travelled for 13 days, departing from a russian port. the crew said icebergs, strong winds and temperatures, but beat the world record. keep up to date with all the news on the website at aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com. >> the national guard in utah is serving are survivors from flashing flooding. 16 are dead and communities are destroyed. >> residents in northern california picked through the ashes of their homed a fire crews get a break in their battle against wildfires. >> republicans head to california for their next debate in the race for president. donald trump is still on top, his rifles are gaining ground.

>> this is aljazeera america, good morning, i'm randall pinkston live in new york city. we begin with the rising death toll from devastating floodwaters that washed across southern utah. 16 are now dead, most of those children. 12 died in an arizona border town where floodwaters swept away cars carrying women and children. four ours were killed in zion national park. forecasters called it a once in a century event. the search resumes in hours for people still missing. cooler temperatures are giving crewion an upper hand on the fires in northern california. residents will get a chance to go back to their neighborhoods and learn if their homes still stand. after a week, none of the state's three major fires are more than 40% contained. we report on why it is so hard

to beat them. >> the valley fire, more than 60,000-acres in size, a violent, fast-moving burn, is the latest in a series of blazes that defy the expectations and training of firefighters. this time, homes got in the way. >> how is this fire different than past fires? >> this season we have seen fires move very rapidly in the very beginning, so due to the four year drought here. >> it's not just that the dry conditions make fighting fires harder, those conditions are changing the fire itself. firefighters refer to the collar of the earth here as good black, and that means that the fuel has already been burnt away. it means they can sort of relax in this place, because the fire that swept through once and in terry won't come back. you can typically trust the trees would take care of themselves in a fire. they've got enough available water that they are not going to burn in their canopy. the problem is the fire is not

obeying those rules anymore. in this tree, the canopy that burnt. that means there's no such thing as good black anymore, because the fire can come back through through the con pee. it means firefighters cannot relax, they can't trust their training in the same way they used to be able to, because a fire like this is an entirely new kind of danger. >> without that moisture in the plants, the fire doesn't have to use energy to ignite those plants, which means that it has more energy to continue to move at a faster and more intense rate. >> the incident commander on this fire says this new behavior quickly overmatched local resources. >> like with all of the other fires we've had in this county this summer with dry fuels, automatically had spot fires all over the place and quickly overwhelm would the amount of resources we had on the initial order. it totally changed our tactics. instead of doing patrolmen they are control, it was about getting people out of harm's way

with evacuations. >> firefighters can keep us safe when their training lines up with how fires behave. the fires in california are a new breed, born of new conditions and at the moment, they are winning the fight. jacob ward, al jazeera, middletown, california. >> it is a big day in presidential politics. republican presidential candidates will be taking part in a second big debate of the campaign. most of the attention will focus not just on front runner donald trump, but another novice politician gaining in the polls. the latest cbs news survey has ben carson with it 23% support, up dramatically from 6% just one month ago. trump, however is still on top with 27% nationally, but jeb bush's support has eroded. he's down to just 6%. donald trump went to the u.s.s. iowa to talk about foreign policy.

political correspondent michael shure was there. >> presidential candidate damaged trump came to the u.s.s. iowa in san pedro california with what was supposed to be a foreign policy speech. he was talking mostly about immigration. >> we're going to build a wall and mexico's going to pay for the wall, believe me. >> and while that is exactly what the crowd here wanted to hear, some were still outside of this event, complaining that trump is talking too much in a divisive way about immigration. here is someone from can pedro before the event. >> he's a racist. i'm a mexican and i've lived in

san pedro my whole life. my family came in the 1920's, 1918, so my family's been in san dade degree for over 100 years. yes, i believe he is totally racist, as far as you can see my sign, no human being is illegal. we're all from other countries. >> so trump steps off of the u.s.s. iowa into the debate tonight in as simi valley. he is going to be the target of all over 10. 11 candidates will be on the stage tonight. all 10 candidates are going to be looking straight to the middle of that stage, straight to donald trump, trying to get him to break, find a chink in his armor that he has not yet shown. maybe it will come on the issue of national security, which he failed to address here in san pedro. >> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said he will try for a third time to force a vote over

the nuclear agreement with iran. democrats tuesday blocked republican efforts from moving the measure forward. the senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to end debate. republican presidential candidates rand paul and lindsey graham did not take part. oklahoma is scheduled to put convicted killer richard to death. his case went all the way to the supreme court over the use of the drugs used. tell us about the latest efforts to try to prevent him from being killed. >> the governor denied the lawyer's request for a 60 day stay. they are asking for a state appeals court to step in. reporters say he's innocent, saying they just need more time to prove it. >> he was convicted twice in the murder of his boss at this oklahoma city motel.

the actual killer, justin snead testified glossop put him up to the crime to cover up money he stole. that has never been proven. he always maintained he never stole from nor killed. new evidence has been discovered. >> if we had 60 more days, we could get a lot more done. >> the new evidence focuses on the killer's credibility. justin snead avoided the death penalty by testifying against him, but the attorneys say an inmate housed with snead claims the killer bragged about setting him up to save himself. the lawyers accuse police of

using tactics to get the testimony. >> he said he fears the pain he might feel from the lethal injection drug that is oklahoma uses to carry out executions and that was an argument considered by the supreme court last spring. during two previous executions, witnesses say the men exhibited signs of pain before dying. the cocktail includes a sedative which some say vitals the eighth amendment of cruel and unusual punishment. >> he has high profile supporters, including sir richard branson, actor susan as

her ran don. >> just days ahead of his visit, pope francis is making his strongest comments yet about the role of science in the catholic church. speaking at the academy of sciences, the pope said evolution and the big bang are real, and that god is not a "magician with a magic wand." he also said evolution does not contradict the role of a divine crater, it requires it. the pope worked as a chemist before entering seminary. >> refugees are finding new routes through europe this morning, many crossing from serbia into croatia right now after hungary sealed its borders. we are looking at live pictures where refugees have been

gathered for hours. austria is placing extra controls on its border to hungary. austrian officials say the measure could extend to other borders, as well. >> for many refugees, germany has become the destination of choice because of its liberal asylum policies. we have more from hamburg on what that city's residents are doing to help. >> they're clearly happy to be here. these newly arrived refugees are guests of honor of a soccer team in hackburg. everyone's in a party mood. this day, it's only a friendly game. a physio therapist and fan of his home team in syria. >> i would like to say to the people of germany thank you to

germany. >> diehard fans here are happy to have them. in the shadow of the stadium, the exhibition center is a magnet for volunteers eager to help refugees. >> the effort started here in a corner, with just three people sorting out secondhand shoes, and now it has grown to this, more than 500 volunteers working at any one time, almost around the clock, sorting out thousands of tons of donations worth thousands of dollars. >> an executive assistant was one of the first to volunteer. as you can see from the discarded name tags, thousands of volunteers have already lepta hand. all this with absolutely no government oversight. >> we need to try our best to solve the problems we have right now. i think to sox the problems of the future is the job for

politicians. >> amid sorting and packing, dominic is trying to keep control in an effort that threatens to sink into chaos. >> i can't stay at my home, i can't eat good and go to sleep in my big bed knowing that people outside are waiting for freedom. >> a few blocks away, you realize hamburg is a city that hardly sleeps. >> here there is no rest in the effort, either. a bunch of metal bands are playing to raise funds. cover your ears, it's going to be loud. >> other europeans suggest germany's guilt is from the country's war time past. >> i think it's something, it

has to do with morality and how you look at world and for me and i think for a lot of people who are volunteering, it's that people are equal. >> more are showing solidarity with donations and rock and roll and soccer, having a single goal to offer refugees safe haven. al jazeera, hamburg, germany. >> join us for an al jazeera special report desperate journeys, a global crisis. that's at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific. >> syrian president bashar al assad is speaking out about the refugee crisis and the fight against isil in his country, speaking to russian media, he blamed the west for supporting extremists fighting his government in syria. >> as long as they follow this propaganda, they will have more refugees. it's not about europe didn't accept them or embed them as refugees.

it's about not deal with the code. stop if you are worried about them, stop supporting terrorists. that's what we think is the whole issue of refugees. >> assad also said the u.s. led coalition fighting isil that not been working with his country, not had a single contact with his government. >> russian president vladimir putin said it is impossible to defeat isil without cooperate, syria. moscow has been aboving up its military presence in syria. defense secretary tear ash carter says he has no intention of speaking to russian's defense minister. he is leaving all conversations with russia to secretary of state john kerry. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu plans to visit moscow next week for talks with putin. >> storm systems bring cooler temperatures to the west coast and record rainfall in southern california. nicole mitchell will be on hand to explain what it means. it means.

>> i've been asked to keep my voice down cause we are so close

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 7:48 eastern time, taking a look at today's top stories. teachers in seattle are heading back to work today after morn a week on strike. they signed a tentative agreement with the school district last night. it promises wage jesses, reduced

testing and new systems for teacher evaluations. >> kim davis's latest bid to delay issuing marriage licenses in kentucky has been denied. a federal appeals court says the clerk did not demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success. davis returned to work earlier this week after a stint in jail for denying a federal judge's orders. >> lawyers for army sergeant bowe bergdahl of preparing to tell his side at a desertion hearing scheduled tomorrow. they want details of his interrogation made public to counter negative publicity in the case. bergdahl was held by the taliban for years after leaving his post in afghanistan. >> this morning, crews in southern california are cleaning up after an unusual sight, floodwaters. it was one of the rainiest days on record for downtown los angeles. there were temporary power outages throughout the city, traffic backed up for miles. people had to be rescue the from nearby rivers and two homes were

ripped from their foundation. luckily no one was hurt. california has been in a drought for four years, so every bit of rain helps. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. was this kind of rainfall unusual for this time of year? >> absolutely, because summers are dry seasons, so september is one of our drier months on average for downtown los angeles, for example about an inch of rain, yesterday we got 2.4, the old record, it's really easy to make a report this time of year was three hundredths of an inch. it was literally coming down in buckets, so to speak. people were able to collect it in that and people do collect rain like this to try and use it for water in other areas, like plants and cooking and cleaning, sometimes because there is so little water, they are trying to conserve every way they can when the rain comes down. the system was part of the remnants of a tropical entity. the next system is part of a

different weather system, not as likely to get to southern california, but still, there's a little moisture in the area, there's a chance there will be a sprinkle, probably not the rain like yesterday. heavy rains don't always help us as much as we think. they are good, but the ground is so dry, a lot of it runs off versus sinking in. we need more consistent rain. we are going to get rain in the northern portion of the state. that will help with the fires. we have fires all the way up the west coast. the other thing is the combination of systems, the moisture and the next system coming in have definitely cooled temperatures. that is also good, both for the fire situation and for the drought, because general takes doesn't cry out quite as quickly when we have the cooler air. >> more rain, thank you, nicole. >> futures in stock markets around the world are trading higher this morning as the federal reserve sits down to talk about interest rates. the country's central banker began a two day policy meeting this morning.

they may decide to go ahead with the first interest rate hike in nearly 10 years. >> who you lot packard is making plans to lay off 30,000 employees. the computer giant said cuts are part of a spinoff plan that would save $2.7 billion. h.p. said this is likely to be the last in a series of major layoffs. >> it may be miller time for budweiser. the parent company of miller beer said it received a takeover approach from anheuser-busch. the deal is estimated at $75 billion. two companies are already the largest brewers in the world. >> an experiment that's getting the wrong kind of attention, a texas teenager is threatened with expulsion after his homemade clock is mistaken for a bomb.

>> police in texas this morning are considering charges for a muslim american high school student who brought a homemade clock to school. his engineering project was mistaken for a bomb. a freshman at mcarthur high in irving, texas, brought the clock to school saying he was hoping to impress his teacher and start an engineering club with that one teacher reported him to police. he was escorted from the school in handcuffs. >> they took me to a room filled with five officers, which they interrogated me, took my tablet and my invention. later that day, i was taken to a juvenile detention center where they searched me, took fingerprints and mug shots of me and they searched me until my

parents came. >> irving police say there is no evidence he intended to use the clock for enigma luscious, still the principal suspended him from school for three days. his family say his religion and his muslim name may have played a factor in the case. >> officials from the u.s. and china taking part, the two nation agreeing to try to reduce emissions. james cameron is also urging individuals to take action. >> james cameron has long been a passionate advocate of addressing the impacts of climate change, urging people to lower their carbon footprint. the focus isn't necessarily on the energy sector, but food. specifically, he is urging people to eliminate or at least reduce the amount of meat and dairy products they consume to help lower the amount of carbon emissions. >> you have 1.5 billion cows that are just eating all day

long and bell ching up methane, some farts, but mostly methane, with went to three times the climate forces of carbon dioxide. that's a therm stat we can turn down very, very quickly. animal agriculture contributes more to climate change than all the transportation of the world combined, cars, trucks, planes, ships be everything. >> cameron and his wife became vegan four years ago. he doesn't expect everybody to go cold turkey. he wants people to be more conscious about the impact of what they eat and how that affects climate change. >> thank you for joining us. stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more aljazeera america morning news. you can keep up through the day on aljazeera.com.

>> discovering a route into europe, refugees forced to change course in an effort to avoid hungary's closed border. >> the death toll climbs along the utah-arizona border in the wake of severe flash flooding. the hunt resumes for several others still missing. >> the top republican presidential candidates will go face-to-face in a second debate. damaged trump is the front runner, but one competitor is

closing in. >> pope francis wades into the controversial debate over the origins of human life. >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. this morning, determined refugees and migrants are sashing out a new route through europe just a short timing a buses carrying refugees from serbia crossed over into croatia. they are seeking alternatives after hungary sealed its borders. austria is placing extra controls on its borders with hungary.

>> a very sad scene here on this motorway, a no man's land between serbia and hungary. that gate behind us in the distance has been erected by the hungarian authorities. they are no longer letting reef gees into hungary. that border has been sealed. there are dozens of tents set up here and dozens of refugees are desperate and very afraid. they don't know what they are going to do next. many i've spoken with in the past few hours of from syria and iraq. just a few moments ago, i was at the gate. there was a crush of people demanding authorities let them in. one mother had her baby in her arms and she was pleading with the hungary's authorities to please let them in. she said her daughter was sick. she needed to get into hungary and get to germany. >> reporting from the

hungary-serbia border. >> these refugees aren't carrying much, but we learned one crucial life saving item for them are their smart phones. they are able to coordinate their routes, get updates on the latest border closings and weave through the many complexities of such a perilous journey. joining us now from budapest is kate coyer, the director of the civil society project at central university school of policy. good to have you with us. i understand you have started a project at the main train station in budapest. tell us about the need that you saw and how you are addressing it. >> like so many people here in budapest, i was incredibly moved and feeling incredibly useless about what could be done, so responding to the calls for action to bring blankets, foot, water, these kind of things to the train station, but because i'm a communications scholar and

activists, seeing how many people had phones out, were trying to get on line, were trying to recharge their phones, because they'd been away for two, three, four weeks and their batteries are dead and thinking there's got to be something that can be done about this in a very quick, kind of spinetains way, so i put a call out to a few friends who i knew had technical expertise and the next day we were able to get up some wi-fi hot spots to make internet free and open for people, and the first day, we bought a bunch of power strips, because there were only about four different sources, and none very official where people could actually get power to charge their phones. we wanted to do something that was the quick evident and most cost effective and flexible thing, so we just bought power strips and brought those down. in the next couple of days, we were able to set up more of a booth as the people, 2,000,

3,000 refugees that had been trapped at the train station, as they were able to finally get on their way and knew refugees were arriving, we could set up a little bit of a stand so it was more visible and people could come to us. really, it was just a spontaneous grass roots initiative. i just got back from the border yesterday, where we were out at the camp and i mean like your correspondent was saying, it's heartbreaking, these images and the stories and the people you meet. >> how do you see kate these people using their smart phones and specific applications, how are they aiding the migrants on their journey or communications or how to receive aid? >> i think that absolutely the most visible and the most important usage really is just having them to use communications, so using apps like vibr, skype, what's app, just to have that one in one contact and stay in contact with worried friends and family back

at home, people en route to share information with what they were experiencing and of course people anxiously awaiting their arrives. as you mentioned in the introduction, other things have been incredibly invaluable, things like g.p.s. and a halfvasion, finding their way around google maps. when you've been bussed root different countries and showing up somewhere, it really is a no man's land. also translation apps to be able to communicate with the volunteers and aid workers and things like currency calculators. it's hard to know how you give evidence to this, but there's certainly anecdotal stories that help us understand that maybe some of the risks and costs at least rewarding trafficking might be going down a little bit as people have more information and can better even negotiate

for themselves or look out for themselves. >> they can literally navigate for themselves, kate. how important is it to deliver wi-fi as part of the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis? >> i think it's something that needs to be part of every humanitarian aid's kind of basic kit, if you will. luckily after a few days, green peace showed up and they have a really extensive, more high capacity set up, but they were able to put out in the train station at budapest, but even in the camp, we were helping support them, as well, because there's only so much, you need new devices to bring in more internet. i guess i would just say that it is absolutely that critical, and some of the new things that have been developed, there's an info aid app, that's in many different lanes to help with basic information. i saw yesterday morning somebody was sending around a map with a land mines in croatia and serbia

now that refugees are being pushed to travel to areas with a whole other set of dangers that might be awaiting them. >> that's exactly what we've been talking about, that new route. thank you for your insights this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> our special coverage of the refugee crisis continues throughout the week. joining us this sunday for a special report, desperate journeys, a global crisis airs at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 p.m. pacific. >> another migrant story to tell you about, this one closer to home. 12 cubans and a dog made their way to miami beach tuesday in a makeshift sailboat. they were at sea for six days. the fact they made it to land likely means they will be able to stay in the u.s., thanks to a policy who allows cubans who reach american soil to stay and those caught at sea have to return to cuba. >> search crews head out at down for those missing in the severe you a take you flooding. the death toll is 16. 12 were killed in hilldale where

floodwaters carried away cars. four ours do it in zion national park. it was called a bunts in a century event. >> cooler temperatures are forecast today, helping crews battle fast moving wildfires. residents are preparing to go home and discover if their houses are even there. after a week of firefighting, none of the three major fires is more than 40% contained and they have been devastating. one couple returned to find only ashes where their home was. >> it's the very first time sterling and juliet have returned to see what is left of their home. >> my car. i don't think i'm driving to work today. >> if they hoped to find things to salvage, they had little luck. everything is gone, family photos, even the a of his first wife who died of cancer. it's all gone.

>> your heart sinks, and. >> it just makes it real. >> it makes it real. >> it's weird. >> it's just very, very, you know, we're going to be in kind of a state of shock i think for a little while. i think that it will take us a little bit to come around, and, but we have each other and we'll figure it out. >> most residents have not yet returned to the neighborhood. police allowed them to come back early to feed the family cat. he is missing. they hope he's somewhere nearby. >> i proposed to my wife right over here. >> the couple shows me he the layout of their former home. >> the couch is over there. >> and unexpected survivors. the fragile tomatoes in their garden still sweet and delicious. >> that one is still juicy. >> life will continue to go on. it's going to be hard. we're going to have moments that

we're just not going to be right. >> i'm not rebuilding. i don't want to move back in here. i'm done. it's an opportunity to start fresh and start somewhere else. >> we'll figure out what we are going to do. we're resilient people. we have each other, we love each other and that's what really matters. >> yep. >> you know? >> their story is just one story of loss. hundreds of homes have been destroyed. a few miles away, the battle continues with more homes in the line of fire. the flames are moving into more remote regions. >> you can see how the fire swept through this mountainous area. there are homes including this one, it's saved, intact and there's tons of ping color on the ground from the fire retardant dropped by planes. >> with residents restless to return home, firefighters are not only battling flames while on the front lines, but some of also making final safety checks in areas already burned through

before dropping evacuation orders. this has become one of the fastest moving fires in memory, one that caught multiple towns by surprise. as a result, it has left behind an unusual amount of damage. melissa chan, al jazeera, lake county, california. >> at least the weather has been cooperating lately with crews fighting fighter, but how long will that last? let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> we've had days with cooler temperatures and rain. this is a look at the rain around los angeles yesterday, actually brought flooding, because downtown, over two inches of rain, easily a record, the old record was three hundredths of an inch because it's usually dry this time of year. it caused a gridlock, flooding, the ground is so dry, all that rain at once, a lot of it doesn't be a soar, it saturate and runs off. that's not the most beneficial rain. that was part of a tropical

entity. we have another system coming into the northwest. northern california has better chance and then oregon, washington, place like that. the combination of the two things had left temperatures cooler. that's really good for fire efforts still today. a lot of temperatures even cooler than they have been. some of the valleys in the 80's will be in the 70's for today, but it is going to be short lived in a lot of cases, so temperatures are going to rebound. the humidity is higher. even if you're not getting the rain, ma moisture in the atmosphere helps with the vegetation because the vegetation is just so dry. we have a couple of really goodellments going on out there. this is that next weather system i was mentions into the northwest, but after this continues to clear its way through, the next few days, look at the area of the valley fire, dry conditions once again, temperatures back in the 90's. we are still in a dry season, there's still concern ahead. >> a short reprieve at least. nicole mitchell, thank you. >> republicans try to force a

vote on the iran nuclear deal. mitch mcconnell will try for a third time after democrats tuesday once again blocked republicans from moving the measure forward. democrats are filibustering to prevent the republican controlled senate from being able to vote to disapprove of the deal. >> kentucky clerk kim davis is expected back at work this morning be after losing her latest bid to delay issuing marriage licenses. a federal appeals court turned aside her argument that she should be exempted from having to issue licenses. the judges said she did not demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success in her appeal. davis has promised not to interfere, as her deputies hand out the licenses. >> in just a few hours, oklahoma is scheduled to put convicted killer richard glossup president obama death. his case went to the supreme court in a debate over the drug cocktail used. his lawyers are making a last ditch effort to try to save his

life. >> overnight, the governor denied the lawyer's request for a 60 day stay. they are now asking a state appeals court to step in. his supporters insist he's innocent. they say they just need more time to prove it. >> richard was convicted twice in the murder of his boss, barry van trees at this oklahoma city motel. the twole killer, a then 19-year-old justin snead testified that it was glossip who put him up to the crime. glossip maintained he neither stole from nor killed. >> there is no doubt he might be innocent. >> attorneys and supporters say new evidence has been discovered in recent weeks. they want time to present it to the court. >> if we had 60 days, we could get a lot more done. >> it focuses on the killers

credibility. he testified against glossip. glossip's attorneys say an inmate housed with snead claims the killer bragged about setting glossip up to save himself. the lawyers accuse police of using suggestive questions to goad snead into implicating their client. oklahoma's governor denied a last minute request to stay the execution. in a rally outside her office, glossip's daughter said her father is ready for whatever comes. >> he has accepted it. he has said where he wants his remains to be, you know, poured out at. >> glossip has also said he fears the pain he might feel from the drugs that oklahoma uses to carry out executions, and that was an argument considered by the supreme court last spring. during two previous oklahoma executions in 2014 and this past january, witnesses say the men exhibited signs of pain before dying. in april, attorneys for glossip

argued that the current cocktail of lethal injection drugs, including a sedative vitals the eighth amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. the high court rejected that in a 5-4 ruling. >> if glass sip is put to death tonight at scheduled, it will be the first time the cocktail is used in that decision. oklahoma has made thousands of dollars of changes sings and revamped procedures in the hopes of avoiding another botched execution. >> a seattle police officer who arrested a 69-year-old black man for using a golf club as a contain has been fired. seattle's police chief says the officer violated department policies. the officer accused the man of swinging the club at her as a weapon. the investigation found no base for the officer to even have stopped the man. >> ahead of his visit to the u.s. next week, pope francis is

making comments about science in the church. the pope said evolution and the big bang are real and that god is not a "magician with a magic wand." he said evolution does not contradict the role of a divine crater, it requires it. he worked as a chemist before entering the seminary. >> one campus is using smart phones to battle sex crimes on campus. >> in miami florida, sitting on unique hurricane simulators. how it hopes to save lives. >> a thumbs down from facebook. the social media site makes a move to allow users to make a sentiment other than like.

windstorm. >> can affect and surprise us. >> wow! some of these are amazing. >> techknow - where technology meets humanity.

>> welcome back. taking a look at today's other

headlines around the nation, lawyers for army sergeant bowe bergdahl of preparing to tell his side at a desertion hearing scheduled tomorrow. they say they want details of his interrogation made public to counter negative publicity in the case. he was held by the taliban for years after leaving his post in afghanistan. he was freed in a controversial prisoner swap. >> police in texas are considering charges for a muslim student who brought a homemade clock to his school in irving. he was hoping to start an engineering club. the teacher reported the clock as a possible bomb and he has been suspended. >> teachers in seattle are heading back to work after more than a week on strike. they find a tentative agreement with the school district last night. it promises wage increases, reduced testing and new systems for teacher evaluations. district officials say classes will start tomorrow. a full vote on the deal is planned for sunday. >> a man accused of killing university of virginia student

hanna graham has been indicted for a second murder in the 2009 death of morgan harrington. the student went missing after a concert. her body was found months later. >> it is estimated that one in four female college students will be sexually assaulted during her time on campus. now a new app aims to help stop assaults. america tonight takes a look. >> it's a new school year at the williams college in northwest massachusetts. settling into school includes the familiar, meeting fellow students, learning short cuts around campus and a fresh attempt at dealing with an old problem, campus sexual assault. williams was accused of mishandling a 2012 campus rape. they have no title nine

complaint against them with the department of education. it puts schools at risk of losing federal funding. 45 to 50 rapes occur at the college each year. administrators admit they have a lot of work to do. >> when we think about data, the only acceptable prevalent number is zero. we have to work towards that. we have to believe it's possible. otherwise, we then start to having conversations about what is the acceptable level of sexual violence and there isn't one. >> part of the school's response was to appoint meg bossong for assault prevention and response. >> if we had been having the conversation in 2001, 2003, 2005 about intervening in situations, what people would have said is it's not my business. >> another part of the school's response, make it everyone's business. to do that, williams became the first school in the country to use a new social media app,

circle of six. circle of six was developed as part of the white house challenge apps against abuse. the goal, design a personal app that provides young duties with tools to help prevent sexual assault and dating violence, an app that involves one's friends in preventing assault was a key requirement. >> the user chooses six people. we wrote preprogrammed text messages and come and get me i need help with your address, g.p.s. location, call and interrupt me, i'm having an uncomfortable situation or i need to talk. you and see a user choose who is important to you, who you feel safe with, who you can trust. >> all students are now asked to download the apps, free to students. while specific data is anonymous, privacy is part of the app. the school can track general patterns, such as spikes in usage an particular weekends, like halloween.

it shows students will use technology to call on their friends for help long before they calm the police. >> hypothetically, it works. i think it's hard tore convince people that have already developed their routine, their friends, their thought process to use the app, but that's something we're going to continue to work on throughout this year. >> al jazeera, williamstown, massachusetts. >> you can see more of sarah's reporting on america tonight at 10:00 eastern. >> who you lot packard is making plans to lay off 30,000 employees. the computer giant said cuts are part of a spinoff plan to save $2.7 billion. h.p. said this is likely to be the last in a series of major layoffs. >> the dislike button is finally coming to facebook. until now, the social media site argued it wanted to keep a positive vibe. that often meant giving a thumbs up to postings, even where that might seem tone deaf.

mark zuckerberg wants the users to be able to express a variety of moments. >> not every moment is a good moment. if you are sharing something that is sad, whether it's something in current events, like the refugee crisis that touches you, or if a family member passed away, then it may not feel comfortable to like that post, but your friends and people want to be able to express that they understand and relate to you. >> zuckerberg says facebook expects to start testing the dislike button soon. >> debate gate for the republicans, trump will faceoff against the chief executive his face he has criticized. >> whether to raise interest rates this week. week.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 8:29 eastern. thousands of refugees are waking up in tents in the middle of a highway this morning, camped out on the border between hungary and serbia, stranded there because hungary sealed off the crossing. austria is following suit. it has tighter securities on borders today. many refugees are looking for alternative routes, some cross be serbia into croatia. crews plan to resume their search for four people missing in flash floods in you a take you. 16 were killed, including 12 in hilldale. four others died in zion national park. >> days ahead of his visit to the united states, pope francis is backing science in the debate

over the origins of life, saying evolution and the big bang is real and that god is not a magician with a magic wand. he worked as a chemist before interesting the seminary. >> donald trump and 10 other represent candidates will debate tonight. the latest poll showed trump on top, but support for another political novice is surging. >> one month after an explosive first debate, the gop contenders are getting ready for round two, set to meet again wednesday evening for a cnn debate in california. >> somebody will attack, somebody like a and powell, who is down to 2%, he'll maybe attack. he's been very nasty lately. >> rand paul and the entire presidential field zeroed in on trump in the last six weeks, who transitioned from a phenomenon to a formidable canned do it.

>> the biggest difference between the first and second debate is donald trump. every single republican candidate not only has to take him seriously, but he is their focal point. >> he has stuck to his combative style and despite attacking fox made 80or kelly be he's soaring in the polls. he easy not the only one. the latest national republican poll shows trump is increasing his lead, but ben carson is surging up from 6% to 23% since august. last debate, carson took heat for fumbling a question about the black lives matter movement but since then has spent time in ferguson, missouri. >> these people say he's an idiot savant, he only knows how to do neurosurgery. anybody who thinks you can become a neurosurgeon being an

idiot savant is an it yod savant themselves. >> trump is prepared to take on both carson and carly fiorina. >> look, i like carly fiorina, and i like ben, and i like many of the people that i'm running against. i mean, many of these people are terrific people, but nobody's going to be able to do the job that i'm going to do, nobody. they won't. they won't. >> how are you doing? >> other candidates haven't fared so well. rick perry suspended his campaign, marco rubio's campaign stalled, mike huckabee is down in the polls. >> i don't pay that much attention to polls. it's a marathon, not a sprint. >> you joined the marathon a

little late. >> again, i am able to tell people we are doing pretty well. i say we're doing well in new hampshire, things go up, they go down, right now, they're up, so that's better than being down. >> all right, well, we'll take that. >> jeb bush is struggling to light a fire under his campaign. wednesday's debate will be a big one for him. >> jeb bush needs a moment. jeb bush needs to be able to transcend donald trump or he needs to show in some way, some form, some fashion that he is not only a viable alternative to donald trump, but somebody who is an attractive alternative to donald trump. >> for now, trump remains a front runner and we're likely to see a debate centered on the man who holds center stage. michael shure, al jazeera, los angeles. >> joining me now to preview the

debate, jeannie zane from new york university. great to see you. >> good morning, great to see you. >> how many candidates have had to change their debate strategy for donald trump. >> all of them. the 10 main people have had to prepare to go to combat with donald trump. it's not unusual, because he is the front runner and when you are the front runner, you expect to be hit and hit hard. >> hitting is not a word that i would generally associate with the person that is surging ahead in the gop polls, and that's ben carson, a former neurosurgeon. stylistically can't come up with two different candidates. how would you explain his rise? >> two entirely different candidates. has he attacked trump and backed off and apologized for that attack, which is out of character. he's very quiet, very sub you be

died, he doesn't get into a lot of combative positions with the other candidates. what explains it is that people are sick and tired on the republican side, but also on the democratic side of washington insiders and they're looking for alternatives. >> these are three people, you know, also talked about carly fiorina, we'll get to that in a second, that have never goned or held elective office. >> that's what makes this so unusual in terms of the surge they've had so far. the big question is, is that bubble going to burst, because you're absolutely right, you add up trump, carson and carly fiorina and they have 60% in the polls amongst republicans. the number one predictor of who gets a party nomination i guess the support of the establishment members of the party. if one of them was to get the nomination, it would highly unusual, has never really happened in american history. >> speaking of establishment candidates, jeb bush's war chest continues to grow and yet he

continues to lag in the polls. does he have what it takes to pull it out tonight and entering his campaign. >> jeb bush is the person i'm most interested in seeing. he needs a win at this point. he needs to win a news cycle, a debate, he needs to win in the polls. his campaign has has goned so far behind at this point, i think it's going to be fascinating, because he will be standing tonight next to donald trump. they have gone at it in the past and made amends. i think we're probably going to see jeb bush try to go at it again, because he needs to take trump on. >> speaking of going at it. these are the staple candidates plus carly fiorina, who a lot of people say won the second tier debate last time around. >> trump attacked carly fiorina talking about her face. she recently came out with a great ad, attacking him back in carly fiorina style, which was an amazing ad.

i think it will change the dynamics. you have one more person on the stage and for the first time a woman candidate who walks a line. she's an outsider with and non-establishment but plays well with the inside. she's one of the few candidates among all 16 of the existing republicans or remaining republicans now who can walk both of these lines. carly fiorina, i don't think she'll rise to the top of the ticket in the end, but she i see talked about as being on the ticket in a second position. >> when trump was quizzed about foreign policy he seemed to flub. i just want to play a quick clip of what he said in a foreign policy speech yesterday. >> we're going to have a president whose respected by putin, who's respected by iran. >> was this his foreign policy reset and does he go at it again tonight? >> wh hugh hewitt doesn't want e

moderatorors to be the focus of attention as they were in the fox debate. if this is donald trump's reset on foreign policy, it is lacking in specifics. as we go forward, it's going to haunt him. he needs to tell us not only to iraq is going to respect us, iran is going to respect us, but how he is going to achieve that. what is he going to do. so far, the amazing thing about donald trump, no specifics and 20,000 people in these crowds, nobody seems to care. certainly this is a very different audience for tonight's debate. five or 600 people, mostly insiders, it's not going to be donald trumps audience, making it tougher for him tonight. >> the first voting in the presidential race won't happen until february, but there's a new warning over potential problems at the polls. many of those voting machines date back more than a decade, and as del walters tells us, the technology they use is way out

of date. >> as the frenzy builds for next year's presidential elections, a new report sounded alarm bells about one potential snag, the state of america's aging voting machines. the study published by the brennan center for justice found that more than a dozen states still use machines at least 15 years old, so old in fact that replacement parts are no longer available. everything from outdated software to worn down touch screens could lead to unreliable results or even a scenario like the 2000 presidential election. >> i don't feel anything other than optimistic. >> that contest between george bush and al gore went down to the wire in florida, forcing recounts because of problems with the state's punch cart ballots. in fact, machine breakdowns can prevent eligible voters from participating at all. in the last presidential

election, scenes like this were common, thousands spending hours in line just to exercise their right to cast a ballot. >> i got here at 7:30 this morning, just left, it's 9:30 right now? 100 people have been able to vote. >> the estimated price tag for nationwide overhauls, more than a billion dollars, according to the study, and without federal funding to mitigate the cost, economics may ultimately influence whose vote is processed smoothly and who's isn't, as wealthier counties can replace old machines far quicker than poorer once. >> lawrence norden said many changes implement are outdated. >> if we're going to have people have faith in government, they've got to believe that our elections are working. if you have machines failing, have people waiting on line for hours because of that, people are going to lose faith in

government, so government's got to take the lead and make sure that systems are funded for everybody. >> we did address the problem to some extent after the 2000 election. congress provided about $2 billion for counties around the country to buy new machines. the problem is that there wasn't a lot of planning for what came after that. the machines that we bought in the early 2000s were in many ways much better than the punch card machines that created those problems in florida in 2000. they ran on laptop technology. it's now 10-15 years later, laptops don't last that long and it's time to upgrade the systems. unfortunately, there hasn't been the planning or the money. >> he said some of the machines replaced in 2000 run on older software which there are no longer security patches available for. >> auto workers in one of the wig three automakers reached a deal to a new contract after 48

hours of nearly non-stop talks. it covers 40,000 workers and is likely to be a blue paint in negotiation to say ford and g.m. >> stock futures are on the rise ahead of an important meeting that could decide the course of interest rates. federal reserve bankers sit down today and may decide on the first rate hike in nearly 10 years. joining us to discuss is patricia sobga. what are the odds that we see a rise? do we know the odds. >> the federal reserve has not raised interest rates since 2006. for much of the summer, the market was pricing in ruffle a 50% chance to the fed would pull the trigger at this meeting, based on the fact that the u.s. labor market that low unemployment rate. then china dropped a bombshell and engineered that dramatic

devaluation of their currency, sending a shock wave through global markets. it signaled that this primary engine of global growth was slowing down more severely. it roiled the markets. now the pricing in roughly a 30% chance they could pull the trigger. >> they could do it in october or december. what are the danger of raising rates too soon? >> the danger is that you could derail the u.s. economic recovery. one big factor here is inflation. of course the fed has a mandate of full employment, price stability and financial stability. inflation right now, the fed's target is 2%. it's been trending blow that target for three years running. a big factor is the strength of the u.s. dollar, up about 20% against other global currencies and going from strength to strength. it's been turbo charged. as the dollar gets stronger, it

impacts jobs and crucially keeps prices low. >> what about the danger of not raising them soon enough, because there is also criticism on the other end that these rates have been kept low for far too long, this is free money, people compared it to heroin. >> the hawks argue if you wait too long, it creates asset bubbles and they want to head that off. they argue these pressures will work its way out. on the other side, the did you u haves argue there is absolutely no indication that these inflationary deflationary pressures are going to dissipate soon because oil prices are so very low, because the dollar is very strong. the big danger is that many fear we'll fall into the trap japan has fallen into, dropped in two decades of low growth and low inflation, so the argument there is eventually pull the trigger, but make sure you don't have to pull the trigger just to back

pedal and reverse course. >> thanks a lot. >> the unemployment rate is now at its lowest in seven years and some big companies are making public their plans for holiday hiring. u.p.s. will bring in 95,000 workers to handle the christmas delivery russia, the same number at last year. toys are us will hire fewer temporary workers this season and give current employees a chance to work more overtime. >> the parent company of miller beer received a takeover approach from anheuser-busch. a deal is estimated at $75 billion. the two companies are the largest brewers in the world. >> new details on the extent of a salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers. more than 400 people in 31 states have been sickened since july. officials say those imported from mexico are the likely source.

two died from the outbreak. 91 have been hospitalized. more than half of the sick are children under the age of 18. >> the growing threat of antibiotic resistance is leading to a new push for restaurant chains to change the meat they serve. we have more on that. what's the connection there? >> every year, some 2 million people are getting infections that are resistant to antibiotics. 23,000 of those folks die. a contributor is believed to be the unrestricted use of antibiotics in raising the animals we eat. >> more than 100 consumer advocacy organizations are calling out america's top 25 restaurant chains, telling them to stop serving poultry and meat raised with antibiotics. the group says al 80% of prepard using drugs. they are meant to prevent

disease in conditions that are often crowded and sun sanitary. consumers groups rated the top 25 fast food and chain restaurants. only two companies got a's, chipotle and panera. the report includes praise from commitments from chick-fil-a and mick donald to cut it from they are menus. >> we're taking an important step. we want to eliminate the use of all human antibiotics from our broiler chicken flocks by the end of september of 2007. >> the report recommends that other chains make the same move and adopt similar policies for pork and beef served in restaurants. new york congresswoman, a micro bilist hailed the report saying more and more americans realize that the misuse of antibiotics in corporate agriculture i guess having a direct impact on their own health. antibiotic resistant infection are on the rise, and the

usefulness of one of our most precious medical resources is on the decline. >> of the 25 chains graded for their antibiotic poses, 20 received failing grades, wendys, burger king and dominos. >> what are companies saying? >> specifically burger king is saying it is reviewing its policies, wendy's is testing grilled chicken raised without antibiotics and dominos and several others insist they meet all f.d.a. requirements, which begs the question, because it's not the same thing. the f.d.a. does not require that you don't put antibiotics in your food. >> saving lives before the big storms hit, a facility that assimilates hurricanes p.m. s hurricanes p.m.

>> farm workers striking in mexico

>> 107 people were killed and hundreds more injured. >> vice president joe biden is taking on climate change at an international summit later today in los angeles. chinese officials are expected to announce plans to cut carbon emissions before 2030. cities have confirmed a variety of goals including expanding renewal energy sources. this deal reached between beijing and washington last november. >> we are seeing falling temperatures in some areas. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> very warm in the midsection of the country the last few days. that is quite the contrast. in the northwest, we've had temperatures 10-20 degrees below average, so 67 in seattle, look at a contrast like this, 77 in los angeles. 81 in fargo. it's not or february you see far

go bettering los angeles temperature-wise. we won't see that into fall and winter. a couple days left before that system to the west makes its way here and changes that forecast. this is the system i'm mentions. we have the energy coming across the rockies and more showers on the coastline behind that. that is helping with the fire situation. it's not just fires in california. he we have large fires so the northwest, especially washington state right now. as this continues to move interior, bringing the rain with it, that is what is going to change that weather pattern for the midwest. i'm jumping to friday now. this starts making it through. could even be thunderstorms along with that, plus the rain and then those temperatures are going to 30 for us. chicago will go from 80's back into the 60s by the weekend, a little bit more what you would expect right on the cusp of football. >> thank you. >> hurricanes are a constant threat to coastal communities

around the world, but forecasting them is a challenge. researchers hope a new simulator can change that. >> at the university of miami, scientists have studied hurricanes for decades. the state is no strange tore deadly storms. researchers have a new tool that could change things. this tank is the world's largest wind-water hurricane simulator. in just minutes, it can generate powerful winds and raging waivers. researchers say it's the ability to study the interaction between the sea and the storm that make it potentially revolutionary. >> we're going to be able to learn some things here to are definitely a leap forward. where we pushed the technology, we've gone well above what existed previously. >> it took a year for engineers to build the tank and

researchers weren't sure what results it would yield. the tank's ability to mimic not just the hurricane, but the stormy waters seems to be paying off. >> this simulator is now at full power and when it is, i can feel this entire tank moving and shaking around below my feet. what makes the simulator unique is that it can recreate storms so accurately and give understanding with the greater goal saving lives. >> forecasting hurricanes has improved over the past 20 years, predicting storm intensity is still very difficult. warm waters are what fuel hurricanes, and it's hoped this new facility and its team will improve on vital forecasting in years to come. >> it is kind of your scientific dream come true in a way, in a phrase, because you're able to see these things that you really want to see, but you can't go in the field and do it. >> it's hoped that studies here will help improve building

safety and lead to greater understanding of coastal erosion. it's the ability to study a hurricane from the safety of a laboratory that could make a big difference. al jazeera, miami, florida. >> a senate committee today begins investigating an environmental disaster in colorado that is now affecting people in three states. kristin atone met with navajo farmers in new mexico who would rather let their crops die than use what they fear is contaminated water. >> last month, 3 million gallons of toxic waste water spilled into the animas river from an abandoned gold mine. texas caused by the e.p.a. released sludge that quickly moved to the san juan river, carrying led, arsonic and other heavy metals. here on the navajo nation in the northern part of the new mexico, farmers are still feeling the impact. the e.p.a. says the san juan river is safe, but local navajo

farmers worry it's still contaminated and some of letting their crops die rather than expose their land to tox i believe so. a month after the mine spill, many citizens are asking questions about what's in the river and staying away from the water until they get answers. al jazeera, new mexico. >> you can watch the full report tonight at 7:00 eastern. >> the race for space got a new competitor. new plans were unveiled to build a rocket manufacturing plant and launch site in florida. he is investing $200 million to build his facility. he said his rockets will be ready by the end of the decade. >> that's it for us here. thanks for watching. have a great morning. at morning.

>> millions at stake. shady investments. limited oversight. >> super pacs are part of the wild wild west of campaign finance. >> could actor daniel craig be the latest super pac scam victim? an ali velshi, on target, special investigation.

>> saints and sinners. friends in holy places. >> this murder links the mafia and the church. >> tracking the mob from the dark shadows to the gates of the vatican. >> there's even a mobster who's managed to take the place of the priest. >> what happens when the church stands up to the mob? as the pope visits the u.s., we take a closer look at the pope and the mafia.

>> welcome to the al jazeera news hour from doha. coming up: >> scathing reports, the u.n. calls for international judges and lawyers to prosecute those accused of sri lanka war crimes. >> finding a new route into the e.u. hundreds reach croatia a day after hungary seals its