championships here in beijing, coe has pledged to clean up world athletics, but to do that, he needs more money and time. plenty more news and analysis on that story and the rest of the day's news online at aljazeera.com. ♪ severe storms whip up strong winds in the midwest and the risk for more is still high this morning. active duty solders begin their training to battle wildfires in the west. plus a sex scandal on a prep school campus, a high school senior goes on trial, accused of sexual assault during a school ritual. ♪

this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. from the west coast to the middle part of the country, millions of americans are trying to clean up this morning from severe weather and devastating wildfires. the national weather service today is investigating possible tornados in northern illinois. forecast ers says the risk of more severe will remain for at least the next 24 hours. for the west winds are fuelling wildfires. today 200 active duty soldiers are training to be send to the front lines. one fire has scorched nearly 70,000 acres. the nearby fire has destroyed more than 12,000 acres and entire communities have been

forced to evacuate. >> reporter: the massive mobilization included an aerial assault, smoke jumpers leaping into rugged terrain in idaho. in california the fires are punishing. 300 homes are now threatened in this area. resources are stretched thin nationwide as 30,000 firefighters battle blazes. but relief is on the way. soldiers from washington state have been called in to help. for some it's simply too late. what once were homes overlooking this lake, are nothing more than ash and rubble. carol joined hundreds of her neighbors who made the difficult decision to leave. >> i didn't take any family pictures or anything like that. >> reporter: and it's not just homes that are gone. this is the heart of washington state's $2 billion apple industry. one fruit-picking company says its losses could exceed

$60 million. they are just hoping to salvage what is still hanging. >> we believe we'll have a plan where our grower's fruit now hanging on the trees will not be impacted. >> reporter: while crews have made some progress against the fire here, they are keeping a close eye on the weather. winds have been calming down, but in the next 24 to 48 hours, they may pick back up. crews in alaska today will search for the bodies of three men believed killed in a landslide, the men were swept away on tuesday. it was just one of several landslides that occurred after two inches of rain well in 24 hours. gary southern arrived at the court in charleston a sort time something he is expected to plead guilty on pollution and bankruptcy charges.

he was president of freedom industries when a chemical spill contaminated west virginia's bigger water supply in 2013. a sex scandal a rocking one of the country's most prestigious prep schools. a former male student is on trial for allegedly raping a female student. >> the family and i stand behind my neez in speaking out as so many victims of sexual violence do. >> john henry smith is following the story. >> did you live on campus? >> yes, did. >> reporter: this 19 year old was in court watching as a 16 year old former schoolmate

accused him of rape. they met up late last year and came intimate, but then the girl says he took things too far and forced himself upon her. jurors toured the scene tuesday. >> she is a 15-year-old girl without sexual experience. she tried to say no. >> reporter: prosecutors argue the alleged rape is part of what is known as the senior solute. senior boys competing to have sex with freshmen girls. the accusers name was the only one in all caps. >> specifically didn't you believe the -- defendant and some of his friends were competing to could lay the largest number of girls. lay was the term the defendant and his friends coined through

the practice of the senior salute. >> reporter: the lawyer says the girl knew all about the senior salute and pointed out emails that show she was okay of what was going to happen. >> it was a source of pride for girls at the school to be asked to participate in the senior salute. >> reporter: labrie insists he and the girl never had intercourse that night. his attorney portrayed labrie as a campus leader. >> yes, he was popular. yes, he would be quite a catch for a freshman to get a senior salute on, but owen is not season who did this crime. >> reporter: john henry smith,

al jazeera. democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton is speak out about the investigation into her email. the state department says it has now flagged hundreds of messages for review to see whether they contain classified information. in las vegas clinton said all questions will be answered and she is cooperating. >> in retrospect what was supposed to be convenient has been anything but convenient. it's the process by which the government and sometimes in disagreement between various agencies of the government make decisions about what can and cannot be disclosed. >> clinton was asked if the campaign had wiped data off of the server before turning it over to the fbi, and she joked about knowing how that worked. on the republican side of the presidential campaign, the candidates have been buzzing this week about illegal immigration. donald trump's proposals have

sparked a major divide within his own party. david shuster reports. >> reporter: on tuesday amidst a downpour at the state fair, marco rubio literally rained on immigration reform. he said deports 11 million illegal immigrants is impracticable. >> it doesn't sound like a plan that has any chance of passing. >> reporter: suggesting that certain immigration plans have not been serious is a shot at donald trump. >> make america great again. >> reporter: he pledged in nbc's meet the press to end automatic citizenship of children born in the united states. >> you have to get rid of it,

yes. >> reporter: louisiana governor followed suit. quote: msnbc asked scott walker, a top tier g.o.p. rival if he agreed. >> yeah, absolutely. >> we should end birthrights -- >> yeah, to me it's about enforcing laws in the country. >> reporter: but it is the law, the 14th amendment says quote: courts have ruled that except for the children of foreign diplomats stationed in the united states, anybody born on american soil is a u.s. citizen, and revising that would require changing the constitution, which would mean getting two-thirds

approval of the house and senate followed by ratification of 38 states. as the "washington post" quote: not all republican candidates agree with trump's idea. on top of florida senator marco rubio, john kasick also believes birthright citizenship should be left alone. >> let them be citizens. that's the end of it. >> reporter: but in this donald trump-lead republican primary something that seems unlikely doesn't mean it should be dismissed. he also proposes building a wall on the southwest border and having mexican government pay for it. it's more proof the g.o.p. agenda, at least for now is largely being driven by donald trump. david shuster, al jazeera.

"politico" has come up with a multi-billion dollars price tag for donald trump's plan. the grand total is $166 billion. the biggest cost would go towards the mass deportation plan. walling off the u.s. mexico border would take at least 5 billion. trump's plan has mexico paying for that. mike huckabee is in israel today where he spoke out against the iran nuclear deal. the governor says iran cannot be trusted. >> this is not a regimes who -- whose intentions are to become a partner to peace. they have for 36 years be a force of terror in the middle east and throughout the world. they currently hold americans hostage in their prisons. i read the entire 159-page deal,

and i would like to have been able to say that after reading it, i was more comforted, but quite frankly after reading it, i was more alarmed. new york state is rolling out emergency measures to prevent another outbreak of legionnaires' disease. these state rules really similar to what new york city has passed. >> that's right. and the regulations are unprecedented. they come after a city-wide mandate to inspect and disinfect all cooling towers. this is some of the equipment this man uses to clean cooling towers in new york. the company he works for is one of the licensed vendors which disinfected cooling towers.

>> reporter: what are your hours like? >> right now it's non-stop. >> reporter: his boss says he is getting five times more business than before the outbreak, and they have had to hire new crews to meet demand. >> what are they saying to you when they call? >> help. they don't have a full understanding of what needs to be done. >> reporter: he says it can take anywhere from a few hours to a full day to drain, sterilize and clean a tower from top to bottom depending on the size. >> reporter: in two weeks will all of these towers be cleaned? >> that's a tall order. >> reporter: no one knows exactly how many cooling towers there are in new york city. buildings are now required to register cooling towers online. the city's new rules are being used as a model for new york

state's regulations. but questions still remain, at a recent townhall meeting, some ask how these rules will be enforced and monitored. >> we can't leave it to owners. we can't even get them to fix faucets. >> reporter: city officials point to hefty fines for those that don't comply. >> take care of it, bill the owner, and institute even more onerous penalties. >> yes, it is a huge undertaking. >> reporter: as to how much this will cost the city, the mayor says much is being done with existing resources, but no estimate yet of additional costs. the company says they have also been hearing from landlords in neighboring states. many are advocating for tougher restrictions across the nation. >> thank you.

it's being called the little pink pill, the fda approves the first drug to boost a woman's sex drive. but some doctors say it is not all that it is promised to be.

>> our american story is written every day. it's not always pretty... but it's real. and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. ♪ the food and drug administration as just approved the first drug designed to boost women's sex drive. but there is criticism. randall pinkston joins us with

details. why are some calling this irresponsible. >> some people say it's not much better than placebos. it has been the subject of controversy for a long time. it is not the same as viagra, which stimulates flood flow and is used as needed. the company that makes it, says it acts of brain chemistry. it is basically a sudden unexplained loss of any desire to have sex. the company and itself supporters criticized the fda for being sexist because it rejected the drug twice. but some critics, including doctors question the fda's approval. studies show the drug can cause a sudden drop in blood pleasure.

that can lead women to faint and can leave them groggy the next day. the big question is also about the long-term effects of taking the drug. it takes at least eight week knows that it's working. >> what about cost? >> the pharmaceutical company has not set the price point, but they say they want it to be comparable to viagra. >> randall pinkston thanks for laying out the issues there. this doctor was an obgyn at the university of chicago medicine. she joins us via skype to talk more about this. thank you for your time. let's start with the side effects, why has such a big deal been made about the side effects of this drug, because they don't seem worse than the ones rehear about for males.

>> why we're putting particular emphasis on the side effects here i think is something of a rhetorical question, but they are very important and consumers need to know about them. >> how would you weigh the benefits and risks of this particular drug. >> i think first of all it's very important know that a woman has a condition that w war -- warrants the use of this drug. this is not a miracle cure for low sexual desire. >> as randall was reporting it shows it doesn't make a huge difference compared to the placebo. >> one of the interesting things is that people oftentimes gain benefit. there is evidence that placebo works but physicians have no ethical way of prescribing a placebo. there seems to be some modest benefits, so overall we have to

ask do the benefits outweigh the risks? >> so you do treat women with sexual disorder in your prash advertise. are these patients expressing a desperation to have a drug that addresses these needs? >> as the media have been covering the fda process of review, i have had more queries from parents about whether or not there is a prescription to treat low sexual desire. this drug has been tested for and is indicated for premenopausal women but there are women who are interested in taking a medication if it could help treat the distressing symptom of low sexual desire. >> you alluded to the fda process. the drug has really become part of the gender wars, in some cases pitting women against

women on the issue. tell us about the process that lead the fda to approve it this time, when they didn't two times before. >> i think what is critical for americans to understand is that the committee that serves the fda are committees of volunteer science advertises and physicians. i have faith that the people who came to the table worked hard and made their decisions based first on scientific evidence. >> and do you think is a good first step in addressing the disparity in treating men and women for sexual disordered. >> you know, as was mentioned earlier this was the first medication available to treat sexual desire disorder in men or women, and it is the case that we have something of a possibility of options in terms of men, rather than women. many women experience sexual

desire problems not as a result of medical deficit, but as a result of other issues, and those issues cannot be addressed with this drug alone. >> doctor thank you for your expertise and your incites on this, this morning. >> my pleasure, thank you. defying the supreme court ruling on same-sex marriage. a kentucky clerk says she is following her religion and her attorney's advice. we hear from her attorney next.

>> i think we're into something

welcome back to al jazeera america. taking a look at today's top story. prosecutors say former subway pitch man will plead guilty today to child sex charges. prosecutors say he will admit he paid to have sex with minors and received child pornography. just six weeks ago subway cut ties with foeingel. thai place are on the hunt with this man in connection with a deadly attack in bangkok. they believe he was part of a network. and germany's parliament

overwhelmingly approved a third bailout from greek. it removes a hurdle to greece getting a loan package to make a dead repayment on thursday. two same-sex couples in kentucky have won a battle against a country clerk. but the judge delayed his own ruling which means they still can't the licenses. davis says issue ing licenses to gay couples is against her religious beliefs despite a supreme court ruling. we spoke with april miller and karen roberts who say davis's office denied them a license multiple times. >> we would go get a marriage license when we ever we wanted. and now it has quickly stopped. we want to get married and it is

important. >> reporter: kentucky's governor, a democrat has asked all clerks to issue marriage licenses or resign. >> there is a clash, but it's unnecessary, because the united states supreme court simply held that states must recognize same-sex marriage on the same terms as different sex marriage. the united states supreme court did not say that a particular el elected official, or a particular county must issue a marriage license. here the state of kentucky can easily accommodate those clerks who have sincere religious beliefs against same-sex marriage while still offering marriage licenses toefr couple in kentucky who wants one. kim davis purposely stopped issuing all marriage licenses

because she did not want to differentiate between couple in rowen county. so that was done on purpose after a lot of thought and consideration, but the fact is, she has a conscious. she has a right to live and act according to her beliefs. the pain being claimed by the i plaintiffs in this case is really unnecessary. in a state like kentucky where every one should be able to live according to their own conscious, there is plenty of marriage licenses available to these plaintiffs. >> in davis loses she could face jail time for contempt of court. a football faux pas for marco rubio. the florida senator through a ball that accidentally hit a boy in the face. the boy is fine, and rubio addressed the failed pass last night in response to numerous online tweets. thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy.

the news continues next live from doha. ♪ this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello from doha, everyone. this is the news hour on alyaz. gunfire in istanbul, and eight soldiers killed in a roadside bomb. we'll be live in turkey as it heads for a snap election. thai police say the bangkok bomber didn't act alone. we join local forces on the front line against rebels in southern somalia. >> reporter: