it's asking that second, that third question, finding that person no one spoken to yet... >> you can't tell the stories of the people if you don't get their voices out there, and al jazeera america is doing just that. >> audiences are intelligent and they know that their needs are not being met by american tv news today. >> entire media culture is driven by something that's very very fast... >> there has been a lack of fact based, in depth, serious journalism, and we fill that void... >> there is a huge opportunity for al jazeera america to change the way people look at news. >> we just don't parachute in on a story...quickly talk to a couple of experts and leave... >> one producer may spend 3 or 4 months, digging into a single story... (technical difficulties)

(no sound) to yet... >> you can't tell the stories of the people if you don't get their voices out there, and al jazeera america is doing just that. to begin, versus four years at a residential programme when the diploma, the credential looks the same to the world. value versus perception. it's real. it's forcing tough choices on families that would otherwise be happy to reward their hard-working high schooler. >> high school senior karen gonzalez of centerville virginia will head to radford university, college. >> i got the red folder. it was crazy, i cried. i told mum the big news.

she jumps up and down. >> the daughter of hello, i'm ray suarez, over the past 40 years, college and university tuitions have soared. fast faster than consumer prices and houses and the wages and american families, so the old reassuring optimistic idea, going into debt for a good college education would pay back the borrower, that theory is getting a second look . it's unquestionable college graduates did better than people with a college or high school diploma. students and families have to take a tougher look at costs. dream school versus affordable. public and private. two years of community college, versus four years at a residential programme when the

diploma looks the same. it's forcing tough choices on families that would be happy to reward hard-working high schoolers. i'll work while i'm at school. >> most american college students share the story. the average student loan debt tops $29,000, which is nearly double what seniors owed in >> i got the red folder. it was crazy, i was crying. mum said "what happened?" i told her the news. >> the talking are of two peruvian immigrants, karen said not going to college was not an option. >> i want my education to by higher than my father. >> it became clear she didn't just need good grades, but money, and lots of it. >> as soon as i applied to college, and i saw tuition, it made me feel disappointed,

knowing that other students have the ability to "i want that one", or i don't like that one, and me, i felt weird because i had to limit choices. >> gonzalez of dreams of studying in old dominion or virginia. it's been a family affair to pay for a third choice, a less expensive school. >> my dad has two jobs, one at wal-mart and reedys. every time he gets a paycheck he'll divide it within the bills. i plan to do work study at radford. i'll work at school. >> most american college students share the story. the average student loan debt topping $29,000. it's nearly double what is owed in 1989. according to the college board the school year's cost for tuition and fees was $34,094 for

private. $893 for state, and $22,203 for out of state at public colleges. being in the red is not just an individual problem, but a national one. collectively student loan debt is more than a trillion dollars. a report by the policy organization says rising tuition fees are linked to state funding cuts, a consequence of the great recession. robert hitton smith is an author. >> it is cuts in funding that have been the major cause of the rise in debt. students are paying for that. >> there has been an average but in funding. most colleges are raising tuition fees, cutting resources to cover operational overhead.

while students pay more, it doesn't translate into better quality teaching. the result - millions of 20 somethings, and during the economy, cash strapped after graduation, unable to spend money on much else, other than student loans. >> it's been called a debt for diploma system. >> students paying $300 to $500 releasing debt, it is what they could spend on a down payment on a house or a new car, other things that would recirculate into the economy. >> the rules make it difficult to forgive student debt through bankruptcy. when they default, it seats off a vicious cycle of penalties or leans making a bad situation worse. >> no retired fund, no savings. >> this student saw going no default first hand.

after a bachelors in journalist and a masters in international relations, she graduated $80,000 in the red. >> i ignored it. it was a big mistake. >> when she decided to face reality she was smacked with an ugly truth. i signed into my account, and took a look and it was $92,000. >> the wake up sent her life into upheaval. she moved into with her parents, got a bar job and started to pay back the debts. >> how do i get the 7 to a 6. it was a game to me. >> she is carrying less than $20,000, but at the expense of not spending money on anything else. stories like this weigh heavily on high school seniors like karen. >> i am scared for my father, i hardly see him now, and the fact that i'll go away i won't see him as much. i feel like he's not telling me i can't do it. maybe by the third or fourth

year he'll give up. it's so much funny, right now we are trying to save as much as we can. >> young households strapped with student loans will see accumulative wealth loss of more than $200,000 in their lifetime, compared to those without education debt. hindered long term after making an early investment in adult hoods. only way - or the major way that a university has to make up for >> as college costs begin to climb, many wonder if cheaper college may be a better choice because it's cheaper and won't burden a younger group. joining us, philip, interim chancellor of rut kerrs, newark. mary big am, director of the college counselling at the greenhill school, and from new

york, patricia sabka, a correspondent for-al jazeera's "real money," with ali velshi. philip, since you have seen it from the inside, tell the people who are watching why it is that tuitions have risen so fast. what is driving the costs? >> well, as in your set up piece, the biggest factor increasing student tuition rates at public universities is a decline in state support for the universities. it seems as if the american dream is in danger of turning into an american nightmare. the students can see the land of opportunity but they can't get to it because the barrier of the cost of tuition. as you decrease the state support, expenses of the university, and the only way - or the major way the university has to make up for that is, in

fact, to increase tuition. at the same time they are - most universities are getting more and more sensitive to the impact this has on students, so they will often have a combination of an increase in tuition, and some form of cuts within the university to try to decrease overall expenses. >> were there no other choses as administratorsers like yourself look at what can be down to economyize. was tuition the only fallback position for a budget deficit. >> depends on the magnitude. there are opportunities within the university. you can encompass it in the concept of focussing on student first. as you make decisions on

expenditures, you ensure that the first priority is for the studentsment the equation is flippedment it used to be in public universities, the state support paid for most of the educational costs. today it's the student's tuition paying for the majority of costs. in the framework it's important for universities to focus on expenditures that enhance and improve and sustain the student experience as students. that means that sometimes some of the other programs and missions that universities take on may have to be diminished by the wayside as one focuses on the student. >> as the trend continues, have you seen kids make decisions on where grades will take them, but where their budgets will? >> absolutely. i work at independent schools.

i have students whose family can afford to pay, students whose families struggle and they take a lot of loans, and students whose families have no means to pay for the college education when i started in the profession, 20 years ago, aspirations were important. and families would say we'll go out of our way to make this possible. now i'm seeing families along the income spectrum asking questions about cost, what you get from the cost, ways to pay for college, and what that might mean for the student's future. >> does that mean hard-nosed decisions. are personalities saying dream school a. the one the kid was shooting for, sorry, you are not going there. >> absolutely. and i think that more and more families are having the real and honest conversation. i can recall a moment in our office when i overheard a group of seniors mulling over the choices. one girl said to a boy - i'm

proud of you getting into college x, are you excited to attend. and the boy said, "i'm going to college y." the girl said, "that's your dream." he said college y gave me the best money, that's my dream school. >> when we look at the way markets work, there was an idea. eventually this was going to hit the wall, that families would say, "no, i am sorry, we are not spending that kind of money", but it didn't happen. is college like buying a luxury car, than it is choosing between two kind of detergent. >> college is the ticket to the middle class. that's why people see it as a good investment. all the studies show if you go to childrening you'll make more than a high school graduate. that's why people are paying to play. the huge student loan debts are having severe knock on effects on to the economy.

one of the things - one of the ways i like to describe it is you have to think of our economy as an eco system, and young people are the plankton. when we crush them with debt, we deny them the choice, that participating in the economy in a meaningful way, by that i mean consumer spending, on cars and houses, and the knock on that can have. for example, single family homes. we are seeing many built, and there are studies showing that 30-year-olds carrying debt are buying homes. for every construction jobs, that creates jobs. you can see how along the food chain, it is having an impact on student debt and families, and on all of us. >> when we come back we'll talk about college education and the marketplace.

what decisions are families making and what is driving them. this is "inside story". >> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for

welcome back to "inside story", i'm luis suarez. today on the programme, going to college versus not going. the value is demonstrated. how much should price guide a family's decision when, and whether a family should give in to the long-cherished dream of a particular school, and when other options - and there are almost always other options,

should get a second look. does anyone talk to teenagers about what the consequences are of taking a loan to go to college, how the interest accrues, how payment grows, how much time it might take them to pay off debt incurred between the ages of 18 and 23? >> if you look at studies, most of the students that take out loans tell you that absolutely no one told them any way of how the numbers add up, how interest accrues, what repayments might cost in relation to your first job salary. as an educator, i tell you there are lots of efforts made. what we hear from students in college and post college is no one informed them of what the loans could do to them in the future. >> are there footools in the fa

of rising costs in relation to picking a college. >> financial literacy is a component. the fact of the matter is a lot of kids don't know what they are facingment a lot are looking at this so late in high school careers. maybe it's time to start educating kids. one student who i profiled was an 8th grade teacher and she is starting to teach her kids to prepare them for the bill that is coming down the line. it's a fine balancing act. you don't want to scare kids off of going to courage. you want to encourage them to get an education, because they'll be better off with the diploma. at the same time the balancing act of preparing them for the bill is coming down the line. >> the incentives and the tools work across purposes. we say to kids maybe you ought to work. we have seen varying stats, it's

my impression that kids that have to work more take longer to finish. >> that's correct. i get angry when people say "i worked my way through college", when others do the same. some private institutions top out at $60,000, how do you expect an 18-year-old to work through college. every study shows if a student is spending time working to pay for education, that's time away, and they are less likely to graduate. >> phillip, a few moments ago you told us how reductions in state support drove up costs at public institutions. hasn't this gap between the cost of private and public education strengthened public education's hands. don't you have more customers because you are a better priced product? >> yes, in fact, you do.

not all, but at public universities, those perceived of being high value, there's a substantial increase in the last couple of years, in the interest in the institution, in the form of increased applications. and there has been a response on the part of many of these institutions to increase enroll. to meet the needs. there is a hidden problem in all of that. that is that the cost of educating a student while mostly born by the student, is not entirely born by the student. therefore, additional enroll. means additional costs for the university, that it has to find other sources to pay for in the time of declining state support for these public institutions. that means that there's an increase in overall budget in

terms of creating a burden, enrolment and response to that increase in the public institutions for the reasons you described. it is a real challenge for the institutions to meet. we'll take a short break, and when we come back, we'll talk about the future of this problem. are there things being put in place - market forces or loan programs, or ways of cutting the eventual cost that may bring relief to american families. this is "inside story".

welcome back to "inside story", i'm ray suarez. you hear all the time that a college education is essential to landing a job. tuition and room and board rise if price, and the graduates are the most indebted in history. 70% have outstanding loans. the average debt load - $29,000. what does it mean to start your adult life in that much debt? is it words it? philip yeaingal, interim

chancellor, maree big am, college councillor at the big am school in texas, and patricia sabca, a correspondent with "real money" with ali velshi. patricia, does college and university costs operate in the economy differently centre other things that we buy? you know, some of the colleges that increased prices the most in recent years have seen the largest rise in applications. so importantly price is not scaring people off. >> price isn't scaring people off. but the fact of the matter is that we are seeing a knock on to the economy of this massive student loan debt burden. a thing that economists are looking at is what would be a reasonable percentage of median annual household income for four year public university dewition.

for example, in over half the country tuitions are 15%, and that's before tax. that is a big bite. the middle class is really, really suggest in the face of rising tuitions. studies show that kids from lower middle income families earning between $40,000-$59,000 are actually graduating $11,000 more in debt than students from poorer families and students from affluent families, because the grants are not available to them. the middle class is getting hammered with higher tuition, and you have to bar in mind that wages have been stagnating for 15 years. while tuitions are eye watering, incomes stagnant, it's conspiring on the students, hitting them with loan debts. >> marie, are there unexpected results coming from just that situation that patricia described. are there kids leaving your

school, for instance, who might have in another day and age gone to a private school and been well sought by the schools who are now going to a public university and raising the profile of those places? >> certainly. i think students will look at our education as an independent secondary school and see value, but the question is what is that in comparison to the cost of paying for college. more and more of the families look at public institutions in and out of state. more of the students are questioning major choices. students that were interested in education are saying they are careers that are too low paying to justify the loan debt. yes, i think there are a lot of long-term implications in society about how the debt load is crushing the children.

>> in the next couple of years we'll pass the high-cresting numbers of graduates. if next year's classes are smaller, and the year after are smaller, colleges will compete for a smaller pool of freshmen, what will that do in the marketplace? >> that is already happening. the crest in high school graduates, we think, is probably a year now in the past, and so the response of institutions like mine has been to expand the educational opportunities for the non-traditional sector, that would be more the adult populations, but also working on the side of trying to assist students in managing the total cost of midtransfer from

community colleges to 4-year institution, much easier. that way the students can take advantage of, one, the lower cost of tuition; two, the fact that they can do community college close to home and don't need a residential comment that costs $10,000-$20,000 by itself, and have an economically viable first two years, and transfer to the 4-year institution with toounties in their mainly junior, and they can take vanning to hone the skills and become a well-rounded graduate. >> patricia, with the possibilities we have been talking about, is there a point at which middle class and upper class families close their wallets saying "sorry, 5% this year, 5% last year, we can't do it."

the question is when are people who are not suffering with student debt, when do they wake up to the fact that this impacts all of us, and we are in this together. you know, i can give you countless examples of how this resonates though the economy. another example is entrepreneurship. students are less likely to start their businesses and small businesses create 60% of jobs. at what point do families get fed up and close their pocket books. that's hard to say. they need it diploma for kids to be ketive in the marketplace. and the -- competitive in the marketplace. we need a well-educated workforce, it's not when does society get tired of it, but we as a group, when it impacts all of us. >> thank you all, a terrific

conversation. that brings us to the end of this edition of "inside story", thank you for being with us. in washington, i'm ray suarez. in is al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey, in new york with a look at the day's top stories. major developments in the fight against the islamic state group. iraqi forces take control of a town under siege and a key leader is killed. russia and ukraine swap captured soldiers with the conflict in eastern ukraine showing no signs of easing up. a blow to democracy in hong kong. chinese leaders refusing to allow open election.

we begin in iraq where media is reporting the killing of an islamic state leader. the is leader goes by the nickname abu teber. another blow was issued to the islamic state group. military officials say they broke the siege, coming after u.s. and iranian military jets and ground support. two points controlled by the islamic state group and baghdad - sue turton reports. [ gunfire ] >> reporter:. >> reporter: huge relief on the streets of amerli as friendly forces black the siege. for 80 days and nights they faced the threat of islamic

state fighters taking their town. a threat leaving some to consider taking their lives. their might provoked an alliance between groups not known to fight side by side. with peshmerga, shi'ite and iraqi army soldiers banding together in a joint operation beginning at four in the morning. >> translation: we came to join the fight for amerli under muqtada alsarreda's orders, no difference between sunni, shia, kurdish or christian. we came to clear is from iraq. most came from outside iraq. >> translation: this was an 80-day seem. they were vouched by islamic state fighters. many died of starvation, babies had no milk. thousands were save.

>> the aircampaign began the previous day, dropping food and supplies to the residents, and bombs on the is lines. >> there's pride among the peshmerga, that they and the shi'ite militia men broke the siege and took back the town. they couldn't have done it without help from the air. joint operation between u.s. fight are jets, iraqi helicopter and iranian fighters. breaking the siege did not just save lives, but lifted morale amongst the ranks charged with pushing back the forces. the challenge is not to see if they can keep up the momentum, but hold on to the ground they hold back. we are getting a look at other areas where islamic state group have been forced to retreat. zeina khodr reports from a town north of mosul.

>> the scars of battle. the islamic state used houses as defense lines before it was forced to retreat toward the city of mosul. this man came home to find this. >> translation: the group's fighters moved into the village in mid-august. they did not only use the house as a base. >> reporter: they ate what they found and used their clothes. they didn't give up without a fight. this is an organization that u.s. officials say is beyond anything they have seep. those engaged in combat faced well-trained fighters. >> they placed snipers in different houses, and they did all the way, the roads, the tnt. >> reporter: the islamic state may have been pushed back from the mosul dam and surrounding

areas, but they are far from defeated. kurdish forces didn't win the battle alone. dozens of u.s. air sticks supported the offensive. undoubtedly air strikes damaged. it may be an option here, but it's not always the case islamic state group controls cities and population centers, using air strikes there would cause mass casualties. the kurds have been battling is on self fronts, but not their strong holds. iraqis, and former members of the saddam hussein's army is fighting along side arabs. unfortunately, most of the villages here, they are sunni, and they - they supported the people here. they were absolutely disappointed in government as a revenge action. i think they supported the

people. >> the air campaign showed their progress. is, armed with u.s. equipment stolen from the iraqi army controls territory in syria, where the obama administration lags allies. the -- lacks allies, the war needs to be fought on the guard. it's a change since the governments in iraq and syria are not seen as legitimate by the sunnis now, to the crisis in ukraine. russian president vladimir putin called for a political solution to the crisis in an interview he suggested statehood for the breakaway regions, his spokesperson backtracked on that comment. on friday vladimir putin compared ukranian troops to nazis. translation: small villages and large areas are surrounded by the ukrainian army which is hitting the residential areas with the aim to destroy infrastructure and sup ring the will of the people.

it remind me of the second world war, where the german fascist army surrounded our cities. >> hours after a political solution was called for, a border patrol was attacked. paul beban has more from mariupol. >> reporter: limping back to safety, the trucks are the remnants of a ukranian force of several hundreds of men, trapped in the towns. fortunes on the battlefield have changed trrnalts there's no way the separatists bat for themselves they were weakened. without brigades reinforced with tank and artillery, they would never have had this success. >> this is another area where last week the ukranian army held sway. the militia are back in charge. we saw two separate units of the

fighters operating unhindered in the up to. >> the fighting was not heavy. they left without a fight. we are pushing them in all directions, trying hard. >> huddled in the back of an ambulance we saw three captured conscripts berated by militia men. nervously, almost whispering they asked that we don't show their face, and described the experience of being under artillery attack. 80% of the battalion died. "my friends were torn apart in front of my eyes." 200m down the road we saw two tank in control of separatist fighters. they are not too friendly, we had to retreat. there's no sign of the ukrainian army in this part of the country. the towns militia caught up with us and forced us to delete

video. one of the fiers admitted he was -- fighters admitted he was from moscow. what motivates you. >> we are fighting for the right of the people. the way they live, their history. >> reporter: the civilians suffer - the young and the elderly. >> translation: there's no power, there's no gas. we don't have anything. they promised to switch them on tomorrow, our condition is bad. >> reporter: families hide in their cellars. in the basement of this stone masons, a woman sleeps among the grave stones. with the fighting intensifying, it is getting worse. >> despite the fighting, russia and ukraine swapped fighters. 63 were handed back for nine russia russians taken last week.

>> reporter: a swift hand over the the men crossed a checkpoint. 63 ukranian soldiers swappeded for nine russian para troopers. . >> translation: the negotiations were far from easy, thank god common sense prevailed. i want to stress we don't abandon our people. from the first minute all steps from tape. >> the ukranian sold where ares were trying to get away from the fighting when they entered the russian territory. >> the paratroopers crossed the boarder accidentally in releasing footage. last week ukrainian authoritities said the unit was on oo missionion. >> more than 1,000 troops were

operating in the teest. >> terrorists would not have been capable of conducting the operation. they aren't there. several russian marines were captured during one breakthrough operation. >> the deal was struck between ukranian president and his russian counterpart during talks in minsk. the conciliatory top is not turning the tide. vladimir putin is calling for stade hood to be considered by eastern ukraine, a stark progression from his previous calls for power. >> it is necessary to start stantive and substantial negotiations. not justistically call matters, but politically organising society and statehood for south-eastern ukraine. >> reporter: heeding warnings, that the point of no return is next-door, that is full-scale

war. while most russians, those living here near the border, support the pro-separatist rebels, a government supported opinion poll showed 5% were in favour of sending troops into ukraine. and as this conflict worsens, president vladimir putin may find support for boots on the ground slipping away. members of the dawn of libya militia have taken control of the embassy in tripoli. the group stormed the compound. american personnel had been evacuated in july since the fighting escalated. the takeover came days after the group seized control of the airport and other parts of tripoli. democracy denied. the chinese government says no to popular elections in hong kong. that will not stop activists. campaign season is about to get

upped way. we example scenarios in "the week ahead."

pakistan's opposition leaders are urging supporters to keep up the protest against the government. three were killed, hundred injured as demonstrators clashed in islamabad. the protesters demanded that the prime minister step down. now to a step back for pro-democracy campaigners in hong kong. chinese government ruled out open elections, beijing will hold sway over who can stand for offices. >> reporter: from hong kong the announcement from china's parliament was anticipated. political masters how much deming o rahsy -- democracy

they'll tolerate. a spokesman for the national people's congress confirmed the elections will be limited to a handful of approved candidates. there's a need to proceed in a steady manner because of sovereignty and security of the country are at stake, he said. >> translation: a small group of people in hong kong with ulterior political motives are trying to replace the law with international standard and came up with the idea of domination by the public. the goal is to interfere request hong kong society, wasting time discussing the unrealistic political agenda. >> reporter: the npc's decision means only candidates approved by beijing can stand. no more than 2 or 3 in number, they need the endorsement of a

nominating committee that beijing will select. for china, it guarantees an election, in which there'll be no unpleasant survivors. when hong kong was returned to china as an autonomous region, beijing promised a high drrg of political autonomy and the capitalist system could opinion unhindered. the chinese government sass the deal is undermined by the counter campaign for democracy, part of what is called a foreign conspiracy to turn hong kong into a base of subversion. >> foreign ministry has a reason to raise the issue and warn people involved in this - local forces or international forces. from avoiding using hong kong as a platform of subversion against mainland china. >> reporter: for china, the

matter of the future has been finalised. it's spoken. they expect hong kong to listen. pro-democracy advocates in hong kong are angry, rob mcbride reports. >> reporter: in front of characters reading disobedience, the campaign's leader promises to occupy central hong kong. he is not saying when. the exact date when thousands are expected to bring the financial heart of this city to a standstill is kept a secret for maximum effect. for some, this is the day democracy died. for others, it's the start of the fight. >> only if we fight for our rites, we will have democracy one day. >> i don't know if we'll win, but hong kong people should

support this. >> news of this was greeted by activists. civil disobedience is the only way forward. >> normal protest is not useful to show pressure to the central government any more. >> in this divisive issue tens of thousands of beijing loyalists have taken to the streets, opposed to the occupy central movement. this is as close as hong kong will come to democracy, and the city should accept it. >> with both sides ruling out the chances of negotiations. hong kong's democrats seem to be on a collision course with beijing. >> next on al jazeera america. a tiny island in the pacific hosting big guests. what the united nations is discussing to help the world's most vulnerable country. people in louisiana are protesting over the slow recovery from hurricane katrina. first on the labour day weekend

we'll look at some of the major stories of the summer 2014. next up detroit filing for bankruptcy. >> reporter: i'm bisi onile-ere in detroit. this past summer thousands of workers or retirees voted in favor of pension cuts in the detroit bankruptcy plan. that put the city a step closer to emerging from the largest city bankruptcy in america's history and opened up the door for $800 million from the state of michigan, money to protect hart, staving off pension cuts. it's been a year since destroyed filed for bankruptcy. one of biggest hurdles lies ahead. next week detroit's bankruptcy trial will begin. lawyers will try to prove that the debt restructuring plan is fair. creditors will argue against it.

some hold-out creditors would stand to lose hundreds of millions. the judge will decide if the plan is approve. if not, it's back to the drawing board. it's a trial that will go until october.

welcome back to al jazeera. i'm richelle carey, here is a look at the top stories. heavy fighting has reportedly killed one islamic state leader. air strikes in the u.s. and irane military targeted the

group's position. kurdish and peshmerga attacked on the ground. a political solution was called for a political school use, hours later a border guard was attacked. a spokesman backtracked on stayed hoods for -- state hoods for those areas. beijing will continue to vet candidates for chief executive chief executive in hong kong. it's angered campaigners in hong kong it's the biggest test that somalia has seep. a united nations -- has seen. a united nations conference is there tomorrow. economic and environmental sustainability is the topic. >> reporter: it's a tropical island cliche and a business success story. a year ago that person was a carpenter. now he makes $75 as part of the

coconut oil industry which with processing and harvesting is booming. >> translation: i can afford to send my children to school and have money for the church and the village. >> reporter: coconut oil is exported, sold as ethically sourced. it took strategic thinking. >> with the project we did, we have made so many mistakes. we learnt from the mistakes. it's important that if other people are trying to do the same thing, that they learn about the mistakes before they make it. >> creating similar ventures is important for the small island developing states or cids conference, the biggest event hosted. a cruise ship has been brought in to help with the shortage of rooms. under discussion issues specific to small island nations.

>> physical isolation, coastlines and rugged landscapes can mean spectacular views, and small island states share a set of changes. >> many small island states are at risk of sinking. how should small countries hobby big ones to act on climate change. expensive, imported fuel is holding economies back. how can wind farms be created locally, and small island states are big ocean states. over fishing and pollution will be the themes. >> we have to reflect concerns and challenges inherent vulnerabilities in the future development agenda. that is the importance meaning of this conference. >> reporter: some criticised the money and carbon emission for a conference on efficient economies and change. those from the small island

states say they need to get together, strike partnerships and speak with one voice. dozens of people marked the 9th anniversary of hurricane katrina by protesting, taking to the streets in neighbourhoods still dammed. money slated for devastated neighbourhoods was used in other parts of the city. >> we know when the peoplea dollars came here, they came as a result of devastation suffered in this community. so since the dollars came here, as a result of the devastation here, why were they not spent here? snow. >> a city council spokesperson would not comment. >> louisiana is getting a bit of flash flooding. a slow moving storm dumped 6 inches of rain in lake charles. it was a couple of inches deep in some people's homes. you hate to see that. flooding in louisiana, to a

flood watch in new york, time for our meteorologist. >> central park, half an inch of rain fall in an hour. >> that's a lot. >> yes, we had flash flood warnings. they expired for manhattan. but there's an immense amount of rainfall in the storms. the storms were created by the cool air tracking the dakotas. we had a temperatures drop of 12 degrees, you hit the high close to the noon hour. here are the storms, from texas to new jersey, where parts of new jersey, and north of elizabeth - we had 2 inches of rain with this line of storms moving through. there's a round of rain coming in behind it. we'll see some participation powerful wind gusts again. it's gusty storms, brigging in intense rain fall.

here is the report of half an inch of rain fall in new york. it came in within an hour, and we have pittsburgh aring over three-quarter -- pittsburgh, over three-quarters of an inch. in the last 24 hours, we had parts of the texas coastline reporting, 2-3 inches of rain fall through mississippi, tennessee, kentucky, ohio. a lot of moisture out of the gulf of mexico. well see that keeping humid through the mid-atlantic and scattered storms continuing. the biggest participation for storms will stay in the north - mid west. this afternoon, we'll see the best tornado threat, the greatest threat in nebraska. omaha to st. louis, keep app high to the skies. we'll see dangerous weather continuing tonight and tomorrow. >> keep us posted.

thank you. thank you for joining us, i'm richelle carey. another hour of news at 8:00 pm eastern. 5:00pm pacific. stay tuned. "america tonight" starts now. thank you for your time. justice. >> when the verdict came back and it was guilty on all count, the courtroom erupted in applause. >> but justice can be blindsided when a witness gets it wrong. >> two years on death row. for something i didn't do. >> when cops become the bad guys. >> he physically used his hands, slapped me, choked me. >> conventions are forced. >> 25%, nationwide, on all law. convictions involved forced confessions.