>> you're looking live at the baptist church in st. louis, missouri. over the next several hours, family, friends, hundreds of supporter also say goo goodbye to michael brown. brown's death sparked nearly two weeks of protest and outrage in his hometown of ferguson, month m and nationwide. >> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america.

i'm michael yves. 18-year-old michael brown was unarmed when he was killed more than two weeks ago. it happened in a st. louis suburb of ferguson when officer deron williams ended brown's life. now it is been investigated by the justice department. it is expected to be an emotional funeral and burial. meanwhile robert ray is at the spot where brown was shot and killed in ferguson. robert, you're seven miles away away from the services. what is the mood and the scene at ferguson? >> reporter: well, the mood is quiet here. behind me is the area where michael brown was shot dead. people have been coming out and paying their respect to the actual pace where he laid for nearly four hours in a fool of

blood. people are trying to mourn the situation the best they can and respect what michael brown's father said yesterday, have a peaceful day with no demonstrations. and with respect to his son. michael? >> robert, obviously a lot of eyes and attention on the memorial service. a lot of people are expected to attend. in fact, they had to bring in extra seats to accommodate an extra thousand people there in st. louis missouri. what have you heard from the guests and speakers at the funeral? >> the first was a note or release from the press secretary saying that the governor has decided not to attend this morning so he could let the family go through their process of grief and not draw any attention from the situation. the thing is that the governor was on that list to be there this morning, and some of the

lawmakers and other people who have been critical of the way he has handled the situation will likely take up the fact that he is not showing up this morning. in addition we have people from the entertainment industry, p. daddy, snoop dogg is expected to be in attention. the eulogy given by reverend sharpton, and members of martin luther king's family will be in attendance along with dozens of lawmakers not only from the state but around the surrounding region. also the white house has three different people they're sending into town. a big crowd. >> you mentioned people all across the country. you saw maxine waters, congresswoman from california. what about the rest of the day once the funeral services have ended, you know what else is planned in ferguson today?

i think they are a he going respect what michael brown's father has asked for at the peace festival, a day of remembrance and quiet and thinking of the future. people say there will be a lot of silent protesting going on in the weeks add, and maybe not so much demonstrations on the streets. i think people want to change here in ferguson in the st. louis area and are hoping unfortunately that the young man's death behind me where he was killed has brought up a new discussion across america not only from race relations but the way police handle themselves in the u.s. michael. >> robert ray in ferguson. we'll hear more from robert as the day goes on here in al jazeera america. again, live pictures inside the friendly temple ba baptist church.

let's listen close for the music being played inside the service. [♪ music ] >> you can see inside the church. you, you can see the family of michael brown has yet to enter the service. seats are served for other dignitaries who will be involved in the church. we would like to bring in jason johnson, political science proffer at hyrum college who spent time in ferguson during the shooting. he's in atlanta. thank you for joining us once

again. i wonder from what you've seen and the people you've talked to what effects will today's memorial service have on the protest intelligently going in ferguson? >> they've been canceled. i've received a couple of e-mails that out of respect for the family they will not hold any protest marchs today. i suspect things will be very quiet. this is the beginning of the end of the outward protest phase that has been happening in ferguson. we'll see a lot of strategy, voter organization and long term planning. that's one of the things that will be happening after the funeral today. >> we'll talk to some of the people in attend. president obama sending three of his aides. i want to talk about someone who will not nobody attention. the governor of missouri, governor nixon will not be

attending. he said that the governor has communicated to the attorneys of the families representing the familiethe family of michael brown that he will not be attending the service. >> it's just another in a long list of incompetent, insensitive and tone deaf things he has done since this whole tragedy began. s a pathetic and cowardly move on his behalf. it's one thing if the family asked him not to attend. but obviously by the tone of that letter it sounds like he did have an open invitation to attend, but he did not show up you just had the entire city that you governor engulfed in protests throughout the last several days and you cannot show up to the funeral of the young

man's whose death began all th this. >> i have the parking list in my hand right now, and in the executive lot reserved in the back of the sanctuary governor jay nixon had a spot. they were totally expecting him to be there, it's quite interesting in the last minute he said he will not be there. as it relates to the local politicians in the area there have been calls for the mayor of ferguson to step down. there have been calls for the local prosecute for recuse himself from the case. what do you think will happen in those with regards in the wake not only of the protest and unrest but in today's funeral service. >> you can put a fork in the mayor. i think he's done. there will likely be a recall vote in october six months in his--he just got reelected in april. you just need 15% of the population to fill out a recall. the question is who interested

in taking his place. no one has raisin from the ashes willing to take his job. as for the prosecutor, i don't think he's going anywhere. mccullough said he's stubbornly going to prosecute this case even though no one believes in bob mccullough. >> thank you for joining us from atlanta. we thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> and of course we'll have much more on michael brown's funeral throughout the program. now you see more family, friends and dignitaries making their way into the church at the friendly baptist church. we'll have more coverage from st. louis. right now we want to share other news with you throughout the country and the world. the u.s. military has give the all clear following what is described as the shooter

incident. about 130 miles of washington, d.c. located at prince george's county. the base was placed on lockdown. personnel were told to observe active shooter protocols. it is now under control and the shooter in question was wounded. one building remains on lockdown at this time. one person is dead and two injured after a mortar shell exploded just over the border of st. louis, missouri. it deals with the ammunition industry. after experiencing the worst earthquake in 25 years san francisco is preparing for aftershocks. more than 100 people were injured but there have been no deaths reported so far. melmelissa chan is live

downtown. a lot of people in napa obviously won't be headed to work or school, melissa, from your vantage point what is happening downtown. >> well, this, is the worst most badly impacted intersection. i wanted to show you this badly damaged building. if you take a closer look at the door there is a red certificate. that means that the building inspectors have looked at it and decided it is not structurally sound. we're told there are 40 teams that will be going around the city, around the area to look around the buildings. they've made progress considering the fact that this earthquake happened 24 hours ago. >> the biggest earthquake the area has felt since 1989.

there have been a few injuries, but mostly things falling apart. by morning the flames were out, and the residents all accounted for. barbara hornsby tells us despite her damaged home she feels blessed not devastated. >> happy to be alive because if that bookcase had come over just a tiny bit differently i could have had a broken neck. instead i just had a little blood. either one th the interior doorway or outer door. >> she has a place to sleep tonight with neighbors but no clue what their options are. they're trying to take the unexpected disaster in stride. >> you're looking at the worst hit area. we're in downtown napa and the good news is that the quake took place in the middle of the night so all these restaurant and businesses were at least closed. >> my bed just started shaking

and all the lamps fell off my nightstand. the tv fell off the wall. the microwave fell over. none of the emergency lights came on so i was scrambling for the latches to get out. >> by midday business owners had made some progress. some businesses have already reopened. but others need more time. city workers, firefighters, those working to fix power lines all work to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. the governor has called for a state of emergency. >> we have probably 100 plus gas leaks, power lines down. medical calls are in the neighborhood of 80-plus at this time. >> most tourists despite the nighttime scare tried their best to carry on with their daytime plans and the damage appears limited in wine country. just to add a little bit more about the vineyards in this area. after all the maintain of the

sk city. without power, the vineyards are in bottling season. vineyard without power it was touch and go. they were bringing in generate tours keep things going. >> some of those wineries had dodge losing barrels and bottles they already had in their stock. anyone who has lived through earthquakes or knows anything about them knows that aftershocks very likely after the big one hits. how are the effects of the aftershocks effecting those in that region? >> that's an accident question. with this particular quake there is a 50% chance that there will be an aftershock of 5.0. that's pretty big. and of course it makes people here very nervous. vineyards an and residents

combined. >> in nap at aa, california, thank you. >> peter theo curtis was held for two years by an al-qaeda affiliate called the al nusra front. al jazeera's mike viqueira is following the story from washington. the u.s. and qatar were involved in the release. what do we know about the roles that they played. >> you're right. the ordeal is finally over. his family is expressing relief and gratitude and grief for the murder of james foley.

>> in this video, peter that heio curtis appears calm and appears to be reading from a script. >> i have everything that i need. everything has been perfect. food, clothing, even friends now. thank you very much. >> you. >> but in another video reportedly shot only weeks later a much different picture of curtis. his hands tied while an armed guard stands over him. >> my life is in very, very grave danger. i have three days. three days to live. three days. if you don't do anything i'm finished. i'm dead. they will kill me. >> those pleas answered sunday when after nearly two years of captivity secretary of state john kerry confirmed curtis was free. his family is crediting the qatarry government for winning their son's release. it was reported that no ransom was paid to set him free. curtis who changed his name after publishing the book "undercover muslim" was

kidnapped by the al nusra front. while one family rejoices the release of their son another mourns the son they lost. >> siblings, family, all of those gathered here we remember james foley. >> sunday james foley, the journalist beheaded last week by the islamic state group was remembered during a memorial in his hometown in new hampshire. late last night the foley family posted a letter by their son while he was in in captivity. it was relayed by another who memorized it. britain said it is close to identifying the fan who executed foley who is briefed to b believed to be one of their flown there is very sophisticat

ed voice technology to allow us to know who is person is before very long. >> on this controversial credited why of ransom and who is paying it, there was no ransom paid by the american government. the curtis family understand it, the qatarry government did not pay a ransom either. which is controversial because many european captives are freed by ransom and it is one of the major sources of funding by tourists in the middle east. >> coming up here in al jazeera america another violent weekend in chicago leaving 11 people including a child recovering from injuries. we have the latest on shootings that plague the windy city. days of protest that turn violent at times giving way to a solemn gathering at a local

baptist church you see the father of michael brown. michael brown sr. you're watching al jazeera america.

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tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> you're looking live in ferguson, missouri, at an impromptu site where michael brown was shot and killed. the mother of michael brown as well as other friends and families around america have gathered to say their final goodbyes to michael brown. reverend al sharpton will be speaking. jesse jackson, spike lee and several white house staffers are in attend. we'll have more coverage from st. louis in just a moment. in other news a wave of gun violence struck chicago. five people are dead including two gunmen who were shot by

police. erica, even more people wounded in this latest round of shootings. >> we're talking about 40 people shot over the weekend, including a three-year-old boy who remains in critical condition. this comes after seven people were killed and 30 more wounded in shootings last weekend. now the statistics are alarming. take a look at this. since the beginning of the year more than 1200 people have been shot in chicago. nearly 240 of them were killed. the average age of the victims is 28 years old. and 80% of those shot to death were black. now the city struggling to control the violence have been called in to help. it's a complicated task. there are more than 600 different gangs fighting against each other. some argue say the problem is much bigger suggesting that segregation and limited opportunities is fostering a community filled with criminals. in 2012 it's murder rate hit 500, higher than new york and

los angeles, and a year later homicide went down 20%. believe it or not, michael, it is on track to fall even more by the end of this year. >> trying to find good news in such a violent and troubling story. thank you for the update. well, gaza was pounded overnight by the israeli military. there were 16 airstrikes including one on a mosque and hamas fighter house. the hamas fired ten rockets into israel as well today. the departure lounge where people could make their way into egypt was heavily damaged. the latest fighting comes after prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned that attacks will continue as long as necessary. hundreds gathered for a final farewell to michael brown. there you see his mother, and her husband at the casket where

michael brown remains live right now as the funeral services continue. the unarmed teenager was killed by a police officer dero darren wilson more than two weeks ago. we'll go live to robert ray at the scene of the shooting, and also take you back inside the memorial services after the break. @

>> funeral services under way at this hour in st. louis, missouri. this is a live look at friendly temple missionary baptist church where an emotional goo goodbye is under way to 18-year-old michael brown. white house staffers all in

attendance at the ceremony. friends and family will be addressing those in attendance momentarily. i'm michael yves here in new york. welcome book al jazeera america. funeral services are under way. we'll take you now to ferguson, missouri, the scene where michael brown was shot. and robert ray is standing there in the suburb of st. louis. what is taking place behind you right now? the makeshift prayer service was occurring just second ago. i'll step out. this is the scene where michael brown was shot and killed. he laid there for a few hours until he was finally taken. this is the area that he was killed on august 9th. today people are coming out to stand around the scene and prayer and make sure that his

family knows that the community is there for them. people, a steady stream of people have been coming in and out of the area, and we expect more throughout the day. it's a calm, quiet scene unlike what it was a couple of weeks ago. >> after today's services there in st. louis obviously more eyes will turn to the intelligently going investigation surrounding the circumstances of his death. and we're starting to learn more about the makeup of the grand jury that will hear this case and decide whether they will issue an inindictment. what can you tell us on those that will be surprised in that grand jury? >> well, al jazeera america has confirmed that the grand jury is made up of seven men and five women. nine of those are white. three of them are black. they are meeting every wednesday. they just met this past wednesday. they'll meet again in a couple

of days. we're told it could take as long as mid opportunity to review all of the evidence put in front of them to decide whether or not officer darren wilson is indicted on any charge of killing michael brown, 18 years old, in the spot behind me, michael? >> robert, there is money being raised for the brown family and for the police officer darren williamson. what do these numbers look like in terms of donations that have been coming in? >> yes, they are big money. if you look at michael brown so far over $240,000 has been raised online for his family. now officer darren wilson, over $375,000 at moment on saturday we're at an event in south st. louis for officer darren wilson where a lot of police officers were outside of a bar putting signs up in front of the traffic that was going by.

so that was in motion. both sides getting money, michael. >> robert ray reporting live in ferguson. there is a live shot back inside the temple where michael brown will be laid to rest stay with us on al jazeera america for more coverage of michael brown's funeral. >> a changing community, a new majority, and a power structure still in the hands of an old guard. it's "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez .