jazeera, london. amazing stuff. do stay with us if you can for the headlines, they are up next otherwise you can always check out the latest news on our website, there it is on your screen there is a whole lot to check out there, al jazeera cloik. >> president obama gets a 21 begun salute in ethiopia. >> human rides and south sudan civil war on the agenda. >> the u.s. and turkey were to create a safe zone in syria as nato discussions security in the region. >> pairing final respects to sandra bland. why the family says her death in a texas jail cell does not add

up. >> this is aljazeera america. good morning. president obama is in ethiopia this morning wrapping up a news conference with the country's prime minister. the leaders are talking about security and fume rights. he pledged to help ethiopia keep up the pressure on groups like al shabab. critics say the visit legitimizes the oppressive government, but president obama disagreed. >> this visit reflects the importance the united states places on our relationship with ethiopia continued growth in ethiopia dependency on the free flow of information and open exchanges of ideas. i believe that when all voices are being heard the people know that they're included in the political process that makes a country stronger. >> we are live in ethiopia this

morning. why are human rights activists complaining about president obama's visit? >> they are saying that the visit might give legitimacy to the government that is clamping down on free speech as well as reege leaders. this is something the president addressed and had a very long discussion with when he met the prime minister today. he adds that there be reforms in terms of not only ethiopia but making sure human rights are protected. however, at the first conference, while they agreed on most issues they discussed, they

could not agree on the issue of how was they should democratize. >> are you saying that in effect, the ethiopian leaders are ignoring president obama's calls for better human rights? >> the ethiopian leadership have always insisted what they are doing is in the best interests of their country and taken a different model than what the united states are preaching. they say they are putting more emphasis on developing the country and also bringing people out of poverty, rather than paying more attention to issues of human rights. they say that is what is helping them at this point in time, and this is what definitely the prime minister hopes ethiopia is meaning when he says that we can

not democratize as you want us to do, because we have our own problems and nuances that we need to tackle and put into consideration. >> i would like for you to give your insight on south sudan peace. what did the president say about that with ethiopian leaders about making a move for peace in south sudan? >> well, president obama has said that they need to move fast on the peace process in southern sudan, which has been dragging for the last one and a half years. there's been intransigence from both sides in the conflict. mediators have reached a situation where they are not getting what they want and signing of an agreement between the government and the rebels, and in about an hour's time, president obama is going to have talked with the parties in south sudan. he will be joined by the president of kenya and the

president of uganda, as well as the prime minister of ethiopia. what we are hearing from diplomats is that there are talks and leaders hope once they get through the pressure, they will be able to sign. however, the diplomats do not expected a breakthrough today. >> nato this morning called and emergency meeting at the turkish request to discuss the fight against isil. this comes as raised are conducted inside turkey against rebels. dozens were arrested today. the offensive marks a dramatic reversal in turkey's strategy. on friday, the country launched airstrikes in syria and iraq for the first time. meanwhile, some turks living on the door with syria are fleeing their homes. there are reports isil is planning to attack the town.

witnesses saw bulldozers digging trenches on sunday. turkey shares a 560-mile border with syria. >> there are reports that late sunday night turkey and the u.s. agreed to a safe zone on turkey's border with syria that aims to increase the size and pales of the air wear against isil in syria. bernard smith is live for us in istanbul. turkey has been pushing for the safe zone for a while. what exactly is a safe zone in this in stance and how is it supposed to work? >> >> well, randall it seems that this safe zone is panning out to be effectively a protective zone or even a no flow zone without officially designated at such. the u.s. has long been retuck taint to get involved in fighting assad's forces. it wants to fight it says isil,

so doesn't want the job of a no fly zone. this safe zone, it seems will go 40 miles deep into syria and run 68 miles along the border with turkey. the idea is to push those isil forces 40 miles away from the border with turkey. what turkey's foreign minister is saying, that effectively therefore, that strip of land will become a protected zone, because of the amount of flights that will be going on overhead, targeting isil forces beyond that area. that will relieve some of the pressures on turkey. it's hoped some of them might be able to go back into that protected zone. >> bernard, do you think there was some sort of quid pro quo here? did the u.s.graphy to set up that safe zone in exchange for being able to use turkish air bases? >> >> well only last week, the u.s.

authorities were saying the turks drive a hard bargain. we understand a couple of things have changed really inside syria, a lot of area around aleppo was under control of what would be considered a non-isil forces. that makes that area more approachable. also at the same time, there was an intent about six weeks ago by isil to take control of a very important border crossing used by non-isil forces. turkey had to call in u.s. airstrikes to stop isil taking that border crossing. the u.s. pointed out to the time at turkey that it would have been quicker and easier to do had they be able to use the base. that's one of the things that helped persuaded the turks to open up. also that suicide bombing on the border just last week brought home to did your key how risky it is on its border with syria at the moment.

>> bernard smith keeping watch in istanbul, thank you. >> syria's president admits his military is struggling. bashar al assad vowed to win the conflict, but he did concede that his troops have lost territory to rebel forces, and that the syrian army is overstretches. >> in order to win and succeed in anything, everybody gets tired. it is normal that the state the army get today but the word defeat does not exist in our dictionary or in the language of the syrian armed forces. >> detectives, defections and a rise in draft dodging are believes to have cut his force in half. more than 200,000 people have died in syria since the conflict began in march, 2011. >> al jazeera contributor said assad had two goals with his speech. >> he has to be a little bit

frank with his people. it's clear he's lost palmyra and idlib, he may lose in the south. on the other hand, i think it was a call to arms. he wants people to volunteer. >> he said assad needed a touch of realism in his speech in order to rally his forces. >> a weekend of mourning in the accident and in illinois to remember sandra bland. there was a vigil sunday in prairie view, the accident where she died and hundreds attended her funeral in illinois saturday. moore called for an investigation into hear death. officials say she committed suicide in jail days after arrested for a minor traffic violation. we spoke with sandra bland's sister and with the bland family attorney. they say the facts in this case into not seem to add up. >> all we have to do is just look at the video. it's very easy to see that she was completely unfairly treated.

there was an ask that the officer issued. he asked her to put out a cigarette and because she said well, i don't see why i have to put migrate out, he responded by way of opening her door and then forcing her out requiring her to get out. i think that the reality of it is that that was not appropriate. i think that everyone can clearly see that's the case. the other part of it is when you've got local and state and national leaders that are able to speak to the fact that this is just an example of a long history of instances where african-americans have been targeted and mistreated by police, you know, i think that it's very clear that there are some concerns that we as a nation have to address. >> i think it's because she didn't signal properly. i think it's because she was unapologetically assertive about what she knew to be true in terms of asserting her rights.

i think that the timeliness with which the information was trickled out last week was, i will be frank in poor taste due to the fact that she was so close to her homecoming service and it's a large diversion method to avoid the true issues here, which is that there is a high level of inconsistency aren't information we've received rewarding her case which in turn impacts our strong desire to want to have the department of justice involved. we are clearly and unfortunately not receiving unbiased information, and so, to have state senators be at her homecoming service saying we do have strong cause for concern. senator dick durbin sent a letter to the d.o.j. saying you have to get involved in this because there are too many inconsistencies here to make the family assured we are fate ago

full and thorough investigation. >> the two victims of the theater shooting in louisiana will be laid to rest today. 21-year-old macy was studying to be a technology technician, the other victim ran a store with her husband. both were killed during a showing of the movie train wreck last week when a gunman opened fire. we are learning about john russell how elser. he was able to buy a handgun despite a long history of mental illness and threats against his family. two women who met him at a restaurant days before the shooting said he spoke about killing animals. >> the boy scouts of america to end its blanket ban on gay scout leaders, but change may not happen for all troops.

>>le relative of a local politician was assassinated in afghanistan. >> whitey bulger gets another day in court today the federal appeals panel set to hear arguments over his conviction. his lawyer claims bulger did not get a fair trial because they could not introduce evidence he claims gave him immunity for his crimes. >> things got tense in cleveland. a police officer started using pepper spray on a crowd. transit officials say the crowd was trying to prevent a police cruiser from taking an

intoxicated teen to police headquarters. no one was arrested. the boy was released to his mother. >> major changes for the boy scouts of america. the group's executive board is expected to end its ban on gay scout leaders. local chapters will be able to decide who can be in charge of troops. that also means those chapters can still ban leaders based on their sexual orientation. jock walls joins is from washington d.c. this morning. this new policy allows reege groups to select leaders who agree with the group's moral precepts. >> our position has always been that discrimination has no place in scouting.

we're very proud that the behave scouts are taking this step. >> so your reference to being bleeds to the new step, the scout leaders banned both scouts and leaders who were gay between the u.s. supreme court approved that decision, then the scouts decided to permit the leaders. can you tell us about the move to inclusion? >> it's been baby step after

baby step. the boy scouts said that it wasn't going to change its stance soon. in the fall of 2012, we told the story of ryan dayson, a 17-year-old california boy scout denied his eagle scout award because he was gay. that catapulted the story to the front of the nation's attention. in spring of 2013, the boy scouts took the first step of ending their ban an gay youth. that took effect february 21 2014. we were trying to figure out what pressure to apply to finally end the ban on gay duties. earlier this year in new york state, an openly gay adult was hired to work at the summer camps. in colorado, a woman actually filed legal action after she was denied a job by the boy scouts

because of her sexual orientation last fall. looking at developing action in colorado and the the situation in new york, the president to the boy scouts said that he thought that the membership standard was unsustainable and had to change. frankly,le decades of work was put in before we started our organization. >> can you tell us how many people have been excluded? dive any idea of the numbers there and what kind of change in membership have we seen in boy scouts? >> unfortunately we don't have firm polling on anything about the number of those participating in scout or left out because of the ban. what we do know is that there are a lot of positive gay scouts and scout leaders involved with scouting.

6,000 kits are being kept out of the organization because of the ban on gay parents. these are straight parents who are allies of the lgbt community and show solidarity for their gay friends. hopefully the boy scouts of america is an organization looking forward not back. >> drilling in the arctic. shell has all the permits it needs to drill but environmentalists want to stop them at all costs. >> leaving kids with the bills.

>> a record five against fiat cite leer for mishandling past recalls. they will pay out $105 million for violating safety laws. about $20 million of that will go towards repairing vehicles. the company must buy back some jeeps with a potential for gas leaks. it will smith to federal oversight and hire an independent auditor. >> some families are pushed to the edge. some are forced to pass on debt to their children.

>> i knew i was inheriting that. i was a teenager, and we needed lights on. >> he is one of an estimated 400,000 americans who as children had their identity's used by adults. he said his family bills kept piling up. >> i know that at some point, it was in the thousands. i believe at times, there was an electric bill in my name. out of necessity, i can't expression that enough. >> states gandhi regulating energy market in an attempt to keep retail energy prices low. government data slows in the last 17 years retail prices rose far faster than in regular departments. >> the number of utility companies also jumped, giving customers more ways to get in trouble.

denise fairchild runs an organization to make sure people can afford energy. >> they know they're getting their bills paid and when they aren't, they will shut off the utility services. i don't know that they understand what families have to do to survive. >> cyber security expert said it's not worth it to utility companies to pay more for detailed background checks on every new applicant because most monthly bills are rarely more than a few hundred dollars. >> there's a cost risk analysis whether they wanted to dig deep tore you a they didn't indicate whether the social matches up with the able of the actual applicant. >> the person bearing that risk is a child. >> the child's always at risk. >> making matters worse, social security in connection are a sort of accidental national i.d. they were designed to track wages for retirement benefits, not biographical information. al jazeera contacted all three major credit rating agencies.

heeqwifax said an in department credit report does not exist. a child born right now can have a light or gas bill put in his name in a few weeks. victims by theft usually don't have to pay bills racked up in their names but many child victims inherit the debt and don't see that it way. >> why don't you fight it and say i was too young clearly this wasn't me. >> the because the name on the bill was me and it was done to help my family. >> exploreatory oil drilling is now approved, but it raises new concerns about possible environmental problems. today, we'll turn to that topic with nicole. how were you? >> good morning. so this had been approved several years ago then there were problems, so environmental

groups have been fighting this area been reopened, but it has now. the arctic has some of the largest untapped oil reserves. they are able to now go in and they can out some of these areas on the surface. they can't actually get down in there until their ice breaking vessel is able to come into the area. >> they're going today exploration. we are looking at that area again because of large reserves. there is a 75% chance of a major oil spill in the next 77 years if they go back in, which they are doing that.

they've already put between 5 billion and 7 billion in the area and 13% of undiscovered oil sits in this area as an estimate. those are the biggest concerns. there were already problems the last time in 2012 tree tried to go in here. it could take days or weeks if there is a spill to get in there. there is a big risk for the animals in the area. some of the noises made, whales, for example the noises made in the water can keep them from breeding and use a other problems. environmentalists are very concerned this area is being reopened. >> thank you nicole mitchell. >> the special olympics are now underway. first lady michelle obama opened

the ceremonies. >> that's it for us, stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more aljazeera america morning news.

>> the second leg of a historic visit, president obama gets a ceremony yell welcome in ethiopia. critics say the trip gives legitimacy to an oppressive government. >> turkey seeks more help launching strikes against isil and the p.k.k. the u.s. is working on a safe zone, but pledging no ground troops or restrictions on flights. >> a record fine for fiat cite leer. the automakers will buy back defective cars. >> the growing debate whether

uber services are good or bad for u.s. workers. >> good morning. this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. president obama has been talking human rights, economic investment and security with ethiopia's leaders today. it is the first time a sitting u.s. president has ever visited there, but the trip has been met with criticism because of ethiopia's human rights record. president obama said that has been an important part of his conversations. >> we discussed steps that ethiopia can take to show progress on promoting good governance. protecting human rights and strengthening he democrats. this is an area we intend to deepen our conversations. >> we have more on the president's visit.

>> president barack obama held talks with ethiopian prime minister and they discussed among other things trade between the two countries, as well as the security cooperation. ethiopia is one of the united states' staunchest allies in the war against terrorism. they just cast their current conflict in somalia against al shabab militias where ethiopian troops thousands in somalia this week managed to get back from al shabab two last remaining strong holds. president obama said they need to keep pressure on al shabab. he said the peace keeping mission were doing a great job. they discussed human rights and democracy, the record president obama has called for reforms saying that the crackdown as well as the jail of opposition

leaders and reege leaders must stop. this is an issue that the prime minister of ethiopia said that they agree upon, seeing ethiopia has its own issues and it's trying to deal wilt the way they can and saying ethiopia will not be able to democratize as fast at the u.s. wants it to. >> a 10-year-old girl blew herself up in a crowded market in northeastern nigeria. no one claimed responsibility for the attack, but it bears the hallmarks of boko haram. hundreds of people have been killed in attacks by that group since nigeria's new penalty was inaugurated two months ago. >> nato this morning called an emergency meeting at turkey's request to discuss the fight against isil. it comes as the turkish government embarks and a

security crackdown conducting raised on isil operatives, as well as kurdish rebels. another part that have shift there were reports turkey and the u.s. agreed to a save zone on the syrian border. its aim is to increase the size and pace of the air war against isil in syria. >> it seems that this safe zone is panning out to be effectively a protected zone or even a no fly zone without it being officially designated as such. the u.s. has long been reluctant to get involved in fighting assad's forces. it wants to fight it says isil, so it doesn't want the job which protecting a no fly zone. effectively, this safe zone, it seems, will go 40 miles deep into syria and run 68 miles along the border with turkey. the idea is to push those isil forces 40 miles away from the border with turkey. what turkey's foreign minister is saying, that effectively

therefore, that strip of land will become a protected zone because of the amount of flights that will be going on overhead, targeting isil forces beyond that area, so therefore, that will re11 some of the pressure on turkey. the 2 million refugees here at the moment, it's homes some might be able to go back into that protected zone. last week, the u.s. authorities were saying the turks drive a hard bargain. a couple of things of changed inside syria. a lot of area around aleppo was fallen under the control of non-isil forces. that makes that area more approachable and also at the same time, there was an attempt about six weeks ago or so by isil to take control of a very important border crossing used by non-isil forces. turkey had to call in u.s. air strikes to stop isil taking that border crossing. the u.s. pointed out that it

would have been quicker and easier to do had they be able to use the base. that's one of the things that helped persuade the turks to open up. that suicide bombing on the border with syria just last week brought home to turkey how riskive it is on its border with syria at the moment. >> bernard smith reporting from istanbul. >> a ceasefire in yemen has been broken. yemeni security officials say houthi rebels and opponents are battling in several provinces. the fighting erupted after a five day humanitarian ceasefire was to take effect late sunday. the houthis say they were never consulted about the ceasefire. >> eight people were killed in an attack in india. men attacked a bus and stormed a police station in punjab. india stepped up security along the pakistan border in response to the attack. we have more. >> at this point beyond the

operation taking place that is on going we've got an update on the death toll there. we're hearing from the ground a total of eight including two gunman. the operation has been on going. keeping in find that this attack unfolded this morning but we should say in terms of the gunmen involved, it is unclear who they are where they've come from which group they belong to and what ramification this could have on the regional relationships between india and pakistan. beyond the ambiguity india's home minister has said that india does want peace with pakistan but not at the cost of national honor. the opposition party has suggested that this is a major intelligence failure on the part of the indiana security

officials, so it may be sometime yet before we see more about the exact nature of this attack, but it's still on going so hard to provide more details keeping in mind that there is little information coming out from the beyond of exactly what is happening, because there is a verge cordon set up, so the media is being held behind that, as well. >> international outcry today after a suicide bombing a the a hotel in somalia. 13 people were killed. the building houses the diplomatic mission of qatar and the united arab emirates. the white house la condemned the attack. >> the last 60 of the chattanooga shootings will be laid to rest today. marineunry sergeant tomas sullivan will be laid to rest in houston. another was buried sunday afternoon. they were among the four marines and a sailor shot dead by mohammad youssuf abdulazeez on july 16. police killed mohammad youssuf abdulazeez during a shootout.

>> funerals for the victims of a shooting at a louisiana movie theater. 21-year-old macy bro was studying to be a radiology technician, the other victim, 33-year-old jillian johnson ran a store with her husband. both were killed when john russell how elser opened fire during the showing of a movie last week. >> a weekend of mourning in texas and illinois to remember sandra bland. hundreds of people gathered in lyle illinois on saturday to remember the 28-year-old who died in a the accident jail days after arrested during a traffic stop. officials say that the results of her autopsy shows she committed suicide. last night we spoke with andrew bland's sister and with her attorney. they say the facts in the case don't add up.

>> all we have to do is just look at the video. it's very easy to see that she was completely unfairly treated. there was an ask that the officer issued. he asked her to put out a cigarette and because she said well, i don't see why i have to put my cigarette out, he responded by way of opening her door and then forcing her out, requiring her to get out. i think that the reality of it is that that was not appropriate. i think that everyone can clearly see that's the case. the other part of it is when you've got local and state and even national leaders that are able to speak to the fact that this is just an example of a long history of instances where african-americans have been targeted and mistreated by police, you know, i think that it's very clear that there are some concerns that we as a nation have to address. >> i think it's because she didn't signal properly. i think it's because she was unapologetically assertive about what she knew to be true in terms of asserting her rights.

i think that the timeliness with which the information was trickled out last week was, i will be frank, in poor taste due to the fact that she was so close to her homecoming service and more than anything, it's a large diversion method to avoid the true issues here, which is that there is a high level of inconsistency aren't information we've received rewarding her case which in turn impacts our strong desire to want to have the department of justice involved. we are clearly and unfortunately not receiving unbiased information, and so, to have state senators be at her homecoming service saying we do have strong cause for concern. senator dick durbin sent a letter to the d.o.j. saying you have to get involved in this because there are too many inconsistencies here to make the

family assured we are getting a fair and full and thorough investigation. >> good morning thanks for being with us. the autopsy report appears to indicate according to officials that sandra bland died as a result of suicide. we hear about certain issue mates under suicide watch. how common is suicide in jails? >> very uncommon. 2012 the year we have the most recent statistics for there are about 300 people who died of suicide in jail. >> you consider that uncommon? isn't that the second cause of death in jail by inmates? >> yes, it is, because first of all, people don't generally die in jail and when they die they die usually of heart disease and cancer. when you put those all that's one thing then you see people die of physical illnesses. when you separate them out then suicide becomes the leading cause. >> among juveniles the centers for disease control has said

that incarceration is a risk factor for suicide. how often well is that link established? >> suicide is very complicated. many things come together at one moment in time. that can happen for a lot of different hains and have different impact for different people. there is a higher rate of suicide for youth in prison, there are. >> i imagine stress could compel someone to do that

in jail. >> most suicides occur in the context of a mental health condition, where you're already not thinking the way you normally think. >> then the question becomes sort of the chicken o. the egg are you in jail because you've perhaps done something that caused you to be in jail that had to do with a mental health condition and you are more susceptible to suicide anyway. >> that can happen, because we know that people with mental health conditions are now more likely to be in jail than in mental health settings, but it also is a matter of -- my people who end up in jail often are there more minor infraction, so it create as stressful situation in many different ways. the suicide risks e. risk is highest in the beginning of incarceration and then around time of decision making.

there are also situational factors which increase the risk. >> when we talk about sandra bland, she was in jail for three days for what began as a very minor traffic stop. what should society take from this? should protocol it is be reexamined in the intake of people? is there enough of a mental health assessment when people are incarcerated, and how to address the possibility of suicide? >> well, there are a few things that can help in any situation and first and foremost is removing access to lethal means. >> of course. >> creating a safe environment. a history of a suicide attempt could raise your concern about somebody, but there are so many factors, and you can't really do a full psychological assessment at the time of intake, so thinking that just minimizing risk decreasing isolation allowing contact with social support, that he is are things that can help someone especially

with a minor infraction not feel like things are spiraling out of control and there's nothing they can do. >> thank you so much for your expertise on this issue. really appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> on the agenda today a trial gets underway in virginia for a russian man charged with helping the taliban fight forces in afghanistan. >> secretary of state john kerry will release the state democratic's annual human trafficking report. >> in colombia, forensic experts will begin removing rubble from a landfill believe to be the country's biggest mass grave. 300 people may be buried there. >> in washington, the senate is trying to pass a highway bill ahead of a friday deadline. senators convened in a rare sunday session to advance the bill. one amendment revives the import export bank and another repeels the affordable care act.

>> fiat chrysler will poi out $105 million for not following safety laws. some jeeps could be bought back that have a potential gas leak. >> the boy scouts are poised for a major change. executives vote today to allow gay scout leaders to serve openly. >> a growing number of people are trying to kick the habit by vaping with e cigarettes, but it may not be the safer option. >> i'm in one of europe's leading robotics lab where a new generation of surgical technology is being inspired.

>> learning basic outdoor skills, the importance of citizenship and sportsmanship and much more from scouting. these kids had their group revoked because one of their leaders was openly gay. >> some kids are hoping to be able to earn the eagle badge qualifying them if they join the military for advantageous promotion upon enlistment. not knowing and not hearing anything book is naturally of concern. >> the boy scouts of america of set to ratify major changes allowing local councils to make decisions about who the scout leaders are who the scout masters are. how is that going to affect this

troop, still caughting for another organization and what will it mean for scouting in general across america? we're going to find out much more tonight, al jazeera seattle. >> microsoft is caking down on what's called revenge porn, the posting of incident mat material without the consent of those depicted. we have more. >> it follows in the footsteps of google, twitter reddit and others, all okayed removing links from web searches to try to stop revenge porn. >> my name is chrissy chambers and i am a victim of revenge pornography. >> this you tube star is one of the voices spearheading the fight against what's called revenge pornography. chambers described her trauma after she said an exboyfriend posted videos of them having sex. >> after the revenge porn videos came out which there ended up being six in total i started suffering constantly from nightmares and night terrors. >> internet giant make crow soft

is taking action against content posted without the consent of these depicted. the company will remove links from bing. micro soft created a page for victim to report the links similar to google. >> how can there be no consequences. >> victims wants federal laws to criminalize resending pornography, gathering more than 100,000 signatures on line. some attorneys warn criminal laws could have unintended consequences. >> the picture was of me and i sent it. >> like what to do about the woman who released private photos of this former congressman or teenagers who share explicit picture with friends on social media. >> your kid gets a picture from a boyfriend or girlfriend on their cell phone and turns to their best friend and goes oh,

look. that is a violation of the law. >> almost half the states in the u.s. already have criminal laws against revenge porn. 14 others have pending legislation. >> in order to narrow the broadness of such laws, a states have added valuable and newsworthy events. speech advocates say that is determine, that can be suggestive. >> on the tech beat, more americans are giving up cigarettes in favor of videotaping p.m. some 20 million adults in the country vape. it may not be the safer option for smokers. >> in labs around the world i think the question is, is vaping safer than smoking conventional cigarettes. we won't know until the completion of long term studies. vapors are exposing themselves to heavy metals and other compounds not found in

conventional cigarettes that could cause their own health problems. >> the industry has taken off like wildfire. when we first met researcher monique williams, she found metal particulates. >> the original study we looked at. >> what happens to your lungs? >> in halation of metals can cause stenosis and could restrict the bronchiales and airways in the lungs. >> researchers are concerned about the content of the

hundreds of flavored liquids that. >> a lot of these flavors generally rewarded as safe, that is a term that's given to flavoring products that can be ingested. what's happening to these at these high temperatures at the lungs, they can be broken down, can be broken down into formaldehyde. >> these don't contain the chemicals that regular cigarettes have, that's a plus. on the flip side, they have their own set of compounds they are being exposed to. >> if i had to say what is more dangerous, honestly, they're equal, to me, they're equal. >> the age of the people that are picking up the habit e get

use among middle school and high school students tripled in the last year. this is concerning given the negative effects that at that it can have. >> you can see more on the science behind vaping on techknow tonight. >> up next, are companies like uber good for workers? we look at the so-called gig economy. we'll also look at why it may be a bad year for the west name rye of us in california. the drought is being blamed.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. taking a look at today's top stories, president obama is on a historic trip to ethiopia today the first silting u.s. president to visit the nation. security and human rights have been on top of the agenda. human rights groups have criticized the trip, saying it legitimizes an oppressive

government. the president is also talking about the crise in neighboring south sudan. nato this morning called an emergency meeting to discuss the fight against isil, coming as turkey conducts raised on suspected isil operatives, as well as turkish rebels. >> fiat chrysler has been ordered to pay $105 million for mishandling past recalls. federal regulators say the carmaker violated safety laws for years. the company will have to buy back 1.5 million defective cars and submit to an independent mon juror as the 2016 presidential campaign kicks into high gear, the so-called sharing economy is becoming a hot button issue. companies like uber are coming under attack and politicians are staking out their positions. michael shure has the story. >> there's a reason why a republican presidential candidate would be campaigning

in perhaps the most liberal city in america and why former florida governor jeb bush would use an uber to get around president the city is ground zero for a new kind of economy the gig or sharing economy. >> i think both the democrats and republicans want to embrace technology. they want to embrace the growth in jobs that technology can bring about. >> david hail is the c.e.o. of gig walk, a company created specifically to match workers with on demand jobs that range from 10 minutes to 10 hours or even more. he and gig walk cofounder mat cramton say it is growing at such a fast pace that he saw an opportunity. >> the idea of a gig kind of came from what a musician does, so it made sense to kind of call it gig walk if somebody is going to a place and performing a gig. >> these gigs or jobs are causing people, including

hillary clinton to reexamine the classic model of the american worker and the long term impact of short term work. >> this on demand or so-called gig economy is creating exciting opportunities and unleashing innovation

. >> it's a coastal thing a millennial thing but it's fast growing and that's why it's going to be a powerhouse when it comes to the 2016 election. >> a recent study by in duit predict 40% of americas workforce will be contract workers. there's no shortage of workers in this pool when an uber we call canceled on us. >> sorry there was a mix up and the driver had to cancel, we are finding you a new one now. your uber is on the way and will arrive in three minutes. >> i notice how quickly in this gig economy somebody was ready to take the job after the other guy couldn't. >> how are you? >> we talked to those at the center of the controversy people piecing together a living with on demand work. jorge perez is driving with uber. >> with fedex i used to work 16

hours a night. my daughter was four years old and she had barely started kinder garden. >> perez said he loves the job and while he now has to provide his own health insurance and plan for his own retirement, there are other payoffs. >> with uber, there's no benefits, but i think for me, there is more benefits. the benefit is that i can choose my own time and it's a lot better than minimum wage work. >> perez admits it's not a full time living for him. he works as a financial advisor in the morning before he starts driving. he also says he doesn't plan to do this long term, so driving an uber gives him freedom now to spend time with his family and pursue other goals a benefit heralded by others. >> i am trying to travel to europe in a couple of months and no one is going to hire me, so i needed a way to make money. >> christian sammy just graduated from college. his dad used a part time driving

job to help pay his tuition. >> i can live somewhere and afford to be on my own. >> you don't think this would provide that? >> no. >> these employed else are not without detractors. those who fear americans without benefits or job security is a problem that needs addressing. >> david hail feels this his the country being forced to keep up with technology. >> globalization and technology are trends we cannot reverse. our view of that is that people need good jobs and technology thoughtfully implemented can give people that are using that technology better choice and access to work. >> all of this explains by it is also a bur jening political issue and one that the public sees as an opportunity. >> where there's money there's politics. whether there is innovation,

there's the economy. >> others are tapping into this group and new workforce. the question now is which presidential candidate can get ahead of that same curve. >> michael shure reporting there. we are joined by the business development manager at people per hour, a company providing a marketplace for freelancers to connect with companies that need their services. good morning and thank you for being with us. that piece said this is a coastal thing just a big city thing. how explosive is the sharing economy across the country? >> i do not think that it is a coastal or millennial thing. people per hour, there are a lot of participants who are of several age groups, and all over the world. >> are these people that are between jobs, are they people that want full time and are forced to freelance? >> the majority of users on our site of there by choice.

they want the freedom that comes with being a freelancer. they like doing work when they want showing up what they want, and setting the price at which they do it. >> one of the other people interviewed in michael's piece was a former fedex employee. ironically, fedex was the company that was actually sued by a driver who said this company is classifying me as a contractor and i am an employee. do you see a lot of cases like that where companies are classifying people that are freelancers as freelancers when they're actually employees that should get benefits? >> i think there are a lot of companies that are misclassifying their employees at freelancers so that they don't have to pay their employees as much as they would pay regular employees or give them benefits. >> or pay taxes. >> or pay taxes. >> the freelancers on sites like people per hour are doing it by choice. they want to be there. their jobs would be completely different if they were

classified as full time employees. in the fedex case, whether they were classified as a full time employee or freelancer, their job didn't change. it was the exact same position. >> that's what made it an actual full time employment situation. are there people that can make a living wage by going on to a site like yours and doing contract jobs? >> the top earners make north of $10,000 a month. you can really make a good lispings working as much as you want when you want. >> does it make companies less likely to hire full time employees? >> i don't think it should make companies less likely to hire full time employees. i think that the sharing economy is a completely different sector of the economy. it's people who want the freedom to work, such as a new mom who needs to work, needs to make money but wants the flexibility of being home whenever she wants to be or whenever she can.

>> do you agree with hillary clinton that this is sort of changing what a good job means in this generation? >> absolutely. i think that it's changing constantly what a good job means. some people are focusing more on that their lifestyle than waking up every day going to work 9:00 to 5:00. they want to be able to travel. they want to be able to be home when they want, to go out when they want, work when they wouldn't. >> do you think there needs to be some regulation of companies like uber or air b. and b. >> there are micro industries within the economy that may require some regulation but not as a whole. i think it is dependent within the specifics of each industry. within people per hour, we're not -- people are really making their own hours doing their own

thing. we are not telling them to have people come into your home. it's a very much -- >> graphic design, it's stuff that wouldn't necessarily be -- face further regulation say by a taxi administration. >> exactly. it's mostly work that is done remotely. >> thank you so much. appreciate you being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> in california, the severe drought is lead to a potential health crisis. the lack of water has increased the spread that mosquitoes. that could mean more cases of the west nile virus. lisa bernard reports. >> mosquito fish can only eat so much in sect larva. it's up to the vector control district to set traps for mosquitoes who eluded the fish. >> is this a trap? >> this is a fan here, it is collected in the fan and caught in the net.

>> 33 california counties have evidence of west nile virus confirmed by testing the mosquitoes and dead birds. that is two more counties than did at this time last year, according to the state department of public health. a 79-year-old woman who dialed this week from the disease is the first reported case this season. >> anytime there's west nile virus activity, it's worrisome. whenever there's a fatality, it signals us to make sure we're looking and intensifying our itself and our surveillance and control efforts because they want to be able to do everything within our possibilities to prevent any future infections. >> his colleague considers the in next in a dead bird while he examines it under a microscope. >> 31 people died from west nile virus in california last year. others were infected, but

survives. >> we have one of the best mosquito control agency networks in the country. it's their job to find mosquitoes conduct mosquito control and reduce the risk of people getting bitten by mosquitoes. if we didn't have that network of local mosquito and investigate tore from agencies, we would have more disease in california. >> this i also one of the spots the vector control district is fogging. they spray the bushes with pesticides to kill the mosquitoes. >> the water is not flowing as freely as it would with ample rainfall. that could be increasing the risk of west nile spreading. the lack of water is actually a problem for those trying to contain the disease. >> the drought this year is expected, according to some, to

make the season worse. contrary to popular belief, people believe why are we seeing mosquitoes if there is no area for them to breed. those areas that had free flowing water are becoming stagnant. >> that stagnant waters is attracting birds that have few other places to go. when an infected mosquito bites the bird, the bird passes along the virus to the next mosquito it connects with and so on and so on. >> when you have limited water sources, birds and mosquitoes will tend to congregate in the same areas coming into closer proximity and increasing the likelihood that a mosquito will find a bird to bite, amplifying that cycle. >> this is a net we take back to the district to sort out by species and generaller. >> stanley robert said the traps he set collected thousands of

mosquitoes in just one day but it's impossible to get them all. >> west vile is a disease that's here to stay. >> 80% of those infected will be fine and won't know they have had west nile virus but using in sect repellant and preventing a bite is the only way to avoid the anxiety that it could be more than just an itchy nuisance. al jazeera elk grove california. >> exploratory oil drilling in the arctic is now approved, but raising new concerns about the possible environmental impact in the region. the biggest worry potential oil spills, nicole mitchell has been following the story for us. what are the fears? >> so this was actually allowed back in 2012 and there were a number of issues, oil spill being the biggest one especially in a delicate, fragile environment. the last permit has been granted

again. back in 2012, two of the rigs ran a ground and so the restrictions are they can only do one with my at a time and they can't put a drill into that oil and gas zone underground until their ice breaker arrived in the area. here is the map just north of alaska, this is called the check g.c. here's how much has been invest understand and what is exactly in this area. about $400 billion worth of oil and gas, five to 7 billion is what she will has already invested and the share of undiscovered oil is about 30% through the whole world. those are a lot of resources. environmentalists have been fighting this. this spill is the biggest thing for wildlife and this is such a

hard area to get into, if there were spills, that would cause a lot of recovery time and even outside the potential for a spill, you look at animals like the whales, they make blueprint noises the oil company just being there can disrupt the animals. >> such a pristine part of our country, environmentalists don't want to see it disturbed. >> the word robot typically brings to mind hard metal and plastic, but scientists are working to bring a softer alternative based on nature. >> industrial road blocks like these are strong and powerful tools. they are also dangerous and alleges menacing, cold hard arms programmed to perform the same repetitive tasks largely oblivious to those around them. a team of researchers are developing what's known at soft

robots. >> a soft robot is internal safe because a soft robot when it comes into you will be soft, bounce off you. what we would like is to be able to make systems that humans can collaborate with, people can work together with a robot and you don't have to have the fear that the robot is going to crush somebody if it is soft. >> it's the natural world that's been the source of many of the ideas behind the team's new decency. >> these researchers took inspiration from the octopus an animal that doesn't have a hard skeleton but is still able to become stiff and rigid. they mick mic'd its muscles to produce an arm they believe could make robotic surgery considerably safer. >> if we have a very rigid robot, you can damage tissue, harm a patient. moving away from that, leaving that behind and really exploring the idea of soft rove bots will

make an enormous difference, because suddenly, we have a robot that is effectively not capable of injuring the patient even though we have a very close contact between the robot and the patient. >> they are also looking at the hooves of goats. >> most of the robots, they have jobs, wheels which are not suitable for the land, because we have obstacles so they are not going to be able to work in that kind of area. >> other members of the team are looking at human arm muscles to better understand how they work with tendons to control limbs. others are using a robotic finger to mimic the way doctors feel for lumps beneath the skin,

sensitivity not normally associated with machines. these innovations and techniques are still years from being rolled out but the team believes they will form the basis of a new generation of softer and more friendly robots. al jazeera london. >> on the digit albeit, aljazeera.com is investigating the politics of the sugar industry. a prominent family in the dominican republic spent a lot of money to lobby u.s. politicians. they are part owners of the world's largest sugar refinery company selling its products under the domino and crystal brands. they pay some of the the lowest wages in the country and they sell sugar here at two to three times the market price thanks to import limits and price supports. you can read the entirely article at aljazeera.com. >> a go for lift off at the

smithsonian. resurrecting an artifact from america's first moon landing. >> meet the coopers town class of 2014, four baseball greats inducted into the hall of fame.

see change. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera.

only on al jazeera america. >> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 8:51 eastern. taking a look at global headlines, thousands of anti-government protestors in the philippines today were part of a demonstration hours before the president made his final state of the nation address. some burned a giant every gee of the leader. his term ends next june. >> the greek stock exchange is expect to open tomorrow. it shut down june 29 29 with capitals controls to prevent an economic collapse. >> no end for a garbage problem in lebanon. trash has been piling up for lace because landfills are full. it's not clear where the trash is going to be dumped. >> the smithsonian raised half a million dollars in a crowd funding campaign to restore the space suit that neil armstrong wore when he walked on the moon.

the suit was a technological marvel for its time. >> with five layers and metal rings at the neck and forearms connected to gloves and the fish bowl helmet. an astronaut could spend six hours on the surface of the moon suited up. the entire suit along with the support backpack weighed about 200 pounds. because of the moon's gravity it felt like it weighed 33 pounds on the moon. later versions of the suit used on the last three moon land ins increased the time an astronaut could spend on the surface. >> it's beautiful it really is. >> each was custom fitted and three were required for each

astronaut, one primary, one for training and one back up. >> replicas go from $8,000 to $10,000 on ebay. >> in 2011, armstrong said his space suit was tough reliable and almost suddenly. that is actually buzz and would continue in his suit. kneel is carrying the camera. the helmet had a gold plated visor to cut down glare. the exterior suit had 13 layers to protect from solar radiation and micro meteor doids. the suit weighed about 200 pounds. >> the smithsonian hopes to

raise more money to preserve another suit. we spoke to a retired astronaut about working inside a space suit. he said you can thank that early model for the suits worn today. >> during my 15 years nasa career, i had the opportunity to do six space walks, four in american suits and two in russian suits. the american suits were a direct revolution of the first suit that neil armstrong and his colleagues wore on the moon. the big difference is that the suits that i wore were not made to be -- you couldn't be ambulatory, you couldn't walk, the legs were not designed so that you could walk on a planetary surface. the backpacks the technology inside the systems were all evolved. we could now do six and a half nominal e.v.a. hours in a space suit and we've gone as long as eight hours so they've advanced quite a bit. it's a little bit surreal the space suit is a personal

spacecraft, you're self maintained. it is maintaining pressure to keep you alive. oxygen, of course, that a thermal control system to adjust the temperature inside, you're very much alone out there waving to your buddies three feet away in the back of a space shuttle but you're pretty much on your own you and your partner out there. it's physical work, anytime you move our arms or fingers you have to chest energy. astronauts, we have personal trainers to take us through weight lifting and resistance exercise and also aerobic exercise. you're outside in a space suit as opposed to inside of a spacecraft, so you worry about leaks, if there might be a leak in one of the giants where your glove or helmet correct. you worry about moor impacts. little tiny rocks going at

17,500 miles an hour can kind of ruin your day. that is a concern. fortunately, no astronaut has been hit so we hope that's a trend that continues. you know, you are at somewhat elevated risk when you're outside doing the space walk. >> he has logged 229 days in space. >> baseball's hall of fame has four new additions. forty dhows thousand fans cheered in new york. a triple threat in the baseball world, the only player in history to make the all-star team as a catcher and an infielder. >> british cyclist chris froome took home the tour de france title. his win has spawned suggestions of doping. some say his performance in stage 10 was abnormal. top racers are tested after each

stage. >> investigating a dark side of the law >> they don't have the money to puchace their freedom... >> for some...crime does pay... >> the bail bond industry has been good to me.... i'll make a chunk of change off the crime... >> fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking...

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>> i'll have two or three puffs and i'll already have a nicotine buzz. >> a popular smoking alternative. >> we have to learn have to learn more about electronic cigarettes. >> but could vaping be just as dangerous? >> what are you really taking in? >> we don't know what chemicals are in these things. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> welcome to the news hour. coming up in the next 60 minutes, rounding up more suspects turkey's campaign against the p.k.k. and isil continues in the cities and in the air. >> our security cooperation is pushing back against violent extremism. >> barack obama praises troops