heating up in navaho nation. and later, a pioneer for lesbian rights in al jazeera america, how a woman used her own terrifying experience to stand up against l.g.b.t. violence i >>> and hot on the websites the colorado green crush. in video, lori jane gliha takes aljazeera.com. >>> it's been called the biggest civil rights victory of the decade. gay marriage in all 50 states. there are some places in the u.s. where same sex couples cannot tie the knot. some native american reservations. we travelled to navaho nation to find out more about the continued fight for marriage about. >> reporter: tradition is law of the land on navaho nation. location. >> the car of what it means to be navaho. >> this 29 ireland, the only son in a large carla suarez navarro fondly. >> it was probably the best time of my life. >> i had so many cousin brothers and sisters, that we live in a very rural area. you had all this hand to just explore, ride horses, build pud houses and be outside, and i rex doing that growing up. it's importan

the process, and navaho nation move forward. partners that know they are likely to be opponents in court. right now, the concern is over water. its quality and availability. >> e.p.a. administrator continues her visit to the region eight days after the mine still contaminated, the enimas, she toured fart of the reservation with the tribal president and other leaders, and says the tribe and agency are partners, have a good working relationship despite the threats to sue over the spill. >> e.p.a. is not unfamiliar with lit gaghts. demon of that was -- litigation, none of that was in the discussion. we hope to build the relationship with the new president, and we spend a lot of time talking about next steps. they are full partners right now in terms of sampling. >> people here who depend on the river for irrigation and livestock have been scrambling for water as they await test results. residue shows on the banks and sandbars of the river, and people living nearby have been warned not to use the water for crops, animals or drinking

america tonight's adam may reports from navaho nation. >> tradition is law of the land.iety in which family is the foundation. >> the core, what it means to be this is family, it is about compassion and understanding, it is about acceptance. >> this 29-year-old is the only son in a large navaho family remembering his childhood fondly. >> it was the best time of my life. i had so many cousins, brothers, so many cousin sisters, we live in a rural area and all this land to just explore, to ride horses, to build mud houses and to really be outside. i always remember doing that growing up. it is important for me that if i plan to raise a family in the future, that my own children live that happy time in their lives as well in the future. >> the dream of building a family of his own and one day raising a child in a legally recognized family is out of reach. for him and his partner, marriage is still banned by their government. >> it says marriage between persons of the same-sex is void and prohibited. >> he's reading a portion of the 2005 marriage act. a law which denies him t

. >>> coming up, we'll talk to the president of the navaho nation to plans to sue the epa. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. care of my heart. that's why i take meta. meta is clinically proven to help lower cholesterol. try meta today. and for a tasty heart healthy snack, try a meta health bar. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with

. >> reporter: this chapter of the navaho nation rely on the san juan river for crops and livestock. the anna lift river runs into the san juan. the leak occurred on wednesday. the ship rock chapter was told thursday afternoon, and not much. >> they did not tell us specifics as to how much waste was coming our way. or what was contained in it. we apparently were supposed to do our own research. >> ship rock's livestock has to rely on one water tanker, circulating the 42 squarekm reservation. as for the crops, there is the rain. >> it would have to come on a regular basis once a week. and it would have to be substantiation rain to soak into the ground. >> the or the season is lost. >> or the season is lost. >> the environmental protection agency released some results. into levels have returned to pre-event conditions. >> the navaho will await results of their own independent toasts before they take the e.p.a. at its words. there is criticism of others too. this is the little town of silverton. it's long resisted a major federally funded clean up of leaking abandoned mines. it was from

tribal officials in the navaho nation, spanning part of new mexico declared a state of emergency and shut down some of the system. there'sers fears that it will wind up in the grand canyon. >> it's scary, it's dangerous. >> the water had more than 300 times the normal levels of arsenic. 3500 times the normal level of led. the river in surrounding weeks has been closed for fishing and swimming. drinking water across the region is safe, at least for now. >> it's like with the fires, you see something that your mind is not ready or adjusted to see. >> the e.p.a. says the plume will disbait, but it's unclear what the long term is. >> in is my sanctuary, and my area of peace. my concern is the next generation, what they are walking into >>> we'll have more on the impact of the contamination later >>> an outbreak of legion air's disease in new york city killed 12 people. 113 have been infected since july. victims became ill after inhaling mist from water containing bacteria that causes the disease. new york city mayor bill de blasio stressed the importance of early treatment. >> it is vita

. >> the navaho nation raising fears about the long-term impact from toxins unleashed in a spill as the e.p.a. tried to contain the damage. ending executions. the high court rules capital punishment unconstitutional, taking iat

the navaho nation prejudices to take legal action against the e.p.a.nadvertently causing a toxic spill into two rivers. it dumped 3 million gallons of mine sludge into the waterways. the e.p.a. said waters has returned to prespill safety levels >>> washington state is fined $100,000 a day over a school funding gap. the state supreme court failed to fund basic education for washington's 1 million schoolchildren. the court ordered state lawmakers to come up with a plan to boost the budget by a million over the next five years >>> the connecticut supreme court deemed the death penalty unconstitutional. death sentences for future dayses have been eliminated. the law allowed sentences to be handed out before then to be carried out. >> a team of nuclear and chemical experts is investigating a massive explosion that rocked the city. the death toll stands at 50. 700 injured. thousands left homeless. a blast used to measure earthquakes and it can be seen from space. officials are concerned about the environmental impact caused by the explosion. here in the port

we have had a community that pulled together with state and local and navaho nations helping pour watere river and dilute but it does settle. we will have probably a second round of the toxins once it snows and that melts into the river. >> what is your understanding for why this happened, governor? >> they were trying to -- there was a leakage in an old mine in colorado. while the leakage was taking place they were trying to plug and seal it. instead the plug actually failed and they told us there were one million gallons of toxic waste spilling into the river initially. then it turned into three million gallons. it is simply the plug failed and epa has admitted they are responsible for this. and i am hoping that they will hold themselves to the same standard they would hold any other industry or business. >> on that point, is there a criminal investigation coming from your state and your attorney general? >> there will be -- i am not taking anything off of the table. we have people preparing for a lawsuit if that is what we need to do. but nothing is off the table. >> you can see how

navaho way of life and farms threatened talking about the fallout from the mine spill.ou can read that story in today's edition. erin brockovich, i'll let you jump in. >> your caller in is very accurate. it is going to be all of our issues. we have a great gift before us. it was one that i was taught by a very republican father. that is the great gifts clean air, great land and fresh water. it is the one thing that we do not respect anymore. i think that is an enormous problem. in all of these politics there is a lack of respect going on. there is a loss value system. the most precious gift we have, this laissez faire and great frustration from an idea that was meant to do good with agencies for protection. it is so big and no money and so out of control we set up for an absolute national crisis. we are already seeing it happen. you are right about the mines. there are 500,000 abandoned mines. this is coming from the government accountability office. you have about 4,400 uranium mines that could breach at any time in colorado. the navajo nation is very upset. this is sa