>> hi everyone. this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. playing defense. >> if you are scug is asking is the united states winning that's the wrong question. >> why the fight against i.s.i.l. is falling behind. are u.s. ground troops an option option? tipping point. economic issues for greece. and roadblock uber's legal

defeat. >> by making then employees or classified as employees it would exponentially raise their cost. >> the app that's changing the industry. photoprotest, the act and activism of tyler shield. his most significant act yet. we begin with the fight against i.s.i.l. and the evolving strategy against it. president obama is standing by his changes to the mission one that will now bring more u.s. forces to iraq. he says it's the right course. the defense secretary and the joint chiefs chairman tried to convince lawmakers today the commander in chief is right. our national security correspondent jamie mcintire is at the pentagon. jamie. >> reporter: john, the joint

chiefs john martin who seem to be divided along two lines. those who weren't satisfied with the u.s. strategy, and those who weren't satisfied the u.s. even has a strategy. the chairman of the joint chiefs who retires this three months could not have been clearer about why he opposes putting more boots on the ground in iraq to quote unquote stiffen the spine of feckless iraqi forces. >> if their spine is not stifned by thestiffened on their way of life nothing we do will stiffen their spine. >> like the fighters who fled ramadi a work in progress. >> the combination of disunity, dessertersdeserters so-called ghost soldiers who are paid on the books but don't exist have greatly diminished their capacity. >> antii.s.i.l. forces in syria

retook a key town fleer near the turkish border. committee members were quick to point out it was a triumph of kurdish peshmerga fighters who have demonstrated prowess while the beleague erd iraqi troops haveered raig iraqi troops arenot. >> the kurdish forces are what we aspire to with respect to their iraqi security forces in general. >> reporter: but with the progress against i.s.i.l. in iraq slow an uneven house members were highly dubious of the pentagon's stay the course mantra? >> are we winning are we losing is it a stalemate is it a quagmire? >> are you asking if the united states is winning? >> i'm asking what is the path?

>> we are on course inside their sovereign territory. this is a far different approach than if we were to decide ourselves that it was our responsibility to defeet i.s.i.l. inside of iraq. >> reporter: dempsey was adamant that the spotters inside iraq would change little, not limiting u.s. and coalition air strikes but secretary carter indicated he might revisit the issue if iraqi forces need closer air support in the future. as general dempsey sum id up summed it up, it's complex. >> this is not a simple environment in any sense of the word. >> secretary carter said that the u.s. had hoped by now to train 24,000 iraqi troops. instead they have only trained about 9,000. that is better than in syria where the u.s. has no training

on the ground and they have yet to train a single anti-i.s.i.l. fighter. the waste from syria's syria's neutralized chemical weapons have been successfully destroyed but on capitol hill, doctors testified that the assad government is still dropping chemical weapons on since. >> i live there and all we see is these planes and helicopters being used against hospitals against schools against general civilian populations. >> last year assad's government sent 1300 tons of quepts for chemical weapons for destruction.

assad denies using chemical weapons. two weeks left before the current bailout program for greece expires. when athens will have to make a massive payment to the imf. patricia sabga patricia sabga reports. reports. >> urging their government to hold the line on new pension cuts and tax heights in exchange for fresh bailout funds. greece oas owes the imf 1.8 billion. but default could force greece out of the euro zone. alexis tsipras warns could reverberate throughout europe. >> translator: if the euro zone insists. >> seen as one of the last chance he for greece and its

creditors to strike a deal. but wednesday germany's foreign minister suggested a break through was unlikely. >> translator: i notice that greece doesn't have the intention to come up with new proposals at the finance ministers meeting coming up on thursday. that makes time even tighter. >> reporter: uncertainty that's punished greek markets in recent days. with expectations fade fading fast for thursday, the next meeting of eu leaders to see if greece can strike an 11th hour deal. patricia sabga, al jazeera. >> visiting professor of international affairs at the new school here in new york in our studio, richard welcome. >> thank you. >> do you think it's likely these talks could fall apart? >> yeah, it's likely although much of this is political posturing and kind of last minute negotiations in the

public realm waiting for that 11th hour when maybe a deal can be struck. >> i mean we've heard that both sides have to give on this. how much do both sides have to give? >> i think most of the giving that is to be done on the side of europe not on the greeks. >> really, why? >> partly because the greeks voted for a government on the premise they won't give in. to ask these politicians to make a zeal is to basically collapse them in their own -- deal is basically collapse them in their own society they have no interest in doing . on the other hand for the europeans letting greece go means a poor corner of that society, that part of the world is going to be pushed out. and that throws into deep doubt the whole project of a united states of europe which they were trying to do. >> letting greece go, meaning they would leave the european union. play that out for me, what would happen then? >> first they would default on

the debt, they would not get credit, that would put them on their own resources and they would go back to the drachma not the euro. that would make it very cheap for people to take vacations inside greece. for the greeks it is the choice of that which keeps them independent or strong or the continuing disaster of the last five years. >> does it keep greece strong? >> relative to what's happening to them now that's not what the europeans don't get. the choice for greece is a bad situation or okay, it's one bad situation inside and at least another bad situation that at least has them feeling good about not giving in. i think americans would understand it because we were in a similar position, that would also be the question.

>> so do you see this as a possible breakup of the eu really? >> yes. it isn't about greece. greece is the symbol? the touch zone, touchstone, the flash point. in ireland in italy in spain you see situations very similar. they will are be watching what's happening in greece. it throws into doubt one of the great currencies of the world the yen the dollar, and the euro. if greece disintegrates all governments in europe will be in doubt. all the gofts that will governments that fall along the way. >> thank you very much for coming. >> thank you. >> vast majorities migrant workers from haiti despite

pleas from human rights groups they have until midnight tonight to apply for legal status. david mercer reports from san tow domingo. to domingo. >> staying the their adopted country, immigrant workers from haiti some of heem whom have lived here for decades. complain they have been discriminated against. >> they don't want haitians here. they began this process so we could start legally but they want us out of the country. >> rights groups say there could be 300,000 who haven't registered now face deportation. some leading dominican businessmen say that taking so many out of the country would

damage the economy. the dominican citizenship taken away. wilma is one who could be stateless. the 22-year-old was born in santa rita in one of the communities dedicated to cutting sugar cane. the fact that his father arrived 50 years ago is undocumented means he has lost his right to stay. when he tried to renew his birth certificate it was taken from him. now he and his siblings are facing an uncertain future. >> i feel dominican. i was a native, born here, my child was born here. this is only country i know. >> reporter: an activist visits those most vulnerable to being deported to haiti a country many have never visited. she's met many families that could now be divided because some members have been denied

papers. she says the threatened deportation papers is just an example of prejudice that has grown since haitians move out of the country side into the cities. >> some admin kansas are dominicans are afraid. there's he xenophobia. >> taking to newly built detention centers if they have the right to appeal. but making this case on television largely in favor of the plan, the dominican interior minister rejects patriotism. those with any genuine right to stay should be able to get their documents and meet the requirements. >> translator: if someone arrives and says they're dominican how do i know they're

dominican, how do i know their identity when i don't even know their name? tell me, should i register them just for telling me this? how? >> reporter: for those still without the required papers and with no option he left all they can do is wait and hope that their family will be spared. david mercer, al jazeera santo domingo, dominican republic. >> coming up next. . four people killed in a u.s. raid a drug raid in honduras. three years later their families are still waiting for justice. and uber, side swiped in california, calling one driver an employee not a contractor.

>> the government plans to hit at&t with a $100 million fine. the federal communications commission said the company misled customers by advertising data plans as unlimited and then capping data speeds after five gigabytes. those caps were reportedly more than 20 times slower than normal network speeds. at&t admits to slowing data but has been transparent about it to its customers. now the popular car service uber, a ruling could be a game changer and not just for uber. melissa chan is in san francisco with more. melissa. >> well john up until recently everyone looked at uber as a affirm good deal, you have a driver that driver could sign on an start driving whenever he or she wanted and stop whenever he or she wanted and as user, you

just go on the smartphone app and call a vehicle. there's a different framework in terms of looking at this tech company. a lot of people are really wondering how the largest taxicab company in the world doesn't have any vehicles and doesn't employ any drivers. the california labor commission ruling that a driver for uber is an employee and not an independent contractor. >> by making them employees or classifying them as an employee, it would exponentially raise their cost, they would be entitled to whatever the part time or full time employee would get, that would include things like social security, unemployment insurance disability insurance health benefits.

>> the commission ruled on just one case which uber emphasize in a statement it raised wednesday. "the california commission, important to remember that the number 1 reason drivers choose to use uber is because they have complete flexibility and control. uber is appealing the ruling but it sets a precedent for future cases, against a company currently valued at more than $40 billion. we decided to hit the road and ask uber drivers what they'd prefer. >> would you want to be an employee of uber? >> yes i'd he prefer prefer to be an employee rather than independent contractor. >> why? >> i think employees have benefits and it's more reliable because independent contractor you just like do whatever you want. >> i like independence. i'm a kind of freelancer. i don't like someone from above telling me what to do. >> i wouldn't want to pay into

their health care system or anything because i have good health care myself. so i can see both sides. and you know but to be honest if they went like employee-style, i'm not sure if i'd stay. >> uber is part of a growing trend in the tech world what they call a sharing company. uber is a smartphone app that connects people with drivers. using their own resources. uber the biggest taxi company throughout doesn't own a single vehicle. they consider themselves a technology platform and by doing that they have absolved themselves of a lot of the costs of running a transportation company. but uber continues to face protest and legal action around the world. labor unions have criticized its relations with drivers and there's a class action lawsuit also claiming the company has

unfairly classified drivers as contractors. in the tech world it's big. you think about airbnb, people with rooms and people who need rooms but another way of looking at airbnb is it actually provides a lot of accommodation much like hotels but it doesn't have to operate any of these hotels so there's no accountability and no responsibility. john. >> melissa thank you. another storm in texas. tropical depression bill is moving north across that state with the threat of more flooding and more misery, for people still reeling from may. stephanie stanton is live there. stephanie. >> we're an hour north of houston, although the rain did stop for now we see sporadic

raining, and it's nowhere near the devastation of three weeks ago. after tropical depression bill made an unwelcome visit even law enforcement got stuck in a ditch. an afternoon flash flood warning was the latest blow to a town that saw a wave of storms passing through the area. the tres palasos creek that runs through el campo is normally dry. >> we experienced in the last few hours nine and a half inches of rain in that short period of time. >> at least a foof that the higher. the -- foot and a half higher. >> eugene a lifelong resident of el campo rushed to his daughter's house to evacuate her from the rising waters. >> did they have to get out quickly? >> yes. when i got here i told my

son-in-law look at my running boards on my truck. they plan get the clothes and about ten minutes later i said now look at the water. he said oh gosh. >> the flood wawshts floodwaters narrowly missed their homes. >> it's rough means a lot to everybody. my family's very important. i got to make sure everybody is safe and sound. >> down the road, the yard is a small lake. >> we could probably go fishing here it's nowhere near the tide. >> dozens of homes were flooded some washed away. more than a dozen died during the memorial day storms. this time no lives have been lost but texas governor greg abbott warned residents to continue to be vigilant. >> this event is not over. there are potential tornadoes.

people need to be on the alert of the possibility of rising water. people please do not drive into rising water. >> advice well taken by drinltses likeresidents like eugene who hope the worst is over. >> hopefully it won't be as bad as it has been. >> we are told the flash flood watch remains in effect until 11:00 tonight for this area and you can see behind me the flooded residents pumping out. they tell us theam be out here for the next -- they'll be out here to remove as much as possible from their property until more rain is headed their way and that is expected into the weekend. john. >> all right stephanie thank you. our meteorologist kevin corriveau is here. is it going to get worst kevin? >> we're looking at the storm staying in place the next 24 to 48 hours. where stephanie is located down here in el campo we are seeing

many it of the communities under warnings and watches. much of central and eastern texas they're flash floored flood warnings towards oklahoma, san antonio, waco, just to the north of dallas, now towards louisiana as well, big big problem. a lot of that rain is still falling in the area. now dallas fort worth you are clearing out right now as the center of that storm goins make begins omake its way north. next 24 hours the showers are now making their way into the state, oklahoma city and tulsa are pick picking up the rain. the heaviest is tonight through tomorrow. we are watching very carefully. all this raven is going to be draining into the rivers, the

red river and the trinity river. those flash flood warnings along the river will probably continue into the weekend as well. >> kevin thank you. coming up inside the central american drug war families shot and killed in a zeadea honduran drug operation. and my conversation with governor john sinunu.

>> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. al jazeera investigation gunned down, were they innocent? tonight what our report uncovers. the quiet man. >> even though he was a one-term president it was an amazingly productive one term.

>> john sununu, his book on george h.w. bush. underappreciated. plus provocative. >> what would it be like if the chanceman was the one in the tree? >> photographer tyler shields discusses his new works turning american history inside out. honduras is a major route for drug smuggling. more than 80% of south american cocaine bound for the united states is believed to pass through honduras. in may of 2012 four people were killed there in an operation involving u.s. drug enforcement agents. their relatives and human rights activists say they had no links to drug trafficking whatsoever. paul beban has been following the investigation into their death and he's here with an exclusive report. paul. >> john, background first. back in 2011-2012 the department

of justice discovered a scandal called fast and furious. you may recall that was a botched plan to track guns to mexican drug cartels. the same department of justice team that investigated fast and furious is now looking into this dea operation in honduras. some have accused the dea and the state department of dragging their feet on this but sources tell us that the fact the doj is working this case is sign that the justice department is taking this seriously. we want to warn you this report contains graphic material. >> on 2012 a long motor boat was motoring up the patuka river in a region of honduras called la meskitia. most of the 16 people on board were simply on their way home. all of them were about to be caught in the cross fire of the

war on drugs. remote and roadless, la mosketia is a haven for drugs and traffickers. being be exposed by boat or junk ljungle air strips. two of the passengers approached ahuas about 2:00 in the morning clara. shouted out to god, where is my son, he wasn't there in the front of the boat. no one was there. >> another passenger was traveling with her two young daughters. she struggled to shield them as the boat was riddled with bullets. >> translator: i thought how am i going to save myself? it is better for me to die here with my children. that's why i didn't jump out of the boat and swim, to stay with

my daughters. i waited for shot that would kill me. i was waiting for death. >> reporter: hilda was sitting in the back of the bolt boat and was shot in both legs. >> i had to throws myself in the water to save myself. i don't know how i did it because all mi blood of my blood was flowing out into the water. >> reporter: they say honduran and u.s. personnel were already there. >> translator: they had three guns pointed to my head, one at my side and one at the base of my skull. they said they would shoot me and get rid of my body. they asked me where are the drugs, who is the leader, where does he live? i told them i was innocent that i was just here to look for my aunt.

>> hilder had several relatives on the boat. when he got there he was ordered to take two men out into the river where a canoe was drifting loaded with drugs three men two honduran agent and one dea agent already on board. >> when we arrived at the time canoe, they told me to get near it, they never helped me rescue my mother. >> reporter: witnesses say after the honduran and u.s. team loaded the drugs onto the helicopters they left without helping the injured. >> the americans went down to the river got the drugs and then took them out in the helicopter. they saw very well that they were leaving people dead. >> reporter: four passengers had been killed. emerson martinez, wanda jackson candlearia and her son hasket.

we reached out to dea headquarters in wash multiple times but our requests for comment were never returned. however in documents obtained by al jazeera the head of dea in honduras at the time, a man named jim kenny gives a detailed account of the night of may 11th, 2012 to a group of american human rights workers visiting the honduran capital. kenny explains that that night dea and honduran units were getting geared up as a suspected drug plane was being tracked from venezuela to honduras. the plane lands on an airstrip and unloaded by 30 to 40 men many of them heavily armed. more than a thousand pounds of cocaine were transferred to a truck theen then a boat. he says everyone runs and the

armed men abandon the boat filled with cocaine. kerne explains after the dea and honduran agents get to the boat the motor fails. that's when kenny says the passenger boat carrying clara wood and 13 others came in and returned fire. they fired on us, we fired on them, and the helicopter also fired on them as well. kenny says 100% positive someone knew about the drug shipment and was determined to get it. something all the survivors deny. they also deny any shots were fired from their boat. kenny says he has intelligence that proves otherwise but won't say more. kenny also makes it clear that while officially, honduras is in charge of joint operations like this one the dea runs the show. and that the hondurans in his words report directly to me and

work for the dea. it took the people of ajuas two days to recover all four of the victims' bodies from the river. clara wood's son hasket was the last. >> translator: when they found him and they put him on the floor he was full of water and his body was already rotting. i couldn't see my baby's face anymore. i couldn't bathe him he was so swollen and soft so i put him in a bag and that's how i had to bury him. they killed him like he was odog. >> be thethe honduran agents were acquitted. two years later in may 2014 the department of justice and state department finally launched a joint investigation. >> what happened in ajuas is a wakeup call for many here in

america. >> reporter: in january 2013, congressman hank johnson of georgia wrote a letter demanding answers from the dea a letter co-signed by 57 other representatives from both sides of the aisle. the investigation has now been ongoing for almost a year. your office has sent another letter asking for an update. are you satisfied with the pace be at which this is happening? >> it's been a slow slog through what seem to be indifference and which could be construed as some to be a coverup. >> reporter: are you concerned about the last of accountability at dea? >> our war on drugs has been a complete failure here at home and now we're starting to see the effect of that drug war south of our borders and how it has negatively impacting honest, law abiding citizens who have nothing to do with the drug

trade. but yet they get caught up in america's war on diswrugz. drugs. >> in may we asked the state department for an update and got nowhere. it's been four years since several were injured in a drug operation near ajuas what's going on? >> the investigation is still ongoing. as you said it's a joint investigation. it involves the office of the inspector general of the state department as well as the inspector general of the department of justice but since the review is still ongoing we don't have any comment on the incident or the investigation. >> reporter: any anticipation on when it will be completed? >> i don't have a time line for conclusion. we're still working on the investigation. >> reporter: the dea agents in honduras were part of a unit called a foreign deployed virs

team or faft. linked to the taliban in afghanistan. critics of the program say all too often its military approach to antidrug operations has deadly consequences. >> the team that was active in the time in honduras, the faft team came from teams that existed in afghanistan. and that were inspired directly by operations that had taken plaguesplace in clom previously where colombia. coming together in a highly militarized fashion. >> reporter: in honduras the crime and violence fueled by america's endless appetite for drugs is impossible to escape. the country has the highest murder rate in the world. it is corrupt and chaotic. the mayor of ajuas says his

people are poor and some do turn to the drug trade. >> translator: but to say we live off of narco--trafficking, that's a lie. our people have cleared the air strips that's the concern we have always had but what alternatives do our people have? >> reporter: some tell al jazeera that without anything like a formal apology or official admission of responsibility for deaths victims' families'feals say all they have now are memories and mourning. >> she loved to walk along here to stop and chat. now when i leave she's not there in her house. she doesn't come to meet me here and i will never see me her again. it is all over. >> a dea surveillance plane

actually captured the incident on video but that video has never seen. we spoke to one staffer who said it's too murky to confirm the dea's version of events and despite the fact that the honduran police called it a successful interdiction, they never did any forensic testing on the u.s. weapons that might have been used in the incident. as to u.s. agents, been to honduras, john we're not going to know any of that until we know their final report finally comes out. >> still waiting. >> still waiting. >> thanks paul very much. >> jeb bush took his campaign to iowa today front yard meet and growth. voters in iowa will cast their first ballots in the 2016 presidential campaign in that state's caucus next february.

jeb bush is looking to continue a family legacy in the white house. a new book into his father's presidency, the quiet man indispensable presidency of george h.w. bush. i asked governor sununu about his title. >> well, george bush really never liked to talk about himself. his mother gave him the admonition, george don't brag about yourself and bend your knees when you volley. he always tried to share whatever success he achieved with others around and he had a style however that was very quiet but very effective. and one of the things i try do in my book is to do a little of the bragging for him. that he was very reluctant to do himself. >> it's very interesting. so much has been written about president bush. why did you decide this book needed to be written about our

president? >> one of the reasons is everyone knows about his foreign policy achievements but i wanted to make sure that everyone paid attention to what extraordinary results this president had in terms of domestic legislation. >> you had unique insight. let's talk about iraq. you be quote barrons in 2005, the first bush got it right. and you say in your book, operation desert storm was being george bush being quiet and tough at his best. explain. >> after the invasion of kuwait from iraq he came back to the white house from a trip and basically put into play this memorable line, this aggression shall not stand. and he went about building a coalition, including virtually every arab nation, including haffas assad from syria came and joined, and all of our european

allies and the soviet union with george bush talking to each one of those leaders individually and bringing them into the coalition. then when he said this aggression shall not stand he used all the resources that that coalition had put together to make sure that it did not stand. so he drew a line and he acted when that line had been crossed. >> but by pointing out the first bush got it right, are you saying something about the second bush? >> no, i think that editorial was trying to emphasize at the time a lot of people were criticizing george herbert walker bush the first bush president, for not chasing saddam into baghdad. unless circumstances are special it's not a clever thing to do to try and occupy someone. i think george w. had a different situation. the u.s. had been in effect

invaded with 9/11 and as presidential of the united states he could not leave any stone unturned in make sure there wasn't a repeat. >> but president bush pointed out in his book as you pointed out in yours had we gone the invasion route the united states could have been still could have been an occupying power in a bit arely hostile land. in some ways it told the story of the post-9/11 war didn't it? >> i think biggest problem potato-9/11 wasn't so much going into iraq but again staying too long. and the hindsight people have now again justifies the fact that you ought not to plan on at least keeping too many troops there. i think we should have kept a few thousand troops to help the iraqi government stabilize itself but to have withdrawn everybody i think created a power vacuum and power vacuums

attract mischief. >> you pointed to the president in 1997 summing up his time in office in which he said we left office after four years with our heads held high, our environment was cleaner and our future was brighter. do you think historians have recognized that statement? >> i think they're beginning to. sometimes, the early years of a presidency are influenced by either erroneously good or erroneously bad press. i think that historians are now beginning to understand that the budget agreement which was treated so negatively while he was president, actually was the reason we were able to have the surpluses in the early '90s and the mid '90s. he turned a huge deficit situation into splis surpluses for america and in fact stimulated the economy. we had a huge surplus period,

his clean air act which was based not on command and control where you dictated to people what they did but presenting the results that everyone wanted for about one fifth or one 10th the cost. people are beginning to appreciate even though he was a one term president it was an amazingly product ef one term. >> i know you went up to talk to him and to barbara bush about the fact you were going to write the ftc book. how was he doing? >> he and barbara were nice enough to be positive and three weeks ago today now i drove up to have lunch with him. we go up once or twice a summer and gave him a couple of copies of the book. he looked much better this time than he even did a year and a half ago. >> the book, the quiet man the

indispensable presidency of george h.w. bush. john sununu, thank you for being on. >> i hope the people learn a lot more about an extraordinary president they didn't know before. tomorrow, pope francis unveils his encyclicle. >> as pope francis prepares to ask people to cut back on their use of fossil fuels. jeb bush. >> i'd like to see what it says as it relates to climate change

and how that connects to the these broader deeper issues before i pass judgment. >> reporter: in a draft of the coming declaration that's already been leaked, pope francis supports established science that fossil fuels are ruining the planet. the pope's teaching known as an encyclicle could put some into a each has criticized efforts to tax or regulate the burning of fossil fuels. and the pressure may be especially intense for mr. bush. a former florida governor and marco rubio a florida senatorial. because last year, a massive u.s. scientific study identified miami as one of the u.s. metro areas most vulnerable to damage from human-caused global warming. rubio has not commented yet on the pope's apparent position. in the past rubio has said he

does not believe human activity has created climate change and the senator says capping emissions would be a mistake. >> i can tell with you certainty it would have a devastating effect often our on our economy. >> on his recent speech he dismissthe pope on this. >> reporter: before joining the seminary, pope francis actually did study science. and he got a master's degree in chemistry. given the pope's immense popularity now folks are wise

to pay homage. as jeb bush did. >> as a converted catholic of 25 years i think that's really cool. >> reporter: but gave a clear indication that this is becoming high octane. >> i think this is make us better as people and less about things getting into the political realm. so i'm a little skeptical about this. >> reporter: that skepticism extends throughout gop. so imposing a pope on climate change is unlikely, the general election could be another story. given a majority of americans even before the pope weighs in already consider climate change a threat. david schuster. al jazeera. >> there are new concerns about the sprawling sahara desert. scientists say it's growing too fast and quickly becoming a threat. antonio mora is here with that.

antonio. >> this is world desertification day. the speed in which this is happening in the sahara has caught the attention of scientists. they're even proposing a cultivation of oasis around the desert, already being tried in tunisia where it has helped prevented people from leaving their home. >> before we didn't have this water, only water from god. >> tourist attractions where the hollywood set where part of the star wars movies were filmed. in the coming hour we'll talk about desert fiction. desertification.

>> balcony crashed early tuesday morning during a birthday party. berkeley's mayor says the preliminary investigation suggest wooden beams supporting the balcony had been water-damaged. six people killed, several others badly injured. coming up next. images designed to provoke the challenging photos of tyler shields.

. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. only on al jazeera america. >> provocative. racially charged and going viral. a new photo series putting a new spin on america's past, tonight we talk to a photographer in our first person report. >> my name is tyler shields and i'm a photographer. so this is a series called historical fiction takes place between 1950 and 1970. so when i was a kid i grew up in florida and in the south the kkk

was very prevalent. >> the land became a name of terror in the south. >> one thing i always noticed whenever you asked someone about the kkk the first image that popped into their head was a clansman hanging a black man.. i thought it was interesting to see what would it be like if the clansman was the one in the tree? this is the most powerful photo i've ever seen. i've been thanked for had picture more than any other picture i've ever taken. what was interest going the photo of the man holding down the police officer is i did that probably nine, ten months ago. so i did it before the i can't breathe and before you know a lot of these things have recently just been happening. and as they started happening and i was like oh man this photo keeps getting more and more powerful, if someone did that to

a police officer as you see in my photograph, i mean the uproar that that would cause would be cataclysmic. the martin luther king image which is one of my favorites from the series is these four women in a hair salon and as they read this story they realize that their lives are about to change. and the reactions that you see from them are so interesting because the women in the photograph had a real visceral experience unlike anything i've ever seen shooting anyone. each one of the girls broke down individually. as you grew up he was dead long before any of them were born. it wasn't anything any of them had to face. people want substance. this is the first time i've tackled anything like this. if any one of these photos can cause this type of change then my job is done. >> tyler's photos are on display

at the antweis gallery. until the end of june. that's our prom for tonight. the news continues next with antonio mora.

>> war games in the baltic sea. the u.s. and its nato allies run military drills sending a message to russia. >> we will defend every inch of nato territory. >> as cold war type posturing plays out between the white house and the kremlin. u.s. against i.s.i.l. a small number of iraqis are willing to take up arms against the rebels. >>