>> reporter: the land has long been cleanse of the radioactive poison, but the many who survived the horror of those days, it remains a battleground. the latest details from all of the top stories on the website, aljazeera.com. drawing on history to sell the nuclear deal with iran. president obama about to make his latest pitch to the public, but the agreement is putting him at odds with israel and voters. the stage is set for the first republican debate, but the big names won't be on the main stage. the idea is they wanted to start all blacktowns for individuals that could move into the state and start a new life.

freedoms from the prejudices in the south. >> and thigh have a rich history, but few are left. we take a look at an all back town settled by freed slaves in the 1800s. ♪ good morning, this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm steph -- stephanie sy. president obama only has a few weeks left until the house and senate will vote today he will speak at american university in dc. that is the same place where john f. kennedy spoke about nuclear disarmament. but as john terrett reports, the president is up against an equally strong campaign.

>> reporter: the toughest critic, benjamin netenyahu. his line, i would accept a good deal, but this is a bad one. >> don't let the world's formost terrorist regime get its hands on the world's most dangerous weapons. oppose this bad deal. >> reporter: the white house continued the fight tuesday in support of the nuclear deal with iran. president obama attempting to ease concerns of the same major jewish organizations addressed earlier by netenyahu. >> this is an opportunity for the president to once again lay out his case to all of them, about why believes this is the best way for us to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear when upon. >> reporter: the battle on the airwaves is heating up to.

this one spending 20 million in key markets against the deal. >> congress should reject a bad deal. we need a better deal. >> reporter: and this from jay street which describes itself as proi-israel and pro-peace, forking over 5 million to run this 30-second spot featuring military and security leaders. >> this deal prevents iran from producing a nuclear weapon. that's good for israel, good for america, and makes both countries safer and more secure. >> reporter: meanwhile one poll suggests jewish americans are in favor of the deal by a wide margin. on capitol hill the senate is gearing up for summer recess. in the fall it will vote on a resolution which could block the deal. mitch mcconnell warning democrats today not to try to stop that vote. >> nearly every member of both parties voted to have this debate, when they passed the iran nuclear agreement review act.

surely centers wouldn't then turn around and block a proper debate from even proceeding. >> reporter: the senior senator from new york, a jewish voesz on the hill is weighing his options. >> i'm going to study it carefully. i'm not going to let pressure or politics or party influence my decision. and when i think my questions have been answered, i'll let people know how i feel and why. >> reporter: john terrett, al jazeera, washington. >> the stage is now set for the first republican presidential debate. the event thursday night will feature these candidates: rick parry and rick santorum who both ran in 2012 did not make the cut. as david shuster reports, they are among the candidates being trumped in the polls. >> reporter: two days before the republican debate and by nearly every measure all of the g.o.p. candidates are in rough shape,

except for donald trump. >> i will be the greatest jobs president that god ever created. >> reporter: the latest poll suggests trump is widening his lead among republican voters from 18% last month to 26% now. he is 11 points ahead of jeb bush and 17 points ahead of wisconsin governor scott walker, and while the polls say more republicans disapprove of trump than approve, all of his top competitors on that count are also underwater. on monday night, most of the g.o.p. field spoke at a policy forum in new hampshire. >> 71% of federal spending right now is between entitlements and debt service. >> reporter: trump, however, skipped the event, prompting several to call the gathering boring and insignificant. and then generated headlines of his own with an attack on hillary clinton. he hammered her top aid for being married to disgrace former

congressman anthony weaner. trump has made that charge before. >> a chack media attention and leaving little coverage for his rivals. a few have deployed their own stunts to try to break through. texas senator ted cruz highlighted his ability to cook bake son on the muscle of a machine gun. >> machine gun bacon. [ laughter ] >> reporter: last week, former arkansas governor, mike huckabee, criticized the iran nuclear deal by invoking the holocaust. >> when someone is saying they are going to kill an entire group of people, we better take it seriously. >> reporter: last month lindsay gram hit hard at donald trump. >> stay in the race, just stop being a jack ass. >> reporter: and few hours

later, trump publicly gave out graham's cell phone number. so graham released a humorous video, spoofing ways to destroy your phone. the video didn't help graham's poll numbers which are too low to qualify for the debate. rick perry also failed to take the cut. >> donald trump's candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded. >> reporter: the effort to take on donald trump could be tricky for all of the candidates. in the democratic nomination race the party is soon expected to announce the schedule for six debates beginning this hall. hillary clinton's supporters say the democratic debates cannot come soon enough. her poll numbers keep dropping,

that has prompted her to start running ads. polls indicate clinton has reached her lowest favorability ratings in eight years. david shuster, al jazeera. some of the candidates who weren't selected to participate gave public reaction. rick santorum called it preposterous, saying, quote: other candidates were more positive. carly releasing a statement saying this: and rick parry tweeted: the fbi is now looking into hillary clinton's use of a

private email server. her attorney says clinton and her team are actively cooperating with the investigation. last week the fbi reportedly contacted the denver-based company that managed the system. a federal intelligence inspector general had referred the issue to the justice department. hundreds of protesters have hit the streets in jordan, they are upset over the u.n.'s relief and work agency making big cuts impacting tens of thousands of palestinian refugees. >> reporter: protesters here at the headquarters in ammon, are calling on the international community to shoulder the responsible to help these refugees, because [ inaudible ] this year is facing a severe budget shortfall of $101 million. this shortfall is tlenting to

delay the start of the new academic year at schools across the region. if funding is not received in the next ten days, they may be forced to stop its schools operations and leave 500,000 palestinian children in the region without an end indication, as well as 22,000 teachers out of their jobs. now palestinians as well as the protesters here are saying this is unacceptable. the international community should immediately provide the funds so that palestinian children are not deprived of the basic rights of education. ey also say that it's too early for the international community to defend aid here, because palestinians and especially refugees are still living under international protection in the region, and still need these badly-needed

services such as education until there is a resolution for the palestinian israeli conflict. so they are saying there needs to be immediate funding sent. jordanian-state schools are unable to accommodate such large numbers of children, because they are already accommodating syrian students from the refugees, and as well most families who send their children these schools are not able to pay for private education. emergency rescue operations are underway right now in the mediterranean. an overcrowded fishing boat carrying as many as 700 migrants has capsized there just off of the coast. it was traveling from libya to italy. hundreds of people are feared to have drowned. emergency crews say more than 100 passengers so far have been rescued. for the first time israel

has used a illegal measure to jail a jewish citizen without trial. he is suspected of participating in an arsonac home that killed a baby. usually the method is used to detain palestinians. an al-qaeda linked group has apparently captured rebels trained by the u.s. last week, nusra fighters attacked the u.s.-backed new syrian forces. now training and equipping vetted syrian rebels is one part of an evolving u.s. strategy to fight isil which also includes more cooperation with turkey. u.s. drones have begun flying missions from a fur -- turkish air base. i spoke with a fellow from the

american foundation. >> turkey is very, very concerned about the kurds, the ypg-affiliated syrian kurds connected to the turkish pkk kurds. they are very concerned about them having a contiguous land mass on their southern border. and what this does is puts an arab and turkman safe zone right in the middle of that kurdish area. it also does accomplishes some very serious things. it cuts off the main root that we think the islamic state has been using to bring fighters in and smuggle antiques out to get money. but i think this is more about turkey and its kurdish concerns. the prime minister says that

turkey is preparing for a more comprehensive fight along with the u.s. on investigation will look for serial numbers and identifying marks on wreckage found on a remote island. firefighters are still racing to continue the rocky fire. it has now destroyed more than 67,000 acres, a space roughly double the size of san francisco. 3500 firefighters are on the scene. thanks to a dip and temperatures and a little rain, the fire is now 20% contained but officials say it is still burning strong. ferguson, one year later, the city nears the somber anniversary of the killing of

michael brown and the violence that followed. now his mother is speaking out in an exclusive al jazeera interview. and what an all-blacktown in oklahoma is doing to remember the freed slaves who built it.

when you watch the show, you're gonna find us being unafraid. the topics will fascinate you... intrigue you. >> they take this seriously. >> let me quote you. >> there's a double standard. >> you can't be a hypocrite. >> you're gonna also get a show that's really fair, bold, never predictable. >> they should be worried about heart disease not terrorism. >> no, i wouldn't say that at all. >> you'll see a show that has an impact on the conventional wisdom, that goes where nobody else goes. my name is imran garda, i'm the host of "third rail" - and you can find it on al jazeera america.

welcome back. it is 10:46 eastern. the man who assisted an america morning. the guide faces poaching charges in zimbabwe. his hearing was postponed until september to give his defense more time to prepare. minnesota dentist walter palmer allegedly paid him $50,000 to shoot a lion. the guide insists he did nothing wrong. one of the world's greatest free divers has gone missing and is presumed dead. she was diving off of the coast of spain when she disappeared. one possibility is that she got pulled by an undercurrent. she set dozens of records. pope francis wants to deep the doors of the church open to divorced catholics who remarry. he says the parishers and their

children deserve better from the church. it was nearly one year ago that an unarmed black 18 year old michael brown was shot and killed by a white police officer in ferguson, missouri. that shooting made the community of 21,000 people [ inaudible ] for racial tensions across the u.s. our tony harris sat down with michael brown's mother for an exclusive interview about the one-year anniversary of her son's death. she recounts the moment she received the phone call from her sister. >> she said they shot mike, and -- i don't know what happened after that. i just felt disembodied for a minute. like i was one place in my body and my mind was somewhere else, and i just started running without -- i just felt like i had to get to him, you know?

and -- and i did finally get there. it was -- police were just everywhere. and when i got there. i saw a hump in the street with a sheet on it. >> so what do you think when i mention the name darren wilson? what comes to mind? >> the devil. that comes to mind. evil. >> you can see tony's full interview with leslie tonight at 7:00 eastern. patricia brines is a democratic member in ferguson. >> i think that change is moving

at a snail's pace. there has been some change. change is very hard to get, but it's a microcosm of how fast is change coming in this entire country. we have an interim police chief, an interim city manager, ferguson is still knowing associating with the department of justice, so there are some steps many like myself were hoping in a year from now we would be a lot further with things. but it's very emotional. there is lots of red tape and politics going on unfortunately, and some people like things the way they are. >> the current interim police chief says he is working to build consensus in ferguson. oklahoma was once home to 50 all black towns founded by freed slaves in the mid-1800s. some of those communities

remain, but their populations are dwindling. heidi zhou castro reports. >> reporter: they call it christmas in july. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: the one weekend a year when the historically all-black town of clearview, oklahoma, population 50 booms with visitors. >> you see all of the people come back home with smiling faces. >> reporter: the rodeo was founded by romeo's father and uncle. >> they wanted a place for clearview sons and daughters to have a reason to come back. >> reporter: back to a town where a teeny main street was once a daily site. where the now empty lots had been homes with picket fences.

and the abandoned stores were busy with customers. >> my grandparents on both sides came to clear view, clearing a new life. >> reporter: alford's grandparents were from mississippi. they heard about clearview, a town established by freed slaves in 1903, and joined a wave of african americans who left the deep south for the promise of an all-black utopia, deep within the territory of oklahoma. >> they came here wanting to govern themselves, and find where they could build stuff. >> reporter: generations. she offers tours of the town now. clearview had a baseball team, a train station, college, and a brick factory. it's families felt safe from the

jim crow laws just outside the town's boundaries. >> you could trade in certain places. you just don't get caught in there after dark. >> reporter: because it was dangerous? >> yes. you might get killed. >> reporter: am as quickly as the community boomed, the town shrank. the great depression forced most to look for work in cities. >> reporter: was it sad for you? >> it is. and it is to see it shrinking. i would hope that more people that would want to come back here. >> some on, son! >> reporter: today clearview is known for its rodeo. most of the riders are from this area. >> we're tough. we're real tough. >> the history books kind of left the black cowboy out. but one out of every three cowboys in the west was black.

>> reporter: you won't find much about clearview in those history pages either, but its residents hope to preserve the history by remembering and sharing. the growing ranks of renters, why achieving the american dream is becoming out of reach for more and more people.

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>> it could save a species... >> i feel like we're making an impact >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> i'm standing in a tropcal wind storm... >> ...can effect and surprise us... >> wow, these are amazing... >> techknow, where technology meets humanity! only on al jazeera america new numbers out a short time ago show applications for new mortgages has risen over the past week, but even with mortgage rates near record lows, u.s. homeownership rates are just above 60%. that leaves many wondering whether owning a home has become an american pipe dream. >> reporter: michael and his wife are living the american dream. they have three children and own a small film company in

brooklyn, new york. despite their success, they still face hurdles. they don't own a home. >> the good places we are coming across, someone would come in and scoop it across next day and put down a million dollars cash. so we do well, but that's something very difficult to compete with. >> reporter: they are among the growing rankings of americans renting homes. in many households across the country, being able to afford a home is the key struggle, and the rise in renters is making the demand for all properties more intense. home ownership in the u.s. is now at its lowest level since 1967. some economists don't expect that trend to change soon. >> just a fundamental shift for america. it has been a nation of homeowners, but young people who are starting off their households are disproportionately today becoming renters, not homeowners, and this is a shift.

>> reporter: since the recession it has been tougher to get a mortgage. banks have tightened lending, and a lack of pristine credit has always held back would-be home owners. there has been a gain in renting and a drop of 1.4 million who own. all of it has had a ripple effect on the rental market. industries like new york are prime examples of skyrocketing rent in recent years. >> many young people are -- do not have savings rather they are deep in up, it becomes more and more difficult to save, and therefore, it becomes difficult to save for homeownership, which is a pretty big savings that is required. >> reporter: in some parts of the country it is more affordable to rent a home than

buy one. but some potential buyers are reluctant to buy. >> they have been burned by homeownership in the past or have seen others burn by homeownership in the past. and they are willing to pay a higher price for rent if it gives them more flexibility. >> reporter: and while the american dream may be losing its luster for some, michael and his wife still have hope. >> we would like to have something that is ours. >> reporter: but the key question for many is when will wages grow enough to turn the thought of owning a home into a reality. mary snow al jazeera. thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy. the news continues next live from doha. and president obama will speak soon at the american university in washington, d.c. on the iran nuclear deal. you are looking live at the podium.

we'll bring that to you live when it happens. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm martine dennis in doha. coming up in the program. hundreds of migrants are feared dead after a boat capsizes off of the coast of libya. the cost of war, the u.n. says 5,000 afghan civilians have been killed or injured in conflict this year alone. a protest in ammon against the possible closure of schools that could effect about half a million palestinian refugee