understand them. >> reporter: 20,000 liters of paint later, and the new-look neighborhood monkey sees as a gift to his three young children is almost finished. jonah holman, al jazeera, mexico. all of our stories and more can be found on our website. aljazeera.com. the epa works to cleanup toxic waist in two colorado rivers. newly released security footage of a police shooting in ferguson. and hillary clinton agrees to turn over her private server amid allegations that some of the material included top-secret material. ♪

good morning, this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. the head of the epa says the agency is working non-stop to clean up a major toxic spill in colorado. today they will visit sites along the rivers, and the agency is set to release testing samples. mccarthy says the epa takes full responsibility. >> it is a tajjic and unfortunate accident and epa is taking responsibility to make sure it is marined up. the most important thing is ensuring the health and safety of the residents and visitors near the river. >> the spill is still flowing at a rate of 500 to 700 gallons a minute. the rivers snake west through the four-corners region into utah where they empty into the

colorado river. the spill is expected to reach lake powell today. the colorado river system is considered the life blood of the west. it is one of the few major rivers in the region, stretching 1400 miles from the rockies to the gulf of california. seven states and some 40 million people, including 22 native american tribes depend on the colorado for drinking, industry, farming, and tourism. joining us via skype from durango, colorado. good morning, and thank you for your time. the head of the epa is due there in durango any time now. what does she need to say to ensure concerned residents there. >> i think certainly she could talk about increases transparency, and being able to assure the public about not only the impacts of the immediate

release, but also start to talk about what are the medium and long-term impacts that we might be able to anticipate for the river? the animus river has a long history of contamination and pollution from many of these abandoned mines, and now this incident is going to impact the river further remains to be seen, and i think a lot of people are interested in what that looks like. >> the epa says they take full responsibility. but do they deserve all of the blame. after all the epa was there trying to test the waters in these mines and trying to plug this mine up. what about the mining companies that built these mines and created these toxic biproducts. have we heard much from them? >> we haven't. and this is an issue that has been going on for more than a century in this area. there is approximately 1100 mines above silverton alone, so

this is -- this is a legacy problem that has been going on forever. gold king mine in particular was -- they ceased operations in 1923, and the epa was merely trying to characterize and begin to stem the flow of leakage that was already happening from that mine specifically, and they were doing this in the -- in the public trust, in the public interest. the mine owners walked away from this mine. left it to the public, and the public dollars to clean up. and the epa was acting on our behalf to try to make our environment better, and that's the tragedy of all of this, that they were doing what we need them to do, because the mine owners walked away from their responsibility. >> has there been a breach of trust between the epa and the residents of durango. >> well, i think a breach of trust is a pretty strong statement.

i would say that -- and the epa has admitted their initial information they got out to the communities was slow, and for a number of reasons, but i -- my -- my impression is that the epa is working really hard to try to provide the data for residents. they are having lots of public meetings. they are taking lots of questions, and there has been a big emphasis in trying to get the information out so the public can feel confident they are doing the best they can. >> are you expecting residents and businesses to sue the epa for some of the lost business we have been talking about. >> i can say the epa has already set up a claims process whereby durango residents and businesses can make a claim. for instance the rafting industry, this is peak season for the rafting industry, and

they are trying to deal with climbs about that. >> have you seen the river in the last couple of days? how would you describe it now? >> i went down that yesterday matter of fact. and it is recovering. it's going back to its normal green blue you know -- the color of a dark lime is maybe what i would characterize it as yesterday. you can notice is slight tinge of yellow in the water, but it's getting there. but with 5 to 700 gallons a minute still flowing into the river, there is still some pollution going into the river. it's not back to absolutely normal, but it's getting close. >> thank you for your time this morning. >> thanks, stephanie. in ferguson, missouri, a state of emergency is still in place. police released surveillance

footage of the man they shot. police say they shot and critically injured the 18 year old after he opened fire on them. what does the video not show about that night? >> reporter: well, it doesn't show the shooting itself. it's remarkable how clear this video is. it appears to show the 18 year old pulling a gun out of his waistband, but it doesn't show him shooting at police, which they say he did. and it doesn't show him getting shot by police. he is still in critical condition right now. facing charges. >> how about the protests last night, could the state of emergency -- could we see that lifted soon? >> reporter: a lot of people that's what is going to happen actually. it was a very calm night last night. a couple of dozen protesters

angrily marched past police officers. but they just hung back, and there were far fewer police and far fewer protesters. eventually everybody went home and there were no arrests. >> let's talk about the individuality group the oath keepers that were there. some people have said if black people were walking around this heavily armed, they would be treated differently. >> reporter: that was brought up last night. one woman said it's allowed under law. but prosecutors are wondering if these gentlemen broke laws during a state of emergency by carrying these weapons around. but they say they are just here for protection. we caught a bit of exchange between one of the protesters

and one of the oath keepers. >> a lot of folks think this is a really good movement. so i understand that. but i think that the agitation at a certain point becomes less than useful, and i think at some point it does wear out a little bit. >> reporter: actually that was not quite the exchange we were talking about. but it was an exchange where a woman said what are you doing there? and the oath keeper said we're just trying to keep you safe. but fortunately everything was peaceful last night. there were a couple of arrests over the michael brown death, but that was actually in chicago. >> andy thank you. a white police officer who killed an unarmed black teenager in arlington, texas has been fired. 19 year old christian tailor was killed friday during a burglary

investigation at a car dealership. >> we have got shots fired. [ inaudible ] >> the recording show nearly two minutes lapsed between police arriving and shots being fired. brad miller shot at tailor four times during a pursuit that the arlington police chief calls questionable. the family says they want answers. a criminal investigation is now underway. hillary clinton has agreed to turn her private email server over to the justice department. the move which clinton has resisted for months the latest development in the controversy.

>> reporter: hillary clinton's announcement that she will hand over her personal email server to the justice department is a stark departure from the position she has maintained for five months. >> the server contains personal communications from my husband and me, and i believe i have met all of my responsibilities, and the server will remain private. >> reporter: the clinton campaign says she now is also giving investigators, 3 thumb drives containing roughly 30,000 emails relating to her work as secretary of state. the fbi is investigating whether clinton's use of a personal email account that private server resulted in the mishandling of any classified information. just hours before clinton made her announcement, a state department report said that two of the emails on clinton's servers have been classified as, quote, top secret. though it also acknowledged that the material was not marked that way at the time the emails were

sent. clinton has long denied any type of classified emails ever existed on her personal server. >> i'm well aware of the classification requirements, and did not send classified material. >> reporter: republicans, including house speaker john boehner, welcomed clinton's decision. in a statement, boehner said, quote: john henry smith, al jazeera. for the first time a poll indicates clinton, hillary clinton may be in trouble in a key early primary state. a poll from franklin pierce university shows bernie sanders leading clinton by seven points among likely democratic primary voters in new hampshire. this is the first time that sanders has registered a lead over clinton in any state or

national poll. jeb bush used the first major foreign policy speech of his campaign to call for greater involvement in the fight against isil. >> we do not need and our friends don't ask for a major commitment of forces. but we do need to convey that we're serious. that we're determined to help local forces take back their country. we know it's not enough to dispense advice and training, and then send them on their way. >> reporter: bush says the u.s. may need to send more ground troops in iraq. he blamed president obama for isil's rise. the head of a group that has publicly opposed the iran nuclear deal has quit because he now backs the agreement. he was a former nuclear advisor to president obama. he says after studying the deal,

he thinks it is in the best interest of the u.s. they hired joe lieberman as its new head. a major drug maker shuts down its plant in north carolina after testing positive for the legion ella bacteria. and lighting up detroit, why some say a project to repair the industry's broken streetlights, falls short.

welcome back to al jazeera america. it is 10:46 eastern. taking a look at today's top stories. a humanitarian crisis in yemen is threatening to become a catastrophe for some 15 million people who need medical care. the world health organization says the healthcare system is collapsing because of the war. amnesty international is pushing to decriminalize sex work. the group says current laws stigmatize sex workers. it says it is based on research from several u.n. agencies. and the deflate gate scandal

is taking center stage right now in a courtroom. league investigators say brady new about a plan to deflate footballs before a january playoff game. a pharmaceutical plant in north carolina has shut down after testing positive for the legionella bacteria. meanwhile here in new york city building owners are in the process of testing their cooling towers. eye these is here with more. >> reporter: stephanie, building owners are following a city-wide order. some towers are already testing positive. one by one the cooling towers are being tested for legionella. >> so some of the cooling towers have tested positive, but not

all of them have been tested. >> reporter: it's part of the city's mandate to test and disinfect the cooling towers to prevent the spread of legionnaires' disease. some have already tested positive. >> we have really had to from scratch figure out where they are, and get to them, then sample and inspect them, then disinfect. >> reporter: we spoke to companies using the towers. >> the cooling water is not treated properly, then it's quite common to find legionella in cooling-tower water. >> reporter: health officials still believe the source of the outbreak was accidentfied aied -- identified and then disinfected. one testing company estimates the city has anywhere from 5 to 10,000 cooling towers.

city officials are about to debate legislation that would require cleaning and testing of cooling towers. >> thank you. new york prison officials are investigating claims by inmates who say they were beaten and tortured during the manhunt for two high-profile escapeees. criminals who new the two men complained they were put in solitary confinement and stripped of privileges. the allegations were first reported in the "new york times." matt and sweat escaped in june. matt was killed after a manhunt, sweat was captured two days later. in detroit work has begun to repair the city's broken streetlights. many residents now have light. the three-year project is running ahead of schedule, but some say the program is still falling short. >> up until recently it was

spotty. it was always spotty. you know, you have the lights going on, and the lights would be out for a year or two before the city would fix them. >> reporter: but today several new brighter led streetlights tower above the detroit neighborhood, and the change was a long time coming. after decades of decline, less than two years ago, about 40% of detroit's streetlights were broken, leaving thousands of residents in the dark. >> it was kind of horrible, because you had a lot of dark spots up and down the streets. >> reporter: he says that made his neighborhood a breeding ground for crime. >> there were a lot of people that stayed real close either in their yards or on their po their -- porches. >> reporter: but in 2013, the city created a public lighting authority, and embarked on a $185 million project to repair and replace more than 88,000

streetlights. >> the city of detroit had experienced over 30 years of disinvestment in the streetlights. >> reporter: people who aren't from here, detroit, may look and say why did it take so long for the city to correct this problem. >> uh-huh. you know, i think wholistically there was a number of reasons over the years. technology changed. the ability to interface that technology cost in a city for sometime which culminated up to the bankruptcy. >> reporter: and yet a little more than a year into the project, some residents feel the city isn't moving fast enough. the authority has been installing one light at each corner, and another in the middle. >> no lights ain't right! >> reporter: cynthia johnson has

the been leading what she calls a light walk through detroit for the past three months. they meet in darkened neighborhoods with flashlights and other lighting devices. >> we're doing this to bring attention to areas in the city of detroit that with without lights. areas that have very little lights, next to no lights at all. >> reporter: how do you respond to some residents who have criticized the lighting. they say the led lights aren't bright enough, or they don't hit a wide path. what is your response. >> well, this is a city of 700,000 people, and i tell ya, over 80% of the folks that contact our office, or that we experience in our conversations, they love what we're doing. >> reporter: he has his concerns but he is pleased by the progress made so far. >> we hardly don't get anything over here, so when you get something you try to cherish that, you know, for now -- i guess try to complain a little

bit, but not too much. >> reporter: the lighting authority says it had responded to complaints by installing additional lights. but as it stands now, by the end of the year, all of detroit's neighborhoods are expected to have new streetlights for the first time in decades. bisi onile-ere, al jazeera, detroit. the plan to close guantanamo, why it's back to the drawing board when it comes to transferring prisoners.

>> they believed in what they we

china's decision to devalue its currency is having a big impact on wall street. the dow is down more than 250 points right now. several world markets also down. president obama's pledge to close the prison camp at guantanamo bay cuba before he leaves office has hit a new roadblock.

the justice department is reportedly opposed to transferring some of the remaining detainees to a prison in illinois. as jamie mcentire reports that is just the latest obstacle. >> reporter: it was one of the first promises the president made. he campaigned on it, and has repeated it many times over the past seven years. in 2009 he signed an executive order to close the detention center as soon as practicable. but so far the pentagon has failed to come up with a plan to make it happen. the obama administration has promised to offer a concrete plan to congress for the shutdown of guantanamo bay. one idea was to send several dozen of the most allegedly dangerous detainees whom the pentagon says cannot be released or sent to other countries, to the thompson correctional center, a federal prison in

illinois that has some 1500 empty cells. but the obama administration forgot that eric holder promised the senate judiciary committee, quote: so it's back to the drawing board. >> we obviously strongly support the secretary, strongly support president obama's determination made from think very first day of his administration to close guantana guantanamo. it's obviously a top priority. it has remained a challenge throughout. >> reporter: the administration had hoped to get a plan to senate armed services committee chairman this month before congress recessed. but now officials say it will be next month at the earlierest before a proposal goes to the hill. mccain has promised to work with president obama to close guantanamo, but only if the administration can provide an alternative that addresses

congressional concerns. it's not just the current ban on moving prisoners to u.s. soil that has to be addressed, but also that the defense secretary sign off on transfer of other prisoners. hagel was often reluctant to give his personal assurance of something that was unknowable. current defense secretary ash carter is also taking a conservative approach. six years after president obama signed an executive order to close guantanamo within a year, the number of detainees has been cut from 240 to 116. and nearly half have been cleared for release. with most not facing any charges. the state department says it is working full-time to find countries who will take guantanamo prisoners, many of whom were cleared for release

years ago, but have nowhere to go. the white house is still searching for a prison in the u.s. willing to accept the several dozen detainees judged too dangerous to ever be released. meanwhile in two days the u.s. flag will be raised over ambassador in cue da. we'll have special coverage on that beginning at 9:30 here on al jazeera. music may help people with epilepsy. when listening to music the brain wave patterns of people with epilepsy are different than the brain waves of normal people. researchers hope music can one day be part of new therapies to prevent seizures. thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy in new york. the news continues next live from doha. have a great day. ♪

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello there, welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm laura kyle in doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes. the war in yemen, pro-government forces close in on a strategic city that has been held by houthi rebels for months. a bloody day in damascus as syria's leaders hold high-level talks with their close ally iran. more shock and wes hit the markets as china's central bank cuts the value of its currency