step ahead. they say they are slowly winning the war, but there is still a long way to go. that is the end of this bulletin, so thanks for watching, but the news always continues and you can always find out what is going on by logging on to our website, the address at the bottom of your screen there, aljazeera.com. ♪ a final farewell a public view willing be held for the south carolina state senator and pastor killed in last week's shooting. sentencing underway in boston, where dozens of victims and their families are confronting dzhokher tsarnaev. and wikileaks accuses the u.s. of spying on french

presidents. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. in just a few hours the public will be able to pay their final respects to pastor clementa pinckney gunned down last week at his south carolina church. his body will lie in the rotunda of the state capitol. members of the brady campaign against gun violence are delivering thousands of condolence cards. we know many are expected to view the body today. remind us why he was so meaningful to the charleston community. >> reporter: good morning, stephanie. the reverend was a man of unity, and he symbolized bringing this church and the charger population together. which is why we're expected to see members of the brady

campaign against violence show up and they are delivering nine boxes filled with over 10,000 handwritten messages showing their support for this community, and honoring reverend pinckney. back in 2013 he introduced a bill that would expand the background check for gun owners right here in south carolina. >> morgan talk about how charleston has become sort of a flash point for conversations about race. for example, you attended a march last night held by the new black panthers. >> reporter: that's right. we were preparing for our evening show when throngs of marchers came from the new black panther party. and there was an odd confrontation between the marchers and the mourners. the mourners were quietly humming and singing together when the new black panthers came

through, and they said we are here to reaffirm our second amendment rights. and they accused the mourners of what they said was filling in and believing in the white racist rhetoric of the south. and they said if the black victims inside of that church had had guns they would have been able to defend themselves. >> morgan thank you. momentum is building across the country to take down confederate flags. south carolina lawmakers voted tuesday to discuss removing the flag from the state house grounds. in other southern states there are calls for removing the flag from license plates and flags. some makers say they will stop making and selling the flag. more and more retailers say they will also halt sales of the flag and related merchandise. south carolina state representative introduced a bill to have the flag removed

from the grounds of the south carolina state house this week. we spoke with him about it earlier. >> personally i'm thankful that the business world has come to the attention of this and done the things it has done in reaboving those symbols from their stores. i hear the governors talking about what they are going to do. but for south carolina i'm going to focus on this issue. we have the movement now, i believe to remove the flag from the state capitol, so i want to focus my attention on this issue at this time. >> is this issue in some ways a red herring, detracting from conversations we should be having about race relations and all of that? >> i don't think it's a red herring, but it is the frosting on the cake. in south carolina we have an area along interstate 95 where

the air conditioning doesn't work when it's warm and the hoet doesn't work when it's cold where their infrastructure is crumb elling. we don't have equal opportunity in south carolina for all of our income earners. there are so many things we need to address. but to say the confederate flag is a red herring is completely incorrect. >> the flag did not kill those people a gun did. what more do you think needs to be done about gun control in south carolina? >> i don't know. because south carolina in a lot of ways is ahead of the curb. we have mandated background checks before your can purchase a gun, and if one is deemed no longer competent they are not possess a gun. some emotional statements this morning as boston marathon

bomber faces victims and family members in court. he will be formally sentenced to death today after the judge hears from up to 30 people at the hearing. the jury teared up as the speakers described their grief and difficult recovery process. france is demanding the u.s. move quickly to repair any damage there the latest revelations over spying by the nsa. the french prime minister addressed parliament a short time ago, as wikileaks revealed that the u.s. eavesdropped on french leaders for years. and later today, french president is set to speak with president obama. inez is here with more. >> reporter: these documents show the crisis.

an emergency meeting in the wake of reports that the u.s. spied on the past three french presidents. french newspaper sited nsa reports released by wikileaks appearing to capture officials talking in paris about greece's economy and germany. three presidents were all reportedly targeted. >> translator: not only the phones of the presidents their mobile phones the presidential air fleet, and the headquarters of the government transmissions. >> reporter: the leak coincides with a vote on a new french bill. >> there is a big debate inside of the opposition as well as within the opinion that we don't want in france to do like the nsa does in the world. >> reporter: despite the uproar among french politicians there seemed to be little surprise. france's defense council writing

these are unacceptable facts that have already resulted in exchanges between the united states and france. particularly in late 2013 when the first revelations occurred. >> france really needs the u.s.'s partnership, especially in some military operations outside of the country, like in africa, or in iraq and so on so you cannot destroy such a strong partnership. >> reporter: the u.s. national security council spokesman says the u.s. is not targeting president hollande. the wikileaks spokesman says he is confident the documents are authentic. the u.s. ambassador was summoned

to a meeting. the white house calls france an indispensable partner. >> really déjà vu to what happened when they found out merkel's phone was being tapped in germany. >> exactly. papers were given to the guardian and "new york times" newspapers in detail how british intelligence helped the nsa carry out an attack in yemen in 2012. they used the information to target a doctor they believed was working with al-qaeda. today the white house is expected to announce a major policy shift towards the families of hostages. it will no longer try to prosecute those who try to pay a

ransom to free their family members. >> reporter: this man family bemoaned the lack of help they got from the u.s. government saying quote: while news broke in april that the fbi actually helped the family facilitate a quarter million dollars payment to weinstein's captors, the government threatened the family of james foley with prosecution if they tried to pay ransom to isil. foley was later killed. >> there were many opportunities along the way, and yet nothing was done to save our young americans. >> reporter: on wednesday the government is expected to announce that while it will continue its policy of not paying ransom to kidnappers it will no longer seek to prosecute families who do. josh earnest gave a preview on

tuesday. >> our goals entering into this process was to both better integrate the variety of federal government resources that are dedicated to securing the safe return of american hostages that are being held against their will overseas, and also to improve communication with the families of those who are going through this terrible ordeal. >> reporter: the white house says they will try to bring together all of the disparate policies and call it an interagency fusion cell and it will be lead by the fbi. duncan hunter has a problem with that. in a statement he said the following, quote:

john henry smith, al jazeera. the president will take a formal announcement on the policy shift in the coming hours, and we will bring that to you live when it happens. new tensions this morning as the key deadline approaches on iran's nuclear program. france's foreign minister says recent statements made by iran's leadership do not go in the right direction of a deal. the supreme leader made a few statements earlier. why getting a major trade deal done has outweighed his policies.

welcome book to al jazeera america. it is 10:44 eastern. hundreds of mourners crowded the funerals in dublin for two irish students killed in a balcony collapse in california. a new report says the wooden beams were vulnerable to water damage and severely dry rotted. an autopsy report shows freddie gray most likely suffered a high-energy injury to his neck and spine while in the custody of baltimore police. they concluded gray's death was a homicide. crews are working to restore power this morning to hundreds of thousands of people who lost it after a storm swept through the new york area. sheets of rain high winds and lighten, knocked down trees and power lines throughout the

region. president obama's trade agenda is one step closer to becoming reality. the senate is set to take a final vote today on whether to give the president the authority he needs to get a landmark trade deal down. libby casey has more. >> reporter: the legislation moving through the senate right now, would grant president obama fast tracker authority on trade deals. that means congress would take an up or down vote and couldn't quibble over the finer details. now this all comes in advance of a trade deal the white house is very focused on, the trans-pacific partnership. it revolves around trade with asia, and has 12 countries and a lot of dollars at stake. he sees that trade deal as part of his legacy. that's not being voted on right now. but so much of the procedural efforts going on in congress

right now are leading up to that and it's sort become a proxy for the larger trade fight. the president has been aligned with republicans on trying to get fast-track authorities. it is democrats who he has had the most trouble with in a strange turn of political represents. a lot of democrats are saying they have concerns about the fast track authority and trade deals more broadly, because they are worried about american jobs and american workers. >> this is a day of celebration in the corporate suites in this country to be sure because they have another corporate sponsored trade agreement that will mean more money in some investors pockets, and more plant closings in rhode island delaware west virginia, and maine, and all over this country. >> reporter: they will vote on a bill that helps american workers who have be displaced on globalization. it is certainly influencing the

debate, and doing into presidential politics. we see senator bernie sanders, an independent of vermont who is running for the democratic domination of the presidency coming out strongly against this? it has put hillary clinton in a tough spot because while she was in president obama's administration she was an advocate of this partnership, now she is saying she wouldn't necessarily grant president obama fast track authority. this has become a symbol for the larger trade debate in the country. >> libby casey reporting from washington. >> reporter: a month after an amtrak train derailed they are ensuring safety upgrades are made. the head of the agency told a house panel that rail operators will face steep fines if they don't update their systems by

january 1st. the stretch of track did not have an automatic speed-control system. the tpp is designed to keep china in check. today washington and beijing continue sensitive talks on cyber security and military policy. jamie macintyre reports. >> reporter: as top officials of the united states and china sat down for annual talks in washington amid tension over cyber attacks and island building in the south china sea, vice president biden sought to sound a conciliatory note. >> we want to see china rise. to continue to rise in a responsible way that will benefit you most china, because you have an important role to play. >> reporter: john kerry was joined by jack lew, and significant calls the discussions would cover economic as well as national security

issues and while the u.s. has not formally accused china of the hack that compromised personal financial, and medical records of its employees, for its part it is more concerned about the rapid build up of military forces. the number two civilian, bob work said: work could have been reading directly from the pentagon's latest report to congress which says china has officially disclosed military spending averaged 9.5% growth of the past decade, while the pen gone has been hamstringed by

sequestration cuts imposed by congress. they plead for money from congress arguing for instance that while china's air force is growing, the u.s. air force is just as quickly shrinking. >> when we deployed operation desert storm in 1990 we had 188 fighter squads, this budget will take us to 49. the bottom line is that there is no bench left. >> reporter: while america's technological advantage over china may be dwindling, the u.s. insists it will not let china influence its allies. >> we will remain the principle security power in the asia pacific for decades to come. >> reporter: jamie mcintier, al

jazeera, the pentagon. another republican governor is joining the race for president. how bobby jindal's career could hurt his bid for presidency.

ing. >> "techknow", where technology meets humanity. monday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. ♪ fire crews are battling wildfires in parts of four western states this morning. there are hundreds of fires just in alaska. riz identifies of one village there had to evacuate their home on boats. several fires are burning in oregon and washington state. in southern california a fire burning 90 miles east of los angeles is now partially contained. a growing number of states are moving to formally ban therapies designed to turn a gay teen straight. scientists say it simply does not work. but a movement in building in churches and online to help people give up what they call unwanted same-sex attraction. duarte geraldino has more. >> give me the shotgun. i'll hold him as long as i can!

bang bang. >> reporter: as an actor he was the image of confidence seemingly enjoying life as a gay american. but by 29 he decided he didn't want to be gay anymore. and devoted his life to forming a therapy. >> i think that this is what people really need versus, you know, same-sex marriage, so i want this option to be available, and i know it's definitely the right choice for me. >> reporter: jeremy went through the treatment himself and is now leading a dallas-based cyber ministry called joel 225 international. it has members in europe asia and many middle east and africa countries. >> it really is quackery. it is fraudulent. it was talk therapy for me.

it wasn't electric shock or aversion therapy for me. but even words can damage. >> reporter: he has launched his own internet movement. >> we need to protect our lbgt youth. >> being gay just does not work for you. >> reporter: four men are suing, offering new alternatives for healing. claiming the new jersey-based group now it was impossible to change a person's sexuality, and yet charged tens of thousands of dollars in allegedly therapies. jeremy testified at the trial, the defense presented him as a success story. would you consider yourself a straight man? >> i could say that i'm straight. i don't know that i would say in the same way that everybody is. i think i was born to be so i think i am yeah. >> reporter: but if state

lawmakers have their way, fewer and fewer people will have access to conversion therapies. >> if it is banned for children and adults what do you do then? >> i guess i would just keep going until they lock me in prison. >> reporter: so you are willing to go for it even if they say it is illegal for this therapy to exist in america. >> yes, i am. >> reporter: why? >> because i believe in it and i know it's necessary, and i know it helps people. an already crowded republican presidential field is likely to expand today. louisiana governor bobby jindal is expected to make his announcement this afternoon. paul beban reports. >> reporter: bobby jindal was considered a rising star of the republican party, so much so, that he was tapped to deliver the party's response to president obama's first state of the union address, but critics said his delivery fell flat.

>> my own parents came to this country from a distant land. when they alived my mother was already four and a half month's pregnant. i was what folks in the insurance industry call an preexisting condition. >> reporter: his parents were indian immigrants. after attending brown university in oxford he worked in the private sector mostly in health care. in 2001 he joined the george w. bush administration. in 2003 he ran for governor of louisiana, and was against abortion rights and favored gun rights. he lost by a narrow marge, but weeks after defeat he started to run for congress and was successfully elected to the house. he ran for governor in 2008 again, and won. and two years into his term he

and his state faced the worst man maid environmental disaster in u.s. history, the bp oil spill. >> the tides have come and gone. so this is persistent oil, and the damage is done. >> reporter: while leading louisiana he has remained a fierce critic of president obama's economic policies. >> i think there are things we can do instead of waving the white flag of surrender and declaring this economy to be a minimum wage economy. i think america can do better. >> reporter: his rivals are likely to bring up issues from jindal's past like his account of participating in a sort of exorcism while in college, and flip flopping on tax cuts and support for common core standards. thanks for watching i'm stephanie sy in new york. the news continues next live from doha and you can always get the latest news and original reporting on our website, aljazeera.com. have a great day. ♪

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, welcome to the news hour i'm jane dutton in doha. at least 12 are dead after al-shabab attacks a diplomatic convoy in somalia's capitol. heritage under threat. isil destroys two muslim shrines close to the syrian city of palmyra. pakistani government is criticized for an inadequate response to a heat