test. but some educators stand by these tests. >> i am force standardized testing mostly because it gives us a common understanding of the skill level that students need to meet and exceed per grade level. >> reporter: for the last three years, antra jones' students in seattle have performed above the state average on the state map test. >> i as a parent would like them to participate. i need to know that they're learning what they need to learn, and when the kids master

those standards, they're brought. proud, they're confident and motivated. >> reporter: even as a revolt against standardize tests happen across the country, a new testing system is about to go into action in 45 states and the district of columbia. common core will focus on math and english. it's not a federal program. it's run by the states themselves. common core is described as a real world approach to learning. they are taught skills they will use offer high school. >> reporter: parents and teachers are still learning how common core curriculum will work, and there is on objections including the tests, the cost of the tests and those administering them. >> california's legislature has agreed to raise the state's minimum wage to $10 an hour. one of the highest rates in the country right now. that would boost the current

minimum rates. the wage hike will be the first in california since 2008. president obama will have a new top economic adviser next year. he twice served as acting director of the office of budget office and became the chief performance manager in 2009. going on the hunt for sand to save florida's famous beaches. and it is the college football game we've all been waiting for. alabama versus texas a&m. ross will have the preview in just a bit.

>> just to be able to defend the title for once will be awesome, and i've done so well here the past few times i've played, getting to the semis or finals. it's been really, really exciting. i'm happy that i've been able to consistently do well here. >> australian cricket captain michael clarke led his team to victory against england, scoring his first tonne.

england were bowled out for 227 in pursuit of australia score of 315/7. >> and now take a look at this young man who has more than a few expectations to live up to. this is argen tendulkar son of sachi, in his father the highest run scorer.

>> it has been five years since the financial crisis rocked the world while the worse is over, the pain it inflicted on millions of americans lingers. diane esterbrook has more. >> reporter: five years ago the lehman brothers implosion seemed unthinkable to america, wall street and the company's 25,000 employees. >> if you would have asked me to bet all my money on whether lehman would go bankrupt, never would i imagine this. >> reporter: it filed for bankruptcy in 2008. beginning a credit crisis that paralyzed the banking system. but could a similar crisis happen again? former u.s. treasury secretary hank paulson took on the

question earlier this week. >> the answer, i'm afraid, yes. as long as there have been financial markets and humans who experience bouts of panics there has been financial crisis. >> reporter: last year jp morgan chase lost $2 billion on bad trade. that kind of problem is evidence the u.s. banking system still needs fixing. >> we made a mistake in 2009 without doing fundamentally restructuring an in down sizinge institutions. we still have a bloated sector and not enough traditional lending. >> reporter: fallout is affecting main street even more. it's harder for small businesses and consumers to get loans, and there is a lingering distrust of

banks. >> they don't create capital. they don't take out loans because they are not sure of what happens next. >> no one from the firm was ever prosecuted. diane esterbrook, al jazeera. >> david cotts joins us now to tell us where we are five years later david, good to talk to you. is it true that the five largest banks currently hold more than half of the total banking assets in the united states? the real question is have two big to fail become even bigger banks that can forward even less to fail? >> yes, i think that's absolutely interest. they're too bigger to fail. the top ten financial institutions have about 3 trillion-dollar more in assets than they did before the financial crisis. so there is no question that we have not soli solved the too bio

fail problem. >> does that make sense? >> after the crisis occurred there was consolidation. result the banks got bigger. but there certainly needs to be some emphasis on what to do, when or if the next crisis occurs and how you deal with institutions that large. >> well, david, dodd frank is still a long way from being complete. what is the protective measure put in place in the five years since the market collapse? >> you're right about dodd frank. only 40% of the dodd frank rules have been promulgated as of late. stress testing is something that has been put in place. there was a stress test of banks, and only one bank didn't pass the test. that's a test to determine whether circumstances could

recur, whether those circumstances, what impact they would have on a particular financial constitution. and most banks passed that. there is the oversight council which set up different departments and agencies where they gather together and assess risk. that's a good thing. departments in thtraditionally,d the federal government didn't work together very well. they're looking at managing these situations and managing the risks, it's better. >> diyou were working there at e time. did you flag it up, the exotic financial instruments, did you flag all that up? >> yes, my job was inspector general. i was the watchdog. what i did was i arrived shortly around the time of the financial

crisis. i did an audit at bear-sterns. and they were aware of those red flags, the mortgage concentrations, mismanagement, and the fcc did not exert enough influence in that regard. there was a voluntary program in place. and investment banks like lee mans and bear-sterns could opt out of the program, but nevertheless it's not just simple as putting more regulations in place. we have to make sure that our government does the correct thing with the regulations. >> david, appreciate it. david katz the security general at the financial securities and exchange during the collapse. david, thank you for your time. >> ross, a big weekend in college football.

>> oh, everybody is looking, the game we've all been waiting for. number one alabama versus number six texas a&m. all eyes will be on johnny football as i like to call him johnny camera. and every camera will be shooting johnny manziel all year long and now johnny cam. >> well of course the biggest impact is going to be on alabama, and d.j. flukier, is now with the san diego chargers was implicated in that report as having taken money from agents. so it's going to be interesting. he's now cooperating with alabama's compliance office, and it will be interesting to see what they find out, what the ncaa does, and whether or not

alabama will have to vacate the win. that will be the biggest fall out from the story, tennessee, mississippi states will have players involved but alabama has the most to lose in this group. >> now on the field, how much of a test do you think this will be for them this weekend? >> i think it will be a great test. i wasn't necessarily all that impressed with alabama in their season opener against virginia tech, i don't think anybody was. they didn't play very well on offense. they were good on defense, but johnny manziel, texas a&m, that offense is a whole different animal. they're so much better this year than last year, and they got out to a 20-nothing lead on them last year in the third quarter. i think that they're going to have to contain johnny manziel to be able to beat a.ma&m. i think it will be a much better defense than we assumed. they're missing six starters this season so far, so i think there are a lot of question

marks, but the one question we don't have is how well johnny manziel is going to play. they're going to be amazing, and if they can't stop them, they're going to win this game. >> does notre dame bounce back against purdue. >> they couldn't ask for a better game than purdue. purdue is really down. they struggled with indiana state last week. this is a way to get notre dame back on track. get them feeling better about themselves especially going into a tough schedule and next week playing michigan state. >> ohio state will be playing their first road game of the season. how will they fare against cal. >> you know, a lot of people have high hopes for ohio state. we don't know what is going to happen with braxton miller, their quarterback, but they have the best quarterback they could ask for. this is going to be a lot of fun to watch. cal is a very up-tempo offense, led by a quarterback who leads

the country in passing right now. it will test ohio state. very young, missing seven starters from a year ago. this will be a fun offensive game. but in the end i think ohio state is good enough, veteran enough to pull off the win, it just will be tougher than people assumed when the year started. >> clay matthews responded to questions about his manhood after being ripped by jim harbaugh earlier in the week. it started by a cheap shot over matthews, it led to a fight, and that's when harbaugh chimed in. >> come in with a face, some knuckles, not an open slap. i think that young man works very hard on being a tough guy. he'll have some repairing to do to his image after the slap. >> i don't have a reaction. i'm on to the next game. >> you saw his comments, though, right? >> yes. >> i'm moving on to the next

game. >> you don't consider yourself a dirty player. >> next game. listen, i'm an awesome player. i'm not a dirty player. >> awesome player. oh, awesome game on sunday will be the 49ers and seahawks. both teams have awesome defenses, and awesome quarterbacks. it's the young gun in capper nubbing versukaepernickversus r. they definitely have that "it" factor. >> i'm not going to shy away from any challenge. obviously, to be a solid quarterback and to make plays and mak help your team win, youe to be great. we pride ourselves on it. we talk about it every day, we're having great communication. i think that's the area where we've really grown the most, communication between offensive linemen and myself.

running backs, receivers, making adjustments. >> all right, in baseball the home run king still guilty. barry bonds appealed his conviction to obstruction of justice stemming from thinks grand jury testimony about using performance-enhancing drugs in 2011. a federal judge upheld the conviction today but it's unclear whether the 49-year-old bonds will appeal again because he's scheduled to serve 30 days of house arrest and be on two years probation. going back to clay matthews, an awesome guy. not awesome that he was fined $15,000 for that hit on kaepernick. >> he was leaping in the air. that will get you. florida is far renown for its endless beaches. but the state is facing a crisis that could cripple tourism. the beaches are running out of sand. >> they attract millions of

visitors each year, generate billions of dollars in revenue. the beaches in south florida are facing a crisis. sand washed away by sandstorms and erosion is replenished by sands dredged onshore, that's a precious commodity. >> all the tourism places are for ocean and sand, so if we don't have sand, we don't have anything. >> that's not a good thing. this is very enjoyable. we come down here all the time. >> i'm sorry. i'm grateful for what is here. it seems like there is still plenty. >> it might look a that way, but brian flynn, who has been working on the situation for 30 years, says the situation is critical. >> we don't have a clear-cut solution to it. so far we're in the middle of hurricane season right now. we're in the peak of hurricane season right now, and we've been lucky so far. but if we were to have a major storm we would have to come up

with sands very quickly. >> among the solutions to avert this impending crisis is to bring in stand from the bahamas or mine it here. but this is all ignoring the much larger, deeper global crisis. >> we'll lose our airport, all these things will be non-functional. the same is true of broward county. >> he prediction much of south florida will be underwater by century's end, perhaps much sooner. and he thinks the search for sand is fruitless. >> at what point do we stop pouring money into a lost cause and spending money in helping people buyout and relocate. >> reporter: for now authorities are searching for sand, and

they're confident a solution will be found. they are worth a fortunate, and people want to enjoy them while they can. >> ahead on al jazeera, a man who died more than two centuries ago is finally is being laid to rest. an amazing story still ahead. >> and we have ingrid actually in the gulf of mexico. tropical storm warnings have been issued. we'll have all the details coming up after the break.

>> in connecticut a community has buried a man who died 215 years ago. the reason for the long delay, the man was a slave. al jazeera has the story. [ bagpipe music ] at st. john's episcopal church, a scene that would have been extraordinary in 1798, eight white men and women act as paul bearers for a black man. his name was fortune, and he was a slave. >> this is a wonderful opportunity for us to right a wrong that happened 215 years ago. i know as a baptized person he

deserved a dig need funeral. >> the wrong that followed fortune in life followed him in death. his bones was used in study of anatomy. his skeleton was kept at st. john's. >> that it was reality. there was actually a slave that was here, and that the bones were right in our backyard. >> reporter: he was on display from the 1940s to 1970s when attitudes changed and the museum put fortune's bones in storage. the bones were hidden but fortune's story fascinated people, and in 1996 a project began to learn more about him. >> what we learned from his skeleton is that he had a very physical life. he was a strong still con. he was probably about 5'5", but he worked very hard. and so there are breaks in his hands. he has a very twisted severe

ankle. >> reporter: all this evidence of a life in bondage. 215 years ago this was farmland. fortune's owner raised wheat and potatoes on 75 acres. fortune did backbreaking labor from planting to harvesting. >> reporter: former president of the naacp heads the commission to use modern technology to investigate fortune's death. >> the anthropologists have found out there was a blow to the back of his neck there, and we don't know if that was done accidently or on purpose. >> reporter: fortune was about 55 years old when he died, and on a rainy september day two centuries later he was finally laid to rest. as a pastor here noted not as a slave but as a child of god. al jazeera, waterbury, connecticut.

>> meteorologist: we have a steady stream of moisture pushing into the southwest. we're continuing to look in denver, aurora and into commerce city. we're going continue to see that moisture pushing in. we have a stationary frontal boundary that has moisture pushed into it, and it will continue to weaken this frontal bownry as we track into the weekend. now i want to draw your attention to the gulf. we do have a tropical storm. tropical storm ingrid right now with max sustained wins at 45 mph. right now it's relatively stationary. it will be moving north and oh to the west and it's going to bring an abundance of heavy rainfall across portions of mexico right along the coast and it will draw moisture into southern portions of texas. we could see three to six inches of rain much needed rainfall from corpus christi all the way

down. and now in the northwest temperatures are from five to ten degrees above normal. typically at this time of year seattle is in the lower 70s. portland coming in at 85 and redding at 100. a lot of that drier air is pushing into the south. we've been dealing with flooding rain in the last several days. this patch of rain is going to make it go further in the north, right along i-25. so i want folks to use precaution. we have flash flood warnings in affect until 7:30. from commerce city into aurora. i want folks to use precaution. no traveling on the roadways, and the frontal boundary, this is the head of the frontal boundary. it's pushed offshore generally, and we're looking at clearing skies across new york into pennsylvania. it's a much more comfortable day. stay with al jazeera. more news and weather at the top of the hour.

>> this is al jazeera, i'm tony harris. here are some of the stories that we're following. ban ki-moon said u.n. inspectors found overwhelming evidence that chemical weapons were used in syria. the general secretary said the bashar al-assad has committed many crimes against humanity. the rain is tapering off in certain parts of colorado, but rivers and creeks are still spilling over their banks, washing away roads and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. for a short time united airlines was giving away tickets for free. passengers say they bought