the first budget for 19 years or whatever it is and they thought let's have a big strike. >> reporter: officially the strike will end on thursday evening, but services will be disrupted for rush hour on friday morning. and you can keep up to date at aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. ladies and gentlemen, doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do. >> south carolina moves to take the confederate flag off of the state capitol grounds. the effort took all night, and the governor is set to signoff in just a few hours, and reaching the end game in the nuclear talks with iran and major issues remaining on the table as the latest self imposed deadline approaches.

and an unprecedented humanitarian toll. the report showing the devastating impact from syria's civil war. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm randall pinkston. in just a few hours, south carolina governor nikki haley is set to sign legislation removing the confederate flag from the state capitol grounds. the flag will be taken down and moved into a museum. diane eastabrook has more from columbia. >> reporter: the governor plans to sign the flag legislation at 4:00 this afternoon at the state house. it comes hours after a marathon session in the house of representatives. the final vote came at about 1:00 am and followed more than

13 hours of often contentious debate. >> there has been an absolute evidence of a double standard or duel standard shown to me today. >> grace is not something that we earn. grace is something that comes to us unearned. >> reporter: the push to remove the flag followed the killings of nine black church gooders last month. south carolina republican venntive jenny horn had attended the funeral for one of the victims. in one of the most emotional speeches last night, she said it was time for her colleagues to act. >> and for the widow of senator pinckney and his two young daughters, that would be adding insult to injury! and i will not be a part of it! >> reporter: it has been a striking change in a state where the confederate flag has flown on or at the capitol for decades. it status protected by a lawyer

that required supermajors of both houses to take the flag down. the flag is scheduled to come down around 10:00 tomorrow morning. baltimore police have a new leader, the deputy commissioner is now in charge. the mayor fired the commissioner after a spike in violence and murders in the city. his dismissal come threes months of riots triggered by the suspicious death of freddie gray. we spoke earlier with the gray family attorney. and he says he was not surprised the commissioner was dismissed. >> when you have an entrenched older group of police officers that are used to doing it in the same old rotten way, and that blue wall of silence which keeps other police officers from bringing them in to justice, and you have a command structure that is on the lower levels

hostile to the new command structure that bats implemented, you have a department that is at war with itself and is doing everything on the lower levels below bats' command struggle to resist these changes. this is a -- a -- a -- a failed effort to reform this department, and it's going to take a whole lot more than a new commissioner to do it. >> attorney murphy says he wants the federal government to appoint a monitor to oversee the baltimore police department. greek leaders are finalizing their latest bailout offer. the defense minister says it will be submitted in the next few hours. the plan is due to go to european officials by the end of the day. germany's finance minister says that europe will not cancel any of greece's loans. there is a sense of optimism

today in vienna that the u.s. and five other nations will be able to reach a nuclear deal with iran. secretary of state john kerry is due to speak about it in the next hour. the next deadline is about 13 hours away at midnight u.s. time. if the obama administration does not hand congress an agreement by then the congressional review period will double to 60 days. ali velshi has more from tehran. >> reporter: as thursday comes to an end in tehran still no word on a deal for the nuclear negotiations in vienna. however, good tone of optimism coming out of iranian media. there seems to be some sort of press offensive starting this morning when the iranian foreign minister said that world powers are closer together than they ever have been. but that there are political decisions that remain to be made. political decisions mean that much of the technical stuff has been worked out.

there is agreement on language and things like that but people have to say yes or no to the deal coming out of tehran. hard liners are stepping up their offensive in iran against such a deal. they are expecting some demonstrations tomorrow, friday in iran whether or not there is a deal. there are reports in iranian media that the deadline has been extended to monday that has not been confirmed -- in fact it has been denied off of the record by some people in vienna. but lots of journalists coming in this here more people talking about the fact that there may be a deal. there is a sense that this is as close as anybody has ever been to getting a deal in the almost three decades of various sanctions imposed upon iran. there is also a sense that if the powers negotiating don't take this opportunity to close the deal they may not get this close again. a welcome round of applause as the new york stock exchange

opened this morning. [ bell chimes ] [ applause ] >> the market appears to be trading normally one day after computer troubles caused it to shut down for three half nours. the stock exchange blames the outage on a software problem. asian stock markets rose today as beijing took further steps to avoid a huge selloff. more than $3 trillion in value have been wiped away. mary snow has more on the impact to the global economy. >> reporter: the losses have been staggering. china's main stock index has lost more than 30% since the middle of june and markets around the globe are rattled. the question being asked from think streets of beijing to the white house, what is next? >> we do live in an age where our global markets are interconnected and interrelated

and activity we do see in one market could have an impact on other markets. >> reporter: put simply if consumers in china, the word's second largest economy slow their spending the pain will be felt far outside of its borders, but just how bad can it get for the u.s.? >> can china if they have a really sharp slowdown can that exert some slowing influences on the u.s. economy? yes. but is a slowdown in china going to cause another recession here in the united states? probably not. >> reporter: and then there's the dollar. it has been rising against the backdrop of worry not only coming from china, but also from the seemingly imminent default of greece. if in response to fear investors continue to seek safety the dollar could continue to strengthen. and that has the potential to hurt exporters hoping to sell their goods abroad. mary snow, al jazeera. there was some tough

questions today for the president's nominee to be the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. he went before the senate committee for his confirmation hearing. he was asked about military spending and the growing number of cyber attacks on government and corporate entities. but he says the greatest threat to america's national security today is russia. >> in russia we have a nuclear power. we have one that not only has the capability to violate the sovereignty of our allies and do things that are inconsistent with our national interest but they are in the process of doing so. so if you want to talk about a nation that would pose a threat to the united states i would have to point to russia. >> he says if confirmed he wants to reassess the u.s. strategy against isil. boko haram has reportedly offered to release 219 schoolgirls held captive for

more than a year in exchange for detained leaders by the group. the offer is similar to one made last year. that deal fell through at the last minute. new numbers from the united states show the devastating impact of the civil war in syria, more than 4 million people have now fled the country to escape fighting. another 7.5 million have been displaced inside syria. as our correspondent reports, it is the world's worst refugee crisis in more than two decades. >> reporter: 4 million and counting. refugees in jordan's camp didn't think the conflict in syria would last this long or force this many people out of their country. this is one of the camp's oldest drenthss. he says two and a half years later he has finally adjusted to life as a refugee, but had this reaction when we told him the number of refugees in the region had reached 4 million. >> translator: this is a disaster. it means the entire population will eventually be displaced. this makes me feel that their

conflict will drag on for years. >> reporter: from the camp's oldest residence, to its newest arrives, this man had lived in the camp before deciding to survive on his own in the boarder town. but he returned to the camp two months ago. >> translator: i left the camp because my children couldn't survive the scorching heat of the summer. i had to pay rent and it was so expensive. refugees have to pay for a lot of services outside of the camp so i was forced to return. >> reporter: when asked what they want from the international community many say they want an end to the carnage in syria. the united nations has called the syrian refugee crisis the worst humanitarian disaster in recent history. almost half of the people in syria have been displaced including 4 million who have been forced to leave for jabing countries like jordan and

according to aid sees there is no sign of when these refugees will be able to return home. the u.n. says the international community has been generous but the scale of the syrian crisis is so big that donors are thinking about how funding can be sustained as the conflict continues. >> already this year people have less access to services. there are already agencies having to cut back on assistance. it's pushing them back to the camps, which are funded entirely by the international community or pushing them even to return to syria. and when you have families telling you i'm going back because i can't earn a living here and they would prefer to live in a war sewn you know how desperate they are. >> reporter: the u.n. says around 80% of refugees areallying below the poverty line. another 70% are sending their children out to beg and are engaging and degrading or illegal work. many say this is a sign of how desperate people have become.

daniel is the policy lead on syria for oxfam. he says a lack of aid is presenting a new challenge. >> for too long the generosity of syria's neighbors has been taken for granted, that is coming to an end at the exact time when aid funding for the aid response is drying up. and unfortunately those that are paying the heaviest price is the refugees who have fled the terrible conflict inside syria. . >> he sited changes in the world food program that will stop providing rations for refugees in jordan next month. putting economic pressure on israel. ♪

israel's prime minister says the country is working to gain the release of two citizens it just revealed of being held in gaza. at least one of the two authorities say is being held by hamas. the israeli government isn't revealing the circumstances behind the capture or why it was made public. a spokesman for hamas also declined commitment. the united states is israel's closest ally but some americans changed their minds about israel after seeing the scenes of destruction in gaza one year ago. now they are trying to promote change by altering what they buy. patricia sabga explains. >> reporter: applying economic pressure to end israel's occupation of palestinian land. the core strategy of bds, boycott, divestment and sanctions.

♪ a global citizen-lead movement that has seen a surge in u.s.-based support since last year's gaza war. >> the movement has grown tremendously because of the devastating impact the gaza war had on palestinians. >> reporter: this month the united church of christ -- >> i come from a family of holocaust survivors, and so it is with sadness and pain that i urge you to vote yes. >> -- overwhelmingly adopted a bds resolution to divest from firms bound to profit from the occupation. >> while our investments may not have the financial impact that might be necessary do change the situation of occupation, this is a clear moral voice. >> reporter: one that is

reverberating on u.s. college campuses where groups have helped organize at least 16 successful student bds referendums this academic year. nearly as many as the previous ten years combined. ♪ killing me softly with your bombs ♪ the bds movement always claimed victory in may when r&b star lauren hill sited her desire not to alienate palestinian or israeli fans lead to her cancellation of her concert. >> stand with us as become one of the largest and most effective proisrael organizations in the world. anti-bds group stand with

us says it organized more than 600 events on campuses this year. >> it has been a call for supporters of israel on campus to circle the wagons and to get more active. >> reporter: a circle that includes includes las vegas billionaire who pledged and is raising millions to combat bds on campus. lawmakers are also stepping up efforts. championing a wave of anti-bds legislation, including a provision tucked to the promotion authority bill president obama recently signed into law. >> peace. >> when do we want it? >> now. >> reporter: but bds supporters say that just legitimates their kwauz. >> there is a quote that says first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight

you, and then you win. and it feels like we're in theired stage. activists say some communities near chick are providing safe havens for selling illegal guns. and the not so bright side of solar energy where solar panels are creating a unique problem in hawaii.

a group of activists and attorneys in chicago are suing some local communities over gun sales. the suit claims local governments are actually providing a safe haven for illegal transactions. ashar qureshi has more. >> reporter: another holiday weekend in chicago marred by intense gun violence. >> right here in the street. >> reporter: the chicago police increased the number of officers on streets by 30%. part of the problem say city officials a lack of gun control and ineffective penalties. >> people do not go to jail for illegal guns if they feel

repercussions from the gang that they belong to for losing the gun outweighs the criminal justice sanctions, we're going to stay in the position that we're in. >> reporter: in this an unusual move this week a group of activists and a coalition of attorneys filed a civil rights lawsuit against three neighboring chicago suburbs that they say provide a safe haven for chicago gun shops. the lawsuit points to a report released last year indicating that nearly 20% of guns recovered from crime scenes in chicago were sold legally by only four dealers just outside of the city. the lawsuit also claims that this is disproportionately jeopardizing the rights of black americans. >> we think that everybody owes it to the people of chicago, particularly the african american population that is the

disproportion at it victim of gun violence in chicago to try to stop it and make sure the flow of illegal guns for illegal purposes isn't killing people. >> illinois does not license and regulate gun dealers operating in the state instead leaving it up to cities to control. additional states require dealers to conduct background checks retain reports of sales or report sales to law enforcement. illinois is not one of them. one dealer is responsible for almost half of the amount of recovered firearms. >> we're tired of chuck's and the other gun shops going to the banks when we go to funerals. >> reporter: this father is party to the lawsuit. he says the villages need to take definitive action. >> we have been asking them forever to be a little more

responsible, a little more restrictive, and they just ignore us because it's all about money. and the villages really have left them alone, because it's a big tax base. >> reporter: when acted think al jazeera, none of the villages would comment except for the village of lieyons, and it says: still some legal experts say if there are disparities they should be addressed at the state level. >> there would be no incentive for one city to have more gun laws, so they could sell more knowing those guns would be used on the streets. >> reporter: in the absence of state regulation, and a city

plagued by gun violence activists say it's time to go after the sources. ashar qureshi, al jazeera, chicago. attorney general loretta lynch says the government will make federal benefits available to all legally married same-sex couples. the mandate also includes benefits for veterans, the elderly, and the disabled. she says the justice department will work to make sure all states comply with the rule now that the u.s. supreme court has ruled same-sex marriage is legal nationwide. hawaii is one of the biggest producers of green energy in the u.s. but as jake ward reports it is having an unintended consequence. >> reporter: when the owner of this mansion told his installer that he wanted to get off of the electrical grid it was a first. >> it shocked me. i have never seen that before and when the crew came out to do it they had the exact same

response. they said here goes our jobs. >> reporter: cutting ties to the lek tries company was not the original plan with plentiful sun and the highest electricity rates in the nation solar seems easy here, and the client wanted to rely on the grid for backup power. but hawaii is one of the most isolated centers of population in the world, and as a result it's a incredibleably complicated to provide power here. you can't borrow power from the next state over or the next island over, they are separated by water that is too deep. you add solar power to that mix, and things get very complicated. >> these are some of our screens that shows how the grid is operating. >> reporter: he says that means his utility has to closely monitor how much solar power is on his grid but forcing customers to apply for permission to add roof top systems. >> here in oahu for example we have almost 300 megawatts of

roof top solar collectively and that volume is twice the size -- almost twice the size of the largest power plant that we have on the island. >> reporter: similars that feed right into the grid are the problem. the key to defecting instead is batteries. the luxuries of this house are powered by this bank of batteries. each one of them weighs 2,000 pounds and cost about $5,000. the whole system is about $40,000 all told. these were originally forklift batteries. that's what they were designed for, and now they are being used as a solar power retention system. john says the batteries solve hawaiian electrics unpredictable power problem. >> right at the end when we got it all finished and bought everything, they said we can't do it. and i said why?

and they said because they are not ready for it. >> reporter: it's that sort of cautious bureaucratic at ought to that drives his customers to defect from the grid. it may not be for everyone but a handful of ultra rich home owners here seem to be demonstrating the future of household energy. jake ward, al jazeera. a family of whales gave an alaskian couple a surprise of a lifetime. >> i hear them holy [ censor bleep ] oh my god! oh my god! this is -- [ laughter ] >> the couple was out for a quiet day of fishing when more than a dozen whales popped up to greet them. the pod rocked the boat over as they submerged, but no one was hurt. thanks for joining us. i'm randall pinkston. the news continues next live from london and for the latest headlines you can go to our website at aljazeera.com.

♪ ♪. >> a reprieve the u.n. confirms the humanitarian troops will begin in yemen on friday. >> . >> good to have you along. you watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, the final push for the final deal on iran's nuclear program. negotiators continue their discussions in vienna, but the clock is ticking we are expecting john kerry to talk very soon. to syria, a milestone in the conflict