i'm stephanie sy in new york city.st moments away from an announcement from president obama on restoring diplomatic ties with cuba. embassies are set to open in washington and havana a first since they were closed in 1961. we begin our coverage with michael shure, he is outside the cuban intersection in d.c. which will be home to the new cuban embassy. michael i understand you have been talking to

i'm stephanie sy. in just a few hours ethiopia's leaders will hold a state dinner for president obama who has become the first sitting u.s. visit the country. he spoke about humans rights with ethiopian's prime minister. he met with other leaders in the region to discuss the crisis in south sudan. >> the situation is deteriorating. the humanitarian situation is worsening. the possibilities of renewed conflict in a region that has been torn by conflict for so long and has resulted in so many deaths is something that requires urgent attention from all of us. >> we have more now on the president's visit. >> president obama held talks with his ethiopia's prime minister and discuss trade and cooperation between ethiopia and u.s. ethiopia is one of the united states' allies in the war against terrorism. they'veethiopian troops manage to take back from al-shabab two of last remaining strongholds. president obama lauded the african union mission the peacekeeping mission and said they're doing a great job. they

i'm stephanie sy. south carolina's senate is in pegs right now, and it is set to give final passage to a deal that would take the confederate flag off of the capitol building. in the end the senate overoverwhelmingly 37-3 to take down the flag. the house takes up the measure later this week. diane eastabrook is live in the capitol. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it could be a bit more contentious in the house, stephanie. the house democrats just had a press conference a little while ago, asking members to follow the lead of the senate and pass this bill. there are amendments being proposed in the house bill that would replace the confederate flag with another potential confederate banner possibly an infantry flag. the house members are concerned that this bill could get tied up and we might not see something get passed this week. >> diane voting on whether to take the flag down happened weeks after nine people were murdered at ame church but some have been fighting to remove the flag for deca

. ♪ >>> this is live from new york city i'm stephanie sy.er more than half a century the confederate flag will soon no longer fly on the grounds of the south carolina state capitol. it was approved overnight after more than 13 hours of debate. the governor is expected to sign it today. diane eastabrook is live in columbia, south carolina. tell us more about the governor's plans. >> reporter: hi, stephanie. we just found out a few minutes ago that the governor plans to sign that legislation here at the state house at 4:00 this afternoon. now earlier today, she called this a new day for south carolina. this comes weeks after protests about a controversial flag that has been flying here at the state house for more than 50 years. the final vote came at about 1:00 am, and followed more than 13 hours of often contentious debate. >> there has been an absolute evidence of a double standard or duel standard shown to me today. >> grace is not something that we earn. grace is something that comes to us unearned. >> reporter: the push to remove the flag

i'm stephanie sy in new york.he news continues next live from doha and you can always read the latest stories online at aljazeera.com. have a great weekend. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >>> hello welcome to another news hour from al jazeera from our headquarters in doha. coming up the battle to lead burundi has been won by president pierre nkurunziza. >>> turkey steps up its night against isil with air strikes in area and nationwide raids. >>> kenya ramps up security efforts for the

i'm stephanie sy. greece's prime minister is making influence attend a summit with eurozone leaders as they try to negotiate a new bail out deal. alexis tsipras spoke with chancellor angela merkel on the phone. he'll present a new proposal tomorrow. john spropolous has the latest from athens. >> we have yet to hear from prime minister tsipras. he's trying to form a consensus position across the parties that are anti-austerity as well as those that have been in the first pro austerity a memorandum of understanding for creditors. that has been the political divide in parliament so far. forming a decision that bridges all of those gaps between the parties on greece's negotiation with creditors obviously difficult. it has taken many hours. there have been, we understand, telephone calls between mr. tsipras and other world leaders during that meeting. what we hope to achieve during the day is a communique between all of them that forms a national position. this was asked for by the opposition before the ref

i'm stephanie sy.ew video is leading to more questions this morning in the death of a young woman in a texas jail cell. authorities have released surveillance tapes showing the moment an da bland was found dead inside her cell. the sheriff's department says she committed suicide, but the district attorney says he intends to treat this case like a murder investigation. >> reporter: in this video, you can see a gurney being wheeled down a hall towards sandra bland's holding cell but it comes out a short time later with only medical equipment on it. instead of a rescue. it is now a death investigation. the district attorney says it is too early to say who is responsibility. >> this investigation is still being treated just as it would be a murder investigation. there are many questions being raised here in waller county in the state of texas, the country, and around the world about this case. it needs a thorough and exhaustive review. >> reporter: bland had just moved from chicago to texas to start work a

i'm stephanie sy in new york.n two minutes the latest on the conflict on egypt's sinai peninsula, live from our studios in doha. have a good morning, and thanks for watching. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ ♪ >>> welcome to the news hour live from al jazeera's headquarters in doha. coming up in the program, the muslim brotherhood calls for an uprising in egypt after security forces killed 13 of its members. beaten abused and used as soldiers. fears grow for a future generation of children in syria. >>> british oil giant bp agrees to pay almost $19 billion f

i'm stephanie sy.ted airlines had to ground its fleet for more than an hour this morning. planes are starting to move again now, but passengers across the country were stuck while the airline worked through the prom. let's go to lisa stark with the latest. >> reporter: apparently about 8:45 eastern, there was a major computer problem that united started experiencing. whatever you call it it was chaos for the airline and its passengers. they had to stop all of their flights. mainline united and united express flight although those regional flights resumed fairly quickly, but for over an hour united was stuck on the ground. long lines began forming and are still forming at the airports especially the airlines hubs. united said it was working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue, and in fact stephanie they did get it resolved fairly quickly. it lasted for just over an hour thankfully. but now they have to unravel the mess that began the morning commute. >> obviously one of the nation's largest carr

get a big raise and they are set to vote this afternoon on raising the minimum raise to $15 and stephanie syas more. >> nothing less. >> reporter: for low wage workers in new york 15 is a magic number and a rallying cry heard coast to coast and what they need to feed their families and she makes $9 at a fast-food restaurant. >> it's very difficult because of 40-hour week only pays two thirds of my rent and doesn't include the late fees that i'm charged or court fees if i should wind up in rent court. >> reporter: new york states wage war will approve the increase on wednesday, not just in expensive new york city but fast-food workers across the state and for some it could mean 7% jump in wages and governor andrew cuomo created the wage to circumvent the state legislature and business groups tried to fight back with ads like this claiming the higher wages will mean job losses. what started as calls for $10.10 raise are now around the fight for $15. >> you can barely survive on $15 and you have to depend on government assistance. >> reporter: the issue of income and equality has become highly

i'm stephanie sy. authorities in texas this morning are looking into why a dash cam video showing the traffic stop that landed a young woman in jail appears to have been edited. sandra bland died in police custody days later. the video shows a confrontation between bland and the officer who stopped her but does not appear to show a continuous sequence of events. authorities say bland hanged herself in jail three days after she was arrested. bland's family demanded more answers, even as they poured over that video. we have a report from the accident. >> let's do this. >> yeah, we are going to. >> don't touch me. >> get out of the car! >> dash cam released from the texas department of public safety showed the moments leading up to sandra bland's arrest. contrary to reports, he does not appear to try to pull bland through her window. a trooper takes bland to the ground. much of the interaction takes place out of the dash cam view, but a bystander is also recording. >> i can't even hear. >> at one point th

i'm stephanie sy. thanks for watching. have a great morning. >> these are babies in prison. >> he stood in that bathroom and nobody went to help him. >> how many people have to get raped before somebody says "whoa, we got a problem"? >> "faultlines". >> what do we want? >> al jazeera america's hard-hitting... >> today the will be arrested. >> ground-breaking... >> they're firing canisters of gas at us. >> emmy award-winning, investigative series. >> we have to get out of here. >> the fda isn't testing enough. >> now science is pursuing an organic alternative. >> these companies are trying out new technologies. >> no hormones are ever added into our tanks. >> mmm! >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> i'm standing in a tropical windstorm. >> can affect and surprise us. >> wow, some of these are amazing. >> techknow - where technology meets humanity. >> hello welcome to the news hour from doha. coming up this hour, at least 28 people are killed in turkey near the border with syria. around 1

i'm stephanie sy. the news continues live from doha. ♪ ♪ >>> welcome back to the al jazeera news hour. a quick look at the headlines now. and greece's prime minister has urged people to vote no on a referendum. >>> egypt's prime minister says his country is in a state of war after more than 30 soldiers were killed in northern sinai. an armed group attacked a number of check points and security installations. there is also heavy fighting in another area. >>> also in egypt, the muslim brotherhood says security forces have killed nine of its members outside of cairo. one of the dead is a prominent lawyer for the brotherhood. >>> let's get more from a man who has written extensively about security in sinai. thank you for being with us. we have seen various groups launch violent attacks in this region in the last year or so. just explain to us is there a main objective for these groups? >> this group used to -- to -- to -- to be named and celebrated [ inaudible ] which was unofficially allied to al-qaeda bu

i'm stephanie sy. more than 5,000 tennessee residents had to flee their homes early this morning after a great train derailed and caught fire. it happened in the small city of maryville. the locomotive was carrying flammable and toxic gas. several police officers were sent to the hospital because of fumes. homes and businesses were evacuated in a two-mile radius. >> an officer flew by me and slammed on his brakes and let me know there is a train on fire, we are evacuating the area. i called my wife and got my kid and my sister out of the apartments right down the road. >> they were very calm, you know, did it very well, but, you know getting all the dogs out making sure the kids are up, out of bed alert, you know, taking the cars. we brought two just in case. you just never know. >> people were taken to a nearby mall and now a shelter is open at the local high school. it's unclear when people will be able to return home. we'll continue to follow this breaking news. >> as millions of americans pack for

i'm stephanie sy.n estimated 42 million americans are hitting the road today heading for independence day celebrations but federal law enforcement is on heightened alert. john henry smith has more. >> reporter: first it's important to point out that homeland security is not saying they know of any specific threats set for this weekend in the united states, still in advance of the holiday weekend, the department of homeland security has sent out an alert to police across the country, and they are responding by ramping up their preparations. tourists are already out in force, getting an early start enjoying this 4th of july weekend. also out in force, police security bulletins issued by the department of homeland security and the fbi warn of heightened potential for terror attacks over the holiday period. >> this may be potentially the most complex counter terrorism effort ever. this is not driven by any particular threat as much as the unfolding world events. >> reporter: security experts are concerned

i'm stephanie sy. the news continues next live from doha.e a great day. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >>> welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes. cautious optimism more queues at greek banks, but creditors say the latest financial reforms may just work. all sides in yemen's conflict agree to a truce for now. but will it hold? flights canceled and thousands are stranded in nearby shall at a volcano rumbles to life.

i'm stephanie sy. history is about to be made in south carolina. these are live pictures you are looking at from columbia, the state's capitol. in moments the confederate flag will start coming down from that flag pole. it has been there for the last 15 years. the flag had flown over the capitol dome for decades before that. our diane eastabrook is live in columbia this morning. diane, tell us what is happening there right now, and what the mood is. >> reporter: well stephanie there are several thousand people here right now, we estimate maybe between 5 and 7,000 people. everyone is waiting for the honor guard and the governor to come out of the state house and begin the ceremony. we were supposed to start at 10:00, these things sometimes run a little bit behind. we don't know a whole lot about the ceremony. we know the flag is going to be taken down. there will be no music, and then the flag will be transported by an armored vehicle to the south carolina confederate relics room and military museum. many different people here in the crowd. there ar

i'm randall pinkston in for stephanie sy.sident obama today is beginning his hard sell of a nuclear deal with iran. the agreement can't be implemented until congress gets 60 days to review it. during that time the president cannot lift economic sanctions that iran desperately wants eased. lisa stark is live for us on capitol hill this morning. vice president joe biden was standing with president obama yesterday when the announcement was made obviously a big deal for the obama administration. now he's going to be meeting with democrats, some of whom are skeptical. how is biden going to convince them. >> reporter: he is meeting with them even as we speak. one member said the meeting is packed. virtually every member of the caucus 207 strong there to at ten this meeting. he said it is highly technical, they are talking about the very specifics of the deal. he also said that biden told them he was skeptical when these negotiations started, but he said biden made as convincing case as we could, but steve israel said he is not tota

i'm randall pinkston in for stephanie sy. leaders around the world and here in the u.s. reacting to the news from vienna. this deal puts restrictions on iran's nuclear program with. in exchange the u.s. and its european partners have agreed to drop sanctions that have been place in for years. >> today because america negotiated from a position of strength and principal, we have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in this region. >> now let's take a close look at what is in the deal. it removes two thirds of installed centrifuges and most of iran's enriched uranium. iran will allow inspectors to enter sites, including military sites. sanctions will be lifted once it has been a verified that iran has taken steps to comply request this agreement, but the united nations arms embargo stays in place for eight more years. lisa stark is in washington. a crucial part president obama has to sell this deal to congress and the american people. how difficult will that be? >> it's going to be very tough randall. there is already a chorus of criticism this morning from those on capit

i'm stephanie sy.e pictures now from capitol hill where the house foreign affairs committee is about to hear from secretary of state john kerry, jack lew, and earnest muniz. last week the three secretaries were grilled before a senate committee. libby casey is live on capitol hill. libby, good morning, last week's hearing did get testy at least at times. are we expecting the same today? >> stephanie we certainly are. the house republicans intend to go over their own set of questions, and we'll hear tough questions from democrats too. it wasn't just last week's hearings where senators used words like you have been bamboozled and fleeced. the rhetoric and conversation continued throughout the week. we heard ted cruz speaking on the floor last week calling for an amendment, saying that iran must recognize israel before congress can sign off on this deal. that sort of thing won't happen and he got a lot of pushback even from some republicans over the weekend who accused him of using this issue to play pres

stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more aljazeera america morning news. >> south carolina is just hours away from taking the confederate flag off the state capitol grounds. >> we will bring it down with dignity and we will make sure that it is put in its rifle place. >> digging in to hammer out a nuclear deal with iran. part of the fallout from a high school football team celebration some say was racist. >> this is al jazeera live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy. the confederate flag has been a fixture on the south carolina statehouse grounds for five decades, but that is about to change. in two hours the flag will be taken down and moved to the state's confederate relic room. the area around the memorial has been cordoned off and we are live in south carolina. diane, good morning. walk us through how this is all going to happen this morning. >> good morning. we don't have very many details. we do know that an honor guard is going to be lowering the flag. there will be no music. after that, the flag will be transported in an armored vehicle to the relic room and military muse

i'm stephanie sy. president obama has been talking human rights, economic investment and security with ethiopia's leaders today. it is the first time a sitting u.s. president has ever visited there, but the trip has been met with criticism because of ethiopia's human rights record. president obama said that has been an important part of his conversations. >> we discussed steps that ethiopia can take to show progress on promoting good governance. protecting human rights and strengthening he democrats. this is an area we intend to deepen our conversations. >> we have more on the president's visit. >> president barack obama held talks with ethiopian prime minister and they discussed among other things trade between the two countries, as well as the security cooperation. ethiopia is one of the united states' staunchest allies in the war against terrorism. they just cast their current conflict in somalia against al shabab militias where ethiopian troops thousands in somalia this week managed to get back fro

i'm stephanie sy. this morning officials in texas are investigating a dash cam video that shows the arrest of a woman who later died in police custody. the video shows the confrontation between sandra bland and the officers arresting her, but it has several glitches and jumps and appears to be been edited. the video is only adding fuel to the questions from her family over how bland died. >> let's do this. >> we're going to. >> don't touch me. >> get out of the car. >> dash cam video released late tuesday from the texas department of public safety showed the moments leading up to her arrest. >> get out of the car! >> contrary to early reports, the department of public safety trooper does not appear to try to pull bland through her window. he does pull out his taser. a struggle ensues and he takes bland to the ground. much of the interaction is out of the dash cam's view. a bystander is also recording. >> you slammed me into the ground. do you not even care about that? i can't even hear. >> at one point

i'm stephanie sy. >> an unannounced visit to iraq by the secretary of defense. ash carter landed in baghdad where he's meeting with iraqi leaders, the u.s. is planning a ground assault by forces to retake rimadi. isil attacks have claimed dozens of lives this week. imran kahn is live on the ground. what can you tell us about this plan to retake ramadi? >> i can tell you what the defense secretary will be listening to is the iraqi needs when it comes to taking the city of ramadi and fallujah. we're in the first phase of the operation taking key towns and villages. once iraqi security forces take those, they will move into ramadi and fallujah. they will be looking for more close air support once they go into those towns and an increase in u.s. led coalition airstrikes on targets within ramadi. the defense secretary is also speaking to his guys on the ground, the americans who are training the iraqis to try to get a sense of how well equipped they are to be able to mount an offensive like this. he's also going to be talking to iraqi generals. it's very interesting

. ♪ this is al jazeera live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy and looking at live pictures from capitolill, this is the hearing room where the senate foreign relations committee in a few minutes will begin questioning of secretary of state john kerry and jack lui and earnest monez and testifying today about the nuclear deal with iran with the u.s. and five other world powers and tie ran a few weeks ago and go straight to libby casey on capitol hill what is the atmosphere leading to this hearing? >> a build up not just in the past week as we watched news of the nuclear deal come up but for months because congress knew this day was likely to come and this is the first public opportunity for members of the obama administration to talk directly to congress members who they really want to win over to their perspective and so there is a lot of build up to this very moment. now the administration has been briefing members behind closed doors and also tried to make some public pushes and saw president obama himself come out last week and talk about the deal but this is where the rubber meets th

i'm stephanie sy.reece is trying to get back to the negotiating table after a resounding rejection of a bailout offer sunday. today the finance minister resigned taking some euro zone ministers would prefer he not be a part of future talks. the resignation comes a day after 61% of greeks rejected creditors' demands for more austerity in he in exchange for rescue loans. tomorrow leaders discuss the future. dominic cain is in frankfort but lets begin in athens with john. the finance minister's resignation was unexpected since the vote went his way. what's been the reaction? >> well, stephanie, it was going to come at some point the finance minister had moved very far from what euro group members were willing to accept. all of his proposals over the last six months have been non-starters all rejected within a day or several days. in the last two weeks beginning on the 22nd of june, greece started to talk to creditors on the basis of their proposals and that has made the process that much more realistic bu

stephanie sy is back in just two minutes with more aljazeera america news this morning. >> turkey launch airstrikes against kurds within its own borders. nato urges not to abandon the peace process. >> the american dentist who admits killing zimbabwe's most famous lion defends himself. >> stinky p.m. bumpy road. >> in a new life for an 8-year-old boy the youngest person to ever receive a double hand transplant. >> good morning i'm stephanie sy. afghanistan's government is investigating reports this morning that taliban leader omar died. there have been previous unconfirmed reports of his death. here's what a government spokesperson said a short time ago. >> we're aware of the reports about the passing away of the taliban leader. we're still in the process of assessing those reports and as soon as we get any more accurate information or authentication of those reports we're going to lept the media and the people of afghanistan know about it. >> al jazeera's bureau in kabul is looking into the reports and will continue to follow developments throughout the day. we'll bring you the latest d

stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more on aljazeera america. keep up on aljazeera.com. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. no topic off limits. >> 'cause i'm like, "dad, there are hookers in this house". >> exclusive conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> these are very vivid, human stories. >> if you have an agenda with people, you sometimes don't see the truth. >> "talk to al jazeera". only on al jazeera america. >> protestors are gathering... >> there's an air of tension right now... >> the crowd chanting for democracy... >> this is another significant development... >> we have an exclusive story tonight, and we go live... >> a major step restoring relations between the u.s. and cuba reopening embassies. >> iran nuclear talks extended to hammer out a deal. >> another black church goes up in flames in the south the seventh in the past two weeks to burn. >> victory for team u.s.a., beating the world number one germany

stephanie sy is back in two minutes. have a good day. >> with a final bailout deadline looming, alexis tsipras fights for what he calls a fair deal. >> taking the next steps to take the confederate flag off the statehouse grounds. some want it to to say. transgenders speak out about their struggle. >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy. time is running out for greece to reach a deal with european leaders. the eu set a final deadline for the country to come up with new proposals. this weekend the eu will hold and emergency summit, telling greece an agreement must be reached by then. alexis tsipras told the european parliament proposals need to be just. his government gave the e.u. what's described as a broad outlines of a new plan but the details are still to come. dominic cain is in france. >> in an impassioned address alexis tsipras outlined the pain and suffering he said his country has endured for the past five and a half years. he acknowledged some errors by his government, the party

stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more aljazeera america morning news. >> the deadline extended again in the iran nuclear talks. the major sticking points alleges the u.s. cautions it could still walk away. >> our airstrikes will continue to target the oil and gas facilities that fund so much of their operations. >> president obama says the u.s. and partners are determined to defeat isil. the top military commander and secretary go to capitol hill. >> bill cosby's admission what he said under oath about drugs and sex that could help those accusing him of rape. >> good morning. this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. >> negotiators in vienna will work past today's deadline to reach a deal to curb iran's nuclear program. the e.u.'s foreign policy chief spoke, saying talks will continue for the next few days. this is the fourth missed deadline in less than a year. secretary of state john kerry and his team are under increasing pressure as they meet in vienna. if a deal is not set to congress by thursday, its review period will double to 60 days. ali vel

i'm stephanie sy. the news continues next live from doha. >> agreement lifting economic sanctions against iran in exchange for tehran curbing it's nuclear program. a large explosion near the syrian border has killed 30 people and injured a hundred more. the turkish interior ministry said that it was a kurdish attack. and the cuban flag raised in washington as the two countries officially restore relations. well the cuban foreign minister has been speaking as as a news conference in washington. this is what he had to say. >> today we have a new opportunity to work to establish new and different bilateral relationships, different from all previous ones. to that end the cuban government commits its full will. the elimination of block said that has brought so much damage to our children, and the return of guantanamo and the return to cuba's sovereignty will give meaning to the historic event we're experiencing to date. >> well, we're live now from washington, and the cuban minister bruno rodriguez. >> cong

i'm stephanie sy. history is about to be made in south carolina.these are live pictures you are looking at from columbia, the state's capitol. in moments the confederate flag will start coming down from that flag pole. it has been

. ♪ this is al jazeera live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy and looking at live pictures from capitoll, this is the hearing room where the senate foreign relations committee in a few minutes will begin questioning of secretary of state john kerry and jack lui and earne

i'm stephanie sy. live pictures now from

i'm stephanie sy. the news continues next. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >>> from al jazeera's headquarters in doha this is the news hour. here is what is coming up over the next 60 minutes. where home is a giant pile of rubble. one year on from the war in gaza, and thousands of people are still homeless. >>> china's stock market plunges after a surge of panic selling, and the fear is spreading to other markets. >>> a show of support at the european parliament as the greek prime minister calls for a fair bailout deal. >>> and we'll tell you why australia needs immigrants. ♪ >>> we begin this news hour in gaza where an estimated hundred thousand people remain internally displaced a year after the 50-day war with israel. more than 2,000 palestinians were killed during seven weeks of israeli bombardment. more than 10,000 were wounded. the u.n. says 75% of the victims were civilians. among the israeli victims 66 soldiers and 5 civilians were killed. the u.n. says 89,000 homes in gaza were damaged.

i'm stephanie sy. thanks for watching. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >>> hello, and welcome to the news hour i'm martine dennis in doha, and these are our top stories. more boughts over a rescue deal for greece as euro zone ministers meet in brussels. the banks are down to their last reserves of cash time is running out to save them from collapse. >>> also ahead, world powers give themselves more time to try to strike a deal over iran's nuclear program. plus . . . the battles of south sudan, an exclusive report on the rebel forces fighting to bring down the government. >> an australian sport has been plunged into a racism controversy after comments by an olympic swimming legend. >> if they don't like it go back to where their fathers or their parents came from. we don't need them in this country if they act like that. >> dawn frazier called a blatant racist by nick kurios. >>> but first these are crucial hours for the future of greece's economy, but there's no sign of progress towards a new bai

stephanie sy up next. >> take a symbol of hate off these grounds on friday! >> history made in south carolina. the state legislature votes to take the confederate flag down from the capitol grounds. >> baltimore's top cop is off the force fired by the mayor amid a spike in violent crime and murders. months after rioting sparked by the death of freddie gray. >> i'm on the island of maui where a new category of electricity consumer is defecting from the grid entirely. i'll have a report in a few minutes. >> good morning live from new york city, i'm receive as i. the confederate flag will no longer fly on the south carolina state capitol. state legislators approved taking it down. the debate stretched 13 hours passionate and contentious. the statehouse voted overwhelmingly 94-20 to take it down. this marks a rapid reversal in the state. >> this is a state that honors its place in history and especially its place in the civil war and a lot of the people who live here revere the monuments and icons to that time, but in the last few years there's been a movement to

stephanie sy is back in two minutes. >> security stepped up around the nation as americans head into the fourth of july holiday. greeks taking sides ahead of an unprecedented vote whether to accept the bailout deal, the government is pushing for a no. >> american kids turning into human smugglers. this middle school, ripe recruiting grounds. ♪ >> a is for audio. long time cast member leaves sesame street after more than four decades in the neighborhood. today marks the start of the fourth of july weekend. it will be a holiday on heightened alert. as millions hilt the roads enjoying cookouts and fireworks the government issued a warning to law enforcement agencies around the country to be vigilant of possible threats. we have the latest. what is law enforcement saying? >> home land security is saying they know of no specific threat this weekend in the u.s. still in advance of the holiday weekend, the department of homeland security sent that alert to police across the country and they in turn of ramping up their preparations. >> happy fourth of july! >> fourists are getting an early s

i'm stephanie sy.ple in the east african nation of burundi are risking their lives this morning to vote. polls opened after a night of gunfire and explosions. two were killed in the capitol. the president is expected to win a third term in office. his critics say the entire election is unconstitutional because he can only stand for two materials. as he reports there are fears this could plunge the country into a civil war. >> i have covered a lot of elections in africa and i have to say this one in burundi is very interesting. i've never been at an election where there's been so much international pressure for one man not to run for a third term, for one man to step down, but he insides that he is running for a third term despite it violating the constitution. he says he has his supporters who want him to keep ruling this country for as long as possible. the opposition boycott elections, saying they are not voting, but still the election is going ahead. the people who are waiting at the polling station

stephanie sy is back in two minutes with more aljazeera america morning news. stay with us. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. only on al jazeera america. >> another first for president obama, he becomes the first sitting u.s. leader to address the african union. >> nato pledges support for turkey as the nation bombs isil in syria. the emergency meeting today as members worry about the fight to stabilize the region. >> migrant women and children detained in prisons the court ruling that could change that. >> the new dr. seuss book is already a hit with the old and the young. >> when someone has to pay eight bribe just to start a business or to go to school or get an official to do the job they're supposed to be doing anyway, that's not the african way. it undermines the dignity of the people you represent. >> you might call it tough love from president obama in a historic speech to the african union, the first by a sitting american president. this is aljazeera america. president obama's address was directed at the entire continent while h

i'm stephanie sy. we're learning more this morning about the man who shot and killed two people inside a movie theater in louisiana last night before taking his own life. police identified him as a 58-year-old white man who seemingly acted alone. nine people were injured. some are in critical condition this morning. we expect a news conference from police. we'll bring it to you live when it begins. let's go to our correspondent jonathan martin live outside the theater in lafayette. what can you tell us about the victims and do we know anything more about the shooter at this point? >> not yet. the news conference expect to happen here in just a future minute witness louisiana governor bobby jindal along with state police. all they've released is that this is a 58-year-old man the shooter acted alone as you mentioned and police have been here outside the movie theater really all night since this happened at 7:30. several victims are at the hospital with minor injuries, others with critical injuries. we k