science... >> i'm standing in a tropcal wind storm... >> ...can effect and surprise us... >> wow, these are amazing... >> techknow, where technology meets humanity! only on al jazeera america this is al jazeera america. dead i will tornados in the south, and homes washed away in texas. the death toll is expected to rise. new controversy over whether the iraqis have the will to fight. and firing u.s. vets as the nation remembers those who sacrificed for their country, a push to look for new jobs for those who served. ♪

this has been a stormy memorial day for parts of the south and record rainfall flash flooding in texas and oklahoma has left at least 12 people missing. eight of the missing were staying in a vacation home that got swept away by flood waters. at least four deaths are being blamed on the storms. heidi zhou castro is live for us in dallas tonight. heidi? >> reporter: hey, tony is you can see we have a brief respite from the rain but the ground here in all of texas and oklahoma is saturated, but brought dramatic and the end of five years of extreme drought in this region. however, it is wreaking havoc

south of here. now we're told there are two families who had been staying in a home on the shores of the blanco river, celebrating the holiday weekend. that's where this historic flood hit hard saturday night into sunday. witnesses say they saw the house being swept off of its foundation and pushed into a bridge where it was smashed to pieces. authorities said they rescued one person from that home. one other person from the town has been declared dead. thankfully 2,000 people fled to emergency shelters others survived by dramatic helicopter rescues. unfortunately those rescues and the air search for these missing has had to be halted at this moment because of even more rainfall that is hitting the region at this moment. reports of tornado spotted over

the city of san marcus and because of the storm and the time it has taken, the rescue effort is shifting more towards recovery. they are instructing landowners to search for those 12 people. and more rainfall is predicted. >> whenever local elected officials or anybody warns people to get out of the way, to abandon wherever they may be and to evacuate the devastation that we have seen is a reminder to heed those warnings. >> reporter: and abbott is warning that it could get a lot worse before it gets better tony because now that everything is saturated, as more rain will fall any drop of rain will just more saturate the rivers and more of that will flow down river, so south of

hayes county all the way to mexico they are on alert for more flash floods. >> kevin one of the things you are going to tell us is there are cells there. >> that's right. tony. like heidi said they are saturated across the region. this line of thunderstorms not only with severe weather but of course we're looking at 2 3, to 4 inches of rain coming out of these storms per hour. that's how destricttive this is. i want to show you what we're looking at down here. of course they are doing rescues in that area as we are speaking. here on google earth this is the blanco river that leads all the way down to san marco, flood stage is about 13 feet sunday it went to 43 feet and at one

point the flow in the river was two and a half times that of the niagara falls, so right now we're talking about flash food warnings from oklahoma to the north of santorum as well as much of the regions. so more rain is expected unfortunately. it will hit lighter rain down here of course the flood waters are going to be making their way towards the coastline as well as towards mexico. but it is up here by texas as well as oklahoma where in the next three days we could see another five to eight inches. and a couple of days ago we were looking at water rescue. >> you don't need anymore rain? >> no we don't. >> kevin app peesh rate it. thank you. at least 13 people were killed in northern mexico this morning when it ripped through the area.

it up ended houses leaving dozens injured. adam raney is in mexico city for us. adam. >> they have no experience with these storms. these people have never seen a tornado. in fact the governor said earlier this is the first time a tornado is touched down in more than a hundred years. >> the damage left in a tornado's wake. the storm struck just after 6:00 in the morning. it was labeled a category 4 storm with winds in excess of 300 kilometers per hour. although texas, which sits across the border has more tornados than any other state, they are rare in mexico. civil protection officials told al jazeera they don't even have alarms and they weren't ready for what hit them. in addition to the dead more than 180 were injured in the

storm, at least 350 homes were damaged. the governor has visited the scene. it's being called a national disaster. and as the search of the debris goes on the authorities say its death toll could rise. well that's the sign of devastation there just over the border from texas. the governor has been assessing damage there, trying to see what his people need. they say they are still looking for missing people, that death toll could still rise. >> what kind of response is being promised here by the mexican government in the coming days? >> well what we can expect tony is now that it has been labeled a national disaster by the federal government here they are going to be sending money, and sending experts to get people fed and shelters much like you might see fema do

in the united states we're going to see the full force and weight of the mexican government up there on the border. and for us in the u.s. we often think of mexico as this country that sends migrants to the united states but for these people the federal government is a very powerful force in their lives. we're going to see right now because federal elections are coming up in less than two weeks, the government trying to show it can help people amist a national disaster. >> so why were they so unprepared for this? is it because these kind of represents happen so infrequently? >> reporter: it is, tony. because although texas has more tornados than any other state in the u.s. usually, you just do not see tornados like this in mexico especially in urban areas. in fact i have been in mexico

for more than four years and have never heard of a tornado touching ground here. so it's not just a november -- navalty, it's totally unheard of here. they don't have a system of alarmed or preparedness, it just doesn't happen here. >> yeah. okay. adam adam raney for us in mexico city, thank you. syrian government war planes cared are out air strikes in and around the ancient city of palmyra today. yesterday the government said that isil fighters have killed more than 400 civilians since they captured the city last week. in iraq isil fighters have set fire to the country's largest oil refinery. they are now racing towards beiji to try to recapture the

facility. >> reporter: the largest oil refinery in beiji burns in the distance. fights of islamic state of iraq and the levant have set fire to parts of it in a bid to stop advances by iraqi security forces. isil have set off at least nine car bombs killing dozens. this isil video is said to show them burning machinery inside the areas they control. the destruction is hindering their efforts to recapture the refinery. >> translator: we are about two kilometers raid douse from the refinery yet isil has rigged it with booby traps, and roadside bombs. we're hoping our forces will overcome these obstacles. the enemy is desperate, and therefore, is trying different methods to halt our advance. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: the facility has been hard fought over for the last six months with both isil

and the iraqi security forces at different times claiming they have been in control. this is a major source of income whoever is in control of the refinery. so it's unclear why they would set fire to it. we have seen them use this tactic before. this might be a direct push to try to keep the iraqi security forces out for good. imran khan al jazeera, baghdad. iraq responded today to defense secretary ash carter's comments about the iraqi military performance as isil fighters seized ramadi last week. >> they showed no will to fight. they were not outnumbered. in fact they vastly out numbered the opposing force. they failed to fight, they withdrew from the site and that says to me and i think to most of us that we have an issue

with the will of the iraqis to fight isil and defend themselves. >> well iraqi prime minister told the bbc, he was surprised by carter's comments. he also said iraqi forces will retake ramadi. >> he was very supportive of iraq. i'm sure he was fed with the wrong information. it makes my heart bleed, because we lost ramadi. but i can assure you question bring it back soon. >> you say soon what are we talking about? months? >> no no. i'm talking about days now. >> days? hum. today vice president joe briden called iraq's prime minister to reassure him that the u.s. will support the iraqis. mike wow, days. come on that's optimistic from the prime minister.

i understand sending an upbeat message for domestic politics but come on that doesn't sound realistic. does it sound realistic to you. >> no it is going to take more than days. it will take equipment and planning. i think the comments were probably out of line -- >> woe, out of line? >> not something he should be talking about culturally for example. knowing the iraqi citizens hear that as well really out of line. we lead this coalition, supposedly. right now it is tethered together frankly. >> he has to know these comments will play internationally. so why did he say this? >> i don't know. i'm really surprised. perhaps he is frustrated. the administration is looking for cover to its strategy which it has, it's just not necessary.

>> what about a rare moment of honesty offered up to a straightforward question. his response they showed no will to fight. what if mike that is the truth of the matter that we sanit ramadi that we saw it in mosul. >> yeah there's no question there is -- tenants of truth, but it's leadership 101. let's move forward and decide what the united states is going to do. the fact that ramadi was taken. isis wanted this for the last year and a half. there should have been a priority there. better planning better defenses. a lot of things went into the loss that can be reversed. >> they are just not good right now, and look look in the final analysis i read this as a headline to the guardian or something, in the final

analysis is iraq doomed if albawdy can't bridge the sectarian divide in his country regardless of what the best intentions are of the u.s. military of the president of the united states? >> yes, if he can't bridge that divide iraq can be doomed. it will deepen the civil war. so they sit there and say the lesser of all of the evils is isis and within the iraqi government with 100,000 troops surrounding him, he is safe there as well. >> who said the -- it's not a game show -- but who said the best that the united states could hope for in terms of a

united iraq was a confederation, a federal system of sunnies, kurds, shia. that was jay garner. >> yeah and he was originally one of the commanders in the north with the kurds there. >> was he right? >> the level of diplomacy is going to be tremendous. turkey is involved. iran would have to be involved and here is the down side the sunni population area is not high in natural resources. that can't stand alone as a country. it won't be able to defend itself. it can't sell anything on the market so there is going to have to be tremendous support from shia and the kurds in order to have the anbar province stand on its own. >> and the prime minister even his party, his party has been described as secretive, sectarian, and iranian leading.

>> yeah and as long as they appear weak -- and then again from there we're going to have more of the regional problem. >> so you have got -- abadi has to convince the disconnected sunnis in anbar better to fight for an iran your country, than this caliphate of iraq hah syria and whatever else. >> yeah incent them to get into the game whatever that is a piece of the action from a trade perspective. but until he does that they are going to continue to wallow around in novocain. >> plans for a u.n.-sponsored peace conference on yemen were

supposed to get underway in geneva. today there has been pierce straight fighting in ta'izz. and at least 13 people were killed in the southwestern part of that city when artillery fire struck an oil tankers. a soldier opened fire on fellow troops in tunisia. and there was a terrorist attack at a museum in march. al jazeera's correspondent reports now from tunis. >> reporter: this is a city that was already on edge. the confusion outside of the military barracks in the moments after monday's shooting is adding to the tension. the military says a corporal stabbed to death one soldier, grabbed his weapon and opened fire. the man had no known connections to any armed groups. the military insists he must have killed for personal

reasons. >> this soldier had family problems. he suffered from behavior disorders. he has been recently transferred to a unit where he was not allowed to carry weapons. now this is an individual case and the motives are under investigation. >> investigators will want to speak to his friends and family. the base is in the heart of the capitol, close to parliament and the bardo museum. this is where 22 people were killed in march, most of them tourists. the two men responsible for tunisians, who had received weapons training in libya. what happened will do nothing to reassure people already stunned by the bardo museum attack. the army is supposed to be one of the trusted institutions in the country. it is responsible for protecting tunisia's borders from the instability and violence in

libya. people will want to know why and how a solder was allowed to turn on his own comrades. a police in malaysia have discovered mass graves on the border with thailand inspectors expect they contain bodies of migrants in camps run by human traffickers. >> reporter: police suspect people were held captive here from traffickers who were trying to extort money from their families. the camps are now abandoned but police think they have found mass graves nearby. >> we have discovered 159, which we believe to be [ inaudible ]. we don't know what are underneath. we also discovered one highly

decomposed body and we will also bring that down. we will conduct postmortem on those remains which we found to -- to get to the cause of death. >> reporter: around 28 abandoned camps were found along a 50 kilometer stretch of the border. many occupants are thought to have some from myanmar and bangladesh. more than 3,600 migrants have traveled by boat to indonesia, thailand and malaysia in the past two weeks alone. thousands more are thought to be trapped at sea. most are thought to be rohingya. they and other migrants resort to paying people smugglers to get them to other countries to find work. if they don't go by sea, many try escaping over land borders. the jungle is known to be used by both smugglers and

traffickers. earlier this month, similar camps and more graves were found on the thai side of the border. >> the only thing that is surprising is the malaysian government didn't find these camps earlier. we have known there has been these camps on both sides of the border. now malaysia really has to investigate what was happening there, whether there was official complicity involved and investigate and prosecute everybody who is involved. >> reporter: human rights watch also says there needs to be international pressure put on the myanmar government to stop the persecution of the rohingya. until they feel safe it is feared many more will parish. helping veterans find work how the dog tag bakery is giving combat soldiers new hope. ♪

♪ it is an annual right for

presidents on memorial day, president obama laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown. this comes months after the end of combat operations in afghanistan. >> for many of us this memorial day is especially meaningful, it is the first since our war in afghanistan came to an end. today is the first memorial day in 14 years that the united states is not engaged in a major ground war. so on this day, we honor the sacrifice of the thousands of american service members, men and women, who gave their lives since 9/11. and the president paid tribute to the more than 2200 soldiers who died in afghanistan. mr. obama said most of the troops stationed there should be back home by the end of 2016.

many veterans returning from tours have struggled to find work. one major retailer is trying to help. wal-mart says it will guarantee a job offer to any u.s. veteran honorably discharged from active duty since 2013. the effort to hire veterans is working for small businesses as well. kimberly halkett spoke to the owner of the dog tag bakery in washington, d.c. this army sergeant fought in iraq and afghanistan, and when we came back to the united states, he couldn't find a job. >> when i say i'm a veteran, they think of a ptsd veteran. >> reporter: despite a college degree, and a solid resume he was unable to find work in the corporate world, that's how scott wound up at the dog tag bakery. the name comes from the dog tags

u.s. soldiers wear around their neck. replica tags hang from the ceiling to honor those who served. this father helped create the bakery. >> so i ran a small mail order bakery business up in maine and saw how the disabled persons loved to see product at the end of their day, and i thought that was it i would start a bakery. >> reporter: with the help of a business partner, curry made it happened. he was born with just one arm, so he knows what it is like to overcome stigma. >> he is enlightening and insightful, and just a mentor. >> i was a paratrooper, i was a combat everybody paratrooper, which basically that means i jumped out of airplanes with explosives. >> reporter: -- into skills they can market back home. there is a shared camaraderie at

the dog tag. >> i wanted to place veterans with disabilities and their spouses and their care givers into an atmosphere that would be happy. i want that interchange between the veterans with disabled and the able-bodied world to engage them in something very positive meaningful and happy. >> reporter: it's working and even sweeter, sales are increasing every month. kimberly alcut, al jazeera, washington. and still ahead, disturbing video of an encounter with police, a suspect pepper sprayed and threatened. the reason the suspect did not respond has officers in plenty of trouble. and the struggle that some of nepal's most vulnerable still face. ♪

the city of cleveland has reportedly reached a deal over a

pattern of policing and excessive use of force. the justice department released a report that said cleveland police officers unnecessarily used deadly force, used excessive force against mentally ill people according to the "new york times," a settlement could be announced as early as tomorrow. today dozens of demonstrators were in cleveland in a courtroom. most were arranged in disorderly conduct charges. they were protesting the acquittal of a police officer after a high-speed chase back in 2012. >> >> i think using dialogue like rioters, and looters, and thugs is unjust and i think we still have a long way to go to fight. and i believe we will win.

>> i feel like this will send a message to other people to show them it is a good cause. and we can do it. >> everyone who had their sentenced reduced were credited with time served instead of paying a $150 fine. joining us now is al jazeera contributor. good to see you. >> hey, tony. >> even though michael brielo stood on the roof of the car of this couple here and fired repeatedly at this couple unarmed inside i imagine, because we have talked about this i imagine you are not surprised by the judge's decision in this case. am i correct in that? >> i'm not surprised because of the legal issues. you know we see these cases played out in the media, and we have kind of a common sense reaction but then there is the

law that has to be followed and a big problem with this case was the issue of who fired the fatal shots. there were medical examiners who testified for both sides and neither could say that brielo's shots were the ones that killed the couple. so if you can't connect the shots to the shooter, there's reasonable doubt, and the judge laid that out when he gave his verdict on saturday. >> doesn't it get simpler than that really? wouldn't you agree in the overwhelming number of cases where officers killed unarmed people in the overwhelming majority of those cases, the officer is acquitted. >> statistically that is absolutely correct, tony and more importantly in this case the question has to be asked why was only one officer charged in the first place. there were 20 officers that fired 137 rounds at this couple.

60 police cars. you have two people dead, 60 police cars chasing these two people, 137 rounds so it's more egregious than the cases we have been talking about for the last six months. >> and it's -- well even in the most -- is it -- because even in the most' egregious cases, we're talking about cases where there's video, maybe there is video of the officer shooting someone in the back as they are going away the public generally speaking wants to give the officer the benefit of the doubt and will even in some cases will -- will try to find a reason to give them that reasonable doubt. >> it's hard in a case like this tony where you have so many officers involved. you are brielo jumping on top

of the car and unloading 49 bullets into this couple who was unarmed and we should also say we know at least one suffered from schizophrenia, and both were homeless so when you talk about people who are subject to police brutality, these are the most marginallized people in our society. and we're just now starting to talk about this case but it raises serious issues about police tactics -- >> it kind of lead to the pattern of practice question in cleveland. what is your reaction to the city has reached a settlement with the department of justice. >> well i'm glad to here that. but we have to move past these settlements, and now it's time to talk about the solutions. what is happening to affect and change these patterns and

practices we keep hearing about over and over again. how does cleveland move forward and avoid this situation, and any of the situations that plagued these issues. >> earlier this month of virginia fredericksberg police stopped a man who thought he was a hit and run driver and when he didn't obey commands he was tased and pepper sprayed. >> put your hands up. put them up in the air right now! >> put your hands up! both of them up now! >> this police body camera video shows officers in fredericks berg virginia responding to complainings about a suspected hit and run driver traveling the wrong way on a 1-way road. they are joined by a third

officer. as we approaches a warning from his fellow officer. >> watch his left hand. >> reporter: officer jergens appears to take cover. he then approaches the driver's car and fires his taser. >> i don't think it made connection. >> the driver david washington does not react. officer jergens pepper sprays him in the face. officers drag him out of the car and police him in handcuffs. washington then tells officers he can't breathe. >> i can't breathe. >> oh my god. stop it! stop it! >> the car, not secured begins to roll over washington's foot. >> what are you on, man? >> i'm just thick. >> thick how? >> you understand why you had to get sprayed? you weren't listening to us.

>> an ambulance arrives to take washington to the hospital. fredericksberg police make this statement after a review of the incident. the use of force demonstrated was not in compliance with department policy or training. officer jergens resigned from the police force, but released this statement, in it he details several reasons for using force, among them: david washington is recovering but he does face charges of driving with a revoked license, reckless driving, and two counts of hit and run. let's talk about this a bit here. how can police training address situations like this? i don't know what do you do in

a situation like this? >> there was a police policy in place, and this officer just ignored that policy. he said he felt there was a need to use the level of force that he used but that is against police policy as stated by his superiors. the police don't get to just ignore policies. >> we saw that with eric garner. you are not supposed to apply a choke hold. but it seems like we're learning that it happens more often than anyone would like. >> well that's what the doj said in the cleveland situation is lack of accountability at the top. so if there is a policy in place in any workplace and employees fail to follow those policies there have to be disciplinary actions taken. because you can't ignore policies and expect to have anything but chaos. the far was running over the man's foot. that's where there is a policy not to use that procedure when

someone is sitting in moving vehicle. so look at how dangerous that situation was. >> yeah. so is the officer's resignation as far as this goes -- will there be a criminal case in what about -- what about a civil case? i don't know. >> clearly the disciplinary actions are over but that does nothing to change how the district attorney may look at this case or to prevent the gentlemen in the car from suing the police department and suing him. so i think we're probably going to see at least a civil suit and maybe some criminal action. but clearly, a case about lack of accountability. >> enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend with your family. >> thanks tony. we're continuing to monster the severe weather this long holiday weekend in texas and oklahoma. both states are assessing the

flood damage. 12 people are still missing after a record rainfall and flash flooding. eight of the missing were reportedly staying in a vacation home that was literally swept away by flood waters. in neighboring oklahoma severe weather is blamed for two deaths including a firefighter who was attempting a high-water rescue. it broke oklahoma city's long time record for any city. and kevin i guess the question now is, is the worst over? >> absolutely not. tornado warnings are being issued on top of all of the flooding we're talking about, it's tornados as well. with this line of thunderstorms, new tornado warnings have just popped up. three in texas, three areas in texas as well as oklahoma and also arkansas. that's going to continue but as you can see, where you see the

yellows that is tornado watches that is staying in effect all the way we think until about 11:00 pm this evening. so we're going to watch this carefully. there is a moderate risk out, and we are seeing this verify right now. 8.5 million people are under this warning now. we get these generally two or three times a month, so this is what we're seeing right now. that is going to continue. down towards texas we're seeing about 17 tornados that have popped up just today. >> oh that's a mess. kevin appreciate it. this was no holiday weekend for oil spill. careenup crews near santa barbara, california workers have collected more than 1800 cubic yards of oily soil and water. officials say the cleanup will

take weeks. it has been one month since a massive earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people in nepal. thousands are still homeless and monsoon season is just weeks away. harry fawcett reports from kathmandu. >> reporter: a month on from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck this city and country, and the evidence of what happened is still everywhere to be seen. people try to maintain daily life, the people who have moved out homes that they are worried about because there have been repeated aftershocks, including the giant aftershock that people here refer to as the second quake. the government has come under criticism from the international community and from people here in nepal as well about the

coordination of pace of that response. the information minister said help was on its way, and within days people around every part of nepal they would be getting money to build proper temporary sherlts which they could need in time for the monsoon season. and they would be ready within a month, which is when the worst of the monsoon season gets underway in this country. of course there is some skepticism about that because of the lack of coordinated response in the days after and some scepticism from the international community poor coordination and corruption as this country looks to get aid. the british parliamentary committee was saying that they should consider cutting aid to nepal because of these sorts of problems so a lot of challenges for this government to meet as

well as that education. in some areas 90% of schools have been destroyed. the educational infrastructure could take years to rebuild. a lot is depending on people's own self reliance as they try to do the best they can a month on from the biggest natural disaster to hit this country. some of the most vulnerable survivors are the orphans, children who lost their parents in the disaster. >> reporter: displaced and distressed the survivors of the earthquake all of them lost their homes in the earthquake and avalanches that followed. this is what is left of their village, seen from the air. wounds are still raw here. both physical and mental. this girl is ten. she has not been able to cry.

>> translator: my heart hurts, she says. my mother my grandmother and my uncle got buried. youngsters take comfort in each other. nina only had a mother but she is gone. >> translator: my uncle went to look for my mother they only found her shoe. >> reporter: my mother left us when i was young, and now my father is dead. my father is buried my mother and brother survived but my dad's wife and sister are dead. my cousins were at school and are arrive. most of the children study in kathmandu or the district headquarters when avalanches and landslides swept the valley many lost their parents. many still don't know what happened to them. people in the community don't know how to break the news to

the children. >> translator: children who were at school here have been told that their parents are in the village. they'll go into a shock. anything can happen to them. >> reporter: smaller avalanches and landslides haven't stopped yet, making recovery operations difficult. not all survivors have been evacuated, and villagers are still looking for the dead. these people have nowhere to return to. the children who lost their parents are yet to realize that they have also lost their place in the world. the "washington post" bureau chief in tehran goes on trial this week in iran. he is accused of spying for the united states but much about the case remains a mystery. >> reporter: a reigning american

will stand trial this week. the "washington post" reporter will go before the revolutionary court, which hears iran's most sensitive cases. according to his lawyer whom he did not get to charge the 38 year old faces charges of espionage and collaborating with hostile governments. those charges were not made known until last month, the first time he met with counsel since his arrest last july. his lawyer said the evidence in the case does not justify the charges. the indictment says quote, he wrote to president obama. >> they would look at it and say just based on pure logic they would let him go. jason loved iran, and said great things about it always. >> reporter: he is being held in prison and his family has had no contact with him, although

his brother and mother have been actively campaigning for his release. >> allow my family to be reunited. >> reporter: the "washington post" says it has tried to obtain visas so a senior editor could attend the trial to no avail. meanwhile the judiciary assigned a judge to the case widely known for his harsh sentences to politically accused. >> he is being trapped by the iranian intelligence, because they do not favor those who are pro-u.s.-iranian relations. he has covered like iranians love baseball. iranians love cheeseburgers. >> reporter: they are calling

for the white house to tiny deal on iran's nuclear program with the release of the editor and other prisoners in iran. it is unknown whether those cases have been mentioned in the ongoing talks. >> for nine months jason has been imprisoned in tehran for nothing more than writing about the hopes and fears of the iranian people. we will not rest until we bring him home to his family safe and sound. >> reporter: he has been held longer than any other prisoner in iran. if not vindicated at the trial, he faces ten to 20 more years in prison. and still ahead the healthiest school lunch around. two schools become the first in the country with a vet tarn menu.

♪ well the cable television industry could be facing a game-changing murder. time-warner is the country's second-largest cable provider, the deal which would be subject to a federal review may be announced as soon as tomorrow. and school cafeterias across the country are changing their

menus to get kids to eat healthier. but two schools in new york are changing their menus to allow vegetarian menus. >> reporter: the kids here are like the most ask them their favorite subject -- >> recess. >> reporter: but ask them their favorite foods? >> lettuce, apples. >> that's what no chicken nuggets or french fries here. on this day the hot lunch includes pesto chick peas and pumpkin ravioli. i thought healthy food didn't taste good. >> it tastes really good. >> that is thanks in part to this principal who has made healthy choices a theme.

and has completely eliminated meat from the menu. >> it was one day a week plant based, two days a week three days a weeb trying out menu items. the current menu that we have is a completely plant-based menu is the healthiest options available within the system. >> reporter: the principal say there is a palpable difference in the courtroom. that includes kids with more energy and focus and better attendance, and the new menu doesn't cost anymore. in manhattan's restaurant scene where vegetarian has gone gourmet, amy hamlin is raising money to teach schools how to make the switch. >> it's a good thing that we feel are very wonderful about -- >> reporter: she is with the coalition for healthy schools. >> since all schools must serve,

fruits vegetables and healthy grains, we feel offering plant-based protein options is a healthy option. >> reporter: she says it is a great way to fight childhood obesity and diseases. >> reporter: and now that they have paved the way, other schools in new york are following in their footsteps. for a look at what is coming up lisa fletcher is in for john siegenthaler. coming up we'll have more on ash carter's remarks saying iraqi soldiers had no will to fight in ramadi and we'll look at the significance of more u.s. military hardware falling into the hands of isil. >> we are sick from a chemical that was used during the war, and we need to be taken care of. >> navy veterans exposed to

agent orange during the war are being denied benefits because they served on ships. plus the humpback whale many types could soon be taken off of the endangered species list. why activists say it is too soon. >> i'm tony harris in new york. thank you for watching this news hour. lisa will be back in just a couple of moments. and then at 9:00 eastern it is "faultlines." and for the latest news any time go to aljazeera.com. have a great evening, everyone. we'll see you back tomorrow and we'll leave you tonight with some of the sights and sounds of memorial day 2015. ♪ [ taps ] ♪ >> most americans don't fully see, don't fully understand the sacrifice made by the 1% who serve in this all-volunteer

armed forces. the sacrifice that preserves the freedoms we too often take for granted. few know what it is like to take a bullet for a buddy, or to live with the fact that he or she took one for you. the americans who rest beneath these beautiful hills and in sacred ground across our country and around the world, they are why our nation endures. each simple stone marker arranged in perfect military precision, signifies the cost of our blessings. it is a debt we could never fully repay. but it is a debt we will never stop trying to fully repay. ♪ >> it's a way of showing respect and honor to the men and women who gave their lives for our country. [ applause ]

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hi everyone this is al jazeera america, i'm lisa fletcher. john siegenthaler is off. >> oh my god. >> washed away. >> the streets have maybe one or two houses left on them and the rest are slabs. >> homes and lives gone in texas and oklahoma. crews race to find the missing, but the threat is far from over. battleground iraq new setbacks and bitter debates over the u.s. strategy against isil, and that