much more news on our website. there it is on your screen. all the day's top stories on aljazeera.com. >> an anthrax scare in nine u.s. states and air force base overseas the live virus accidentally shipped from a storage lab. >> rescuers in texas in a desperate search for families missing days after floods swept away their home and the state is bracing for more rape and flooding. >> where is seth blatter? fifa's controversial president skips out on a public meeting as top officials are arrested.

>> this is aljazeera america. good morning. live from new york city, i'm randall pinkston. lab workers are getting ready to receive preventative treatment for exposure to anthrax. more than two dozen were exposed when live samples were accidentally shipped. it went to labs in as many as nine states and the u.s. air base in south korea. john henry smith is here with more. this is trouble. >> it is so troubling because it can be fatal. the centers for disease control estimates inhaled anthrax leads to death in 85% of cases if not treated immediately and aggressively. authorities are not taking chances with the people who came in contact with the cargo. >> a frightening mistake was made at doug way proving ground

in utah when anthrax samples were supposed to be rendered inactive before sent to academic and research labs. some of them were live. by that time, a sample had already been sent to a research lab in maryland and the maryland lab in turn sent parts that have sample to labs in eight other states, as well as to a u.s. air force base in south korea. the maryland lab only discovered that the samples were live after they had already been shipped. the pentagon says that despite the mistake the public was never in danger, but it also confirmed that four workers in maryland and 22 at the base in south korea are being treated for a publicly exposure. the pentagon said the live samples have been destroyed and that investigators are visiting every lab that received anthrax samples originating from doug way.

investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong. >> the pentagon says it routinely sends anthrax samples to labs using commercial carriers. the issue here, is it using a private company though, the level of bio hazard protections that were in place. >> what is the difference in buy row hazard protections? >> the thought process was that anthrax samples were dead, so basically they weren't as careful with these samples as they would be with live samples. >> thank you. >> the storm battered central plains in texas are bracing for more rain today the region trying to recover from the historic flooding that has killed at least 21 people in texas and oklahoma. the threat of more flooding is forcing hundreds from their homes. in hard-hit with him about heli in central texas the search continues for vacationers who were inside their cabin when floodwaters swept them away. heidi, what's the latest on the

search for the eight people who were inside that vacation home? >> one of those people has been discovered dead. 43-year-old michelle's body was discovered tuesday morning washed many miles downstream on the blanco in the neighboring county. that brings the total death toll to this blood at three with nine others still missing. many of those nine missing were staying in this one vacation home. they span two families. in fact, one family, three generations, are still missing. the search for them continues today, but the likelihood of finding survivors so many days after the initial flooding is very slim. the community here is pulling together. there's been more than 500 people who have signed up to help at a local hardware store. we saw people of all ages arriving yesterday offering services and immediately dispatched a local home that has been flooded where they've helped with cleanup and also

discovery. >> we understand that more rain is in the forecast for the houston region. do you know anything about how they are preparing for that? >> sure. there is a lot of danger there randall and warnings that at least three river ways in the houston area may flood today. they include the west fork along the river. people in the kingwood neighborhood have been issued a stern warning to evacuate. the town of wharton, 300 homes have been evacuated there. horseshoe bend that seen 250 homes also asked to evacuate. >> there's even in the next few days more rain forecast for texas, correct? >> that's right. it just seems like this three month long stretch of rain is not coming to an end anytime soon more storms predicted in

many areas over the accident over the next couple of days. here in with him about heli alone, looking at the forecast, the next five days is a greater than 50 chance of rain. the problem is with the land so saturated with rivers still raging this is not normal what you are seeing behind me with these white caps. the danger is any precipitation could again cause a flash flood. >> thank you. >> new questions surrounding charges of corruption in soccer's governing body. we're hearing that fifa president seth blatter just held an emergency meeting with leaders from fifa's regional organization. that comes one day after top officials were arrested, after a u.s. investigation. some are considering boycotting the upcoming elections. >> blatter was hoping to win a fifth term in those elections but this week's arrest could threaten to end his time in

charge. the charges go almost to the top, but not quite. fifa president seth blatter long under scrutiny, but not indicted. >> i am still the president until friday, 6:00 in the afternoon. >> 17 years after winning his first election, he is days away from an unprecedented fifth term. there are now sweeping allegations of corruption. the european football union called for the vote to be postponed and threaten add boycott. >> the upcoming fifa election could turn into a farce. >> the embattled fifa president has no plans to pull out of the race. >> he's the president. he's the president. he's the president and in two days there are elections. >> his tenure has been racked with controversy. critics say he has not end

understand the murky process of choosing locations for events. among the most controversial movers awarding the 2018 world cup to russia, a nation without a strong soccer tradition who's fans have been indicted for racism so severe that observers warn black players could boycott the cup. qatar got the 2022 games despite the country's intense summers. the question is what will happen to those tournaments if blatter is forced out. >> if they won on a corrupt process, that process should be rerun and calls into question the authority of seth blatter and whether he should be allowed to be a candidate for the fifa presidency. >> blatter's only caller is jordan's prince, who's been outspoken about the need for more transparency. >> we should have nothing to hide. it's the world's most popular

sport and belongs to the world as a whole. >> critics open the shakeup this week will shake blatter from the top. >> he is probably the most despicable man in world sport leading an organization that is corrupt and they seem to be trying to pretend that none of this is happening. >> russia's president is lashing out at the u.s. for the charges against fifa. vladimir putin said america is meddling in affairs that do not involve u.s. citizens. charles stratford is live in moscow. putin has a vested interest in what happens to fifa and seth blatter because the world cup games are schedule would there for 2018, right? >> that's right. it's important to obviously recognize here that fifa have come out and said whatever the results of these investigations, this scandal are then certainly at this stage there will be no change of venue. the 2018 world cup will still go

ahead in russia. it's seemingly turning into a bit of embarrassment for mr. putin on the international stage again. and you say say some very fiery language he used with respect to the u.s. investigation. he said that it was another attempt by the u.s. to gain the jurisdiction of another state. corruption allegations never go down well with the leader of this country. he's very defensive about it and makes a big show of cracking down on corruption in various spheres of government and non-government life here in russia. certainly there is a lot at stake both in terms of reputation and in terms of money. $15 billion it's believed this world cup is going to cost. certainly they're going to spend on hosting this world cup in three years time. the stadiums are being built.

some fiery and defensive language from the russian leader. >> charles what is putin's stance on seth blatter? does he care whether he remains in power? >> he's a big supporter of seth blatter, as i say, he said that this attempt or these investigation, this investigation was what he described as mercenariry means by the u.s. to scatter his reelection campaign as head of fifa. they had quite a close relationship certainly it seems. interestingly last month mr. blatter and mr. putin met on the sidelines of a sporting event in so muchy and mr. blatter said the steering committee deserved five stars in his organization and build up to hosting these games. mr. putin is very much a supporter for mr. blatter and

pointing the fingers at the u.s. of being at the front of a conspiracy to scatter the games being held here and mr. blatter's reputation. >> world cup sponsors, including coca-cola, adidas and visa are voicing concerns about the allegations against visa, visa saying: the 2002 fifa world cup is expected to be played in qatar. >> the supreme court will not be asked to step in over the president's plans for migrants and deportation. an appeals court this week upheld a lower court's

injunction blocking the president's action. the appeals court will hear new arguments over the program in july. >> a former new york governor will announce he is running for president today. republican george practice tackie plans on declaring his candidacy. he head new york state during the aftermath of the september 11 attacks but has been out of offers since 2017. petacchi will join the race. santorum announced his bid on wednesday. >> i am proud to stand here among you and for you. to announce i am running for president of the united states. >> he was the runner up for the

republican nomination. >> mcdonald is revamping some crassic recipes to turn business around. he hopes to boost sales by making changes like toasting buns longer, deliveries. >>or burger and speeding up drive-thru service. it will work to train employees oh so they deliver a better experience. >> a prominent voice missing from a migrant crisis in asia. the bell peace price winner silenced on the rohingya issue in her own country. >> the hack on the i.r.s. is the latest in a string of costly attacks and the suspect could be a long time foe.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it's 7:46 eastern time, taking a look at today's top stories. nebraska is the first conservative state in more than 40 years to abolish the death penalty. the state legislature overrode the governor's veto wednesday. the governor called the move appalling and out of touch. nebraska is the seventh state to outlaw the death penalty in the past eight years. >> the top u.s. negotiator working on the iran nuclear deal plans to leave the

administration. "the new york times" says wendy sherman will depart after the june 30 deadline for the deal. secretary of state john kerry is meeting with iran's foreign minister this weekend to continue negotiations. >> al-qaeda's affiliate in syria says it is not planning attacks abroad. the head of the nusra front said his mission is to bring down president assad's government and fighters will attack only those who attacked us and murdered our people. the u.s. considers the nusra front a terrorist organization. >> there's uncertainty for migrants in myanmar. temporary registration cards granted to rohingya migrants will expire. the ethnic minority is not recognized by the government and thousands are trying to escape to malaysia, thailand and indonesia. world leaders are meeting to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. we have this report. >> one face is notably missing

from the international gathering in norway on the plight of the rohingya. she spoke out against the military regime. she was under house arrest. she had admiration around the world. after her release in 2010, she won a seat in parliament. >> we hope that this is the beginning of a new era where there will be more emphasis on the rule of the people in the every day politics of our country. >> the country's 1.3 million rohingya muslims are facing growing animosity. the government insists they are illegal migrants from neighboring bangladesh and denied them citizenship. reports of discrimination and violence against the minority group have been growing and the rohingya fleeing myanmar in record numbers. >> we don't want to go back.

people are very poor there. there is no place for us to go. >> neighboring countries have turned away the rohingya, even leaving them drifting at sea. more than 3500 hungry, dough hydrated migrants washed she ashore in malaysia, indonesia and thailand. the governments were slow to respond. in more than 100 bodies believed to be rohingya were found in shallow graves in malaysia earlier this week, thought to be victims of traffickers promising freedom but taking their money and their lives instead. >> the forensics have now finished excavating the first site. we will take the remains to the nearest hospital for a postmortem and look for more. >> the rohingya crisis has caught international attention. urgent pleas for action by neighboring countries are pouring in from world leaders and the united nations. >> it's important to save human

lives. whatever the reasons may be when they are out on to sea their life is in danger. >> so far suchi hasn't pushed for help. she has rejected journalist requests for interviews but told canada's newspaper those who criticize me for not condemning one side or the other they haven't said what they hope will come out of such condemnation. desmond at you at you have criticized her for not taking action. critics say she is carefully choosing her battles partly because she wants to be myanmar's next president. for now she is banned from running because her late husband and two sons are foreigners. al jazeera. >> in bangladesh, officials say they will relocate thousands of rohingya seeking refuge there moving thousands sheltered in camps to the bay of bengal.

government officials also say they will accept up legal efforts to fight human smuggling. >> investigators say hackers who stole personal tax information from the i.r.s. are likely from russia. according to multiple reports the theft originated in russia. the information belong to go 100,000 americans was stolen as part of an elaborate scheme to collect fraudulent tax refunds. russian hackers are also blamed for infiltrating computers at both the white house and state department. >> hacking and computer fraud like this case are expensive problems and not just for the government. libby casey explains. >> the cyber thieves didn't even need to hack into the i.r.s. they had enough personal information to answer security questions and gain access to more than 100,000 packed tax returns. >> the information they needed was really simple information name, social security, birth date home address. these are things that are pretty

much out in the public domain at this stage in the game. that data is already in the hands of the hacker community. >> the criminals used the information to file fraudulent returns, collecting nearly $50 million since february. it's one in a series of high profile and costly data breaches in recent months. from retailers like home depot to health insurer anthem, even the white house is not immune. >> 80% of attacks that we see are coming from organized crime. these are people that go to work every day just like you and i do. they are well staffed, they are well paid. >> he says the business of cyber crime is booming. >> on the dark side of the internet a credit card number is worth maybe a dollar or less, however, a health care record can be worth up to $50 in the kind of cyber black market.

>> that's because health care records contain vital information about a person's identity that can be mined for weeks or even years. i.b.m. sponsored a study released this month that estimates companies lost $3.8 million on average last year to cyber crimes, a 27% increase from 2013. the study said the cost is growing, because the number of attacks are increasing, which means more money spent detecting them. companies have to deal with lost business and a damaged reputation. barlow said it take efforts by the government and private sector to mount a sophisticated defense. >> one of the things people have to do, we talked about how the bad guys are sharing information and collaborating. on the defensive side, we need to do the same thing. what this really means is sharing threat intelligence information between companies. >> legislation is advancing in congress to increase information sharing, but disputes remain

about just how much liability protection companies should get and whether information they disclose can be used against them. the senate finance committee scheduled a hearing next week to dig into the i.r.s. breach. libby casey, al jazeera washington. >> it has been 10 years since hurricane katrina. the gulf coast is preparing for another hurricane season. find out why el niño will impact this year's storms.

june the start of hurricane season is just four days away and government forecasters are out with predictions for how bad it could get. jonathan martin reports. >> the atlantic hurricane season will likely be calmer than normal according to nooa. officials stress it's no excuse for citizens to be complacent. >> we're sophisticated players down here, because necessity requires us to be so. everybody needs to be prepared and vigilant.

>> 10 years after hurricane katrina, the mayor is confident new orleans is prepared. >> after $14.5 billion the hurricane structures that we have emergency preparedness we are better at, we are far better off than we were 10 years ago. >> hurricane season starts june 1 and ends november 30. experts predict there will be between six and 11 named storms, with six of those becoming hurricanes and two strong storms reaching category three or higher. >> no matter how many pitches mother nature throws at us from a few to a whole lot if just one gets through the strike zone, we could get in a lot of trouble. >> el niño, the cyclic warming of waters off the coast is influencing weather patterns. wind shear inhibits storm formation and is expected to

last through the end of the year. sea surface temperatures in the atlantic are expected to be close to normal, lessening storm intensity. the message from the fema agency regarding any natural disaster is simple, have a plan. >> if you live in kansas, it's tornado season, if you live on the west coast you are always worried about earthquakes. yes, it is important to think about any disaster and to be able to know how you're going to react in that disaster. >> nooa stresses the seasonal outlook can't predict hurricane landfall but updates to weather research and forecasting model will allow for better forecasts of a storm's path and intensey once it's formed. >> golden state warriors getting ready to meet lebron james and the cleveland cavaliers in the nba finals. the warriors beat the houston rockets 104-92 to advance.

thanks for joining us. stephanie sy back in two minutes with more aljazeera america morning news. morning news.

>> an anthrax scare involving the u.s. military, the pen gone said it does he believely shipped live strains of the virus across state lines and around the world. >> cleanup in texas and oklahoma as residents brace for more rain. >> fifa's president shares and emergency meeting but is a no show in public one day after several top officials are arrested. >> he made the worlds worse fours. he suppressed our language and

culture. >> sharp criticism over the pope's plan to canonize a spanish missionary. why it angers so many in the u.s. >> good morning. this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. there are big questions today about security and procedures after the u.s. military mishandled anthrax potentially exposing personnel to a deadly virus. live samples were sent to labs in nine states and an american base in south korea. john henry smith is here with more. john, more than two dozen people potentially exposed. >> that's exactly right. the mistake happened according to pentagon officials at doug way proving ground in utah where samples were supposed to be rendered inactive before sent,

but a sample of the test that remained in you a take you showed them to be alive with you by then had been sent to a research lab in maryland. the maryland lab sent to eight other states, as well as to a u.s. air force base in south korea. military and health officials are scrambling to contain any damage. >> the maryland lab only discovered to the samples were live after they had already been shipped. the pentagon said despite the mistake, the public was never in danger. it confirmed to four workers in maryland and 22 president base in south korea are being treated for a possible exposure. >> this is contained on the air base that, away from the city center but still, you are talking about hundreds of thousands of residents in the vicinity. it could have been worse in terms of a populated zone, though because seoul

64 kilometers away, has somewhere in the region of about 10 million in the immediate metro area. >> the live samples have been destroyed and the pentagon said the investigators are visiting every lab that received samples. the investigators in utah from the c.d.c. are trying to figure out what went wrong. >> the pentagon said it routinely sends anthrax labs using commercial carriers but identifies one of the problems to be the use of less stringent protections in utah in the belief that the anthrax they were sending was actually dead. >> that's a big difference. >> absolutely. >> more rain is headed to the flood weary central plains and texas. at least 21 people in texas and oklahoma were killed in storms and the threat of even more flooding is forcing hundreds from their homes.

heidi is live in with wimberly. >> two families were washed away in their vacation home. one woman was found dead. there are three generation of one family. the search still continues. there's a small chance they may find survivors although hopes are slim. the community marches forward on its road to recovery. >> deer emerged to graze in the destruction wrought by the weekend's flash flood which took everything in its path. 300 homes are destroyed.

survivors were lucky to escape with their lives. the family living in this home at first didn't want to leave. they waited until the water was at their doorstep before an uphill neighbor insisted they get out and they did just in the nick of time, because then that tsunami like wave knocked the house off its foundation. the rest of it is somewhere downstream. >> i was snuggled up in my bed at 12:00 or whatever, and then the power went out and i thought storm, it will be on an hour or two, they'll get it back up. >> kirby's house is wet but still standing. >> i heard a strange noise came down stairs, had a flash. >> in the dark, he realized the six people in his home were in danger as the water rose above their knee's. everyone escaped through his window and board add waiting rescue boat. >> it's a real hassle. it's not a tragedy it's just stuff, and it's going to be a

lot of work and that we can handle. >> as search parties continue to comb the river bank for signs of life and helicopters search for bodies from above volunteers are uniting to support their neighbors. >> do you all have boots? gloves? you need masks. >> they are dispatched to damaged homes. >> everyone's doing what they can. how strong this community is, it's one of the best communities for this to happen to, because everyone is always here for each other. >> survivors are in you a of the generosity. >> i've never been in this before ever, but this is just beautiful. these are all volunteers. >> this home already smells of mold. most of its contents are now trash. >> the water line was about here and all this furniture was under, all of it. >> recovery won't be easy, but many hands are here to help.

>> in wimberly, there is fear of renewed flooding coming over the next days, because there is rain forecast and more than 50% chance of ryan over five days here. the white caps are not normally here the water level is still very high. >> live from wimberly. houston is also cleaning up from flooding and storm damage. 4,000 homes were destroyed. the city suffered some of its worst flooding in years and many neighborhoods are still underwater. hundreds of people are returning home to assess the damage. >> water is so hoe risk, because it's not what you just visually see, it's how it leeches into the properties of the sheet rock into the wood. we're taking all of the furniture out and we're going to have to let it dry so we can see what's really happened with it.

>> houston firefighters have responded to more than 500 water related rescues. in oklahoma, river banks are also still overflowing water rose past 640 feet in had some areas, submerging roads homes and bridges. >> the city of clairemore oklahoma was hit hard and captain of the fire department drowned during rescue efforts. chief, my condolences to you for your loss. tell us what happened when you lost this captain. i understand he was attempting to rescue residents. what led to his death? >> they had actually helped remove several people from their homes. they were being affected by some storm water flooding. we're lucky in our community that we don't have a lot of significant flooding issues, but in this case, they had already helped move some people from their homes to safety, then

captain farley had stepped in an area and fell into a storm drain. our personnel that were with them tried to keep him from going into the drain. we had another firefighter that in their attempt to keep captain farley from going in, lt. james and captain farley both ended up going into the storm drain itself and captain farley drowned. then lt. james luckily survived and was washed through the storm drain itself. we're actually pretty lucky we didn't lose more than captain farley in that aspect, but we're deeply saddened by captain farley's loss and our services for him will be on saturday. >> chief i wonder whether as you assess what went wrong here, did captain farley and lt. james

realize how deep the water was and what lessons do you feel can be drawn from this tragedy? >> we're going to take a while to look at all of the factor that is went into it, but most of it, we've been to this specific property several times since it's been constructed so it was more routine. we're talking about they were probably walking in five or six inches of water then the area that he fell into was not visible because of the high water. it was a four to five-foot drop down a bank. we're talking had he walked six inches further one direction or the other, he would probably still be with us today. as we look forward, you know, we're going to try to do what they can to prevent similar things from happening and some of the discussionses marking those locations, and identifying

those locations but it's not uncommon what -- where he was at is not uncommon. that's the scary part. >> do you think that there's a need to look at sort of storm drains in general and safety improvements? there was a team in texas that was sucked into a storm drain and drowned. >> yes. in trying to evaluate what those risks are and in one case, if we don't have them, we'd have more significant flooding than what we do have them, they're a risk for people to be able to get into. you're kind of limited on what you can do with them, because if you screen them and guard them off too well, they don't carry water, either. i think there's a need to reevaluate and as a society we have our storm water systems have changed significantly over the last 50 years and a lot of our communities dealing with aging infrastructure and a wide

variety of different storm instructures. >> thanks for joining us this morning, sir. >> thank you. >> new questions this morning surrounding charges of corruption in soccer's governing body. fifa's president seth blatter chaired an emergency meeting this morning, meeting with officials from fifa's regional organization but he remained out of public view. this all comes one day after several top officials were arrested. the result of an american investigation. the governing body in europe is considering boycotting the upcoming fifa elections. it's called for a delay in that vote. russia's president is lashing out at the u.s. for bringing those charges saying america is meddling in affairs that do not involve u.s. citizens. charles standard ford is live in moscow. why has this become yet another russia u.s. issue? >> according to the russian

president, vladimir putin this u.s. led investigation is an example of what he describes as u.s. attempt another u.s. attempt at trying to get jurisdiction on another state. now, you have to put this in context of current relations between russia and the u.s. in fact, russia, u.s. and europe. obviously their pretty poor at the moment. analysts describing and in the west describing the state of their relationship as being worse now than at any time since the end of the cold war. obviously the u.s. very angry at russia's annexation of crimea and ongoing allegations being made to mr. putin with respect to what the u.s. and the west describe as his support for the separatists in eastern ukraine. the relationship between russia and the america and the west has not been good for a while now.

so it's perhaps unsurprising that mr. putin should react in such a defensive way towards these allegations. >> fifa said the host nations will not change, so is this also about saving face for moscow? >> well, obviously at the moment, these investigations, this investigation will continue. saving face? is it a saving face situation or just another example of mr. putin's, he does not like being accused of corruption, whether it be in government, in any sphere of government, it's his pet peeve. he does not like to be embarrassed, so there is that face-saving scenario here. he obviously makes this country again look at rather ridiculous on the world stage when as i say, mr. putin makes such a

strong effort seemingly to crack down and arrest corrupt officials, corrupt people across russia. >> live for us in moscow, charles, thank you. >> key sponsors are pressuring fifa to clean up its act, one major company threatening to pull money out of the upcoming world cup. we have the details on that. >> fifa makes about $450 million in sponsorship money each year. the sponsors want changes quickly. the most serious threat is from visa the company reassessing sponsor ship unless fifa makes changes now. coca-cola has been sponsor since 1950 saying it has tarnished the mission and ideals of the world cup. nike is believed to be the major u.s. sporting company implicated in a bribery scheme in the indictment.

nike said it is opposed to bribery and cooperate authorities. marketing experts say it's unlikely sponsors will pull out soon. their investments make them money. adidas last year sold more than $2.5 billion in soccer gear, all thanks to the world cup. >> thank you. we should mention the 2022 world cup is expected to be played in qatar. al jazeera is funded in part by that government. >> investigators say hackers who stole personal tax information from the i.r.s. are likely from russia. the agency declined to officially comment. according to reports the theft did originate in russia. the information of 100,000 americans was stolen as part of a scheme to select tax refunds. russia hackers are blamed for.

stealing other information. >> the union representing new york city's jail guards, the city faces charges of brutality against inmates. >> david cameron meets european leaders today for building a british vote on the eu membership. >> an international dispute the defense secretary urges china to stop building islands in the south china sea. >> controversy over the eu's rules for cleaning drinking water. some call it a government power grab.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. taking a look at today's other top stories from around the nation nebraska is the first conservative state in 40 years to abolish the death penalty the state legislature overrode the governor's veto. the governor called the move appalling and out of touch. nebraska is the seventh state to outlaw the death penalty over the last eight years. >> tracy morgan settled his

lawsuit against walmart. he was hurt when a walmart truck slammed into his limo van. one of his friends were killed. >> amazon is expanding free dame day delivery for prime members from 14 metro areas including new york, los angeles, san francisco and atlanta. amazon said more than a million items will be eligible for same day delivery. >> defense secretary ash carter issuing his sharpest warning yet to china over land reclamation projects in the south china sea. we've seen a steady escalation of rhetoric on both sides. >> especially in the last week. at a ceremony in hawaii, carter delivered his most forceful comments about beijing trying to lay claim to most of the south china sea. it has a race to artificial islands. carter warned washington will flex its military muscle when and where needed. >> china is out of step with

both international norms that underscore the asian pacific architecture and regional consensus in favor of a no one coercive approach to this and other long standing disputes and their increasing demand for american engagement in the american pacific and we're going to meet it. we will remain the principle security power in the asian pacific decades for years to come. >> a major expansion was signaled of china's military defense perimeter to encompass areas of the south china sea it claims. six countries have overlapping territorial claims to the south china sea, one is the philippines, a key u.s. ally so if an armed conflict breaks out the u.s. could get drown in through military commitments.

u.s. reconnaissance air crafts ignored china's warnings to leave the spratly islands. that's one of those places china is building islands. >> in light of that white paper you had the state run editorial state run by the chinese government that issued a new warning to the u.s. >> that came out before the white paper in a state-run chinese newspaper. that editorial warned that a conflict between the u.s. and china would be unavoidable if, washington continues to meddle in the south china sea so you've really seen that watch cheting up of the rhetoric this week. >> thank you. >> former pennsylvania senator rick santorum is making another run for the white house announcing his candace becoming the seventh candidate to join the presidential field. >> i am proud to stand here among you and for you. the american workers who have

sacrificed so much, to announce that i am running for president of united states. >> he was the runner up for the republican nomination in 2012. a key part of his economic plan is changing the countries tax structure. >> step one let's scrap the corrupt federal tax code and the i.r.s. that goes with it. >> santorum favors a flat tax. >> another republican will launch his presidential campaign today. former new york governor george pataki. >> he was the governor of new york when the september 11, 2001, 2 planes slammed into the world trade center, killing nearly 3,000 people. a city and a nation were left reeling from a violent attack.

>> everything that can be done to save every single life is being done and we will continue to make sure that that is a priority. >> in the days and months that followed the governor was tasked with trying to help manhattan rebuild. the financial district was aimed with $10 billion in federal funds. >> when our work is done, the history of lower manhattan will have been written not by the terrorists who attacked our city but by the millions of new yorkers who stood up to defend it and who worked so hard to rebuild it. >> as new yorkers began the painstaking process of trying to heal thoughts turned to ground zero rebuilding probable turned into a political struggle and a design nightmare. 9/11 families were in if you are rated when he refused to consider a plan to rebuild the iconic twin towers and make them taller and safer.

he supported the freedom tower backed by some of his biggest political financial supporters. the problems at ground zero could haunt his legacy as he seeks the presidency. that's not how he views his political fate. >> i've learned early on that you can't worry about what you can't control. you can control your vision and how hard you work. >> a member of the republican party, he began his political career as mayor of his hometown, lighter elected to state assembly and then senate. in 1994, he ran for governor against mario cuomo defeating him in a stunning electoral upset. he went on to serve three consecutive terms as governor of new york state. since then, he has championed conservative causes as part of revere america.

in 2010, he com pained against the affordable care act. he has toyed with the idea of running for president before in 2008 and 2012. >> you know, i kid when i go around new hampshire and this is my eighth trip since september that every four years ice the olympics world cup and pataki shows up thinking about running for president and that seems to be true. this time things are different. i look at what's happening in the world and i have never seen the world as inflamed, in flames as it is today. >> this time around, he is serious. there's a super pac to support the governor's presidential bid. pi tacky has a record as an environmentalist and supported a woman said right to choose. supporters believe his moderation on social issues could help him stand out in a crowded republican field. >> david shuster, al jazeera. >> the secret service is amping

up security around the white house. they're bog to start by measuring the fence today to add sharp points on top. that's designed to stop people from climbing over it. officials say they are also working on other long term security solution. >> why native americans are angry with the pope said decision to grand priest hood to a priest from california. >> texas banned deep fried foods at school cafeteria. why one man is fighting to put them back.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 8:29 eastern, taking a look at today's stop stories. an investigation is underway to the mishandle of anthrax samples by the u.s. military. more than two dozen people may have been exposed when an army base in utah sent live sample to say labs in nine states, as well as a military base in south

korea. >> the threat of more flooding in the accident is prompting evacuations near houston. this as the search continues for victims of the deadliest flooding in decades. rescuers and volunteers are looking for seven people after flood swept their vacation home away. >> the region is bracing for more rain, which could trig are more flooding. >> seth bladder fifa's president has yet to appear in public the governing body of soccer in considering boycotting the upcoming fifa presidential elections, calling for a delay in the vote. >> another day of violence in yemen as houthi rebels are targeted. airstrikes killed more than 100 people making wednesday one of the deadliest days since the airstrikes began in march. the u.n. is seeking a diplomatic way out of the crisis. >> coalition war planes bombed

houthi positions in the capital sanna. one of their targets was a car believed to be carrying houthi rebel leaders. >> sometime in the afternoon a plane targeted a car that was trailing on the street near homes. the houses were destroyed and the residents were injured. >> despite the airstrikes, the houthis continue to control large parts of yemen including the capital. people living near the site of that latest attack are angry they've been caught up in the fighting. >> this is shrapnel, not military bases we must extinguish. what fault of it is the women and children inside the homes? >> forces loyal to ali abdullah saleh picked up weapons from a warehouse. coalition jets hit a houthi base

and arms depot. peace talks have been delayed but a spokesman fob j secretary general ban ki-moon said it is not an indefinite postponement. >> people have different stakes in this conflict. we're asking them to put first and foremost on their mind the welfare of the yemeni people, who continue to suffer. >> pro government forces are backed by the saudi-led campaign to restore yemen's president in exile adou rabbo mansour hadi to power. as they battle the houthis for control of sanna and other cities yemenis are increasingly suffering. al jazeera. >> amnesty international said hamas is responsible for serious human rights abuses against palestinian civilians during last summer's war in the gaza strip. in a new report, the organization said hamas carried

out execution without a trial tortured or assaulted political opponents. most victims were accused of collaborating with israel. no one with hamas has been charged with carrying out abuses. hamas said the report release on questionable sources. a researcher with amnesty international joins us from london this morning. thanks for being with us. i understand that you actually conducted some of the interviews for this report. what was one of the worst stories you heard? >> well, all of them are really bad. what we have here is what is documented that these 23 cases of extra judicial or summary executions, 16 of these people were in the custody of hamas even before the war started. two were sentenced to prison terms. one of the cases, one i've followed since 2012, he was

first accused of collaborating with israel. he was sentenced to 15 years. on the 22 of august, he was in a prison, one of the main prisons in gaza city when he was removed from there in the morning and shot outside. he was an older man and suffered from some mental health problems already convicted and sentenced, and here he was killed in this really ugly arbitrary manager. >> he was killed. it seems like what you are saying in the report that is hamas did that during the crisis and the war with israel to set an example of sorts manufacture hamas's interior ministry has said that this report was unprofessional amnesty was not allowed into gaza to actually

conduct the investigation, so how would you defend the methodology? >> we're carried out with the assistance of a field researcher in gaza on the ground, we've conducted multiple rounds of interviews with families, witnesses, we've also consulted with lawyers journalists, human rights organizations and also collected collaborative evidence such as death certificate, which showed the reason of death as well as pictures provided by family of bodies in the morgue and other such evidence, which we were able to verify and also consult with experts on. it is an extensive research that was done since basically the war was taking place and just published today. we've written twice to the palestinian authorities both the palestinian president abbas reconciliation government, as

well the hamas authorities in gaza. we've done it in september, 2014 and may, 2015. >> they did not respond. they are responding now. i want to know what this means on the grand scheme of things because your group has accused israelis and hamas and other armed groups of war crimes. what impact do you hope this report will actually have on the people of gaza? >> well, first of all i've been in touch with the people in gaza since very -- before the launch of the report and yesterday when we launched it today again. they were very happy to have their cases of their loved ones and family members out there. they felt, you know, just a bit of the justice that they were hoping for but there's still a long way to go. they are worried, they are scared even our feed field

researchers, he's been hearing stories, some rumors about the authorities asking about him so there is a lot of worry. the report is a documentation of these cases and this in itself is very important. as i said, the road toward justice is long, and we're calling now on the hamas authorities and all palestinian authorities to establish an independent investigative committee to look into these allegation and cooperate with international mechanisms, including the commissioner of inquiry set up by human rights council last july. >> ok. >> we're calling on israel to allow human rights investigators such as ourselves to enter. the main reason -- the reason we are not in gaza carrying out ground research is because israeli is not allowing us to do

so. >> thank you for joining us. >> a vatican decision over sainthood is making some folks angry. pope francis plan to say canonize an 18th century spanish ministerry who spread christianity in what is now california. native americans say he destroyed their communities. melissa chan reports. >> the vatican and its new era of progressive leadership under pope francis. one of his missions, bringing the church closer to the people. part of that strategy, the canonization of the first latino saint in the united states. >> what he means to the pope is here is the kind of evangelizer he hopes we all can be. >> he brought christianity to california shores, setting up a system of missions along the coast, spreading the gospel in this distant outpost of the

spanish empire. 200, 300 years later many remain active. >> the mission he established were just beautiful places, but for some native americans these were prisons. they were forced to work in the feeds for the missions. they were forced to stay in the missions and pored into christianity. >> the mission settlements wiped out local population whether by diaz or by the barrel of a gun. best estimates say 100,000 indians died in the decades following the establishment of the missions. for indians the pending canonization is an affront. >> we talked about him in the negative. there is nobody who talks about him in the positive. >> they are tribes vastly down sized as the result of european arrival across the continent.

gatherings like this allow american indian to say celebrate but in many waying there to what is left of the culture. to many, spanish rule destroyed them in california. >> for us, it's different. we look at it as our people were devastated, you know, what happened and it affects our culture, our whole livelihood. >> it's been a symbol of oppression a failed attempt to assimilate other cultures into a more dominant culture this culture being the european culture. >> by choice or by force some 5,000 indians were baptized during his administration. he may have had the best of intentions but today, you would see little gratitude expressed here. >> mission delores the seventh of the 21 missions in the state and where andrew

galvin a descendent of those very missionaries created works as cure rater. >> he is calling us to be saints. >> he is the minority voice among california indians. >> i believe he was one of these champions of native peoples in protecting my ancestors because he founded missions in san francisco and my ancestors were here at mission san francisco during the mission period, that he championed protecting my ancestors. >> as a native american and knowing the history of native americans in the missions, how do you support that? >> i believe he is a very, very holy person who lived in a very, very difficult situation. >> vincent medina disagrees. he's galvin's cousin.

>> i do love him. i understand canonizing somebody like him is con noonizing the misses in general. for me, it is con noonizing a horrible place where there was suffering, pain, degradation death, diseases, and what i see is cultural genocide. >> criticism of the pope's decision has prompted a response from the church. the affirming diocese published the following: >> the two sides clearly lookment at him through vastly different lenses.

the mission is where he was based and where he is buried. >> do you think eventually some native americans will at least understand the catholic church's point of view. >> again we hope for moderation. you have to balance that. there's other cultures involved, too. this will be the first latin american saint of the united states. one of the men who brought for better or worse christ to the new world. melissa chan, al jazeera carmel california. >> on the healthbeat this morning, a new call for people with h.i.v. to get treatment as soon as they are diagnosed. the huge federal study looked at the effectiveness of early treatment. randall pinkston is here. they actually stopped this study because the results were so clear. >> that's right. after tracking more than 4600

patients over some years the national institutes of health decided to stop the trial on h.i.v. treatment because the results were overwhelmingly conclusive. reservers wanted to test the effectiveness of early treatment. they found people who received treatment as soon as they were diagnosed were 53% less likely to develop aids or to die. health officials agree that early treatment can help stop the spread of the disease. when the trial began some test patients were not given treatment, but because the results were so overwhelming, doctors gave all participants the drugs. the hope is this will influence the u.s. and the world. 38% of people living with h.i.v. are receiving treatment. it comes down to money. experts say there i guess not

enough minor to go around. it i guess estimated it would cost $20 million a treat all the people in the world with h.i.v. that's three times what's being spent now. >> this focused on the global picture. tell us the situation in the u.s. >> it's about the same. according to the c.d.c., 1.2 million people are estimated with h.i.v. in the u.s. that number, about 450,000 less than half are getting treatment so a lot of work to be done. >> new numbers show the u.s. spends about $190 billion a year treating obesity 21% have all medical spending. cord to go surveys developed by gallup and health weighs, the rate of obesity has jumped since 2008. hawaii has the lowest obesity weight. idaho and south dakota rose into

the top 10 in 2013. many of the highest obesity rates were centered in the south. mississippi was at the top, more than 35% of its population is obese. >> in the accident, one in six high school students are obese. the state's new agriculture commissioner said he's going to fix that with an unconventional strategy. he is reintroducing deep fried foods to school cafeterias. >> at the middle school in dallas texas lunch is served just one way health food. the broccoli is steamed the oranges are fresh and the salads are an abundance. this wasn't always the case. about 10 years ago texas recognized that a growing number of its children were both overweight and suffering from diabetes. state officials decided to ban deep fryers and soda machines

from school cafeterias. in schools like this, officials say the ban encouraged healthy alternatives. >> for years we've been working in that direction and more recently we've seen developed stronger nutrition standards. >> yet it's not clear that it worked. one in six the accident high school kids are considered obese. that's up from one in seven just 10 years ago. enter sid miller, former the accident representative and rodeo rider was elected as the state's new agricultural commissioner and he's made childhood obesity a top priority. >> what we've done for 15 years hasn't worked. we're going to try something different. >> for some, it may be a plan that is hard to swallow. his idea is to law school cafeteria's to bring back those deep friers, as well as certain

sodas. miller said giving local school districts the chance to decide what kinds of foods their kids should eat will yield better results when it comes to obesity. >> the reason we're doing that, we believe in freedom and liberty and everything that's dear to texans. >> the idea of sodas and deep fried food is about as unhealthy as you can get. >> uh-huh. >> don't you think that allowing schools to put those in place would create the possibility of more unhealthy kids? >> keep in mind if they bring back the soda machines, whatever goes that in machine has to meet the federal nutritional guidelines. sugary sodas do not meet the guidelines. you can't put coca-cola or dr. pepper in there. >> you can put diet. >> or fruit juices, flavored water. >> but then the deep fried aspect of it is well just makes you shake your head. >> not me.

keep in mind, it has to meetle federal guidelines. >> fried foods are often linked to obesity. duties spent on average $1,400 more on their medical bills. while some parents in the accident support miller, asserting that their kids skip lunch because they won't eat healthier meals nutritionist warn his plans are not the answer. >> the e.p.a. is out with new plans for saving honey bees, proposing pesticide free zones so bees can reproduce. it's part of an obama initiative to help stop the drop in the bee population. >> a controversial new initiative to protect drinking water. the program from the white house is designed to keep water safe for 115 million americans. critics call it a power grab.

>> on a sunny day on the banks of washington, d.c.'s river the head of the army corps of engineers sign rules for federal protection. >> rivers and lakes we love. we just can't let them get polluted. we have to pay attention to these streams and wetlands that feed into these water ways, because if they're not clean if will not be, either. >> under the rule, the e.p.a. would have jurisdiction over additional we had lands over tributaries that flow into rivers and lakes even if they don't flow year round and over ditches the government said function like tribute ears and can carry pollution downstream. environmental groups applauded the move. >> we think it makes a big difference not only in water quality for the immediate term but for the future with water

resources threatened by climbs change. >> opposition is fierce particularly from the agricultural industry. >> farmers and ranchers are still worrying about the e.p.a. telling them how to use their land the bodies of water and the land surrounding those bodies of water. >> there's strong resistance on capitol hill, voting to block the rule before it was finalized, a similar about him is before the senate. democrats from farm and energy states are joining republicans in opposition to the regulation. speaker john boehner called the rule a raw and tyrannical power grab that places landowners, small businesses, farmers and manufacturers on the road to a regulatory and economic hell. the e.p.a. insists the regulation is good for business and had the owner of a small verge brewery to make its case. >> without clean water we can't make good beer and without good

beer a lot of people would be sad. for supporter this remains in doubt. >> we have to tell them they have to work fast tore stop e.p.a. we're going to have to find the resources to take e.p.a. to court. we cannot allow this to move forward. it puts into many farmers and ranchers in jeopardy. >> the water wars continue. >> a small piece of a bigger picture, the evident to create the world's largest photograph. it's the size of a soccer field. plus the text that can crash your iphone. apple is now racing to make a fix.

>> palestinians. s taking a look at today's top stories, severe heatwave is claiming more lives in india the death toll topping 1400 over the last two weeks. temperatures have soared to 120 degrees. most of the victims are the elderly, homeless and outdoor workers. >> protestors in brazil demand the president be i am peeved. they are on the streets demonstrating corruption under his watch. an investigation says dozens of business leaders and politicians took unauthorized funds. this is the president's second term. >> on the tech beat, new figures

just released say more than 3 billion people will use the internet by the end of this year. 2 billion live in developing countries. half of the world's homes have access to the internet, double 10 years ago the number of cell phone users stands at 7 billion world wild. half of them surf the internet on their phones. >> apple iphones receiving a text message causes them to crash. apple is working on a fix. >> in today's culture beat, a debate over pushing the boundaries are art. artist richard prince is criticized for this exhibit. it includes screen shots of instagram photos blown up and sold without permission. he was selling them for $90,000 each. one user whose pictures are part

of the image is responding, saying she is going to sell nearly identical copies of her photos for $90. >> capturing the tallest mountain in europe, the image is part of a soccer field an extraordinary feat to show us an extraordinary place. >> my name is chris i'm a photography instructor at the new york institute of photography. my career in photography started with slide film. now i shoot with digital cameras and teach both at the university and workshops all over the world. today, digital photography is more exciting based on some of the terrific technology that's available to all of us. this is a really interesting piece of technology. basically the photographers created this with a cannon that is available today commercially

really with anybody. this was done with 70,000 images that were stitched together over many months of time, so really, the significance is more in the power of computing that was necessary to accomplish this as opposed to the art of photography. this is such a great feat for not only this team, but camera makers and computer makers. i don't think that whole see this printed. if something like this was to be printed, it would literally span the size of a soccer field at 300d.p.i. 300d.p.i. is a the normal resolution or the optimal resolution for printing photographs. i think it makes people stand up and take notice of what's really capable today with the technology available at our hands. >> that's it for us here in new york. wore going to go to doha. they have breaking coverage of the fifa corruption scandal. have a great morning.

>> if you look at it from the outside looking in, you think here is an organization under serious strain, seven members of fifa are currently detained by swiss police, awaiting extradition to the u.s. you would think there is surely no way a man who's been in charge of this operation since 1998 could carry on in his job. it appears on friday, he will stand for reelection. he was due to make an appearance early this morning at a medical conference here. it's been long scheduled into his calendar. he was scheduled to speak and hold a q. and a. session there. didn't appear. we asked officials what i is going on. he said well, he is busy. some of the delegates within the medical conference saying maybe he feels a bit of pressure. he is due to appear at the opening ceremony here of the

fifa congress. >> if i can interrupt you for just a moment, what we're hearing from the meeting right now is the president is asking seth blatter to resign they are saying they won't boycott but ask him to resign, saying they want to throw their support behind his rival prince ali. that's a significant development. >> we believe he has asked him that question to his face, but he said i has no intention of stepping down. david gill, a former executive from manchester united is due to move on to fifa's executive committee, the top tier of the way world football is run. he said he will refuse to go on to that executive committee if

blatter is reelected. europe's governing body has long said they are not supporting blatter at, inc. election. certain individual countries might, but at the top level of european football, they are not. pacini believes blatter broke a promise, that this term should have been his last, he should step down as he beliefs was promised to him four years ago that this would be blatter's last term and then it would be time to bring in a fresh face for fifa. viewed by some as potentially a future fifa president has been against blatter. he doesn't believe that blatter should be standing in this election. >> if we were to draw a parallel you spoke of fifa as a company. if we were to draw