a. >> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city i'm tony harris. as the u.s. calls for full normalization with cuba, human rights violations is still being ignored. the pentagon says the noose is being closed around i.s.i.l.'s neck. and the colorado river that was washed with toxins, is reopened,

but risk remain. history was made today in cuba where the american flag is flying over the u.s. embassy for the first time in 54 years. a flag raising ceremony took place this morning in havana. john kerry was there. he is the highest ranking u.s. official to visit cuba since the roosevelt administration. melissa chan is there. tell us more about today's events. >> reporter: well tony, i think that first surreal moment for me at least when we really realized these two countries finally have developed a relationship is that moment when the u.s. band in a morning ceremony started playing the cuban national anthem. something you couldn't have envisioned a year or two years ago.

first surreal moment. then, the fact there were three american marines back in 1961 who had to take down that flag. an incredible fact was that they were at the ceremony to participate and help raise that flag up again. something that hasn't been seen in havana in four years. so really, incredible. and when we heard that flag come up we heard cheers and clapping from the ordinary cubans who were standing outside, who had come and shown up early, outside the gates just to see that flag. really amazing. i think i want to clarify one thing. this is actually not the u.s. embassy opening tony. >> that's right. >> reporter: because normal diplomatic relations had started july 20th. but the americans thought it was important enough that u.s. secretary of state john kerry could attend. they thought it was important outthey didn't invite a single

dissident to the morning event. the americans said it was for a lack of space. you can read it however you want. certainly that is going to get some criticism for some quarters. tony. >> lack of space, feels somewhat weak. melissa what happens next? things will change after this big moment, right? >> i think things will change but anyone who expects things to change overnight that's not going to happen. and you can see that from the comments that secretary of state john kerry made in that ceremony in the morning. >> decades of good intentions aside. the policies of the past have not led to a democratic transition in cuba. it would be equally unrealistic to expect normalizing relations to have in a short term a transformational impact. after all, cuba's future is or the cubans to shape.

responsibilities for rests as it should not with any outside entity but solely within citizens of this country. >> reporter: having said all that, 97% of cubans according to one poll conducted by univision, 97% of them support reunification. i do think it's be important though to keep in mind that just because there are normalization of relations, doesn't mean the two countries have normalized relations. there is trade, and embar go, a. >> john kerry is the first u.s. secretary of state to visit before the roosevelt

administration. might be nice the know what the rest of his day was like in cuba. >> he was expected to hold a meeting and then a presser. something he wanted to do to speak to ordinary cubans, he managed to do that right behind me a few hours ago in old havana. it was a sight to see, another surreal moment. we knew it was coming but again when you watched it when you could see it, very, very strange to see an american of that level walking through old havana talking to people. he checked out a few retrocars, as well. quite an historic thing tony. >> melissa chan, thank you. coming up a full hour of live coverage and antonio mora will be back, along with melissa,

they come back 9:00 p.m, 6:00 p.m. pacific. in december president obama announced the most significant change in u.s. policy to cuba in 50 years. he said he would begin to normalize relations with cuba. u.s. released three cuban spies, in late may, the u.s. released cuba from state sponsors of terrorism. and late july, the cuban embassy opened in washington. as lucia newman reports this is not an easy courtship. >> reporter: it's still called the hershey train, the train that goes to and from the town named in 1916 after its founder, the american chocolate magnate, milton hershey. he built the town for his

workers around a giant sugar refinery, to be sent off to the u.s. to make his famous chocolate bars. 88-year-old victor remembers that as a child he only spoke english. his family had come to hershey from jamaica to cut cane when sugar was king. >> they closed the refinery and when they did that the town was finished. >> reporter: hershey is indeed a shadow of its former self. the refinery one of cuba's largest is now being dismantled. cuba has suddenly become a magnet for visitors. hoping to bring this back to life. >> from the french president to the head of the russian parliament to european and asian

foreign ministers all accompanied by business executives eager to position themselves in cuba before the americans move in. it's as if a curtain has been lifted. >> translator: bass the empire has blessed us in the name of the father, the son and the holy ghost, when the united states announced that it wanted good relations with cuba it took away the fear that so many people and leaders had about doing business with cuba. >> reporter: but while the level of interest is unprecedented moving towards normal diplomatic ties and taking cuba off the list of state sponsors of terror, is not enough. >> that elevates the level of compliance and risk so when you do that cost benefit analysis cuba's not quite there yet. >> reporter: and it's not just american companies that are cautious. as the american president complained, the helms burton act

still sanctions even foreign countries that do business with cuba and the u.s. still, there's consensus that it's only a matter of time before these remnants of the cold war, like so many other things in cuba, become a thing of the past, and eventually melt away. lucia newman, al jazeera, hershey, cuba. >> john cavalick joins us from los angeles. good to have you on the program. from a business standpoint, is cuba fool's gold or a real business opportunity, at this moment? >> you were right to qualify it. at this moment. >> yeah. >> the u.s. business community is looking at cuba today in an aspirational way. we look at it as we hope it to be, we don't pay as much attention to what it is. and that's a challenge. everyone's going to have to sort of step back and realize that

these are moments within moments and they're chapters in a book. and so there are some opportunities that exist, but the u.s. business community has to be cautious, but also, has to be educated and they need to take time to understand what they can and can't do. and that isn't just from the united states but it's also from the cuban side. and that's very important. because president obama has laid forth a lot of opportunities for the u.s. business community during the last eight months. and some of those are terrific. but they're not being implemented. give you an example. >> okay. >> president obama says u.s. companies can now export products to the cuban self employed, those 220 categories of self employed in cuba. somebody owns a hair salon and wants paul mitchell shampoo they

can get that. however the cuban government doesn't allow them to import those products directly. waiting for cuban government to say yes to some of the president's initiatives. >> this is interesting. what sectors can actually operate? because those are smaller slices of a huge economic pie that we're talking about. aside from, say, telecom companies, maybe agriculture, are there larger sectors that can legally do business with the cuban government? >> since 1992, u.s. companies have been able to export health care products to cuba. and they do but the numbers are primarily very, very small, u.s. products are expensive, there are requirements in terms of monitoring the use of the equipment but it generally has to do with price. u.s. agricultural and food products have been eligible for export since 2000 and from december 2001 through june of

this year $5.2 billion in food and ag sales have taken place. mostly bulk food commodities and those are on a cash basis because u.s. requires it. cubans don't like it but they did make purchases. however during the last nine months, cuba purchases food and ag products are down about 40%. so you have president obama making the announcements in december then providing regulations for those initiatives, somebody in the americas off the sanctions list, embassy's reopened, secretary kerry to cuba but cuba's buying less today than they did nine months ago. >> yeah. >> and that's something we're all watching to see, are they going to change that, are they now going to say president obama has opened the door for telecom and communications equipment.

we're all watching what they'll do and the ball is in cuba's court here. >> before i lose time with you, there is no way that this congress lifts the trade embargo for this president, even if it felt it would be good for the u.s. economy. just because things are so partisan at this point. >> you're absolutely right. during the next 17 months of president obama's administration, this is all going to be focused on his legacy. so therefore, the obama administration isn't going to push cuba too hard because president obama wants to visit cuba before he leaves office, probably in the first quarter of 2016. then the pope going to cuba, then general castro will meet president obama again, and it's all pointing towards president obama using every executive authority he has during the remainder of his presidency.

he is going to create such a dynamic, that whoever he succeeds him will be basically unable to unraffle anything because it will be so engrained. >> interesting. >> that's what is being watched now, regulatory, further and further opening the door and further putting the pressure on the cuban government to say okay we will deal with u.s. companies. all the cubans will say is, we will see them. >> you set our news agenda for the next few months. thank you, joining us from los angeles, john thank you. the flag raising ceremony was closely watched in miami home to one of the largest cuba communities in the united states. many cuban americans welcome this relationship, others are angry. they say not enough is changed in their former home land. >> they no supporting obama and they no supporting their

relation with cuba because in 57 years cast tro is no change they don't want to change. they don't want to change the fannie mae, never power change. >> so later this hour much more on this historic day in cuba. we will talk with one of the country's most outspoken critics. now to iraq where kurdish authorities say the islamic state has used chemical weapons dependence them. jamie mcintire is at the pentagon for us. jamie what does the pentagon say about these allegations? >> they are taking it very seriously even if they can't confirm what agent was used in the attacks. they were aware the reports had come from kurdish soldiers, through germany, some of the

germans were advising the kurds. chemical burns prompting speculation that they might have encountered mustard gas or chlorine or some other agent. the u.s. is taking these reports seriously because it's considering i.s.i.l. as the kind of force that would deploy these means, and tests are being done to confirm what these troops might have been exposed to. but nevertheless the pentagon says fit turns out to be true, it shows the kind of adversary they're up against in iraq. >> reporter: jamie, the u.s. central command say iraqi troops are in the second week of a multiweek campaign to get i.s.i.l. out of ramadi. what is the latest there? >> reporter: well, you may recall that there was a great fanfare when they announced iraqi effort to liberate ramadi

in neas neashanbar profnls. i.s.i.lanbar province. i.s.i.l. has put hundreds of boopy traps, and they are being methodically dismantled. they have a microphoneica a metf defusing these devices.

>> jamie mcintire, appreciate it. japan's prime minister expresses remorse for the situation of world war ii, why he stopped short of apology. and the animas river is clear, in the navajo nation. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience.

and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. >> well, nine days after a

massive toxic spill in colorado both the epa and colorado's governor say the river is back to before incident level. today the animas river reopened. keeping the pressure on the federal government. >> make no mistake, we will hold the epa accountable and keep the anticipate honestheepa honest wy will hold themselves accountable to a higher standard than private business. >> allen schauffler takes a look at getting water to those who need it in colorado. >> we're on the banks of the animas river. we joined by kim carpenter, county executive of the county.

nine days since the spill of the gold king mine, almost a week. it came through here. how are people handling it here? >> without me lifting the restriction on the river, people are hurting, crops are dying. livestock is not getting the hydration they need. people who live along the river that are hurting, we're having to bring them supply and water. >> how are you helping the homeless population? >> we've set up with the department of health, the fire stations and a number of different groups to bring water, deliver water, we've delivered almost 400,000 gallons of water to farmers trying to not -- it's not keeping their crops growing but it's trying to sustain and buy time to see when we can get the waterway back open. and to give water for their life livestock. >> that's it, for sustainability. i have to say i took a short run

around the river, i saw hundreds of ducks and one little skunk. there's been no reports of any significant wildlife die off, fish foul or insect dieoff. long term what are the impacts on animals and humans, that's the question shadowing all of this. allen schauffler, al jazeera, farmington, colorado. >> on a navajo reservation joining us from a phone, sunny good to have you on the program. you supplied us with video and still pictures that help us talk through this story. you were along the san juan river on a bit of a tour. what did you see? >> good evening, tony. yes, we saw a people in need of

a lot of water to put it simply. we did -- i actually am from the new mexico area and the navajo nation spread throughout arizona, new mexico and utah. so we traveled about two and a half, three hours ca today, and about eight hours total along the san juan river to get an idea of what the people in the navajo nation are going through in all areas. >> sunny how many need to be taken care of with water? >> a lot of people, the navajo nation is a very, very widespread area. it takes days at times to get from one end to the other. i believe it was reported previously about 3,000 people who live along that river who will be affected by this on the navajo nation. >> where account epa providing the clean water and where sit coming from? >> the basic amount is along the farming toton.

mexican hat is around three and a half four hour drive from that area. >> wow, for some of the people who need the water to get to this particular distribution point that was a bit of a trip as well, right? >> it definitely was. we talked to a couple of people who do have livestock and crops who had to travel at least 30 miles at the most or maybe even more. and when that water supply ends at that distribution center they're going to have to travel hours add that point. >> whoa. sunny, you shared a picture from a meeting of the navajo nation, not sure when this took place, i'm guessing in recent days. share with us the concerns expressed in that particular meetings. >> the meeting was held about two days ago. and one of the bigger agencies of the navajo nation, in shiprock new mexico. it was more of a meeting of

local officials to meet and address any questions that local residents have. the main was, where are we getting our water from, what would happen if we touched the water, what is in the water? how long is this going to last, and is the supply sufficient to hold us over? the questions were, when are we going to have water, are we ever going to have water again and everything you can possibly imagine. >> bear with me for a minute. the obama administration, members of the house committee, what they're investigating is not important, but a house committee and republican members are calling testimony from the epa administrator, gina mccarthy who i'm sure you have been in the same space with her over the last few days, testimony from her in july on a completely separatel separate m, false and misleading.

the same person is saying the animas is cleaning itself. do the people of the navajo nation trust her, trust the epa or anyone from the government at this point? >> i don't want to say no, totally but the people i have talked to, no. there has never been a reason for us to trust them. that's what the people are thinking of, logistically, how do you clean a river, what's stuck to the banks and seeping into the sand? it doesn't make sense to them, how are you exactly going to do that? >> last one i want to sneak in, the president of the navajo nation, ruffle beget, they want to close these cases and they don't want more compensation to come later. how widely held is that view?

>> well, initially, people were being told that these forms were available for them. and this is before the memorandum came out from president beget. but the initial program was, they are giving forms to a lot of people who are not very well educated and don't even speak the english language. there were a lot of people who already didn't understand what exactly it was for. they were told, if you want to get compensated for your loss, document your loss and you will be compensated. but more of the language was examined and the navajo president kind of went into detail with that and found that it does show something to where the people would be relinquishing a little bit of their ability to regain claims later on. and so now there's hesitation. people are being warned about the fact that you know, you can't -- you shouldn't do this. you shouldn't trust this. >> right, right. >> and that's kind of where it is now. >> part of a lack of trust with

the epa, over this whole thick, sunny, appreciate your time and thanks for the elements. appreciate it, thank you. >> thank you. >> rescued from the rubble. two days after explosions rocked a key port city in china, plus cuban dissidents were left out of the ceremony in havana today, what they are saying about the changing relations.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et

>> this morning's history-making events in cuba, secretary of state john kerry was on hand as marines raised the u.s. flag above the embassy in havana. kerry said, it's time to put past in the past. >> too many days of sacrifice and sorrow, too many decades of suspicious and fear. that is why i am heartened by the many on both sides of the streets, who, whether because of family ties or a simple desire to replace anger with something more productive have endorsed this search for a better path. we have begun to move down that path without any illusions of how difficult it may be but we are each confident in our

intentions, confident in the contacts that we have made and pleased with the friendships that we have begun to forge. and we are certain that the time is now to reach out to one another last two peoples who are no longer enemies or rivals but neighbors. time to unfurl our flags. raise them up and let them know that the that we wish each other well. >> this morning's ceremony belonged with a poem written by richard blanco. his family left cuba right before he was born in 1968. >> both our countries who believed that not even the sea can keep us from one another. matters of the sea cosas del mar, the sea doesn't matter.

what matters is this: we all belong to the sea between us. >> on this day, 70 years ago, japan surrendered unconditionally to allied forces effectively ending world war ii. in the past japanese prime ministers marked similar occasions by apologizing for japanese actions during the war. not this time. harry fawcett explains. >> shinzo abe said would follow the path of peace, to prosper japan. he spoke of silent pride in japan's peaceful postwar path and of remorse and apology. >> translator: japan has repeatedly suppressed the feelings of remorse and heart felt feelings, suffering of the

people in asia as our neighbors. >> reporter: but unlike his predecessors he didn't offer that apology personally. china and south korea talk of japan's 20th century aggression. abe agreed that it had led to tremendous suffering. he used the word through it to the future. >> translator: we must never again repeat the devastation of war. we shall never again resort to any form of threat or use threats as a means of settling international disputes. we shall abandon colonial rule forever and respect the right of self determination of all peoples throughout the world. >> reporter: there was though more personal language in the asia mostly south korean women forced into prostitution by the japanese military machine. >> we must never forget that

there were women behind the battlefield whose honor were several injured. >> noted that the six million who returned home after the war helped build a peaceful successful democracy. this statement was certainly different from his predecessors, much longer for one thing, setting out a historical context of japan's wrong course to war, and a predestined need to apologize, it was full of nuance, heated discussions between international experts. pouring over every one of those nuances and there's plenty for them not to like. harry fawcett, a al jazeera, tokyo. >> 19-year-old joe ti had been trapped for about 32 hours after responding to the blast at the

white house. he was taken to a hospital to be treated for multiple injuries. 56 people were killed in the explosions. and officials expect the death toll to only rise. adrian brown reports from tienjin, china. >> just 17, in fact, many of them are very young. like this exhausted group resting close to the epicenter. an unknown number of firefighters is still missing. were they trained for a chemical disaster on this scale? military chemical experts have now been deployed to an area that remains highly combustible. on friday morning the fires were still burning with many people worried about whether it's safe to breathe the air in a city without a face. >> it's an explosion from a chemical plant after all. there must be hazardous stuff in the air. it won't be good for our bodies.

>> but her friend is not worried. >> since the government said the air quality is okay we should feel safe about it. we should trust the government. >> the clock shows the hour and minute of the second more powerful explosion. 11:38. blobelow is a bus depot. imagine the disaster if the blast had happened just a few hours earlier. at a press conference, none was able to give an answer to the simple question on one's mind right now? >> sir is the air safe to breathe or not? >> i think the air quality is supposed to be safe to ordinary people. >> not the most reassuring supply. still not clear what caused the blast. local officials now confirm that up to 50,000 tons of dangerous

chemicals including cyanide were stored in that warehouse every year. apartment blocks overlooking the industrial zone were damaged. the shattered windows can be repaired but for now, the occupants in these homes are living in tents, unsure when they can return. >> translator: there was a pungent smell in the air and we couldn't breathe. we rushed downstairs and started to vomit. we had our stomachs inside out. >> teetienjin is now the midst a debate. the leadership will be worried if the anxiety and despair among some of the survivors will raise. there have now been a total of 15 explosions in plants this year alone. adrian brown, al jazeera, in

tienjin. >> another vote of confidence for the greek economy, eurozone finance ministers approve the proposal, john siropolous is in athens. >> the greek government has managed to pass the first implementation bill of its first $93 billion bailout loan and this means it says roughly $15 billion worth of austerity measures over the next three years, but that it says is far lower than what the greek people would have suffered under the previous bailout agreements. however, the passage of this bill does not come for free. it comes as great political cost. the government has been exposed as completely divided through this latest vote. 44 mps, roughly one-third of the block of the ruling left wing syriza party has defected, and that means that the prime minister may now be considered

no longer to have the confidence of parliament as a whole. so he has called for a vote of confidence roughly a week from now in which he is essentially putting his own people on the spot and he is challenging them to come back into the fold. should that gambit fail he will then have to dissolve government, dissolve parliament and go to general election next month. will he win that election? the result remains uncertain because syriza which was up until recently the main hope of the greek people to remain within the eurozone without further austerity measures has now disappointed them. it has now joined the other three parties in parliament which support memorandum politics as they refer to here in greece and therefore the result of the next election could be very unpredictability. >> john siropolous reporting for us. the state of emergency in ferguson has been i lifted.

demonstrators gathered to mark one year since the shooting of michael brown by darren wilson. detectives say he had fired a gun at them. ferguson authorities say the town has been calm for the past three nights. nearly five decades since the kerner commission published its landmark report of the cause of riots during the 1960s and the justice department is echoing those findings today. "america tonight's" joie chen has more. >> war torn cities, more than 100 square blocks were decimated by fires and looters. >> just days before lbj signed the voting rights act watts was a reminder that even bold push for equality could not stifle the anger, not just in south central los angeles but around

the country. >> was it worse, the summer we're into now? >> more widespread yes, as everywhere together with the riot that we had in watts in 65. and then again in 68 with baltimore and washington exploatinexploding after the assassination of dr. king. it was far more widespread. you didn't know where it was going to go, how long or what could be done to stop it. >> in 19 scief fred harri 1965 a young senator. >> i was also looking into the problems of race and poverty and the problems of the city. and then we had these terrible explosions where the police and the national guard were used excessivusingexcessive force.

many were killed, most of them black, most of them innocent. >> president johnson was persuaded by fred harris to form the kerner commission. >> what did he tell you to do in this commission? >> let your search be free. i want the answers, what happened in these riots, secondly why did it happen, and thirdly, what can we do to keep it from happening, again and again? and that's what we tried to do. >> seven months of investigation led to the kerner commission report of 426 page bold indictment of race relations in 1960s america best remembered by a single line. >> our nation is moving towards two societies, one white, one black, separately and unequal. >> the language was strong, the prescription, jobs, an opportunity for the inner cities

firm, and the response surprising. the president who commissioned the recommendations chose to ignore them. >> but he refused to even meet with us. and he never responded to us at all about what we'd done. or that he accepted it. >> 50 years after watts and the start of those volatile summers, fred harris says he still believes change is possible. but only if the nation is willing to confront the hard truth of race in america. >> and you can see more of joie's report on "america tonight," 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific. there is not only pomp and circumstance about cuba, but substance from cuban born senator coe rubio.

senator -- marco rubio.

>> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's >> go one on one with america's

>> while today's historic flag raising at the u.s. embassy in havana has been welcomed. in cuba and in the united states a significant number of people are raising their voices. michael shure joins us. there have been some pretty strong reactions today hmm? >> yes, there are always strong reactions. it was an exciting day.

there were three marines who were there in 1961 when eisenhower ordered the flag taken down. those three went back to cuba today to raise it back it. steve cohen of tennessee, wearing a minnie minoso hat, and interesting stuff. fcc that's the friendly politics. the unfriendly politics comes back to these shores where marco rubio the senator from florida had sharp words. it's ted cruz, it's marco rubio, republicans saying things against this deal and only rand paul amongst the republicans. >> around the world, it brings legitimacy of a state sponsor of terror and further empowers an ally of china and russia that

sits just 90 miles from our shores. >> reporter: this is the kind of deal that typically republicans would have been against. republicans when polled tony in the latest polling, 51% of them are in favor reopening relations with cuba. it is an old issue for them. barack obama won dade county and cuban reporters in 2007. it's a little lard to count on that area, florida is an interesting state. >> have any of the candidates come out in support of today's developments? >> well you know like i mentioned the republicans by and large with the exception of rand paul, vocally against it or quietly against it. if you think about it, hillary clinton has talked bit and bernie sanders has talked about it being a good thing but martin o'malley was in favor of this tweeting support for that deal. and so when you have martin

o'malley in favor of it, head of all the democrats, it does set up that divide, yes there is some support out there. >> you mentioned iowa. the 2016 candidates i think they're going to be tripping over each other out there in iowa at the state fair. how important is this event? >> well they're tripping over each other because there are 70 different kinds of food on a stick that you can get at the iowa state fair. i'm going to be there tomorrow tony and i'm going to be having 60 of those 70 foods. tripping over each other, this is the time to see, iowans want to see them. it can't but be playful. people outside the state a chance to get press because news outlets not just al jazeera america, but other news outlets going there to cover it. it is important.

these people, candidates in the lower tier of the polling, meet and greets at the state fair that are helpful. >> david schuster we may have to wheel-barrow shure out of the iowa state fair over the weekend. >> empty sticks everywhere! >> have a good time. >> i will tony. >> al jazeera america's political correspondent michael shure, thank you. strengthening el nino is expected to bring heavy rains, floods and catastrophic mudslides with it. the drought stricken west coast could be hilt hardest. more now from nicole mitchell. >> yes, we are already under an el nino and it is now forecast to peak out at its maximum intensity late this fall early this winter. in some areas of the pacific,

temperatures in the water could be as many as four degrees above average. if that forecast comes true, that would make this one of the strongest el ninos in recorded history. what does that mean? some of the water temperatures are here, around he can away or thiaorequatorialareas, will allo heat up. what does this say for us ? warmer pacific waters release more heat into the atmosphere, more rising storminess. for places like california, equal above or below for average winter, for el nino year, this is an example, it can vary depending on where you are. so as we get closer to the

winter we'll see more closely who is expected to get more or less as el nino contributes to storms that would come in. the down side of all this because california needs the rain, they also tend these systems that are el nino-influenced to bring more extreme rainfall. and when you already have dry ground drought conditions and ad places that are baked from fires coming through, that means the ground doesn't absorb the water as well, it can lead to flooding landslides mudslides. so that is concern. we definitely need the prescription but not as much during these big storms. back to you. >> nicole mitchell reporting for us. solar power may be the main thing in renewable energy but it's taking a beating on wall street. oil prices are the culprit. ali velshi is with us. >> lowest price seen for oil in

six years. in all oil has fallen some 60% since peaking at 107 a barrel in june 2014. it's been higher but that was a few years ago. all of this is wreaking havoc on oil producers. especially those in fracking operations, shale oil does cost more to extract than traditional pumping operations, you need oil to be 60 dollars a barrel or higher for fracking. stock investors in solar energy companies are dumping their shares because they think cheaper fossil fuels will eat into the momentum like solar. shares in sun edison, considered a bellwether for the industry, has lost 60% of its value,

others have fallen 36% since april. six solar companies this have gone public in the last year are trading on average 20% below their debut or their ipo prois . many think solar investors are making a big mistake pulling out now. price for solar power now competes favorably in some states with more conventional electricity generated by natural gas or coal fired plants. solar seems to be going mainstream but investors think it's risky and they have made a point. it has always stalled whenever oil and gas prices fall. now the momentum promoting solar energy seems unshakeable but investors haven't gotten that message, tony. >> okay ali appreciate it. you can watch "ali velshi on target" at 10:30.

david schuster is coming up. >> as we continue our coverage on historic events in cuba, its changing feelings about the lgbt community, the daughter of castro. plus. >> country asking protection, it's treating them like criminals. >> we've got an update on a story we have been following, parents of migrants held in prison, many of them are getting out but the challenges are not going away. and the painkiller oxycontin can now be prescribed for children as young as 11. whether it could put kids at risk of diction. addiction. >> thank you david. david schuster will be up next, and then the international hour

with antonio mora live from cuba. have a great evening and a great weekend!

>> hello everybody, this is al jazeera america, live from new york city i'm david schuster. just ahead. history for the first time in 54 years, the stars and stripes fly over the u.s. embassy in cuba. the flag raising a symbolic gesture met with celebration and anger. we'll have live reports from havana. overturned. the connecticut home invasion killers are spared the death