>> oscar winner alex gibney's "edge of eighteen". the powerful conclusion. this is al jazeera america. just about every major candidate is in iowa tonight. it's the site of the first caucus of the 2016 presidential elections. there are new developments in the case of this st. louis woman who claims her baby girl was stolen at birth 50 years ago. the fbi says it's just not true. survivors being pulled from the rubble of that deadly explosion three days after the blast.

the families of the more than 100 who died are demanding answers as to what caused the tragedy in china. >> at that point, i think everyone agreed homelessness on the streets of new york was out of control. >> and a deeper look at proposed laws that could force the homeless off the streets and into the shadows. >> we begin tonight in iowa where the presidential candidates may have outnumbered the cows at the state fair. all the candidates were there. hillary clinton, donald trump, rick jeb bush and others. our political correspondent, michael shore, was there as

well. >>reporter: the iowa state fair is a must stop for any major presidential hopeful. today, hillary clinton, bernie sanders, donald trump, all desce descend on des moines, iowa. >> what about kids like iowans, are they going to have the same opportunities i had while growing up. i've been thinking a lot about that and that's why i'm endorsing hillary clinton for the president of the united states. she has experience and values, knows how to fight, and knows how to get the job done. >>reporter: they have known each other for 25 years. >> i'm deeply honored to have tom's support and his endorsement.

there's not anyone who's fought harder and more successfully for people. >>reporter: bernie sanders drew a large crowd and was the only candidate to speak from the soap box. >> we need an economy that works for working people. not a handful of billionaires. >>reporter: he highlighted his college pan, equal pay for women. >> when a woman has a baby in this country, regardless of her income, she should be able to spend three months with that baby getting to know that baby, love that baby, that's a family value. [applause] >> senator, where's your helicopter today? >> oh, i left it at home. i knew i forgot something. >>reporter: not to be up staged by clinton or sanders, donald trump arrived on his private helicopter and wasted no time attacking clinton. >> hillary clinton was the

single worst secretary of state in the history of this country. she has a lot of problems with the email situation. that's a big problem. >>reporter: but both candidates took the opportunity to slam jeb bush on his support for his brother's handling of the iraq war. >> i find it somewhat curious that jeb bush is doubling down on defending his brother's actions in iraq but if he's going to do that, he should present the entire picture. >>reporter: he said the united states has to prove to iraq that we have -- i think it's one of the dumbest statements ever. we don't have to prove anything. >>reporter: but it wasn't all serious in iowa today. a couple dozen kids got a ride on donald trump's helicopter. another view from the top. michael shore, al jazeera, des moines. here's a look at the primary and caucus schedule. iowa starting it off with the caucus

>>reporter: federal investigatorings say there's no proof her baby was stolen and sold for adoption after giving birth 50 years ago in st. louis. >> we can now say with complete confidence there's absolutely no truth to that allegation; therefore, our investigation is closed. >>reporter: the u.s. attorney says files show diane jackson at birth was born at a different hospital than the one her mother claimed and she was abandoned here contradicting price's story. >> no. no. no. i have five other children that are spoiled. and i would have never given up a baby never. >>reporter: price insists her baby was born at homer g. phillips hospital in st. louis. a facility known at the time to service black families. earlier this year price told us she was led to believe her

premature child died hours after birth. >> back then, doctors and nurses was held in such high esteem if they said something and with compassion, they said it in, you believed

i always wondered what happened. but they would just say they were dead and that was it. >>reporter: no human trafficking charges will be filed but price's lawyer will continue with his own investigation and plans to file a civil suit against the city of st. louis. >> there was a memorial today to honor the five

>> it's been ten years since israel withdrew 8,500 jewish settlers from the gaza strip. here's more on the legacy of that august, 2005 disengagement.

>>reporter: there's no shortage of work to do in these field.

although israelis withdrew from the gaza strip, israel's government never managed to truly disengage without a political settlement with the palestinians, it exerted its control over gaza and its people through its ongoing economic siege and repeated rounds of military violence. >>reporter: the so-called disengagement of gaza divided israeli society at the time when the deadline to leave expired on august 15th, 2005, remaining settlers were made to leave by force

more international support is needed for gaza including those times when both sides are not at war. the fires are still burning three days after those powerful explosions tore through a wear hou warehouse in china. the death toll is rising but miracles are happening. first, new laws aimed at getting

the homeless off the streets and sidewalks. but where would they go? a deeper look, next. 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.

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it's saturday night and time to take a deeper look at the issue of homelessness and the laws being drafted to fight the problem. right now, the justice department is challenging a boise, idaho ban of camping or sleeping in public. there's a law in honolulu that prevents people from sitting or

lying down on sidewalks in areas where business is conducted. in new york city, the police union is asking members to photograph homeless people and post the pictures online. this is raising the question of the role the police should have in dealing with the homeless. >>reporter: a homeless man in los angeles refuses police attempts to come out of his tent. other officers shot him.

with the advent of psychotrophic medications, people were functioning better and with the closing of the institutions, the money saved was supposed to follow them into the community. a class action lawsuit

against new york city and new york state in 1979 led to legal guarantees for the right to shelter. for decades, new york city has had a legal obligation to provide shelter for the homeless but the problem has, again, reached critical mass. according to the coalition for the homeless, there are approximately 58,000 homeless people on the streets of new york city this summer which is the highest number since the great depression. those 58,000 are in a sense the lucky ones. they're able to find spots in local shelters in new york city every night. but not everyone goes. >> i sleep on a bench in the even overnight. >>reporter: he has to sleep sitting in a bench until 56 p.m. when the city curfew is lifted and then he can lay on the

ground and sleep. >>reporter: the solution is long-term affordable housing. >> it's never effective to criminalize being homeless or criminalize being mentally ill. with us in the studio tonight is nicky houston, a tax attorney and advocate for the rights of the homeless. she was homeless at the age of nine living in shelters with her mother and younger brother. and eric tars is a senior attorney at the national law center on homelessness and poverty. so, there seems to be an explosion in the numbers of homeless on the streets of new york city. why?

this is about the poor. middle class people are not on the streets. you're finding the working poor who end up having some kind of catastrophic life event that happens to them and may put them on the streets like my mother and brother and i were when i was nine. >> i was fascinated in research for this segment to see how many homeless there are. why is it such a problem and so hard to nail down?

has the pendulum swung in

the other direction? you were telling me about a new class of homeless people living on the streets. >> basically what happened is they emptied out the mental hospitals but there was no system put in place to provide resources for people. so you put people who had drugs, alcohol, mental health issues, who are not able to make good decisions for themselves and they have no place to go. we're seeing an increase especially in young people of the lgbt community that are ending up on the

>> we have additional visibility to be out there anticipate make a difference so that more people can understand this is an unconstitutional approach that puts more barriers in between homeless people and getting out of homelessness. it's the most expensive and least effective way of dealing with the problem.

>> the campaign seems to have been intended to shame city hall. >>reporter: a woman cradles a child on a piece of card board. >>reporter: the union says city hall has failed new yorkers in coming up with a plan to tackle the surging homeless population and instead of dealing with the problem, the union has said they're spending more time attacking police officers. who do these pictures shame? the people you see or the officers who take them. this all comes a week after the

mayor introduced a $22 million proposal to deal with homelessness called nycc. the money would be used to house and treat those with mental illness and put more police at homeless shelters. nicky, on the subject of these photos. you say nobody took a photo of anybody that looked like you but i want to raise the question, you were on the streets. you were homeless at the age of nine. what would it have done to you to see your image posted online and social media as a way of trying to shame city hall?

i would have been made an object of ridicule and it would have hurt my self-esteem. i was already in a very difficult situation and people turned away from me because i was dirty and people didn't want to see my pain. so the thought of someone taking a picture of me instead of help me, i would not have been able to understood that. >> what's your response to taking photos of the homeless? >> it's an assault on the basic human dignity. it's shameful that there's such homelessness in this country, with new york city the center of wealth there, wall street. they're living homeless in the wealthiest country in the world.

they talk about a guardianship model turning to our communities saying we embrace all the people here and we as the police will serve and protect you but this certainly doesn't seem to be that approach.

i was thinking about these photographs. i was thinking about how would society react if suddenly there were photos taken inside a hospital where people are sick. would we react the same way if we knew patient rights were exploited? >> people would be outraged and it's unacceptable. the homeless are not even seen as people but as something to be hidden instead of a problem to be solved and dealt with.

talk to the mayor and people setting up these barriers for the homeless as that little girl who grew up to be a lawyer to say this is me and this is what you did to me. >> i'm the face of someone who was homeless and i needed resources, i needed someone to care about me, to invest in my future and say i was worth while. that happened for me. there was a social safety net there, section 8, food stamps a roof over my head and i had stability. student loans making it possible to be in this place.

up next, a survivor from a deadly warehouse explosion in china is pulled to safety.

puerto rico is extremely dry. the government has cut off water to 400,000 homes because of a severe drought. lisa stark explains the role of congress in the crisis. >>reporter: out of sight of its beautiful beaches and tourist attractions, purr purr is hurting. -- purr toe rierto ricoean --

>> there are some members on the hill who say until puerto rico cleans up its own financial mess we're not giving them money. >> easy for them to they should not be -- they have their own mess. they should ask themselves why is puerto rico in this shape? a lot has to the u.s. government helped attract business to puerto rico by offering generous tax breaks leading to a booming manufacturing sector.

20 years later, congress began phasing out the tax breaks and they ended in

it so it was a lot easier to just borrow as opposed to making tough decisions. >>reporter: so the government kept borrowing and investors kept investing and now the island's debt is $1.45 billion a year. if puerto rico was a state, they could declare bankruptcy and restructure. not so with this territory. just another example of how residents of puerto rico, all u.s. citizens, have second-class

status. >> you don't need to know much about politics to know that's not right the death toll in china now 112. but there is some good news. a man was found alive after surviving for three days inside a shipping container. there is much more concern about possible chemical leaks. they have extended the evacuation zone to three kilometers. being are being turned away from their homes. >> i just bought some things and when i got to number nine street

i had to get out of the car because they had blocked the road. i asked what's going on and they said it's still dangerous inside, you cannot entered. just now police officers came over and said everyone on the road has to go over there because over there, they're about to start the final battle against the

strikes in iraq were concentrated where coalition forces are supporting the iraqi army in its efforts to retake rhamadi from isis.

>> this is not an american fight. america should not take ownership of this particular

fight. prosecutors in virginia say some workers working on the olympic village are working like slaves in live-like conditions. a sting was conducted by the labor of ministry found 11 workers living in squalor. many come from poor states in brazil. prosecutors say the living areas were full of sewage, rats, and cock roaches. many of the workers sleeping outside because of the filth in i understand knee that -- >>reporter: she turned black eight years ago two days after drinking homemade alcohol bought on the street and he lost his

retinal nerves due to alcohol poisoning. >>reporter: this illegal producer showed us how he prepares fake whisky and then sells sit at the third of the normal price.

i understand knee that's spirit and wine association says sales of official alcohol drinks are down by nearly 50%. >> people will still look for alcohol although it's hard to get. the use of illicit alcohol will increase if the government doesn't inform consumers.

>> a draft of the law banning alcohol were the exceptions for tourism and celebrations. but proposing the legislation will not -- after the new stricter measures will save lives remain to be seen. toxic water was released into a popular river in colorado. some people have a break from the heat and some will not and the fire danger is going to

be a big problem.

they were back in the water in colorado just in time for the weekend. the animus river is getting back to normal. >>reporter: it's a paradox of

epic proportions. the epa has admitted to causing a devastating natural disaster dumping 3 million gallons of toxic sludge into this river in

colorado. earlier this evening we talked to the owner of rafting and jeep tour trails and asked if he was concerned about the problem of abandoned mines in colorado like the one that

caused this accident. >> it certainly has been brought to the forefront of our minds. we knew it was out there but until you see the sieve station from an event like this, you're -- you stay comfortable with the status quo and the process that's going on towards cleaning those up. >> we're heading towards night tonight on the western sea board. temperatures have come down but there are still indications in

the southwest to show where those very, very warm temperatures have been. 109 degrees in las vegas. 103 now. the big problem is with the heat there have been wild fires just to the northeast of los angeles. this is a fire, 25,000 acres of land so far has been burned and there's no containment on it at all. the problem is we're still going to see very warm temperatures as we go into tomorrow. the excessive heat warnings are in effect along the southern part of california. >> jeff bailey, 125 degrees tomorrow. tucson expected to be 112 degrees tomorrow. los angeles is expecting to 95 and san francisco, 85, temperatures that are well above

average. that cold front is then going to push through with cooler temperatures coming in as well as a lot of rain right here. unfortunately, what's going to happen is these warm temperatures here are going to make their way out towards the east. all those cities along the eastern sea board are going to start to make their way up so that's going to be a big problem going through the next couple of

days. 50 years ago today, the british invasion began. it started at shae stadium.

♪ 50 years ago, the beetles took the u.s. by storm on the stage in new york. they redefined the rock concert. tonight we go back to a moment in musical history. >>reporter: here are the beetles. four musicians, 12

>> death toll rises in china after a series of massive explosions. 112 people are known to be dead. also ahead, at least 40 migrants died trying to cross the mediterranean. many were suffocated below decks. in taiz, pro-yemen forces make gains in yemen's