arch go . good morning to you. i am morgan radford. here are the stories we are following for you right now. canons fire a 21-gun salute for new egyptian president abdel fatah he will sisi. pope francis holds a meeting with palestinian leaders at the vatican. >> bowe bergdahl speaks about what happened when he was held

captive. >> former army chief abdel fatah el sisi was sworn in for a 4-year term and is the third man to take the role since the arab spring back in 2011. live from doha. hashim, el sisi is inheriting a country divided by political instability. what exactly is he planning to do about it? >> he said egypt will be better, safer and more prosporous. but their opponents says they are talking about the reality on the ground is challenging. he faces a mammoth task as we are going to see in this report. >> reporter: egypt's former army

chief at the pip kel of pour in the most populous country in the arab world. this is the moment his supporters have been waiting for. the swearing inin industry, he spelled out his plan for the future. >> egypt will witness development at all levels. we will solve the problems of the past and we will build the egypt of the future, a powerful, just, stable, peaceful and prosperous country. >> it's the firsthandover ceremony in egypt's history. the first time that an out-going president and his successor share hands during an inauguration. arab and african leaders were there to show support for egypt's new leader. one of the leading judges of the constitutional court describes sisi as the man who saved the nation from what he called the tierney from the muslim

brotherhood. >> the army and the people united against tierney on the 30th of june. it is an event celebrate today. it was not a military coup. it was a revolution of the people. >> now that he has assumed power, the new president faces a string of delicate issues. poverty, rising unemployment, and an economy in at that timers. his inauguration was held under tight security. the cust tree has been beset by violence and instability since the july, 2013 coup that deposed mohammed morsi. he was egypt's first democratically elected president. he is now in jail facing charges oftrieson. he has ruled out any compromise with the banned muslim brotherhood and insists we storing security will be his top priority. >> has led many people to worry the current clampdown against

his opponents like this muslim brotherhood protesters may not end any time soon. for many people many people , he was someone who came to power at the backdrop of a coup that topelled mohamed morsi and where hundreds of proceed muslimhood brothers were killed in an unprecedented crackdown. more many people, he remains quite a divisive figure. morgan? >> in your report, you mentioned the string of delicate issues facing el sisi. what do you think, then, will be his biggest challenge in the days ahead? >> his number one challenge is rallying public support behind him. this is someone who has been seen as a divisive, polarizing figure. you have supporters saying this is our savior, but millions of supporters of the muslim brotherhood and some secular

activists say that this is someone who might just drag egypt into the coming police state because he's concerned has all the time been established, restore security. he has been quoted as saying that egypt is not ready for democracy and that is my take. t it might take the country decades before they have a full-fledged democracy. this is this is his top issue. the second is the promises he has been giving people if they elect him. he has been saying egypt, under him, will be much better than before. but the problem is that you are talking about a cash-strapped egypt, egypt that these billions of dollars from donors and from friendly nations like rich gulf countries, saudi arabia and united arab om rates. if they don't deliver on the promise to give him more cash, he whoop be able to implement some of the reforms he has been talking about during the

election campaign. >> promises we will watch eagerly to see if he is able to keep. thank you for being with us again this morning. in just a short while, pope francis will host an unprecedented meeting with both israeli and palestinian presidents at the vatican. the invitation of the pontiff, they will attend an inter faith prayer ceremony, one that pr prop-francis hopes will re-energize the peace process. nick speicer is live for us now at the vatican. nick, good morning to you. tell us what's on tap for the ceremony today. >> the pope will be receiving the palestinian and israeli presidents separately. they will then meet in the garden of the vatican where they will hear prayers and be listening to religious texts written -- sorry, rather read by leaders of the three different

faiths of the jewish faith, of the christian faith, and the islamic faith. after that, there will be statements of the body president and the -- by the president and the pope. there will also be the planting of an olive tree as a symbol and am private meetings after. it's not going to take more than two hours. it's not really the nitty-getty of negotiations we are talking about here, but as the pope tweeted before this all took place, prayer is powerful. so, it's really sending out a symbol that it's still worth working towards peace. >> nick, you mentioned this isn't the nitty-gritty of politics. and the pope did explicitly say that this was not a political trip. but what does that mean, then is the purpose of this trip? and really, what does it mean for the future of those very peace negotiations? >> well, it would mean a lot more if the real israeli leader

responsible for peace talks, prime minister benjamin netanyahu had come to participate arguably might have changed things. it's not here. it's the president who largely plays a symbolic role in israeli politics and is going to step down in july. so, it's not really going to change anything, and the vatican has been explicit in saying this is not about engaging any kind of negotiation, but i think we talked to some palestinians gathered here in saint peter's square when the pope came out to talk about the end of easter and to address the crowd that was standing behind me. they said it was really important that this had come together and they were very mindful of the pope's recent visit to the holy land, the fact that he want to bethlehem, that he put his hands on the separation barrier to show that he understood the situation of the palestinians, so certainly, it's a hopeful sign for palestinian people, the israeli government was less than enthused by some reports by

that, seen some bias but no official comment to that end in any case. it's not about politics here it's really about symbolism and doing what the pope can to inspire people to at least begin talking about peace once again. >> so symbolism and the power of prayer. al jazeera's nick speicer joining us live from vatican city, nick, thanks for being with us. sony is now the first world cup sponsor calling for an investigation into investigation charges for qatar who will host the in 2022, that they paid $5 million in the bid process. there are allegations that it invested in skufkz who have the power to what's the host nation. the qatar government insists it hasn't violated any rules and a fifa i hope vestgation will conclude. aj's parent company is founded in part by qatar's government. >> brazil is having propel of

its own four days before the start of the world cup in sa sao paolo, transit workers are on strike and demanding higher wages. >> reporter: commuters locked out of metro stations again, closed for business as some metro workers remain on strike. no trains running on the tracks leaving people like carmel del gato without a way to get to her john downtown. >> this is very bad, very bad. it's anginjustice for all of us who use the metro to get to wo work. >> ms. del gato is not alone. >> i am trying to get to work right now. now, i've got to try to get to another station. it's difficult. it's just chaos. [four million people use the metro every day. so, it's very difficult. >> the strike is going in to its fourth day, and it's been ugly at times when police briefly used tear gas to disperse striking workers trying to

prevent authorities from opening a station. transport in brazil's largest city with a metro region of nearly 19 million people have been crippled with hundreds of meters of traffic back-ups and packed buses the only way 2 some people to get around. the workers want a 12% pay raise but the state is only offering 8%. the city is days away from opening the fifa world cup. this is the city of sao palo about 15 to 20 kilometers outside the city center which means the vast majority of the more than 61,000 ball fans expected to watch world cup matches here are going to arrive via metro or train. the station is actually right across the street, which means if this metro worker's strike is going on next week, it would mean absolute chaos for the fans trying to arrive here. >> it appears unlikely it will get to that point as both sides will sit down with a mediator on sunday to try to hash out a

compromise to end the strike. with every day it's not resolved, it's a day closer to the ball spectacular turning in to a transport nightmare. gabriel lesandro, sao paolo. the weekend ahead will focus on the upcoming world cup and the controversies surrounding it at 8:30 p.m. eastern right here on al jazeera america. a manhunt is underway in canada for inmates who used a helicopter to escape from a jail just outside of quick ebb. these three men you see right here are on the run after police say a chopper briefly landed either inside or just outside of the prison gate. then it picked up the suspects before vanishing into the night. back in march of last year, two prisoners at a nearby facility climbed a roped ladder into a helicopter. they were picked up a few hours later. >> the it alian navy says they have rescued more than 2500 men,

women and children trying to cross the mediterranean into europe. the navy says ships monitoring the waters off of libya and tunisia caught 17 different boats during that period. now, they did not specify the nationality of those migrants but they did often include syrians, aratreans and those from sub is a haran africa. >> to pakistan where gunmen attacked a nato oil truck causing it to explode in the southwest of the country where the truck was bound for nato troops in afghanistan. no group has clange claimed responsibility but the pakistani taliban has targeted trucks before meant to disrupt supplies for u.s.-led troops. coming up on al jazeera america, some call it the true noble of the united states. we will tell you about the nuclear weapons plan right here in america's backyard. plus sergeants bowe bergdahl speaks out about what happened to him when the taliban held him hostage.

>> more details are emerging

about bowe bergdahl's time as a pow. he was freed eight days ago. bergdahl has reportedly said he was tortured during his five years in captivity. he claims the taliban guards beat him and kept him in a cage. he is under growing treatment. the f.b.i. is investigating death threats september to his parents in idaho. bob bergdahl has received 4 e-mails concerning a specific threat. the first september on wednesday which is the day a home coming celebration was cancelled in hailey idaho. >> a leading candidate to replace vet transaffairs secretary eric shinseki has withdrawn his name. dallas cosgrove, ceo of the cleveland clinic and he says he wants to keep doing that job. white house officials approached him after he -- he says he is honored to be considered but he wants to honor the commitment he made to the cleveland clinic. >> so, not every anniversary is

really worth celebrating. 25 years ago this weekend, the u.s. government raided itself. paul beban tells us what happened that day in colorado at the rocky slats nuclear weapons plant. >> this is rocky flats today, more than 6,000 acres of wide-open, empty space ju just northwest of denver, but from 1952 to 1989, rocky flats was a massive department of energy factory. the top secret core of america's nuclear weapons program cranking out thousands of plutonium triggers for the country's cold war arsenal. jack weaver worked at rock arey flats for 41 years. on june 6th, 1989, he was a plutonium production manager. >> i got a phone call from my boss and said, the f.b.i. is on plant site, and anything they want, give it to them. my suspicions were that, hey, i am going to get interviewed. i may go to court. i may go to jail.

i don't know. >> the raid, the only time one government agency has ever raided another uncovered environmental crimes involving mishandling of radioactive waste and toxic chemicals. rock well, the company running rocky flats at the time paid an $18 million final, a 10-year, $7 billion clean-up would follow. from high above rocky flats, it's clear everything has been demolished and carted away, but the danger lingers unseen. some structures too contaminated to remove were buried. they will be radioactive fortens of thousands of years, but barely a mile away, new houses are springing up and families moving in. >> it breaks my heart the. >> kristin iverson grew up right next door to rocky flats and worked there in the 1980s. she's written a book about the risks to workers, the surrounding area, and, above

all, the secrecy. >> one of the biggest problems at rocky flats was the fires. there was never any warning, never any evacuation. the two most dangerous fires were in 1957 and 1969. and during both of those fires, we came close to a chernob chernobyl-like event here at rocky flats that would have devastated the metro denver area. >> iverson is appalled by the news housing developments. >> what do you want to tell the people who are moving into these homes? >> i think, you know, most of the people who buy these homes, moved in to these holmes don't know about rocky flats. they don't know the story of the plant, the history, what's out there. >> carl spring works for the state of colorado coordinating environmental restoration at rocky flats? >> the official position is that rocky flats is no longer a toxic site. >> it is no longer. it was cleaned up to national and state standards.

>> the history of rocky flats is on display at the center for the arts in arvada. lingering controversies hasn't diminished jack's sense of legacy? >> we managed to end the cold war because of what we did. and for that, i feel very proud. >>. >> after thousands of lawsuits, the u.s. has officially begun compensating sick workers. it's paid out some $400 million to about 2400 people. five on months after that, the berlin wall would fall, and two years later, the soviet union would at that follow. what rocky flats made was no longer needed. but the bombs it helped build remain in the u.s. arsenal to today. this place's story is far from over. paul beban, al jazeera, rocky flats. >> more than 300 boys and girls

are expected to arrive in arizona at what's become a make-shift refugee camp for undocumented children. it's a boarder patrol facility but authorities are using it as a clinic to examine children before they are transferred to other facilities. arizona's governor says conditions are bad and they have requested a shipment of medical supplies. most are coming from texas where facilities are reportedly being overwhelmed with illegal immigrants. >> stay tuned because coming up next on al jazeera america, he is the newest egyptian president, but what do we really know about ad abdel fatah el si? a look into his resume next.

good morning. welcome back to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. here are today's top stories. bowe bergdahl claims he was tortured during five years

captivity. bergdahl said he was beaten and held in a cage by the taliban. later today, pope francis will host an about faith ceremony with the palestinian president. the vatican says this is not a political move but rather a meeting which will hopefully reinvigorate peace talks. >> egypt's new president said he will correct what he calls mistakes of the past. sisi was sworn into office a short time ago after winning 98% in of the vote a closer look at the man who will lead a fractured egypt for the next four years. >> let me introduce myself. i am an egyptian citizen. i love my country and my own people. i also serve them by ensuring a

better lifestyle. >> elsisi has come a long way in 12 months. large scale demonstrations on july 1st last year, the head of the military delivered an ultimatum to the egyptian president negotiate or the army will intervene. he led the coup that dpoesdz morsi. it launched him on a trajectory that has propelled him into the presidency. a year earlier, he had given si sisi the top military job. the president must have thought he was appointing an ally, someone like-minded. sisi was to have morsi locked up. he then prided over a ruthless and bloody crackdown, the muslim

brotherhood. we are calling for legitimacy. this is our point of view. >> that's why you are killing us. >> sisi did it seemingly with considerable popular support. the general was beginning to attract something of a cult following. sisi has ridden a wave of nationalism that has kept him in the spotlight since last summer. he hasn't discouraged comparisons with nassar who ruled from 1966 to 1970. nassar, a general was popular and is often described as the first leader of an arab nation to challenge western dominance of the middle east. sisi is known as being reledgeously devout. he hasn't expressed an opinion on how he rules the view of islam in politics but in a recent speech, he said religious discourse in the greatest b challenge, there is a view for a comprehensive understanding of the nation of islam. >> before that conversation starts, sisi knows his priority

is to turn egypt's economy around. >> during two ref larks they were egyptians were aspiring. i need to give them security and stability and complete development. >> sisi says within two years, he can improve the economic condition of the egyptian people. he will need to retain the popular support he claims if he is to have any chance of achieving that ambitious goal. al jazeera. . >> good sunday to you. i am meteorologist eboni dion watching a frontal boundary draped across the south, the focal points for more showers to erupt from oklahoma and texas into the lower mississippi valley. we will deal with heavy rainfall as well as strong, gusty winds. along the northeast coach, we

have high pressure hanging on. skies are nice and clear in most locations. a few clouds mixing in. mainly fair weather clouds. it's this area of low pressure rotating through the lower great lakes bringing rainfall intoshire, rain now starting to get into parts of pennsylvania as well, but the active weather started earlier this morning across illinois on to indiana around indianapolis. goat off to a soggy start. this area could see storms firing up later again tonight, mainly through the overnight hours around st. louis where we saw severe weather yesterday. >> threat will be back with us as we get into the late night hours. keep that in mind across the northeast, nice warm southerly flow helping to bring temperatures into the lower to mid-8 mid-80s for this afternoon. but that same low bringing the heavy rainfall across ohio. it will press eastward. as it does, that's when it will bring the rain as well as a little bit of a cooldown for the start of the work week. around new york city, enjoy the warmth while you can. monday, we will watch for rain and a few thunderstorms. temperatures will drop in the mid 70s. we will warm up a bit on

tuesday. still a few lingering rain showers around. as far as the severe weather threat today, it's going to be a little bit further south. mainly the southern plains into the southeast. and some of the same areas dealing with that heavy rain today, that wipersist tomorrow. around oklahoma city into dallas, we will have to watch out over the next 48 hours, damaging winds will be an issue along with the heavy rainfall that's causing concerns for flooding. we could end up with 4 to 6 inches across this general facility shaded in red. >> that's over a good portion of the plains states. it will be very messy here we are watching storms that have weakened since this morning. more active weather to come. >> 80 degrees today. i am liking that. i like that a lot. thanks eboni. appreciate it. renegade underground street artist bankc were is going public. sutherbies is exiting 70 in an exhibit called the unauthorized retrospective because he isn't actually involved. some of the art hasn't been seen

in public. this time around, banksy fans will have a unique opportunity to buy some work. the most expensive at $840,000. thank you for watching al jazeera america from new york city. stay tuned. "listening post" next. hello. i am richard you gizberg. he script, the state of journalism, journalism that's gone to the dogs. what's with the fact-free reporting about north korea, sty land and turkey, countries were where life is difficult for