>> wow, some of these are amazing. >> techknow - where technology meets humanity. this is al jazeera america, live from new york city i'm tony harris. day one of normalized relations between the united states and cuba. the u.n. security council endorsing the new iran nuclear deal. congress now has 60 days to consider the agreement. and sandra bland's family says new dash cam video builds a case for an independent investigation. ♪

and we begin with an historic day in the relationship between the united states and cuba. hundreds of people watched and the cuban flag was raised in front of its embassy in washington. the ceremony came hours after ties between the united states and cuba were officially restored. mike viqueira joins us live now from outside of the new cuban embassy in washington, d.c. mike? >> reporter: toni, it's not news to anybody on the east coast but it is a hot and sultry evening here in washington. breaking out what is now as of today officially the cuban embassy, where they raised that flag for the first time in 54 years, the cuban flag officially in front of the diplomatic post here in washington. 10:30 am goose stepping color

guards stepping out of the steps of that embassy, preceded by the foreign minister his first time on american soil. raising the flag the gathered staff and dignitaries on the cuban side singing the cuban national anthem. the foreign minister of cuban, again, he here in the united states for the first time, went inside and held a press conference he said all of the usual laud tory things. >> the return of the legally occupied territory of guantanamo as well as the full respect for the cuban sovereignty and the compensation to our people for human and economic damages. >> reporter: as you see he was there at the state department with secretary of state john kerry meeting with the secretary of state. john kerry himself is going to

be going next month to the official opening of the u.s. embassy in havana. they are going to hold off on their ceremony until john kerry can take it down there at the beginning of next month. >> we also heard from opponents of the normalizing of ties what did they have to say? >> it's from the opposition that you might expect. many cuban american in south florida, they are lead by a strong contingent of a cuban american branch of the house of representatives. a strong cohort of anti-opening anti-normalization of faction not only within the house but the senate as well. they have been very vocal. it appears they are going to have the vote to see what many of these protesters would like to see, and that is the lifting of the trade embargo that has

been in existence almost as long as the chill of the relations. one woman delivered a broadside to the obama administration. >> while human rights activists are imprisoned and jailed for speaking out for freedom and justice, the obama administration is rejoicing and looking the other way as embassies were opened today. i look forward to working with my colleagues in congress to try to block the expansion of the u.s. embassy in cuba to try to stop the confirmation of a u.s. ambassador to the island. and tony despite the celebrations today still an element of mistrust on both sides. >> mike viqueira from just outside the new cuban embassy in washington, d.c. some cubans have been eagerly waiting for this day,

others have been dreading it. melissa what are cubans you have been speaking to today saying about these events in >> tony there is definitely a lot less pomp and circumstance here in havana. but when it comes to normalization there was a very interesting poll that came out this spring a rare poll out of cuban that said 97% of cubans support normalization, but this monday, the fact that there's a u.s. embassy here it's more of an emotional issue than a substantive one. havana on monday will look and feel just like any other day on the island nation. ♪ >> reporter: and for those americans worried or concerned about missing out on retro cuba time is on your side. yes, change is coming to the caribbean island nation but it

could take years. the relationship between washington and havana is difficult, and the opening of an embassy is not expected to change that dynamic. but a poll taken earlier this year showed 97% of cubans supporting normalizing ties with the u.s. when it comes to the cubans and their thoughts on normalization, there is happiness and relief but also a sense of cautious optimism. >> translator: of course the opening of the embassy won't solve all of the problems. this is just a like a door opening. it represents a possibility, but beyond that it is necessary to continue normalization efforts. >> reporter: these two people teach at the university of havana. academia has been one of the few places where americans and cubans have had limited exchanges, and one of the first places that might see a more immediate impact from

normalization. >> translator: for me the core of this issue is that the re-britishment of diplomatic ties some processes will speed up, such as the granting of visas,est officially for professors and students going both ways. >> reporter: a number of american universities already having a agreements with campuses in cuba. >> translator: americans want to visit cuba to learn more about this island beyond it just being a caricature of it being a supposed communist island. and we need to learn more about the u.s. to find out there is more than imperialism. >> reporter: but their excitement is curbed by reality. this student says they all lack the most basic resources. >> translator: from the point of view of helping us eventually getting a good job, students need better resources, internet access is very important for us

and for our study. >> translator: this man grew up in a run-down out skirts of havana. he said it's hard to imagine how cubans giving here for example, night benefit from normalization. >> translator: it is going to have an impact on the economy, and especially in tourism, but in neighborhoods like this the impact will not be immediate, though, it is going to affect people here in the long run, because the -- relationship has been renewed, but it will be a process. >> reporter: the most painfully felt here the u.s. embah go. cubans know it will require congressional consent to remove the blockade so most things will yet stay the same.

well tony of course the cubans keep going back to that embargo and that is very much something in washington, d.c.'s court to get rid of. robert valencia is a contributing writer who has spent years researching u.s. and cuban relations. >> we're talking about an historic moment after 54 years of diplomaticest stain jment for u.s. and cuba. we're opening new embassies, but this by no means represents the lifting of embargo, and that's going to be a longer battle in congress now that congress is ruled by republicans. by i think as we are entering into a new phase, i think knew

things will arise in terms of economic trade and sorts of cooperation. >> what is the chief concern here among cuban exiles? >> there are a couple of them. we're talking about human rights violations. i think some cubans protest that they don't have enough freedom of speech. you have the women in white [ speaking spanish ] i think some of them are arrested because they have been protesting against the measurements that the government have taken. other concerns would be how this new chapter will affect the economy in the sense that whether cuba is prepared to a new trade with the united states in terms of how the communication system internet -- >> banks, and internet. >> banks, so it will be interesting to see how the system will react to this. >> coming up later, we'll ask

robert why relations are critical for u.s. influence in latin america. president obama is calling on congress to take its queue from the united nations security council and approve the nuclear deal with iran. >> the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously. >> reporter: within hours on the sign off, president obama said it is the best way to stop iran from building a bomb. >> this is by far our strongest approach to ensuring that iran does not get a nuclear weapon. there is brood international consensus around this issue. not just among the international community, but also among experts in nuclear proliferation, and my working assumption is that congress will pay attention to that

brood-based consensus. >> reporter: but on capitol hill there is anything but. members of both parties say they are frustrated the u.n. voted on the deal before they had a chance to weigh in: if iran doesn't live up to its part of the bargain, the deal allows all u.n. sanctions to snap back into place. iran's ambassador was defiant accusing israel of spreading what it calls iran-a-phobia. >> it considers peace as an threat to itself. the tehran-a-phobia is also to

serve its knee fairous purpose. >> reporter: ash carter says israel remains the bedrock of american strategy in the region. >> it places no limits on the united states, the department of defense or the u.s.-israeli defense relationship. >> reporter: the u.n. resolution takes effect in 90 days. that time frame was negotiated specifically to give congress enough time to review. president obama says he will veto any changes congress may make, that would require a new u.n. resolution all over again president obama met with nigeria's new president at the

white house today. they discussed many issues including the fight against the boko haram insurgency. >> reporter: the new nigerian president came to washington with a very long wish list top of that list was help in the fight against boko haram. but it does not appear that the obama administration is ready to make drastic changes on that. they will point out they have already given $35 million to soldiers fighting in the area. the u.s. has grave concerns about some alleges human rights abuses at the hands of the nigerian military. they are senninging the message they want to see that cleaned up before they will consider changing course. and the new president thanked president obama for helping him get into office. >> the pressure by the united states and europe to make sure that the elections were

free fair and credible lead us to where we are now. it could have been almost impossible if the united states did not maintain the pressure on the former nigerian government that they will not accept anything less constitutional as far as the process of the elections are concerned. >> reporter: he is also asking for help getting about $150 billion out of overseas banks. he said that was basically looted by former corrupt officials. the u.s. does seem likely to help him find it. the chattanooga gunman had a long history of depression and also battled drug and alcohol abuse. he said the shooters trip to the middle east last year was an attempt by the family to help him get clean and sober.

allen schauffler is in chattanooga. >> reporter: this center here the site of the first shooting attack last thursday and another one up north, we were just trying to see if they were open and operating. they are in fact. the men and women employed in the recruiting end of the military business, getting back to work. >> reporter: at the strip mall with mohammed abdulazeez launched his first attack is now open. the restaurant next door is finally open again. >> whatever caused this we're not going to give that ideas -- you know take us apart and make us quit doing our job and support our families and work hard. we don't want to show the weaknesses. >> reporter: the army recruiting office opened for window too. a soldier tells us they are

talking to recruits by appointment only. around tennessee and across the country, the constant business of recruiting going on. we're just north of chattanooga. there's an army career center here. this is the first time we have seen it open since the shooting on thursday. we're going to see if they will talk to us and see if they have any special precautions. the soldiers inside referred me to a spokesperson who tells us new security plans are in place, but no details will be made public. in congress several efforts are underway to lessen restrictions on military personnel carrying firearms at the facilities like the two abdulazeez targeted. some still think putting guns in the hands of recruiters could

help stop attacks like these. >> this guy obviously scoped out that this was an easy target. there are friendlies and foes and you can't target indiscriminately at who you see just because of the color you see. >> reporter: two congressmen one republican one democrat have introduced legislation today to make officers be able to be armed at facilities like these. that legislation refers specifically only to handguns. >> alan thank you. was it suicide or homicide? there are new details surrounding the death of an african american woman who died in police custody. and senator john mccain responds to donald trump's comments about the years mccaining spent as a prisoner of

war in vietnam. open your eyes to a world in motion.

♪ the family of sandra bland is demanding an independent federal investigation into her death. she was found dead last week inside a texas jail cell. the sheriff's department says it was suicide, blands friends and family don't buy it. the texas rangers have been conducting their own investigation, and law enforcement held a news conference. ashar qureshi is in hemstead texas. what are we hearing today? >> reporter: we're hearing more details about what happened the morning that sandra bland was found dead in that cell. they say she was checked on multiple times throughout the morning, and about 8:55 a week ago, a jailer saw her hanging in her cell. they said she had a ligature

around her neck. they are continuing to invest an internal investigation, an outside investigation is being conducted by thet third quarter rangers and being monitored by the federal bureau of investigation. the information they got from the coroner's office is that she passed away from self affixation. they are also handing over all of the video from inside the jail. they say the video was motion senatored and all of the hard drives have been handed over to the fbi. but they reiterate that the death of miss bland was a tragic incident in their words and not criminal tony is. >> okay. the waller county d&a also spoke, i understand today. what did he have to say?

>> well the da said the investigation is ongoing. he has also said they are waiting for the investigation to be completed by the texas rangers and the fbi. and once that information is gathered it will go to grand jury. the grand jury doesn't meet very often here because it is a small municipality. but he said while the sheriff's office is convinced that this is a suicide, that is not how the da is looking at it. take a listen. >> this investigation is still being treated just as it would be a murder investigation. there are many questions being raised here in waller county in the state of texas, the country, and always around the world about these tapes. it needs a thorough and exhaustive review. >> reporter: and tony we also

hear from the district attorney today that we will be receiving that dash cam video that has been talked about. tomorrow they plan to release it at which point any public and media will be able to see what lead to the arrest and bringing of sandra bland here to waller county in the first place. >> yeah, yeah really need to see that. >> areeva look i have been paying attention just as you have to what has been happening over the course of last year and even before in this whole area of use of force by authorities, but -- but do you believe we are at a place now where someone in law enforcement would actually go into a jail cell and kill someone who was being detained? >> i don't want to believe that tony but in listening to that district attorney himself, he is saying although the sheriff's

are satisfied that this was a suicide, he has not made that as his final determination. in fact he says a thorough investigation is being completed as if this was a murder. >> i heard that too. >> so i think we have to take that very seriously and before we all are, you know, concluding that this is a suicide, i think we have to just wait because there's too many unanswered questions about what happens to this young woman who seemingly was about to start a new chapter in her life and had no reason whatsoever to kill herself. >> yeah i jotted that down when i heard it as well. the prosecutor said this is being treated as though it were a murder investigation. >> yes. >> so help me understand here we have seen routine traffic stops escalate right? >> yes, and -- and what we're reading about this case is there was allegedly a moment here when

the officer asked miss bland to put out a cigarette. do we need to train the public as to how to behave in these kinds of situations? or do we -- is it easier to train officers in what is acceptable and not acceptable in law enforcement engagements? >> i think you are hitting on something very important, tony. definitely we need to think about the training that police officers get. hey, the national bar association and other organizations like them have been going arrange the country for the last several years doing the know your rights seminars. but we can't reach every single person in the country that may have an encounter with the police. but we can change the way we train police officers. we can bring in dprts, teach them how to make a lawful stop how to interact with individuals

like miss bland and interact with those people who may be rude or may resist. i think it's a lot smarter and morish efficient to change the way that police officers are encountering people. what is troubling to me about this situation is this seems like an officer that got angry. that got upset because she wouldn't put out a cigarette. she wasn't using drugs. she didn't have an open container. i don't see any basis for him demanding her to step out of her car because she was smoking a cigarette. >> i'm going to sneak one more in here. are we getting to a place now where every law enforcement encounter with the public every moment of and then counter needs to be recorded? >> i think so and unfortunately the trust has been broken between citizens and the police particularly as it relates to communities of color and the african american community, there is no trust.

that's not why only are we seeing these incidents being recorded we're also seeing family members call for investigation investigations, because there's no trust even in the medical examiners that are performing the autopsies in these cases. >> absolutely. thank you. the defense department is calling for an apology for an incident that happened in afghanistan 1234689

there you have it hundreds of people gathered in washington today to win that bit of history today. the cuban flag was hoisted in front of its embassy for the first time in 56 years. today's events are decades in the making as mike viqueira reports now from washington.

>> reporter: this was a moment 56 years in the making any april handshake between barack obama and his cuban counterpart, a gesture of hope to end the acrimony that spanned 11 american presidencies. but the castros weren't always the enemy. in april 1959 after completing his march from the mountains to the seat of power, fidel castro came to washington. he met with senators and laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. but president eisenhower snubbed him. going on a golfing holiday instead of meeting with castro. castro soon took over u.s.-owned properties in cuba and raised taxes on american goods. the u.s. retaliating, slashing trade with cuba.

leading to the embargo that lasts to this day. and in fear of communism bordering on hysteria castro strengthened ties with the soviet union. in 1960, president eisenhower has already asked the cia to plant overt operations to overflow fidel castro. a debacle was soon to follow. the bay of pigs invasion lead by cia-trained cuban exiles it's failure boosted castro's standing at home and abroad. >> he basically said thing you from the bay of pigs you have transferred us into an equal in eyes of the world. >> reporter: havana and moscow grew closer. >> this government as promised has maintained the closest

surveillance of the soviet military build up. >> reporter: it ended with a deal. the missile sites would be dismantled, if the united states pledged not to invade cuba. cuban exiles pored into south florida. they hated castro and his move to nationallize many privately assets. in secret talks brokered by pope francis, president obama secured the release of alan gross imprisoned in cuban for five years. >> welcome home alan. >> reporter: in exchange mr. obamacare obamacare agreed to return the three remaining members of the cuban five. suddenly after 56 years, the

time was right for change. >> now we have arrived at the moment that will be barack obama's legacy. the actual restoration of normal diplomatic relations. there's still a long road towards normal overall relations, but we have arrived at a milestone today. robert -- valencia said reforcing relations with cuba was a necessary move. >> the united states came to realize you could not carry on with policies for 54 years that really haven't done anything to stop the cuban revolution as they say. first of all, i think you have to see the influence of venezuela in the region. the united states has lost so much clout in latin america, and you have hugo chavez trying to influence the periphery --

>> there is a really close relationship between the two governments. >> correct. not to mention they were supplying oil to cuba. and now venezuela is undergoing economic hardship and they don't have the same clout they had before. so the united states i believe, decided to take advantage of this moment. because every time cuba was not invited to the summit of americas. the latin america countries who were left leaning, refused to sign any kind of agreement. it's a big cohort of left- left-leaning countries. >> yeah. >> even the right-leaning ones they all refused the position of the united states not to include cuba. because regardless of

idealogical differences it's part of the americas. >> i have to ask you about couple beeia's role in this. >> cuba is hosting the peace talks between the farc rebels and the santos administration even though i it's mired with controversy. >> right. >> and it has been because they have committed [ inaudible ] in columbia. but cuba has played a pivotal role in maintaining those conversations. and i think there was always one of the reasons why the united states decided to remove cuba from the list of terrorist nations, or at least those countries that harbor terrorists. cuba has played an important role ideologically and in terms of logistics, and now they hosting these peace talks. >> and today, senator john

mccain responded to what donald trump had to say about mccain's war record. trump told an iowa crowd that the senator is only call adhere row because he spent five years as a prisoner of war in vietnam. michael, this is not the first time trump's comments have dominated the political headline cycle. >> no, it isn't, tony but it's really the first time you have seen republicans en masse coming after him about what he said and democrats did it too. but probably most [ inaudible ] today was the republican who was the target of all of the things that trump was saying and that is senator john mccain who took to the airwaves and took the high road. >> does he owe you an apology? >> no i don't think so. but i think he might owe an

apology to the families of those who have sacrificed in conflict and those who have undergone the prison experience in serving their country. >> and for everything the people have been saying about donald trump, a poll released today showed him with an 11-point lead over scott walker 12 over jeb bush. that was taken by the "washington post" and abc news and the last day of polling was the only day that included these fiasco, so the next poll will be the most telling. >> gotcha. what does all of this mean for the republican race? >> it's hard to say exactly, because again, we're waiting to see the fallout from those numbers. but this race keeps growing and the number of on poen innocents that donald trump keeps growing, tomorrow it will grow by one

when john kasick joins the race. >> reporter: after taking on the president. >> they are bringing drugs, they are bringing crimes. >> and now the senior republican senator from arizona. >> he is not a war hero. >> he is a war hero -- >> he is a war hero because he was cuptured. >> donald trump owes every american veteran, and in particular john mccain an apology. >> reporter: but even as the republican field figures out how to deal with trump, they will now be based with a new opponent. ohio governor john kasick. >> it's about our children our families, our country and the world. >> reporter: as the attention moves from trump to kasick it

moves from a well-known name to a low-known name that many experts feel could win the white house. he is running as a sitting governor from a swing state that republicans prize, and he offers a good shot at winning ohio. >> in our state of ohio which is a microcosm of the country, i won 86 out of 88 counties, and 64% of the vote and i won a county that barack obama won by 40 points. americans want everyone to be able to share in an opportunity. >> reporter: but he also comes with a reputation for playing tough. this home state dealer ran this headline. john kasick runs the risk of

being perceived as being a jerk. at a time when the party has struggled to reckon with another candidate, john kasick will have to make his case. >> our country is best when our people are united. >> reporter: john kasick brings a really interesting opponent. somebody who is blunt talking, conservative enough for the scott walkers, and appealed on an economic message in a really important state, ohio. >> it is a swing state. michael shure in lost angeles. thank you. in greece banks were back open today after a three-week shutdown. customers still face strict limits on cash withdrawals, and high taxes, and with the stock market still closed the country

is not back to business as usual. >> reporter: so this is [ inaudible ] >> reporter: this man has been sewing sweaters since 1978. this isn't the first time he has had to shield his knitting company. while greece's economy struggles to get going again, his employees are working as efficiently and these machines are moving as smoothlies a ever. still he says the last two weeks have certainly taken a psychological toll. >> i wasn't able to collect checks paychecks, and also i wasn't able to pay my suppliers, particularly those that came from abroad goods from abroad. >> reporter: he is relieved that the drama has come to an end. after three long weeks, the banks have finally reopened

here. he went to his this morning, but it wasn't to withdraw money. it was to check on his safety deposit box to make sure he could still access it; that it's contents were secure. while an air of anxiety still hangs over athens monday morning was a calm one. the lines weren't long. the crowds weren't angry. he isn'ting surprised. >> this is something temporary, and will be overcome as long as we're a member of the european union, and in particular the euro zone and they have the tools, and these tools will be implemented. >> reporter: he like his employees thinks the austerity measures will be punishing, but are needed for greece. >> if there's -- since they are necessary, i will serve and

support them. >> reporter: he now hopes for a better future one in which he can sell more sweaters one who's harsh chill will come only from a winter that's cold and not an economy that is frozen. mohammed jamjoom athens. at least 30 young people were killed today in turkey after a bombing at an activist meeting. the group was discussing the reconstruction of kobani across the syrian border no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. but turkish officials say they suspect the attack may have been carried out by a female suicide bomber from isil. the state department has apologized for a friendly fire incident south of kabul. as many as ten afghan soldiers were killed. the bombing was the second

friendly fire incident in the area in seven months. jennifer glass reports. >> reporter: this was an afghan mission to retrieve the wounded and dead after a u.s. air strike hit afghan army check points. >> translator: in my opinion it was a mistake with the american's coordinates. i can't see any other reason this would happen. >> reporter: some of the wounded had already been evaluated to a local school when the taliban attacked the medical teams. the fight went on for hours. afghan soldiers continued to retrieve their comrades despite the enemy fire. afghan forces have limited air capabilities and rely on coordinating with u.s. and nato troops. >> translator: we do have a coordination center. in this case they were not informed at all. >> reporter: only a small nato

force remains. there are about 5,000 u.s. forces authorized to carry out what they describe as counter terrorism operations. the afghan defense ministry says the incident occurred after the taliban fired on u.s. helicopters. u.s. officials say they are investigating. a high-level afghan delegation will also look into what went wrong. jennifer glasse al jazeera jkabul. the state department is promising to find out how and why this happened saying: the iraqi air force displayed the first of the 36 f-16 fighter planes today. the jets were purchased from the united states. the u.s. ambassador to iraq was

on hand for the ceremonial handover. >> these now belong to the iraqi security forces, to the iraqi air force. and the air force is going to use them as they deem appropriate. these are the first four and there are 32 more f-16s coming online. so as the capability here in iraq rises to meet these -- meet these new fighter aircraft, the new aircraft will be delivered. >> reporter: the jets were delivered to iraq last week after heavy delays due to security concerns over isil's presence in the country. 3-d printing can produce nearly anything and everything from food to guns very soon it could reshape modern medicine. and the search for intelligent life in outer space just got a boost.

>> how about that for a moment? a british comedian showered seth bladder with fake money. he told blatter this is for north korea 2026. ouch. blatter is stepping down after a group of fifa officials were indicted on corruption charges in the united states. he returned about ten minutes later. 3-d printers have been used to make everything from shoes to weapons. but body parts? as andrew thomas explains it could change the way doctors are trained. >> reporter: caked in this powder is the latest innovation in 3-d printing replica body

parts. it's based on ct scans of people which a create a file to send to a 3-d printer. it builds a block of powder in thousands of sweeps. with each sweep there is an injection in the powder. a detailed limb forms within. >> we had a head we printed a face and a head and it was rising out of the powder and it was very eerie, but very amazing. >> reporter: the parts ant suitable to implant in people. but accura replicas of parts can be useful for training doctors. traditionally students learn from books, crude modelled models or occasionally parts from cadavers.

>> two hours a week maybe. it's great to have the cadavers there to have that 3-d aspect to what you are learning in your textbooks, but with only two hours, i suppose you could argue it is a bit less than we would ideally want. >> there are some cultures and origins, which frown upon the dissection or interference with a dead body and i would like to think that the parts of the world where there are issues of teaching with medical cadavers that this could fill a unique niche. >> reporter: the accuracy is what makes them special. in time the ambition is fully divertable body parts. so far there hasn't been a complete body printed. this is a mix of body parts, based on sconce of different

people. a modern frankenstein. so this isn't the start of being able to print something that could be given life for science teaching, it is a big footstep forward. california transportation officials say a bridge that collapsed along i-10 passed inspection earlier this year. the bridge gave way during a severe storm on wednesday. it has shut down the main highway causing lengthy deferred. and this weekend storm meant a rainout for the los angeles angels. their last rainout was june 16th, 1995, against the chicago white sox's. last night's game against the boston red sox will be part of a doubleheader today. >> it has been a rough weekend for the southwest. and arizona also had some

flooding. but things are getting better across the area. this was all part of a tropical system. this was delores, that was actually pumping the system up. there was a mud slide here. too much water brought the mud and dirt down into the streets and into some people's homes across the region and it did cause some problems especially in the suers where it actually plugged them up. the flood watches and warnings are beginning to ease across the area. very quickly i want to take you over towards the east coast. earlier today these were the heat indexes, the real feel when you add humidity. norfolk was up to 115 real feel temperature. the temperatures though, are a little bit cooler than what they were this weekend. for folk is 87, philly is at

about 92. we still have those heat advisories down the coast. the warnings will go off at about 8:00 p.m. tomorrow the temperatures will be a little bit better but columbia south carolina is expected to be about 120. noaa has just released this last june was the hottest month ever recorded across the world. you can see the areas of pinks and reds. and they have been doing this since 1880. and we have had four months this month that have been the hottest ones. >> better pay attention. >> that's right. part of a busy waterway has been reopened after a huge fire broke out on a barge. a tug boat lost power and then collided with another tug. the barge was carrying a gasoline additive.

authorities say they are still assessing whether there will be any environmental impact. for a look at what is coming up at the top of the hour john siegenthaler is here. >> hi there, tony. a native american tribe calls in the national guard to destroy pot plantations on tribal lands. they say the growing operation is using up precious reforces especially water and causes poll lous. we'll take a look another serious environmental problems. plus puerto rico's debt crisis how decisions were made for decades by the u.s. congress, and contributed to the situation the u.s. territory is in now. and we'll bring you my conversation with actress christine from "saturday night live" live". >> i had a different agent like ten years later say, when i was wondering why i wasn't getting any calls, he wasn't calling me

and he's like well you are 45 you know? [ laughter ] >> so there is a part of you that believes that but i think the highest part of myself was kind of like well i'll show you have. >> more on that conversation and other stories coming up in about three minutes. tony. >> thank you. steven hawking says he is all for a new search for life beyond earth. the renowned physicist spoke out in support of the $100 million mission. the goal is to search the 1 million stars closest to earth for signs of life. >> we believe that life arose spontaneously on earth, so in an infinite universe there must be occurrence of life somewhere in the cosmos perhaps intelligent life may be watching this lights about us or do our lights

wander a lifeless kas -- -- kos -- cosmos. that is all of our time i'm tony harris. john siegenthaler is back in just minutes.

hi everyone. this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. [ cheers ] >> a new era. >> so it's an historic day, a day for removing barriers. >> the embassies are open the u.s. and cuba restore diplomatic ties coming together but still worlds apart. our reports from washington and havana. hard sell -- >> today you have awarded a great prize to the most dangerous country in the