diagnosed be alzheimer's disease. his agent said he died of a heart attack in the hospital in the egyptian capitol cairo. a global screen idol. more news for you any time on our website, the address, aljazeera.com. [ cheers and applause ] after 54 years, the confederate flag comes down for the last time at the south carolina state capitol grounds. extended again, the nuclear talks with iran will last through the weekend, as negotiators try to work through the details. plus fighting to stay in the euro zone greece debates its latest debt crisis proposal as

european leaders split over whether it's the best deal. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm bisi onile-ere. history made this morning in south carolina. onlookers cheered as the confederate battle flag was taken down at the state capitol. it has been flying over a confederate memorial for 15 years. before that it spent nearly four decades on the capitol dome and now that flag is in a museum. courtney keeley is live in columbia south carolina. we're hearing there are going to be more stepping taken there in a few minutes. >> reporter: hi good afternoon, bisi. yes, the flag pole still remains. the only symbol left of where

that flag flew next to the memorial to the confederate veterans. the flag came down swiftly today, but the cheers that erupted really cemented the historic moment. even journalists -- there was just this energy in the crowd, and that -- and that flag came down so quickly and in fact some people told me they just wished it had gone a little more slowly to savor the moment. but interestingly enough though, there were lots of confederate flags, i counted at least ten. some people have wrapped themselves in the confederate flag others were wrapped in the american flag. and after the flag came down there was a lot of dialogue between those holding the confederate flag and other people saying we respect that you honor this and it's your

heritage, but not here on public grounds, your backyard your car, but no longer here at the state grounds. it has become a divisive symbol and even though some people here really believe it is a flag of heritage, that flag will no longer fly publicly over the state capitol or even next to the monument. bisi. >> you can tell a lot of people out there very overcome with emotion. you spoke with charleston's mayor a little while ago. what does he have to say about today? >> reporter: he was truly moved, but he also said this is a step this is a sign much much more has to be done much more healing has to be done much more dialogue has to be taken. much more racial inequalities have to be fixed. and this city is still pretty much in mourning.

senator pinckney who was a pastor at that church and was killed in that church so measured words from the mayor of charleston, happy, hopeful, but resigned to the work that needs to be done bisi. >> thank you very much. immediately after the flag came down president obama tweeteded this: the head of the federal office of personal management has resigned her job. katherine arch let ta said it was time to let new leadership take over the agency. this one day after federal officials revealed that more than 21 million people had their information stolen by computer hackers. she said earlier that she would not resign.

the iran nuclear talks will continue through the weekend in vienna. negotiators agreed to extend an interim deal until monday. secretary of state john kerry says there is a limit to american patience but he also says the u.s. and its five negotiating partners will not be rushed. ali velshi has more on the iranian reaction from tehran. >> reporter: it is friday in tehran this is a holy day, a particularly holy day, it is during the holy month of ramadan, and the last friday in ramadan, and a day of protest against what they call the israeli occupation of palestine. hard liners in iran have called for greater demonstrations today. they have called for demonstrations against israel and against imperial powers in which they describe america. the result has not been substantially greater than the turnout that there would have been, but it is a symbol that the hard liners are concerned

that a deal is near. they have opposed a deal with the united states in which iran gives up anything particularly its nuclear program. negotiators from the government which is a more moderate government, a government el elected on the platform of opening up relations to the west, are facing this protest from hard lines on the right and reformers on the left who say they are not doing enough to engage in the world community. today was an effort to protest the negotiations in vienna. it has not succeeded. negotiations are underway but it tells you a little bit about why iranian negotiators are so determined not to come home with a deal that they cannot defend to a large part of the population. we have spoken to a range of people from business worker government officials, most people are determined that they want these sanctions lifted the most important of which are the banking sanctions which prevent iranians from wiring money

overseas. this prevents them from buying goods manufactured from overseas. while you can get everything here, they tend to be very very expensive, and you have to import them privately. ali velshi in. mr. greek officials are voicing support for the latest plan to keep the country in the euro zone. you european leaders have to decide if they are satisfied. >> reporter: the process has access rated in the last few hours since the greeks delivered their latest proposal to the creditors. it is the same proposal we have seen for the last two weeks. this proposal however, is being seen in a new light. it is post referendum it is after the greek no and yet the two sides are still coming back to the table, determined to pass something that will be palatable

not only to greek taxpayers but also european tax payers. the reason this is being brought again is that the prime minister hopes he will bring with it a 35 billion euro package of investment from the european commission. this is three times the amount of the austerity measures and therefore, the prime minister can defend the 12 billion euro cuts and therefore can bring in new investment. he also hopes to reschedule the repayment of the greek debt the $360 billion debt over a period of many decades, which will be far longer than the current 16 that are foreseen in the current greek program. any international monetary fund doesn't believe 16 years are enough. it doesn't believe the debt is therefore sustainable. if it is stretched out over a longer period of time, then it

is sustainable. if all of that happens, then the major criticisms of austerity will have been addressed. the growth will be there, the debt sustainability will be there. and therefore, the greek prime minister is hoping today, friday, to bring the prior actions, that is the painful part of the package through parliament so on saturday he can go to his creditors with that part already passed and legislated, and have a stronger hand in demanding from them the sweeteners that he so wants to bring home. a cancer doctor from michigan has been sentenced to 45 years for medicare fraud. he gave unnecessary chemo therapy to hundreds of patients some of whom weren't even sick so he could collect the insurance money. lisa stark is love from washington. what was the doctor's reaction? >> reporter: today he spoke for the first time.

22 victims have testified this week during the sentencing hearing and/or given their statements and he showed no emotion. today he faced the judge and was sobbing and crying. he said he was ashamed at what he had done. he said i misused my talents because of power and greed. >> the judge was not particularly moved. he said these were huge horrific criminal acts. the justice department has identified at least 550 patients, there are probably more who were not treated krektly, either given too much chemo or given chemo when theying didn't even need it. i spoke with two of the patients that we have talked with after the sentencing a woman who

believes her husband death was due to dr. fata and a man who received months of chemo. the woman said she doesn't think 45 years is enough. the other says he thinks this will be a life sentence, and he is satisfied. but neither were moved by the tearful apology. they aren't buying it. >> i can imagine. i think a question a lot of people have is how was this doctor able to carry out such procedures seemingly unchecked for so long. >> reporter: right for years according to the government. part of it was he had a stellar reputation. he was a naturalized u.s. citizen. he had done training at sloan sloan-kettering sloan-kettering, and he was very

well thought of. here is an attorney who is representing some of these patients. >> he held himself out as the expert of all experts in this area. he convinced his patients that he was the only person who could save them. there are so many people that i have talked to who have told me that dr. fata called them their miracle patient. well of course if you have somebody who doesn't have cancer to begin with and you treat them with chemotherapy and then they no longer have cancer that's not a miracle. >> reporter: in addition you have to understand according to the government that he had such tight control over his cancer empire if you will essentially he was in charge of everything. bisi. >> thank you so much lisa stark in washington. debating the president's immigration actions. protesters stand off with police in new orleans as an appeals

court hears arguments over injunction. and new york is giving one of the highest honors to the u.s. women's soccer team a ticker take parade through the canyon of heroins.

former washington governor bob mcdonald has lost his effort to overturn his conviction for trading influence for loans and luxury goods. he is likely to head to prison in the coming weeks to begin serving a two-year sentence. protesters today shut down a main intersection in new orleans, not far from where a federal appeals court heard arguments over president obama's executive action on immigration. the judges are deciding whether to lift a ban on the administration's efforts to shield up to 5 million people from deportation.

two dozen states filed suit against the program calling it unconstitutional. robert what are the protesters there, exactly calling for today? >> reporter: good afternoon, bisi. indeed the protesters behind my back here at the court here they have been here all morning, and they would like their families to stop being separated. children that were born here by undocumented immigrants that came here they want those kids to be able to live here in the u.s. for families not be separated, parents not be sent back to their original countries. this has been going on for a long time as we all know. they have been very peaceful out here this afternoon, and the situation a couple of blocks away where there was 12 people arrested very peaceful very organized. the 12 that were arrested were expected to do that. the police knew that this was going to happen. so there was not any kind of

chaos on the street or anything remotely like that. a representative from illinois was speaking to the crowd, he was inside the court and wanted to share his opinion. he said that he -- there are certain people in this country that treat immigrants like slaves, and they need to stop being treated that way, and that in his words that families need to stop being separated and destroyed by the immigration laws here in this country bee say. >> robert any idea at this point how long it might take before the appeals court rules? >> reporter: that's a really good question and i think that's something that everyone here would like to know. all of these families here in front of the court. you know by all accounts this could go on until the 2016 presidential election even further, because once there is a ruling by this panel of three judges, there will likely be an appeal, and another appeal so by all accounts this could be

going on for a long time and that puts a lot of families in limbo and uncertainty, especially the children. >> all right. thank you. that's robert ray in new orleans. thank you again. new york city is celebrating the new york champion women of team usa today. the team was honored by the mayors and others at city hall at a taker tape parade. morgan radford joins us live on the phone. it seems like a pretty joyous event. >> reporter: indeed. i wish you could see me covered in ticker tape red, white, and blue. a day when fans were out celebrating and honoring the team. we just heard from abby who said this is the best thing i have been a part of my entire life. i can't help but think that message was for the thousands of young girls who were out here in

the crowd today bisi. the woman i spoke to said they looked up to the u.s. players because of how they conducted themselves on and off the field. but what was interesting was also the number of young boys in the crowd. and thigh said they would gladly trade in their men's soccer jersys for the women's. >> this is a significant parade for women, and women's sports in general. >> definitely. the iconic route that they took to get here is generally called the canyon of heros. but today they are calling it the canyon of heroines. that's because this will be the first team to ever be honored with a ticker tape parade here in new york. and that's a big deal because it is generally reserved for a new york team. it costs an estimate

$1.5 million to do this. and it causes a lot of traffic jams. but it is reserved for things that are a really really big deal. if you think about when jesse owens, or amelia earhart, and the last one was when the giants won the super bowl. >> they certainly deserve it. thank you morgan. after all of the celebrations are over the women will go back to their day jobs as players in the national women's soccer league. and alan schauffler reports, they are hoping the win will help bring in new fans. >> reporter: this is a practice session for the seattle rain one of nine teams in the nwsl the national women's soccer league. the league is averaging about 4,000 people per game. those attendance figures are skewed a little bit by what is

happening in portland where the portland thorns are drawing about 13,000 per game. now ticket sales have skyrocketed here just gone through the roof since the u.s. women's national team won the world cup up in vancouver, bc last sunday. they are averaging about 3,000 fans a game now, but they are selling a lot of tickets, and for their game on saturday they are hoping to pack these stands and put in more than 5,000. can the world cup bump be more than a temporary bump? that's a big question moving forward. can this win in vancouver by the national team establish a new baseline and support for women's professional soccer. >> yeah it's a huge opportunity for the league and obviously the last month has been all about women's soccer. a lot of free publicity. so we're hoping that translates into ticket sales. >> reporter: i asked a player of

the rain and i said what do we have to do to keep up that en ennewsal.en enthusiasm and she said simply keep winning. alan schauffler al jazeera, seattle. investigating the safety of frac-ing. next on the program, the new report highlighting the threat to the environment and to our health. ♪

♪ wildfires in british columbia are growing and so are concerning of neighbors to the south. an air quality advisory has been issued for residents in washington state. the smoke has been waiving south, people are asthma, heart and lung disease, the elderly and children are urged to stay in doors. a new study is calling in to question the safety of frac-ing.

the report outlines threats to air, water, and soil. jennifer london reports. >> reporter: in this small farming town students at the elementary school play in the shadow of big oil. >> my first concern is about my daughter, because, you know, many things happen in my area. first thing is frac-ing. >> reporter: long-time resident rodrigo says he believes frac-ing is making his teenage daughter sick. three wells less than half a mile from her old elementary school were frac-ed in the last three years. >> when i still went to school and i went outside, and it was very hot, and men were working there, my head started to hurt

a lot, and then since today my seizures i keep on thinking maybe that's the cause. >> reporter: when we first met her in december, she was having to take half a dozen pills a day. she could no longer play softball or hang out with friends and now she suffers from depression. >> i want to see her laughing and running and jumping again. i think every father wants something for their daughter. >> reporter: a new report validates the concerns of families like the romos. with no limits on the use of hazardous chemicals and most frac-ing in california occurring at shallow debts protected aquifers are put at risk. this man is with the center for biological diversity. >> the scientific study confirms

what we already knew that frac-ing poses a substantial threat to our health our air, our water, and our climate. the science is in this and the governor has no more excuses. it really confirms the fact that we need an immediate ban on this dangerous activity. >> reporter: frac tracker alliance says 350,000 children in the state attend schools close to welling. in shafter, 82% of the people are hispanic. >> what the data shows is an undue burden on these communities that are predominantly hispanic. >> reporter: just beyond this fence you see an elementary schools, and then this well.

residents say this fence will not protect them or their children. while other states have setback elements on how close an oil well can be to a school california does not. the study recommends setback limits will required. >> you are allowing up loader just to come into any community anywhere they want. >> reporter: what evidence is there that frac-ing makes people sick? >> the evidence we have is the same evidence that frac-ing doesn't make anyone sick because we don't have a good science. >> my hands are tied because i don't have to -- i can't do anything for my daughter. i'm very mad because the government don't hear the poor people. >> reporter: the controversy and questions surrounding frac-ing don't end with this report. even the scientists behind this

comprehensive review stress more studies are needed. california officials say they will review the data and recommendations over the coming weeks and then make decisions. many of the recommendations in the report are not required by the state's new frac-ing rules which went into effect in june. actor omar sharif has died. he started in egyptian cinema before his star turns in lawrence of arabia. his agent says the actor suffered a heart attack this morning in cairo. thank you so much for joining us. i'm bisi onile-ere, the news continues next live from london and remember for the latest headlines you can go to our

website, aljazeera.com. ♪ >> hello, i'm lauren are taylor, you're watching the newshour pms air strikes in yemen just hours before a humanitarian ceasefire is due to kick in. 25 died in bangladesh you during a stampede. and the actor omar sharif has decide.