louise matheson is a reef and, of course you can keep up to date with all the stories we've been following if you head to the website, you can see the front page there, the attacks in egypt. aljazeera.com is the name of the game. >> making history the u.s. and cuba set to reopen embassies and restore diplomatic ties after six decades. >> talks over iran's nuclear program extended for one more week after months of negotiations. >> greece's prime minister offers an oliver branch to creditors hours after defaulting on nearly with it billion dollars in loans.

>> this is aljazeera america. good morning live from new york city i'm randall pinkston. a major milestone this morning for the u.s. and cuba, the two countries reached a deal to reopen embassies in havana and washington. a formal announcement is expected later this morning. they could open within weeks. the agreement would formally restore diplomatic ties for the first time in more than 50 years. michael shure is live in washington outside the cuban section slated to become the embassy. do you know whether there will be a coordinated announcement by cuban officials? >> yeah, cuba has already talked about that today randall, and good morning to you. we're outside the cuban interest section here, housed in the swiss embassy as it's been since

1961. a flag pole went in earlier this month, a new flag pole. presumably that is where the cuban flag will fly here in d.c. >> what led up to this announcement? >> it's momentous. 1961, you have to put in perspective. it's a lot of years between when the cuban and castro regime took over and where we are today what led up to it was a letter from pope francis inviting leaders of both nations cuba and the united states to meet and start discussions. it was subsequent to that meeting in october which took place in october of last year that president obama on december 17 of last year made an announcement saying we are going to move towards normalization of relations with cuba. >> now, there is also plans for u.s. embassy obviously in havana. do you know anything about its location? >> well, yes. it's going to be located on

what's a boulevard on the sea wall in cuba. what's going to happen there is the same thing that's going to happen here, it occupies a swiss building right now and there is going to be a flag raised there and there will be a ceremony. congress had 45 days from when the announcement was made, 15 days to weigh in whether or not this embassy was going to be built. now they can't do anything. what they can do is when it comes time to introduce an ambassador, people opposed to this move on the part of the administration will be able to protest that. before the flag goes up in havana, they're going to have to go through that. >> what about sanctions? sanctions have been imposed against cuba for decades now. how does this new diplomatic relations affect those sanctions? >> well, cuba's been on a state sponsored terrorism list and once listed, so, too then will the sanctions lift. the problems that america had

with what was going on in cuba is the ability for americans to move freely once there the ability of journalists to go in there and not be followed. those sort of things are the things that made sanctions part of the reality in cuba, and of course gradually and with this action on the parts of both nations, those sanctions will be lifted. randall. >> thank you, michael shure live in washington. let's go to was not carlos, thank you for joining us this morning. first question to you laying it on the table at one-month were you opposed to diplomatic relation witness cuba? >> not at all. i think this is way overdue. u.s. policy to cuba man a blatant failure for over 50 years. president obama has announced the u.s. will seek to restore diplomatic ties on december 17 last year, we have seen that it

was the cubans that were dragging their feet rewarding how to process out of these requirements to set up embassies in both countries. i think it was overdue, and is a welcome stem towards normalizing relations. now we have to wait for congress to do its part and work on lifting the embargo and lift the travel ban that americans have on traveling to cuba. >> as you know, there are members of congress, democrats and republicans who are still opposed to full diplomatic relations with cuba. how difficult do you think it will be to remove those sanctions, remove the embargo? >> i couldn't, i don't see a bill reaching the president's desk in the next two years. unfortunately, that doesn't seem likely during this congress. however, if you see polls, you will see that not only an

overwhelming majority of americans support president obama on his policy toward cuba, but even cuban americans support the president on this, so i think that sooner rather than -- >> i'm sorry to interrupt but approximate cuban americans support it, and the majority of americans, why would congress continue to oppose it? >> i think we have to realize this is a tiny minority of influential members of congress that have boycotted the president on this, but i think that sooner rather than later most people in congress will realize that this is a deal that u.s. should move forward to normalize relations with cuba, and that incorporates lifting the embargo and the travel ban. >> you know, about 20 or so years ago i made a visit to cuba as part of my work as a journalist and discovered to

american agriculture incident terrorists were very interested even back then in diplomatic relations with cuba so that america could sell cuba much needed agriculture products, equipment and the fertilizer and the like and couldn't because of the embargo. do you think there will be pressure from the business community that will get those sanctions removed sooner and do you have an idea of the amount of dollars that will be possible in trade possibilities? >> indeed, the j already exports agriculture products to the united states. there's caveats on how cubans pay for these imports but it's not a coincidence that if you look a at the co sponsors of the bills introduced lately on lifting the embargo and travel ban, you will see many republicans from agriculture states sponsoring these bills. when you talk to people in congress, you hear the vocal minority opposing president obama on this, but then you hear

about meme, you hear about the possibility of there is a silent majority of members of congress who have never spoken on cuba before, this they might support opening up to the island, so indeed once these commercial interests are made clear, you will expect that congress sooner rather than later will take a decision to lift the embargo and the travel ban. >> thank you very much for joining us and sharing your insight. >> negotiators are giving themselves one more week to reach a deal over iran's nuclear program. the original deadline expired overnight, but an interim accord will remain in place. it imposed a freeze on the from for now. president obama said there remains deep seated disagreements and divisions. let's look at some of those ticking points, key issues, how much access international inspectors will have at iranian military facilities. the u.s. and its partners say

total access, the iranians are against that. another issue sanctions. iran insists they all must be lifted at the beginning of the deal. world powers favor easing the sanctions over a period of time. iran is against a 10 year freeze on its nuclear research. ali velshi is live in tehran this morning. we are getting reports that the iaea chief is going tomorrow to meet with iran's president. what can you tell us about that trim? >> this is being seen as a big development. the iaea, international atomic agency, as of late may this had become a serious sticking point between the p5 plus one the group negotiating with iran and the iranian government. in -- >> we have just lost the signal

live from tehran. we'll try to get that back and rejoin him for his assessment on the possibilities of reaching a deal with iran even as the deadline has been extended. greece has made an offer to its creditors one day after miss ago crucial debt payment. prime minister tsipras said he will approve an agreement as long as greece gets wiggle room. >> crowds lined up outside banks across greece this morning some branches opened doors but only to retirees who do not have bank cards. the focus turns to a referendum on sunday when voters will get a say over proposed austerity measures. we have the latest from athens.

>> the exceptions to what creditors have proposed to mr. tsipras, the greek prime minister is asking for is that great. it amount to say footnotery on essentially what is still the creditor's plan. the creditors had when they submitted this plan approached the greek positions to a very great extent, so this is largely something inspired by what the greeks have proposed last monday, as well. therefore, it is not unpalatable but still contains spending cuts. that is a red line that will have been crossed well that has been crossed really, now that mr. tsipras accepted it, because he's going to agree to fewer less money spent on pensions beginning immediately this year. i think that this document does give the greeks some hope today. >> let's go back live now to ali velshi in tehran. are you getting the sense that we are getting closer to a deal or is this deadline just pushed

farther and farther away? >> this very recent development that you were just talking about, the head of the iaea approximate, international atomic agency, responsible for monitoring nuclear installations around the word is coming to tehran on thursday, not just for anything. he is meeting with the president, president rouhani. this is important because on may 20, the ayatollah the supreme leader had said that iran will not accept a condition where their nuclear scientists are interviewed. the west is insisting the p5 plus one i also insisting that as part of that nuclear deal, the iaea is allowed to interview iran's nuclear scientists. iran said that its nuclear program is for peaceful energy generation only. as you know, there are some who

accuse iran of developing nuclear weapons. the negotiating team feels if they have access to these scientists, they can try and figure that out whether this is just for energy or whether there were nuclear bomb ambitions. iran said it would be an affront, an insult to have to have these scientists enter viewed and it was not going to happen. it was largely seen as a potential deal-breaker. i interviewed a professor at the university of tehran, very well versed on this, just yesterday. he said this is going to be the sticking point, if we get this far in the negotiations, this is where it could break down. the idea that the head of the iaea is coming to tehran to meet with the president of iran tomorrow could be a hopeful sign randall. >> let's talk about iranian citizens. after all, the sanctions have greatly impacted them. how are they reacting to news of this showdown, the sticking points, and do you think iranian citizens to the extent that you're able to ascertain what

they think in a society that isn't quite democratic, do you think they are in agreement with the government over holding fast to those demands? >> your second point is quite astute. we have been given by the iranian government remarkable latitude and freedom to ask people questions and move around. the issue is people sometimes choose as they do anywhere, but when there's a cameraman and reporter, choose not to tell you everything that they think. everybody tells me that iranians talk about politics all the time. i'm not able to gasoline from average iranians all that easily whether they agree with their government's position or think their government should do something differently in the negotiations. i will tell you this. i have not come across outright hatred for america. some animosity i have come across, some rooted in history some iranians have pride in their nuclear program but their economy is suffering.

their currency has devalued as a result of inflation and they want these sanctions lifted. the practicety of that is if a deal is arrived at, one of the sticking points again is when do these sanctions get lifted. the president has to give this to congress by july 9, this dole has to be done by the seventh to give it to congress by july 9. congress has 30 days before it will ratify it. if we don't get to the july 9 deadline, congress has 60 days to ratify it and no sanctions can be lifted whatsoever until this deal is ratified. we're months away and iranians have dealt with these sanctions for a while. frankly, i don't think they're entirely holding their breath, but if a deal is made, i think the streets of tehran around me, a city of 15 million people will come alive. there will be celebration if people think there is a future economically for them and that they'll prosper without sanctions. >> thank you. live from tehran, we look forward to your next report. >> authorities in south carolina are investigating a fire at a

black church. it is the seventh to burn across the south in the past few weeks. there was no one inside the church at the time. it was burned to the ground in 1995 by two former members of the ku klux klan. fire officials say it is too soon to know the causes of the fire. fires at six other predominantly black churches are being investigated. they do not appear to be related. >> torrential rain is pounding the south and moving up the eastern seaboard. this was battennage, louisiana last night and moved up the coast. >> a little hit and miss, but

it's a rough go in a few places this morning. we had flooding, including in texas and hit-miss thunderstorms across the country. we have a lot of instability out there. these are the scenes from texas yesterday. as we put the radar into motion, you can see a lot of general instability, but central u.s. into the northeast the square weather randall was talk about produced a lot of wind. that was the vast majority of reports was wind damage. you can see on the rarity how things have moved up. it's a slow go in massachusetts and rhode island with all of that rain, also lend to go some hit and miss flooding there more widespread as we get into the central united states, places like missouri. that's where the severe weather risk is bat today and into the day tomorrow is that central united states. one place too much rain, another place not enough, plus the heat, this is what it's causing in

washington. we have fire dangers up and down the west coast. that is because of excessive heat and dry conditions. we already know through the west coast, we have dry conditions. temperatures in the 90's and 100's continue to dry things out. widespread excessive heat advisories are going on through many states, especially oregon and washington where we aren't used to these hundreds for example, over the next couple of days. here's actual temperatures, redding at 109. washington where we just saw the fire looking at what they can do with fireworks possibly banning them for the fourth because it is so dry. >> they really need the rain. >> it is july 1. that means a number of new state laws take affect today indiana getting a much talked about religious freedom law earlier

allowing businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians. it is legal toll possess small amounts of marijuana in oregon. minnesota launches a medical marijuana program. >> claims of racial bias in two detroit communities. why were more buyouts offered in a majority white area, but not in one that is majority black?

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 7:51 eastern time. taking a look at today's top stories. a series of attacks this morning in egypt and military check points and police stations. officials say 35 people are dead

in north sinai and clashes are still ongoing this hour. a group linked to isil claims responsibility. egypt deployed fighter jets to the region to help the army. >> russian gas company has cut off supplies to ukraine after talks on a payment deal collapsed. ukraine for its part said it would stop buying russian gas saying a discount recovered by russia was not enough. the country will buy gas from other nations until an agreement is reached. >> the n.s.a. has begun gathering bulk phone records again, despite a new law banning it. that's because the u.s.a. freedom act allows it for 180 days while phone companies work to comply with the law. >> claims of racial discrimination against an oil remainry plant marathon expanded its detroit facility.

it sits between two communities one white, one black. residents say the company discriminated when it bought some homeowners out. bisi onile-ere has more. >> we don't live near the refinery, we live in the refinery. that's what it feels like. >> marathon oil sits between two residential communities. boynton which is predominantly black and a mostly white suburb. while embarking on a $2.2 billion expansion marathon offered to buy homes for as much as $50,000. more than 200 certificate oak wad heights residents accepted marathon's offer. in boynton only 10 homeowners out of hundreds were offered buyouts. some residents worry the air quality has led to asthma, respiratory issues and high incidences of cancer. >> would you want to live there? >> i would live there for the sense of community. if i had children, i would have to say i probably wouldn't raise

my children. >> detroit city councilwoman lopez represents the southwest detroit district. >> is there anything that you other city leaders can do to help these residents get out? is there any way that you can push marathon's hand to offer these residents buyouts? >> you can hear the answer to bisi onile-ere's question, as well as marathon oil's response tonight at 8:00 eastern. >> on the money beat, sprint will pay $50 million for adding unauthorized charges to customer's bills. the carrier joins verizon at&t and t mobile, which paid out after accused of cramming, when customers are automatically charged for a service they did not ask for. >> team u.s.a. is headed to the finals of the world's women's cup. surprising win over the number one team in the world.

>> after an hour of scoreless action with the royal cup final on the line, germany and the u.s.a. were looking for a hero. germany had a chance, but the shot missed the open net. minutes later america delivered. the goal would proof to be america's margin of victory just as her goal did against the chinese days earlier. that game was won team u.s.a. now advances to its fourth world

cup final. >> i think that we are extremely happy with the way we played. we're just so happy that we never stopped believing in our game plan and in ourselves. germany is a phenomenal team. it feels good to get a win over such a great team. >> team u.s.a. now advances to the final. they'll await the winner of tonight's matchup. team u.a.s. going for its third world cup title. >> al jazeera montreal. >> thank you for joining us. stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more on aljazeera america. keep up on aljazeera.com. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers.

>> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. no topic off limits. >> 'cause i'm like, "dad, there are hookers in this house". >> exclusive conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> these are very vivid, human stories. >> if you have an agenda with people, you sometimes don't see the truth. >> "talk to al jazeera". only on al jazeera america.

>> protestors are gathering... >> there's an air of tension right now... >> the crowd chanting for democracy...

>> this is another significant development... >> we have an exclusive story tonight, and we go live... >> a major step restoring relations between the u.s. and cuba reopening embassies. >> iran nuclear talks extended to hammer out a deal. >> another black church goes up in flames in the south the seventh in the past two weeks to burn. >> victory for team u.s.a., beating the world number one germany to advance to the

women's world cup finals. >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy, good morning. more than five decades that hostility between the u.s. and cuba are set to officially end today. president obama will announce this morning that both nation are formally restoring diplomatic relations and preparing to reopen embassies in havana and washington, closed in 1961. it represents a major foreign policy achievement for the president, but there will likely be opposition here in the u.s. with that michael shure is live in washington outside the cuban interest section slated to become the new cuban embassy. good morning. give us some of the details of how this is all going to unfold. >> good morning to you

stephanie, the way it's going to unfold is as you said, behind me the cuban interest section which takes up the swiss embassy here is going to be the cuban embassy. they just earlier this month put the flag pole, which you may or may not be able to see behind me in and that's presumably where the cuban flag will fly in d.c. the plan is for the president and john kerry to announce what has transpired and the fact that now, they are ready to open these embassies in both countries after a pretty quick about six months since december 17 when the president first announced this. >> quick time line, when you consider there were five decades of frozen relations michael. today's deal is the culmination of negotiations which began before both countries announced they were headed this way lately last year. remind us how we got to this point. >> well, we got to, january there are various reasons we got to this point, but on the plus

side of opening these relations between the two countries pope francis actually last year wrote a letter to both castro and president obama saying it might be time to do this. president obama made the announcement after, you know, meetings with high-ranking finishes at the vatican in october of last year, so the president made the announcement in december. then in panama in april of this year castro and president obama met, talked briefly about this and that's what brings us to today. of course, in congress, there are different sort of protocol that is have to be followed and one of those has to do with lifting the state sponsor of terrorism, which had been in place in cuba, a 45 day waiting period after that, as well. that brings us to today. >> there is vocal opposition in congress from certain republicans and democrats. how are they reacting to this announcement today? >> it coincides with the fact that marco rubio the son of

cuban immigrants, ted cruz the same very involved in this presidential election, jeb bush was governor of florida with the most announced cuban population lives. rand paul also running for penalty is the only announced candidate to voice support for this. congress can't do very much, even if marco rubio says that this is a bad move. congress can't do very much up until now. president obama is going to have to name an ambassador. there is rumors that is going to be jeffly delarentis. people like licensed graham running for president and others are going to fight the confirmation of an ambassador to cuba an many grounds some of which of retch reparations, as well, the giving back of property taken from residents in cuba.

>> we will have live coverage today starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern, right here on aljazeera america. the head of the u.n. watchdog agency will go to iran tomorrow to meet penalty rouhani. news of the trip cups as diplomatics in vienna continue negotiations. they've given themselves until next week to work out a deal over iran's nuclear program. an interim accord will remain in place in the meantime. president obama said there is a lot of work to do before reaching agreement. >> there has been a lot of talk on the other side from the iranian negotiators about whether they can abide by some of the terms that came up in lausanne. if they cannot, that's going to be a problem because i've said from the start, i will walk away from the negotiation if in fact it's a bad deal.

>> ali velshi is live in tehran this morning. good morning. let's start with this announcement that the iaea will be in iran tomorrow. a major sticking point is how much access there will be to iran's military sites. what more are we hearing about this visit? >> this is a particular important development. the head of the ieae are responsible for nuclear inspections around the world. one sticking point is can the west have access not only to the nuclear plant and other nuclear incidents lakes but whether or not it can interview nuclear scientists in iran. no one less than the ayatollah supreme leader has said as recently as may 20, absolutely not. it's a deal breaker an insult and an affront to iran to allow outsiders, as he said, foreigners, to interview nuclear

scientists. they want to interview scientists to determine whether iran is truthfully just pursuing nuclear power for energy reasons, or whether it's trying to make a bomb. they feel if they get access to the nuclear scientists, they can get further down that road. the idea that the head of the ieae is coming to iran to meet with the president of iran i think is a particularly important development. it means that the extension of these discussions we heard about yesterday until july 7 may bear fruit. we'll continue to report on it and find the out what it is they're discussing and that what come of it. it's seen here as a positive development. >> let's get to the street level view. how are iranians reacting to news of first of all yet another deadline extension. it was supposed to be yesterday that there was a deal struck and now we're looking at i believe july 7 right?

>> yeah, look, there's a lot of here we go again going on around here. we interviewed a lot of people. we've been here a do you days and talking to average iranians. we are not hearing a lot about people saying hey we think this deal's going to get done. they are mostly hopeful sanctions will be lifted. if sanctions were lifted without a deal getting done, that would make iranians happy. there is a great deal of pride around the nuclear program. the issue here is that the economy has stagnated inflation is rampant. want currency that devalued. there's no trade with much of the outside world so iranians want that to happen quickly. one of the things that the supreme leader called for is the immediate end of sanctions. the negotiating group is talking about the gradual suspension of some sanctions. what iranians want is the ability to trade with the outside world. you can't buy car parts or medicines, you can't wire money out of the country using the international banking system, machinery, all sorts of things

you can't do in iran, average people want to do that. they want to sell goods to the west things as basic as persian rugs that pile up here. they used to be sold in grand numbers to americans. doesn't happen anymore. >> you talk about the pride and the nuclear program. the iranians have always said this is a civilian nuclear energy program. do average iranian citizens have an opinion on sort of the specifics of the deal being negotiated? i know yesterday, you held up the front page of a local farsi newspaper. they seem to be accessing the same information as here. do they have an opinion on the specifics? >> they have get access to a lot of information. i on my phone can't get a lot of sites, they're blocked but iranians often have a way of getting around that. they see what the world is writing and saying about their program. there seems to be national pride in the idea no iran has been

able to develop nuclear capability on its own. it started with u.s. assistance many decades ago but has been able to develop it. the pride is that ran can be nuclear. the distinction between civilian power and weaponry is not one that i've been able to get from people i've spoken to, partially because they know i'm a western journalist and that is not a discussion they'll have with me. the official line that is iran is not pursuing nuclear arms capability. that is of course something that many in the west disagree with and disbelieve and that's why this inspections idea and the idea of interviewing these nuclear scientists is a big deal. generally speaking, the one piece of uniformity across the board here with people with whom i speak is that the sanctions are economically crippling, they are prepared to trade-off their nuclear ability whether it is civilian or otherwise in exchange for a lifting of those sanctions, increase in the

economy and greater prosperity for themselves and their families. >> one more question on the on going negotiations. president obama emhe will if a sides the success of this deal is up to the iranian negotiators, the ball is in their court. is that how they see it in tehran? >> no. the rhetoric, iranians are clear if the west -- the newspaper today said if the west does not live up to its commitments iran will forge ahead with its nuclear program stronger than before. they see it as the west having to live up to commitments. the way when you talk to people about sanctions here, there isn't a discussion about iran has done certain things that have isolated it from the world the international community and had sanctions. the west imposed sanctions on iran because iran will not do the west's i had abouting. they see here these negotiations

as being about the west having economistments. if the west fulfills commitments, iran will not enriching uranium to the degree it has. the rhetoric sounds very similar on both sides. >> you can see more coverage from iran on "on target" this evening. >> greece made an offer to creditors one day after missing a crucial debt payment tsipras saying he will receive an offer as long as greece gets wiggle room with pension and labor spending. he's expected toe speak in a few minutes. greece has also asked for a bailout extension and a new round of rescue loans. the focus now turns to a referendum sunday when voters get a say over proposed austerity measures. we have the latest from athens. >> he's offering to cult roughly $700 million worth of spending on pensions this year, and about

$2 billion next year. that's what was in the latest plan submitted by creditors. it came close to what the greeks submitted earlier. he's agreeing to that. he's also agreeing to raise $650 million more consumer tax on retail goods. he's going to have to raise $2 billion more than previously foreseen next year. these are and you say severity measures. there's no question about it. they are measures that take money out of the economy and put it in state coffers. now the government has said that it's going to ask for the delay of the implementation of certain measures, such as a review of pension spending and a review of labor law until october of this year. it's essentially agreeing to reviews and to those reforms. it's just a question of a few months, putting them back a little. it's also trying to sweeten the pill, the fact that it

capitulated to this negotiation to the creditors' demand by asking for a two year moratorium on debt payment that's a form of bankruptcy protection during which it would like the european stability mechanism a large fund that's supposed to help distressed government pick up its debt payments for the next 24 months. it's also asking for a third bailout loan of 29 billion euros, according to reports that has not yet been fully confirmed. >> the latest from athens. a journalist for the greek daily newspaper has been rallying in athens with other anti austerity protestors. thank you so much for being with us this morning. that one day there is a call for referendum, the next day the

country defaults and we are hearing tsipras may be making concession to say creditors. is the referendum meaningless at this point? >> the referendum is not meaningless. for the past five months, the greek government has been trying to negotiate under a very hostile atmosphere. for the past five months, the greek government has been making compromise after compromise, yet the creditors didn't seem to be satisfied enough. alexis tsipras announced on saturday that a referendum was the only choice for the people to decide whether they can't more austerity by accepting the creditor's proposals or whether they want to say no to austerity by saying no to the creditors' proposal. that is the exact question. although the opposition is trying to present this referendum as a referendum, as a

question of -- or not. of course this is not the case. >> we are hearing this morning that tsipras is agreeing to some of these concessions. we assume he is agreeing to more austerity, and that is happening before the referendum this weekend, so is that not viewed as a betrayal or all of you no voters? >> >> the banks have caused this asphyxiation in greece. the society is being more and more polarized by the hour. it's not exactly a betrayal. it's a last minute compromise to avoid all this drama. >> tell me about what things have been like there in athens. what have tensions been like there, because the country is divided on how to tackle the

debt crisis. >> the past five years actually, i would like to talk to you about what we have been going through for the past five years. i know that in the states, you may think that greece is a sunny country with lovely sun sets and islands, but the daily lives of the greek people have been terribly affected by this crisis. the unemployment has skyrocketed the past five years the youth unemployment is around 60% and the general rate 27%. wages these past five years fell by 36% and pensions fell by 48%. the g.d.p. fell 25%. we have kids failing at schools.

we have people leaving their homes. we have people with no electricity in their homes. we have been going through a terrible, terrible humanitarian crise. this society is divided but the pro no people are owe open it's not as if it's a horizontal thing, 50% of the societies pro no, 50% pro yes. according to a recent poll, the no has maintained, despite the capitol controls that have created fear among the greek society remain no, remains higher than the yes. the people who are pro no are mangily the young working class, the poor. the people who are pro yes are people of hiring terms who still maintain a better lifestyle. >> we're going to have to leave it there. thank you so much for your perspective from athens. appreciate your time.

>> an update now on the debt crise in puerto rico. it is unclear whether the island can meet a $400 million obligation due today. puerto rico owes $7.3 billion, which the governor says is unpayable. federal law prohibits granting bankruptcy to puerto rico, because it is a u.s. territory around not a state. some democratic lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to change that. >> the n.s.a. has begun gathering bulk phone records again for its surveillance program. the temporary data collection was all of the rides despite a new law banning it. the freedom act allows phone data to be collect for 180 days while phone companies work to comply with the new law. >> the u.n. is expected to add yemen to the world says most severe humanitarian crise. food, fuel and head 16 are all in short supply there. >> abortion rules go into effect in tennessee requiring a woman wait 48 hours before getting an

abortion. some clinics will be required to meet the same standards as outpatient surgical facilities. >> twitter c.e.o. stepped down today. the company founder will be the interim c.e.o. until there's a replacement. >> rain is pounding the south moving up the eastern seaboard this morning. this was bat ronage, louisiana. late last night there were similar scenes in cities across a stretch of 1,000 miles, severe thunderstorms whipped wind and brought hail from florida to new york bringing down tree trees and power lines. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell for more on what we can expect. good morning. >> good morning. that car in louisiana, don't do that! don't drive in there. when you say a water. when you get yourself stuck that does a number on the engine. you don't want that employee that was lose lose, some of the same ban caused flood in florida and texas and now this morning it is the central united states

up through the northeast. let's look at the radar to see the current stuff going on. we have widespread instability. you can see especially in places like missouri this morning and up through the northeast. as that system went through wind damage the big thing. clearing trees this morning that also means power lines are down and still heavy rain, boston a slow go because of that although it's cleared out in new york city. the biggest flooding area, missouri stretching into parts of kentucky because that's where the heavy rain and the severe risk are today. you can see that slight risk today and then into tomorrow, it kind of stays in the same portion of the country. so from too much rain to not enough. the west coast already has drought conditions. you add to that the excessive heat and we have scenes like this. this is out of washington state where we have a couple different large fires going on, but we've had fires all up and down the coastline because of the hot conditions.

let's look at where we're looking at some of that excessive heat. these are temperatures in some cases 20 degrees above normal, that means places like seattle 80s today possible 90's tomorrow. they're very concerned about the fourth of july and fireworks possibly looking to ban some of that going on. >> what a contrast around the country. good to see you thanks. >> still to come, the supreme court set to take a case that could further weaken unions. >> busting down the barriers in ballet dancing her way into history. to the isil position >> who is in charge, and are they going to be

held to accout? >> but know we're following the research team into the fire >> they're learning how to practice democracy... >> ...just seen tear gas being thrown... >> ...glad sombody care about us man... >> several human workers were kidnapped... >> this is what's left of the hospital >> is a crime that's under reported... >> what do you think... >> we're making history right now... >> al jazeera america

>> welcome to al jazeera america. away leadership shakeup at the new york prison where two murderers escaped last month, 12 employees on leave including the superintendent and his deputy. nine guards have been sidelined. two others were arrested for their roles in the escape. one inmate is in the hospital, the other killed by police last week. >> beginning today, new york city is banning styrofoam. restaurants stores and

manufacturers will be fined if they have use any products made of the material. it was band after the department of sanitation determined it cannot be recycled. >> mcdonald's i guess raising the salary for minimum wage workers by one dollar an hour, benefiting 90,000 workers at company owned locations. it will not impact employees who work for franchises. >> california has one of the strictest school vaccine allows in the country now the governor signed the measure tuesday requiring nearly all public school children to be vaccinated. medical exemptions will still be granted for children with serious health issues. parents cannot opt out because of their personal or religious beliefs. >> the supreme court has decided to hear a case this fall that could impact unions. the case was brought by a group of california public school teachers challenge a requirement that forces them to pay dues,

even though they opted out of the union. the teachers say the rule invites their first amendment rights. >> two men tortured by the c.i.a. and held 10 years bit u.s. have been returned to tunisia. they were detained at black sites before transferred to the u.s. military prison at baghram air base in afghanistan. the international justice network represented both men. they still have questions about how the men wound up detained. >> the u.s. government has never had to justify the detention of either man and we have never been able to get any information from the u.s. government either about why they've held them so long. the united states courts have refused to hear the cases of these men. our organization did bring habeas corpus petitions asking the united states courts to require the u.s. government to give evidence why they were detaining them and u.s. courts said we don't have jurisdiction.

it's really important to remember what happened to these men is a crime. i think a lot of people view torture as an unfortunate part of war as something that is a moral issue, a political issue a campaign issue. it is a crime and there needs to be justice for those who are victimized by this crime. they were in custody for so long that they did not know if they would ever be free again. i think that if you're ever in that position and you're reds, the only thing you care about is remaining free with your loved ones starting a life again as a free person that is no longer behind bars. >> the senate intelligence committee found the men were each tortured for hundreds of days. >> indiana's religious freedom restoration act takes effect today. >> live in indianapolis, the governor promised to fix to that religious freedom law.

many here fear they'll face discrimination. >> diving on australia's great barrier reef. what's down there is spectacular, but it's at risk. while explain what farmers are doing on land that is largely to blame.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. angry crowds are gathered outside banks in greece after some branches reopen to let retirees get pensions. >> it's unclear whether puerto rico will meet he a deadline to pay creditors. officials say the territory simply cannot pay the money. puerto rico cannot file bankruptcy, because u.s. law

prohibits it. >> president obama is expected to announce an agreement to reopen embassies in washington and havana. the two countries haven't had formal diplomatic relations since 1961. that announcement has some in cuba and the u.s. cheering. others are worried about the impact. some fear it could change a long standing u.s. policy towards cuban migrants. >> cubans who migrate here are granted special immigration privileges as soon as they set foot on american soil, but if captured at sea turned back. it's from the cold war era when the u.s. welcomed exile else escaping communism. it is causing some cubans to russia here. >> this is the moment 10 cubans set foot on u.s. soil.

their arrival in may captured by a florida resident. what should have taken 20 hours became a five day journey on this homemade boat, use ago bucket to bail out water along the way. >> you see walking very, very bad. >> they ran out of food and by the fifth day lost hope. >> we thought we'd never see land. we were about to put amast and just let the wind drift us away. >> moments later a sliver of land in the distance. florida. he said this was his second attempt as coming here, rushing for fear the u.s. will change its preferential treatment towards cubans. under the act migrants intercepted at sea are sent back. those who touch american soil can stay and later apply for residency. it's called the wet foot-dry foot policy. >> we're seeing an uptick in activity.

>> the coast guard have seen a spike in cubans coming here since the u.s. announced normalizing relations with havana. 37% more cubans of taken to the sea compared to last year. he and his fellow migrants are at a hotel room paid for my a non-profit partly funded by the u.s. government. they can apply for refugee benefits. up to $180 monthly for the first eight months, welfare programs like medicaid and food stamps and job placement assistance. many can eventually travel back to cuba. the exodus helped spark the wet foot dry foot policy. garcia and more than 30,000 fled the island, picked up at sea sent to guantanamo and later brought to the u.s. >> today garcia helps fellow cubans come here. >> is it fair for cubans to have a special treatment in the u.s.

when other immigrants from other countries don't have that same right? >> it's fair and it is not fair. the cuban is the same of from beans, with mexico people with one difference. that country is democratic country. we have the big difference. we live under the communism regiment. >> this man doesn't think the policy is fair but benefits him and he's happy to be here. calling the u.s. paradise, he says risking his life for it was worth it. >> america. >> america! we are here! >> yay! >> so in congress want to change the policy, sake it should only be reserved for political refugees who won't return until communism ends in cuba. the obama administration plans to stick to the law as it stands. >> thank you. >> a new religious freedom law

goes into effect in indiana revised version passed this spring that led to boycott threats. the legislature quickly moved to change the law. jonathan betz is live in indianapolis this morning. you've been reporting on this since the law was initially passed. what's the reaction there this morning? >> i think a lot of people are curious to see how this law is going to play out here in indiana. when it was introduced in march it sparked controversy people upset about it. a fix was created. a lot of people worry this problem is far from solved. >> in indiana there's been plenty to celebrate. activists say plenty of work left to do. >> the opportunity for discrimination is alive and well in indiana. >> months after i go nateing a fire storm indiana's religious freedom restoration act goes into effect wednesday. >> this does not give businesses the right to deny service to say

anyone. >> in march the governor offered a fix to protect gays and lesbians called anti discrimination safeguards. since the calls for boycott faded, anger eased yet concern is still very real. >> nothing happened that all of a sudden they felt the need to protect people's religious freedoms. >> a fear is shared across the country. >> you may kiss one another. >> although gays can now married, in many places, they can still face discrimination. >> one example that people still carry a fear is that you will get married come home and your boss will fire you. >> only 22 states consider gays and lesbians a protected class. indiana's not one of them. in much of the state people can still be evictimmed evicted or fired for being gay. angie's list expansion is on hold. indiana's been working to woo

back businesses, spending $2 million to rebuild its brand. >> the state of indiana's brand has obviously taken a hit. it's been very visible highly visible backlash from across different sectors. >> some say religious freedom laws are needed now more than ever. if anyone is facing discrimination, they argue it's the faithful. >> i believe there is backlash. >> pastor mike woods offers child care and counseling through his church but is against same-sex marriage. yesterday, he said a restaurant chain told him it was stopping donations. >> the manager called. she was heartbroken but she said we just changed our policy. we no longer serve religious organizations. >> although that company can choose not to donate. woods worry christian businesses won't be able to choose whom they serve. >> if they really believe they should not have to serve a same sex wedding the same we i would not perform a same sex wedding

they should be protected. >> groups are encouraging laws to protect organizations against gase. activists worry unless a state or federal law is passed, many gays and lesbians will remain unprotected. >> authorities in south carolina are investigating a fire at a black church. there are six other fires at black churches. they do not appear to be related. >> a controversial shooting in washington state, five months ago, a migrant farmworker was

killed by a police officer. video ignited outrage. there's no word on charges. we have this report. >> antonio zambrano's parents their attorneys and the prosecutor met in the franklin county courthouse for a considerable length of time discussing this case and the information that is going to be released to the public about the shooting of antonio zambrano. they know more now about what happened this night february 10. zambrano causing a disruption, disturbance on a busy intersection in moscow was confronted by police, unable to subdue him. eventually they chased him down, shot him and killed him on the sidewalk in front of a local cafe. his parents meeting today with franklin county prosecutor don't mind that it's taken more than four and a half months to get to this point. they say as far as justice for their son is concerned, they are prepared to wait. no charges have been brought against the three police

officers involved, although one of them has resigned. >> george trayo represents zambranos widow and daughters. you metals with the prosecutor. did he give you an appropriate amount of information that came out of that special investigation? >> well, he gave us the information that came out of the s.i.u. investigation. whether or not it's an appropriate amount, one never knows, but there's sufficient information contained in those reports to justify charging the officers for shooting an unarmed man simply because they didn't obey him. >> the prosecutor did not comment, saying he's not going to at this juncture. did he give indication to you of a time line for bringing any criminal charges? >> no, he didn't give one precise determination. i think he's torn by the decision of the coroner to ask

for an in quest. >> still expecting an in quest to follow. that could happen later on in the summer, even as late as september. thank you very much, appreciate your time. >> more information will be released to the public. we will be here and will check on what's in that information release when it happens. >> genetically engineered crops can be grown on the hawaiian island of maui according to a federal judge. we have covered this story here on aljazeera america. a judge said an ordinance banning the cultivation of g.m.o.'s was invalid. the judge stressed her order only addresses the question of authority, not whether g.m.o.s are safe. >> this week, a u.n. agency will announce when that this will happen. >> diving on it, most threat to say australia's great barrier

reef around that obvious. although half of it has disappeared over the last 30 years, choose your spot carefully and there are bright corals and plenty of fish. the coal ports built along the closest coast are from here, far out of sight. one threat once pointed out is too obvious the spikey crown of thorns star fish. there is a a playing of them. they feed on coral and can be toxic to fish. a team of people are fighting back injecting the star fish with poison. it works but is a huge effort. >> the damage to the coral is quite amazing. the coral is facing enough threats as it is. the crown of thorns star fish is if i havely something we can do something about.

>> one star fish can produce 60 million eggs a year. >> there have been outbreaks of crown of thorn star fish in the past, but this latest one is the worst. its human activities on land are largely to blame. >> growing sugar contain is big business on australia's east coast. it's farmers use fertilizers. when the excess washes off the land into the sea the fertilizers feed the plankton. this farmer applies fertilizers much more precisely. >> we provide chemicals in 40% of the area. >> once you'd have put it everywhere. >> oh, yes. >> runoff from the property, what we do on this land does affect the reef.

>> a relatively young farmer around here, getting his older neighbors to change things isn't easy. president obama said he was worried about the great barrier reef and wanted it to be there for his yet unborn grandchildren. his concern echos the united nations. action is needed for the reef to survive. al jazeera an australia's great barrier reef. >> people are calling it the bethlehem star. if you looked up last night you may have seen it. jupiter and venus aligned. the planets appeared almost as one giant star. two planets line up frequently. last night, they were unusually close. >> team u.s.a. is headed to the women's world cup finals after defeating top ranked germany last night. we are live from montreal. a major victory for the american women. how did they pull this off? >> certainly after an hour of

scores action, with the world cup final on the land, germany and u.s.a. needed a hero. only one got one. >> shoots, scores. >> perfect penalty kick from carley lloyd. minutes later lloyd feeds kelly o'hare, for the clincher. a stunning 2-060ry for team u.s.a. >> she mirksed!

>> missing very wide left on a penalty kick in the 59th 59th minute, even as solo dove the other way. >> there were opportunities but we didn't follow through. we could have scored goals that would have come on top of it all. we felt we were playing downfield well, but when it came to the front of goal, we weren't efficient. that was our problem today. >> team u.s.a. was in the number two spot. the americans won the tournament in 1991 and 1999. now, after losing to japan in the 2011 finals, team u.s.a. is back for another shot at the title. >> it feels good right now but we're not finished. we have one more game, so so far, feels awesome but we still have a job to do. >> that game will be on sunday in vancouver. team u.s.a. will faceoff against japan or england depending who wins today. >> you might remember that japan was a team that ousted team u.s.a. from the world cup finals

back in 2011. team u.s.a. will be going for its third ever world cup title sunday in vancouver. back to you. >> john, thank you. >> medical marijuana dispensaries opened in minnesota today. some say the rules are so restrictive, the drug won't actually help the people who may benefit most. >> she was told she was too old too muscular. now this ballerina is proving naysayers wrong dancing her way into the history books.

>> about 1200 prisoners including al-qaeda suspects escaped a prison in southern yemen. officials are unsure how they got out but happened during clashes in taiz. this is the third breakout in yemen. >> a review of the country's air force fleet after a jet went down, 130 people were killed in that the jet was carrying soldiers and their families. the president of indonesia ordered a full investigation into the cause. >> recreational marijuana is legal in oregon effective today. people 21 and over can use the drug and grow up to four marijuana plants. they can give small amounts as gifts.

there are still legal hurdles before a marijuana market is up and running there. some say they will try to block retail outlets. >> medical marijuana dispensaries are opening for the first time in minnesota today. the options are limited for patients suffering epilepsy, cancer and h.i.v. the centers will not sell possibility to the smoked. it will only offer pills and oils. just eight patient centers across the state will be permitted to sell marijuana products. the marijuana policies project representative joins us. they were involved in the passage of this legislation. people who support legalization are not exactly celebrating this law in minnesota because of how restrictive it is. >> that's correct. the law itself is a pretty restrictive law. that said, i do think this law's going to offer hope and relief to quite a bit seriously ill

people in minnesota and we're thrilled about that. >> there are eight dispensaries, but a lot of people that may need or want the drug live far from these centers. are we going to see people having to drive hundreds of miles to get their prescription? >> unfortunately probably. i mean with the law only allowing for eight locations spread out across the entire state of minnesota, you know, unfortunately, there's necessarily going to be some people who don't live close to those locations. they'll probably have to be silented in the major population areas of the state. people who live out of state may have to drive hours to get medicines that their doctors recommend they use. >> there's a limited number of medical conditions, which would allow to you get a prescription. does that mean that doctors are the arbiters of whether a patient qualifies for a prescription? >> well, regardless of the condition, doctors will be the ones who write the recommendation to allow an

individual to use. you are right that the list of enumerated conditions is quite restrictive. the law fails to include chronic pain, which is a problem because we see opiate use diminish in states that allow marijuana to treat the pain. >> what about the cost of the drug, $300 to $500 a month does that reflect the prices for medical marijuana in other states? >> i'm not sure if it reflects the prices. i think it is high. you'd have to speak to one of the manufacturers themselves he about the pricing. i imagine the restrictions on patients not being able to use marijuana in its natural state having to use it in a concentrated formed a unnecessary cost. >> could minnesota lead to other

states using a compromise law? >> other states are considering similar legislation. i would caution those states to look at the programs in new mexico, and other states that have had existing medical marijuana programs that have been working well for a good five, six years before trying to imitate minnesota's law. >> robert, thank you. >> on the cult e. beat this morning, bell arena misty copeland made history the first african-american woman to be named principle dancer at the american ballet theater coming a week after her lead debut in swan lake. randall pinkston has more. she was a voice for diversity long before this milestone. >> absolutely. her story is unique in american ballet. she is using her fame to make the path easier for those who

came off the her. she grew up in a poor household in california but did not allow critics to stop her from getting to a.b.t. >> misty take a bow. >> she used to applause, but this moment, captured tuesday is historic. the 32-year-old ballerina just learned she was promoted to the highest rank of the american ballet theater becoming the first african-american female principle dancer in the company's 75 year history. >> i am just so honored company extremely honored to be a principle dancer, to be an african-american and to be in this position. >> her promotion comes details after the lead in swan lake, that performance marking another historic achievement to her repertoire as the first black dance tore star in the production. >> it's been a long journey but is just the beginning.

>> coming at the age of 13, a late start, she was told by detractors. that struggle documented in this commercial for under armor that racked up more than 8 million views on you tube. >> dear candidate, thank you for your application to our bali academy, unfortunately, you have not been accepted. >> since that time, she has soared, while silencing critics. she joined a.b.t. at 17, went on to become a soloist dancing in performances and has leaped into other anyone venues that have he hali made her the most famous ballerina in the u.s. copeland has been the subject of a documentary at this year's tribeca film festival, the offer of a best selling memoir and appeared on the cover of time magazine as one of the most influential figures of 2015. those achievements copeland told al jazeera in february, shadowed

by some moments of doubt about a young black girl competed as a ballerina in a world with mostly white dancers. >> did you ever envision that is what your life could be? >> no. >> it's still hard to accept that it's a reality. >> i don't know, again i'm just so humbled and grateful for the background that i have and the situations i've been through and just to still be standing. >> that is an interview from richelle carey which will be playing later this week. people who attended her swan lake debut said the crowd was much more diverse than usual. she is getting support from all kinds of fans. several people took to social media to congratulate her

including oprah winfrey and hillary clinton. >> african-americans have had a hard time gaining traction despite presence in many other dance companies. i have seen her many times as a ballet fan and she is definitely deserving of the principle title. thanks so much. >> a group of girl scouts have become the first to camp out on the white house lawn. the obama's paid the girls a visit and enjoyed stories and songs. the first lady invited the group as part of her initiative to reduce childhood obesity. >> the camp out didn't last long, heavy rains forced them to a building nearby. >> the music continues next from doha. we will bring you the president's announcement on the restoration of relations with cuba live at 11:00 a.m. eastern. thanks so much for watching.

>> the technology is there... why isn't being done more? how to make recycling work... >> when these different plastics are blended then the recycling becomes difficult, to impossible. >> can we fix america's plastic problem? >> we can't unscramble an egg... >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> i'm standing in a tropcal wind storm... >> ...can effect and surprise us... >> wow, these are amazing... >> techknow, where technology meets humanity! only on al jazeera america

>> welcome to the news hour from doha. egypt's army is under attack in sinai. dozens of soldiers have been killed. it comes one day after president sisi vowed to crack down on terrorists. >> greece offers concession to say creditors in a bid to secure a bailout but it may be too little, too late. >> one small parcel, food for five days. we take you inside a