>> because michael was a big guy, but he was a kind, gentle soul. before he left this earth, the day that he was killed he was out spreading the word of jesus christ. this moment michael also stated to the family that one day the world would know his name.

he did not know that he was offering up a divine prophecy at that time. he did not know how his name would be remembered, but we're here today remembering the name of michael brown. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm michael yves. you're looking live as family and friends say good buy to michael brown. funeral services are going on for the teen who was killed bay police shooting. other top stories we're following at this hour. freedom for journalists who had been held in syria for two weeks. and cleaning up after the quake. napa valley residents assess the damage. more than two weeks after being killed michael brown is laid to rest today. thousands are gathered at the friendly temple missionary

baptist church this afternoon paying their respect to the teenager. he was killed by a police officer sparking violent protests. robert ray is in ferguson, robert, we just heard emotional words from the family. i wonder what is it like where you are? >> yes, michael a celebration of life at the church in st. louis, and that celebration of life michael brown 18 years old who lost his life right there just over my shoulder over two weeks ago. it is quiet here throughout the morning. there have been people who have been streaming in and standing around where michael lost his life and saying prayers. now a lot of people, derek, if you pan over there is one gentleman who is standing with a very peaceful eye on where he

lost his life. so this is what's going on here this morning. it's very warm out here with the sound of locusts in the trees. it's a bit eerie, a situation that i think a lot of people are trying to respect here this morning in ferguson where michael brown lost his life. >> robert, thank you for that report from ferguson. we take you back inside the church in st. louis where the family is speaking now. this is kyle brown, this is his stepmother, the wife of michael brown sr. >> the week that mike was killed i was admitted in the hospital. he talked to his dad, and he asked where i was, and his dad said that i was out for testing, he said, dad, i got something i

want to tell you. he said, well what, son? he said, i don't think that she's going to make it. his dad got upset and hung up the phone. when i came back in the room his dad is upset. he said my son is ticking me off again. i said what did he do now. he said share. he said, he didn't think you were going to make it. is that all that he said? he said, i don't know, i hung up the phone. the day i was discharged, he said, hey, ma. i said, hey, son, how are you doing? he said, i've been walking to talk to you for a few days but i have not been able to. i think daddy upset with me. i said well where? he said, because i didn't think you were going to make it. why did you say that? because i've been dreaming of death. i've been seeing pictures of

death. i see broody sheets hanging on a clothesline. and he just--it truly touched my heart. when i went out there and i saw mik mike mike, he pretty much prophesied his own death and didn't realize it. the day that mike mike graduated, we went to the graduation, and we took him out to lunch. and his entire talk was about dying. he said i feel like i'm dying. i got so much going inside of me, and i know that the world some day is going to know my name. he said, i'm going to shape the world. i promise you that he has. if i had time to tell you all that mike mike shared with me. there would not be an empty seat in here. mike mike is an awesome a man. i met him three years ago when

he was a boy. but he evolved into a man a good man. he wanted to go to college. he wanted to have a family. he wanted to be a good father. but god chose differently, and i'm at peace about that, because he's not a lost soul. his death is not in vain. i just want to say to mike pike, i love you. i know i could hold you and kiss you. >> joining us now is jonathan clark, a farm award winning television award winner, we definitely appreciate your time today. from your standpoint what do you think will happen after the funeral, after the burial, what affect will it have on the protests and unrest we've seen in the area? >> well, michael, it's good to be with you right now, but i really wish it could be under much better circumstances.

obviously the thing we want to remember first and foremost this is michael's day. this isn't the ferguson police department. it's not about officer wilson. it's not about the militarization of police or anything else we've been talking about over the past several weeks. this really is a day set aside for michael. there is this pause right now as we contemplate the life that we had, and the life that he might have had. that's sort of where we are at this point. going forward i think people are willing to let the process play out and see what the joy come is going to be. use this as kind of a resetting moment as we move forward. >> well, you grew up in the area not far from ferguson. michael brown sr. has asked for a di a day of peace today. there's hope that that will continue after today. how confident do you feel that there will be no month protest, at least in the next couple of days?

>> well, i actually grew up in brooklyn, new york. >> pardon me. >> i've been here for 20 years now, time of that time spent covering news here locally. i can tell you that this something that this community has never seen before. it has never seen this kind of uncomfortableness and this sort of unrest. this is like opening up a chemistry set and mixing different pieces and saying what happens if you put this with that or that with this, we don't know. i can tell you that the family has said they want to see justice. and i'm sure the community is behind them in seeing that much, but the meaning of justice is what this is about going forward. the families say justice means legal action and indictment of officer wilson. if that doesn't happen then i fear, i dread to see what could happen. if you ask me two weeks ago

whether this community could explode, i would say no. but this is a whole different ballgame now. we really don't know what we should expect going forward. >> you mentioned seeking justice obviously that will be related to the grand jury if the indictment it brought forward. i want to talk about that in just a moment, but i want to piggyback on something you just said. if go back to the watts riots in 1992 after four white police officers were acquitted of killing a young black man, that was the spark that led to the riots. if there is not an indictment brought here. not that those two communities are the same and everything is exactly similar in that regard, but if there is not an indictment brought forward from the grand jury. from your standpoint would that give you concern of what possibly could happen in the wake of what we've already seen? >> you know, even in the wake of what we've already seen i think there is a mistake we need to be

careful of making. i don't think we ought to just out of hand assume that becaus because--and call it what it is because black folks don't get what they want, they have to take to the streets and they've got to riot. i don't think that's the narrative we want going forward. i think it that's a mistake to think that simply because this doesn't turn out the way many in the black community expect they will start over things in their community again. i don't think that necessarily has to be the outcome. i don't think that's pre-determined. i think certainly having this pause right now, having this break gives everyone an opportunity to take a break and have a little bit more perspective, calmer heads and talk to someone who might have been a little bit rowdy over the last couple of weeks. that having been said this again is a laboratory. this is something that we haven't seen before. we haven't seen this sort of

upset before. if there isn't the kind of outcome that the community wants to see, i'm not 100% to say that that couldn't happen again. >> very good insight from jonathan clark, award winning journalist from the area not far from ferguson. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we'll have more coverage of the funeral converse in just a moment as we continue here on al jazeera america. but another news an american journalist kidnapped near the turkey syria border is a free man this morning. for two years he was held by an al-qaeda affiliate. al jazeera obtained video from him confirming his identify. curtis was handed over to u.n. peace keepers in the golan heights and then u.s. personnel. mike viqueira joins us from washington, d.c. he has been covering this story. curtis' family is thanking the u.s. and qatari government.

give us can idea of the role played by those two independent governments. >> well, michael, this was an event that unfolded over the weekend. you're right, confirming that peter theo curtis had been released and his family saying they're deeply grateful to the united states government and qatari government and noting at the same time that they were very saddened at the murder of journalist james foley. the united states had been trying--according to secretary kerry, reached out to two dozen countries over the course of last two years asking for help. it was when the family through the america united nations ambassador samantha power got in touch with the qatarrys who has influence with these groups that things started to move an

accelerated a great deal the release o. they said there would be no ransoms paid to terrorists and a family putting out a statement saying as far as they know they were assured by the qatari government that they did not pay a ransom either. one of these journalists, an unspecified number of american hostages held in the region have been released over the weekend. >> another example of americans and qatarrys working together for the release of hostages. this comes after journalist james foley was killed by the islamic state group. his family released a letter that was written during his imprisonment. >> it's a poignant and interesting story. we should add also marked the funeral mass a catholic mass in foley's hometown where his family lives in rochester,

new hampshire. on the facebook page dedicated to james foley and his can you they released a letter. one of the interesting parts of this letter it was not written on paper. it was memorized by a fellow hostage of james foley while they were both being held somewhere in syria and recounted to james foley's mother from memory. in it james foley reminisces about his time as a child and reminisces very fondly. he said he's being held with 17 other hostages. he said, i have weak and strong days and ends with an admonition to his grandmother, he said, granny, please take your medicine. take your walks and keep on dancing. >> even in that moment he was concerned about his family back here in the states. mike viqueira reporting live from washington, d.c. and an editorial note al jazeera america is owned by qatarry interests. no. iraq, u.s. warplanes have been pounding equipment.

>> yes, those trying to form a new unity government feel they may be on the way, quite close forming the unity government which may make all the difference battling isis. we have pictures of this where they say are airstrikes carried out by iraq and u.s. planes in the northern city of mosul. footage from the pentagon shows these jets taking off from the aircraft barrier as part of the aerial operations against islamic state in iraq. >> anything in general you can see that we have done strikes up in different areas in iraq throughout iraq where you see the big effort around the mosul

dam in order to allow the dam to be retaken so there was no catastrophe with the dam, and that folks can get back on there and protect the dam and make sure that everything is going correctly. >> now over the weekend 4 people are killed in car bombings. another nine died on monday of shia mosque. scores of people were injured. iraq's new prime minister designate is forming a unity government and then groups like islamic state will not be tolerated. >> there will be no place for armed groups be they militias tribes or civilian volunteers. we will never allow any armed group to operate outs o outside of the state. >> next, in syria the islamic state group has taken control of a key air base. many i in the congress in

washington, d.c. worry growing number of americans and brits who have signed up to join the i.s. could bring their holy war to these shores. >> it's a very real threat. and you saw the barbaric behavior. it's gone unabated for nearly two years. that draws people from britain, across europe and even the united states to join the fight. >> we think as many as 500 people from the united kingdom have gone to joy jihad, isis, we're focusing our efforts across the board on how to current though terribl counter this horrible vet. >> john tarjohn terrett. thank you. >> coming up on al jazeera america the biggest earthquake

that has hit the bay area in 25 years. we'll take you live to the funeral services of mike brown in st. louis where friends and family are paying their final respect to the unarmed teenager who was gunned down police two weeks ago.

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setting off a wave of protest, calm has returned to the city. today, at this moment friends and family are saying their final goodbye. in other news northern california's earthquake on sunday was the largest in the state in 25 years. 170 people have reported injuries. the economic impact of the disaster could be devastating. melissa chan is in napa with more. what are the financial implications of this earthquake? >> well, just take a look at the building behind me and what we found out this morning is from the city they tell us that just 6% of people have earthquake insurance. earthquake insurance is very expensive. but now with with damag damages will have to pay out of pocket. we know there are 800 vineyards and it's difficult to get a sense of how bad the situation is. we know when there was no power

a lot of vineyards could have struggled. this is the bottling season. this is when they move the wine into special vats. temperature-controlled vats where you need electricity and we know more than a few vineyards are dragging in generators to keep things going. >> what about the possibility of aftershocks. obviously, that's something that commonly occurs after earthquakes of this magnitude. what are the business owners doing in preparation for that possibility? >> that's an acciden excellent question. seismologists say there is an accident chance of 5.0 after shocks. that's pretty strong. this is inevitable. it will happen over the next few weeks. residents don't like t but it's

cycle that they'll have to deal with and they'll have to carry out best practices they've had beforehand in dealing with earthquake quakes. >> especially good news that no one or animals were reportedly killed in the earthquake. melissa chan reporting for us in california. meteorologists dave warren will join us to tell us if it will get any worse. we'll take you live to where funeral services are being held for michael brown. stuart! stuart!

stuart! stuart! ♪ check it out. this my account thing.

we can tweet directly toa comcast expert for help. or we can select a time for them to call us back. the future, right? ♪ this doesn't do it for you? [ doorbell rings, dog barks ] oh, that's what blows your mind -- the advanced technology of a doorbell.. [ male announcer ] tweet an expert and schedule a callback from any device. introducing the xfinity my account app. >> we are grateful to the grea greater st. marks. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm michael yves. here is a look at the funeral

services for michael brown being held in st. st. louis. thousands have shown to pay respects to the young teenager who was gunned down by police two weeks ago. his family has called for peace as they laid him to rest today. other top stories following today, peter theo curtis, a journalist held captive for two years has been freed. he was taken by u.s. officials to tel aviv. his release came after officials meeting with the qatarry government. iceland is lowering its volcano warning. there is no sign of an eruption despite several large quakes. the country has been on alert ever since the volcano started

rumbling earlier this month. a wildfire is spreading in northern california. hundreds have been evacuated in trinity county. schools in the area have been temporarily shut down. the fire has burned 650 acres. well, between droughts, fires and earthquakes, california has quite a bit to deal with. dave warren here. is mother nature going to help out. >> meteorologist: we don't see much rain there and we're watching for the significant rainfall coming across the carribean with tropical storm cristobal. not all that intense but it is intensifying a bit. we want to see this turn to the northeast and taken out to sea. it did dump a lot of rain, a little too much rain. puerto rico is under a drought in as much areas, but there is heavy rain that caused flooding there, that's a big problem because they had too much rain

all at once. areas need the rain. it's dry but too much rain led to flooding. the storm is moving away, pushing off to the north and towards the east coast but it's also turn to the east as it moved north. it is forecast to be a hurricane. and just turned to east of north. it was moving north, now it's moving north-northeast. so continuing to turn away from land. the front approaching from northern planes. high pressure in place. this will turn this and steer this storm out over the ocean as it continued to move to the northeast. it will lead to rough surf. it forecast to intensify hurricane right here passing west of bermuda. we'll see an increased surf and the risk of rip currents. watch that.

there will be a lot of people there enjoying the waters but rip currents from georgia up through new england. these are high temperatures above 100 degrees. the humidity will make it feel hotter. that reduces the ability for the body's ability to cool itself. that's where we have these heat advisories in place. cooler weather is coming in from the north, but this will be the focus for strong thunderstorms. look at that temperature difference, 90 down to 60. big drop in temperatures in the dakotas. >> thanks a lot. thank you for watching this edition of al jazeera america. the stream is next. we want to leave you with live images of the funeral of michael brown being held at friendly temple missionary church seven miles from ferguson, missouri, where michael brown was gunned down by police more than two weeks ago. we'll have continuing coverage of this funeral throughout the

afternoon on al jazeera america. please stay with us a. we'll continuously update our website as well at www.aljazeera.com. you're in the stream. don't send your kid to the ivy league. why elite colleges, according to a guest, don't measure up. a budding movement that spreads to more states? and later, the department of education has found an interesting demographic trend that could change the way schools operate.