supporters. he said it is because the fans didn't like him as a player supporters claim it was rich shally motivated. you can get more on that story if you head over to aljazeera.com. ♪ a circus tent collapses. investigators are trying to figure out how it happened. firefighters battal new front in california. a wild fore jumps the containment line forcing new evacuations. and new york city tries to find the source of a legion aries out break.

it has already killed 11 people. this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. an investigation is underway today in lancaster new hampshire after a circus tent collapsed. two people were killed and more than 30 others were injured. officials gave an update just moments ago. >> the investigation will involve the documentation of the scene which includes mapping out the scene as to exactly where things are located after the collapse. and examining the actual set upof the tent to determine how it was set up in all of the cables where they were connected and things of that nature. >> john henry smith is here with more on this story. john? >> reporter: stephanie about 100 people were gathered inside of the tent in new hampshire for a late afternoon circus performance. no one will ever forget what happened right after the show

began. >> it was terrifying and scary, and i don't think i'll go to the circus again. >> reporter: two people died monday when a circus tent was swept up by a sudden violent storm. >> according to the national weather service there was one inch hail, 60 mile an hour winds and severe lightning. >> next thing you know the wind picked up and from there on it took the tent with it. >> reporter: witnesses say the realtor ror came from the metal spikes that had been holding the tent down. >> people who were part of the circus just yelled run, and in the same motion i just see stakes and stuff coming up out of the ground. >> i see these very large metal poles starting to come out of the ground and fly up into the air towards us so i took my son, and i -- we were on the

second tier on the bleachers, and i took him and through him underneath the bleacher and through himself on top of him and anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds later, this huge pole that i saw coming towards us slammed on to the bleacher right where we had just been. >> reporter: the injured were transported to four local hospitals. the dead are a father and his daughter, both spectators. officials are not releasing the name of those deceased until the next of kin is notified. the national weather service has issued a warning 20 minutes before the start of the circus. >> still unclear what the lessons are from this tragedy. john henry smith, thank you. more than 14,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in california because of

wildfires. it is still early in the summer fire season but firefighters say what they are seeing is unprecedented. jake ward explains. >> reporter: just over the ridge, you can see behind me it is literally hell on earth. the firefighters are dealing with not just the local challenges of the terrain and the local climate, they are fighting against global forces. the western states of the u.s. are on fire and northern california is the latest casualty. we just passed the check point passed which residents are no longer allowed to go we're driving into the middle of a 60,000-acre blaze that is basically defying all of the traditional expectations firefighters have about a big wildfire here at this time of year. the rocky fire should have peaked after two days but at that point the firefighters found the fire gaining strength not losing. now five days in there is no sign this is going to do

anything but get bigger. >> the fire behavior is extreme. and the people fighting the fire are saying this is off the charts extreme. >> reporter: decades of drought have killed or dried out the vegetation here. this is what the firefighters are trying to defend highway 20, it basically forms the last natural barrier between this fire and the rest of god knows what. essentially if the fire jumps across this barrier, there is no stopping it and this 60,000 acre fire could get way out of control. we were repeatedly warned to be ready to -- run to our vehicles at any moment. firefighters are grappling with local conditions like the difficult terrain, but it is also a fight against the global affects of climate change. the nights are traditionally

cool and hume, but warming oceans in recent years mean the evenings are hot and dry, and fires bump right through the night. for the moment those global forces appear to be winning. the whole fire area is sort of represented by the screen behind me. you can see the smoke rising in the distance. that is the 60,000-acre area that this fire covering. the trouble is since we filed our report highway 20 which you can see on the other side of me here which has been a slow but steady trickle of media and other personnel in and out, that was supposed to be the border they were trying to stop it there, and unfortunately they failed. the fire has jumped across highway 20 and no one except firefighters is now allowed up into that area. the number of acres affected has grown from 60,000 to 62,000. there's now over 3,000

firefighters responding from across the state. this is clearly a fire that seems to be getting the better of firefighters with long experience fighting fires, but here they seem to be facing something they just don't quite have what it takes to grapple with. >> jake ward reporting from lake county california. about a quarter of the firefighters battling the flames in california are volunteers. and some of them are convicts looking for a second chance. sarah hoye reports. >> reporter: fighting wildfires in california dirty, difficult, and dangerous job. wild land firefighters are often need deep in rugged and hard to reach terrain. from sun up to sundown, these men and women usually work a wildfire 24 hour shifts. what are you in for in >> assault with a deadly weapon and 2-11. >> i'm in for assault with a deadly weapon with a firearm.

>> reporter: they are fire fighting convicts. the state of california has roughly 4,000 volunteer inmate firefighters including some 300 women. stationed at 42 sites. so what would you say is the biggest misconception out there? >> i don't think the nation really knows how much that they contribute to the conservation program, but when they are saving those homes, the community just doesn't care whether they are inmates or free california people. >> reporter: close to 3400 wildfires have blackened portions of the golden state, and the fire season is still young. despite the taxing work, kirby is back for his third season. >> this is my first time being in prison. and i'm not what you would call a career criminal. so i wanted to do the best that i could to give back.

>> reporter: terrell elson has worked the line for two years. he says he wants to square his debt to society. >> reporter: how dangerous is this work? >> it gets really dangerous. it's fire and you don't know what it might do. >> they are getting rehabilitated, so they are going back out to the community with the skill and -- and they are likely not to commit crimes again. not all of them but more than half. >> reporter: when the crews aren't working a wildfire they work on other projects like fire fuel reduction and tree topping. skills that are useful in the outside world. >> well they are human beings you know? and everybody deserves a second chance. >> reporter: for these men, it's a second chance that could possibly save their futures. >> tree falling! >> reporter: sarah hoye al

jazeera, california. you can catch more of sarah's report on "america tonight" at 10:00 pm eastern. the death toll is rising in an outbreak of legionaers disease. officials still aren't your where the victims were affected. >> reporter: stephanie seven people have died since the outbreak began several weeks ago. at least 81 people have been affected, and health officials are trying to figure out the source of the outbreak why it's happening in this one area of new york city. they are also fielding questions from people who live in the neighborhood. bronx residents packed this meeting trying to get answers from health officials. leon lelie lee -- it's a form of pneumonia.

the search of the source of the outbreak is focused on local cooling towers. at least five towers positived for the bacteria including towers at a nearby -- hotel and this hospital. >> it can be quite deadly in certain patient groups in particular the elderly, smokers, people who have underlying lung disease like emphysema. people who have weaker immune systems. >> me being a pregnant woman, i'm going to be panic naturally. so coming here i would rather take precautions than sit around and not do anything about it. >> reporter: other residents say they have little information to go on. >> i know there's something, but i don't have any idea exactly. >> it concerns me but i have to

work in these neighborhoods, so got to make a living. >> reporter: health officials say there is no concern for the drinking water, but they are still testing it as a precaution. the mayor is expected to introduce new legislation to prevent outbreaks, and that could include mandatory inspections of the cooling towers. the family of the woman who died in a texas jail last month filed a federal lawsuit today. they are suing the officer and others they say were responsible for her death. her family says the officer was not justified in arresting her. >> the reality of it is is that the investigation as it has gone forward so far is one that we are unclear about. there are inconsistencies that have been documented that concern us. there are questions that we don't know that are even being asked right now that concern us. to that end, we are very much

asking that the doj get involved in this situation. the texas rangers and fbi are looking into bland's death. the aclu is suing a sheriff's deputy for handcuffing disabled children in a kentucky school. >> you don't get to smack me like that. >> this video shows an 8 year old boy after he was handcuffed. he was accused of misbehaving at school. the suit calls on a federal court to call the incident unconstitutional. so far no comment from the deputy or the sheriff's office. the republican presidential pack needs up in new hampshire. democrats were in the cross hairs but the candidates held off on attacking each other.

welcome back to al jazeera america. it is 10:45 eastern. the final stage of sentencing

begins today for colorado theater shooter james holmes. the family will hear from the victims. almost three years after 24 people were killed at sandy hook the families of some of the victims are receiving compensation. they reached a $1.5 million settlement with the mother. and general motors is offering at least $1 million each to the families of people killed in crashes related to a major recall. the accidents all appear to have been caused by faulty ignition switches. victims who suffered life-changing injuries will also be compensated. turning to presidential politics all but three of the hopefuls gathered last night in new hampshire. the candidates remained cordial

to each other, instead focusing on the democrats. antonio mora reports. >> please welcome the candidates. [ applause ] >> reporter: in a speak preview, 14 of the 17 candidates participated in a forum in new hampshire. front runner donald trump skipped the voter's first forum. the real estate mogul rejected his invitation because of a critical editorial in the newspaper. >> we're blessed to have a wonderful group of republicans running for president. >> reporter: instead they went after president obama's record on the economy -- >> i think we can grow our economy at 4% instead of this anemic 2%. >> reporter: the agreement with iran over its nuclear program. >> this is a bad deal. he has declared war on trans-fats and a deal with the

larger state sponsor of terrorism. >> i intend of make 2016 a referendum on repealing obamacare. >> reporter: but there was disagreement particularly over having u.s. combat troops fight isil in syria. >> we need a strategy first. this president has two times admitted that we don't have a strategy as it relates to isis. it's pretty amazing. yeah i think we need special forces. the idea of boots on the ground i'm not sure that is necessary. >> reporter: for two hours, and using a lottery system each candidate fielded two rounds of questioning. >> first of all we need an balanced budget to amendment to the constitution. >> reporter: and national security -- >> to mr. putin, if i'm president of the united states you will have a different person to deal with. >> reporter: and while candidates may have gone easy on

each other, hillary clinton and another rumored candidate were fair game. >> i can't wait to get into the ring with her or joe biden. the last two people you ought to pick is his vice president and his former secretary of state. fire crews are right now scrambling to stop a wildfire from spreading in northern california. it jumped its containment line last night. that lead to more evacuations. the fire has so far burned more than 2,000 homes and consumed more than 93,000 square miles of land. daniel again, thank you for your time and good morning, as the sun rose in northern california this morning. what were firefighters facing? >> well we continue to battle this fire now at daylight we saw just how much larger this fire was able to grow. this fire now 65,000 acres that

puts it about twice the size of the city of san francisco, so a very large fire fuelled by drought stricken conditions. >> it jumped the containment line yesterday, right? highway 20. how much more of a challenge does that present to containing the fire? >> well now that this fire has gone over the highway, we were working very hard to keep it below highway 20 with this fire jumping over the highway, there is a lot more fuel now in the path of the fire allowing the ability to continue to grow at record-setting rates. >> does it mean that it threatens more homes? >> the fires currently burning and where it jumped the highway, we had already evacuated that region so fortunately those homeowners were all out of the area. if this fire continues to grow in different directions it may change some of our evacuation

orders here in the coming days. so we're watching the weather very closely. that's been the key factor. this fire started with triple digit temperatures and it has been fuelled by dry drought conditions. >> i know there are thousands of firefighters from around the country participating to contain this fire. do you everything you need resource wise to contain the fire? >> we have brought in a lot of extra firefighters even the california national guard and air reserve. because while the rocky fire is large fire we have 20 other fires burning up and down the state. but unfortunately this is what we do here in california. wildfires is a natural disaster that we deal with every single summer. we prepare for this. we staffed more firefighters this year knowing the conditions could lead to the possibility of more fires as it has. >> daniel thank you so much. and good luck with your efforts.

the cuban government is reforming its agriculture system. how that is benefiting the farmers.

change is happening inside

cuba and it has been taking place since long before the island began normalizing relations with the u.s. the communist government is taking a very capitalist approach to farming. >> reporter: you are looking at the first and only wholesale market in cuba where farmers sell their goods on the open market. where buyers haggle over prices. you might call it capitalism with a cuban touch. >> translator: it's an experiment, something new, and we're still in the process of organizing the market. yes, we can say this is a free market. it's available for anyone. sellers and buyers. >> reporter: when raul castro rolled out his reforms a few years ago, he targeted agricultural as a top priority. crops could rot because officials failed to distribute

them in town. >> farmers used to lose a lot of money. thousands in products because we did not have a place to sell them. >> reporter: until recently farmers like this woman worked like all cubans as part of the country's centrally planned economy. but now she sells 70% of what she grows to private buyers. not all cubans can afford to hope here. one bag of fruit might cost a fuel day's wages. state owned markets with lower prices remain available, but those places often run out of food. most people here pay a premium for choice and abundance. they represent the new business class, owners of small restaurants and stores. >> translator: i have shopped here ever since it opened. prices are moderate and it's the only central market we have in town and the only one where

we can buy large quantities. >> translator: we buy here and resell for a profit of 30%. >> reporter: this time of the year you have mangos pineapples and plantains. analysts estimate that half a million farmers in cuba now own or lease private land for personal profit. the reforms have invigorated susana cordero. >> translator: when we heard the news farmers felt great joy. any change would be an improvement. it was excellent. it was freedom. >> reporter: farming remains a tough enterprise. the machines farmers use are far past their expiration date and often break down. to buy spare parts they have to wait the government has complete control over imports and a monopoly on selling new

merchandise. >> translator: there should be stores where farmers can go to buy what they need directly. we need to have access to machinery, tractors even financing options to help us buy what we need. we get diesel fuel but not right when we need it. sometimes we lose our harvests because the fertilizers and pesticides we need do not arrive on time. >> reporter: still life has improved for cordero and her family. she worries less about money now that she makes more. >> translator: it represented an immediate economic improvement. every human being wants to see improvement and be in a better economic situation. >> reporter: once upon a time cuba exported sugar, tobacco, and citrus. but these days the island imports 80% of its food. a situation the government wants to change. the transition will take years, and while some farmers may

benefit, it's not clear whether the industry as a whole will come out strong. it's a forgotten part of the american past all black towns settled by freed slaves. heidi zhou castro visited one of them in oklahoma. >> reporter: this rodeo was established to honor the black cowboy tradition held here in this historically all blacktown of clearview, oklahoma. once a year this town of just 50 swells with thousands of visitors. many are the deincidents of families who once lived here. the history has long been kept out of the history books, but it's a story of overcoming incredible trials a deadly march from the deep south, slavery, the civil war, and then freed slaves established

clearview to be a blacktown. >> the idea was they wanted to start all black towns where individuals could move in and start a new life. free from the prejudices of the south, a free place where they could worship on their own, begin their own education of their own people and just start anew. >> reporter: but over the years the town would shrink from a thriving community to a town of just a handful of houses amid deserted ruins. the people call rodeo day christmas, the one day when a town comes back to life. later this evening more on clearview's rise and decline. heidi zhou castro al jazeera, clearview, oklahoma. >> you can watch heidi's full report tonight at 8:00 eastern. thanks for watching. i'm i'm stephanie sy. the news continues next live from doha.

have a great morning. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour. i'm sami zeidan in doha. migrants continue to come off of boats in southern europe. we'll be live in the u.k. where many of them would like to end up. a free man, south african poll ligs has his corruption case thrown out. myanmar asks for help from the international community after flooding leave