ahead after they say police beat and burned them to get information. >> good morning. this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm paul beban. it may be the best clue yet in the search for a jet that went missing more than a year ago, malaysia airlines flight 370 disappeared last march. now what looks like part of a wing washed up on remote reunion island off the coast of africa. it does appear to be the wing of a bowing 777, the same model of the doomed flight. >> what do we know? >> the fate of the malaysian air flight has been a mystery. this morning, the thoughts are many are expressed when the plane fragments are found a major break through. >> experts think the plane fragment that washed up on tiny reunion side might be our first glimpse of wreckage from malaysia air flight 370. eventually, the search concentrated on a 23,000 squire mile area off australia. experts are headed west off the coast of madagascar to examine that piece of debris. >> bowing and experts are traveling to the site so they can see firsthand and confirm whether or not this is a part of the 777 aircraft, and then as a further step, whether there's any way of linking that wreckage to the missing aircraft. >> serial number, if it does match up with other serial numbers that's presumably malaysia airlines have in their database, then it will give us the first clue that this does indeed come from the aircraft in question. >> even if the wreckage is conclusively linked to the missing plane, that may do little to solve the mystery. the debris is likely to have drifted thousands of miles and offer few clues as to the location of the actual crash site. what it may offer, though, is a small built of information to grieving families. >> if the wreckage is identified, what that does is gives some degree of closure to the families who are waiting for information about what's happened to their loved ones. >> makes authorities say the debris will be shipped to france, since that's the country responsible for aviation investigations on reunion island. the malaysians are sending a team, too, but say it's too early to speculate whether this is the missing plane. >> one more clue, thank you. >> western leaders are promising families connected with another malaysia airlines disaster that they'll see justice. wednesday, russia vetoed a u.n. security council draft resolution to set up an international tribunal that investigate the crash of mh flight 17. >> no veto will stand in the way of this heinous crime being investigated and prosecuted and no veto will weaken our unshakable commitment to you, to ensure that you and your loved ones have the justice that you deserve. >> the plane went down in eastern ukraine last july, killing all 298 people onboard. western countries accuse pro-russian rebels of shooting down the plane using a russian made missile. russia denies that. >> congress is on the clock to figure out what to do about the iran nuclear deal after days of testimony from top administration officials. on wednesday, it was the senate armed services committee asking tough questions about the impact on u.s. security. libby casey reports. >> we should maintain. >> top military brass took a turn on capitol hill defending the deal with iran, adding voices and credentials to the white house team pitching the plan. >> it's a good deal because it prevents iran from getting a nuclear weapon in a comprehensive and verifiable way. >> ash carter and giants chief of staff martin dempsey pledged that the u.s. is continuing to advance military capability, leaving open all options if iran walks away from the deal. >> i've said from the start that relieving the risk of a nuclear conflict with iran diplomatically is superior to trying to do that militarily, but i will sustain the military options in case that becomes necessary. >> republicans say that doesn't go far enough. >> the ultimate guarantee that iran will not get a nuclear weapon is not 109 page document. it is the capability of the u.s. military told what is necessary if all else fails, and yet this agreement would enable iran to construct the kind of advanced military arsenal that could make our military option far costlier to employ. >> democrats are weighing their options. it's their support the white house needs to prevent congress from derailing the deal. >> do you believe if we walk away from this deem iran has a nuclear weapon by christmas. >> they could generate nuclear materials within months. >> the obama administration denies that there are dangerous details in so-called secret side deals between iran and the international atomic energy agency or iaea. >> it's a confidential agreement, it's being plastered as this great sort of side. it's a confidential agreement which is the standard procedure of the iaea and we have lived with the iaea, relied on the iaea for years and years. >> republicans use it to take an aggressive stance against the obama administration. >> you're refusing to answer the question. secretary carter, is it correct that iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. >> i believe that's true, yes. >> those republicans are not the white house hopes to win over in the next months. it's democrats and the constituents members will hear from during the long august recess. libby casey, al jazeera, washington. >> later today, university of cincinnati police officer ray kenting will be arraigned. he was charged wednesday with first degree murder and manslaughter. he shot and killed samuel. dubose during a traffic stop. his attorney says he feared for his life buff body cam videos showed organize. hundred was people joined a black lives matter in the city and called for him to be convicted. protestors demanded that a second officer who gave testimony that the body cam video contradicts be chard. the prosecutor says a second indictment is possible. >> bobby hilton is a civil rights leader in cincinnati and lead pastor at word of deliverance ministries for the old. he told us protests and body cams are changing police culture and accountability. >> in 2001, cincinnati had their own riots, cincinnati was ferguson and baltimore and some of these other places but things are much better in the city of cincinnati because from those riots, policing changed to community policing. this was a university of cincinnati police officer, and they don't operate under those same objectives of community policing, and the difference is vast. i believe we must make sure that that old fashioned culture of policing and the thoughts that many officers seem to have against especially young black men, it must change. there needs not to be a fear of young black men and young black ladies. there needs to be a respect. young lady that died in the accident be last weekend, she shouldn't have been treated like she was treated. so many other case. it just should not have happened like it did. we all are saying had it not been for a body cam on that officer, we would not have had an indictment. it would just be another young black man dead and so did the police officer and that is wrong. activists plan to appeal to new york's highest court after judges again denied the public release of grand jury minutes in the eric garner case. cell phone video captured garner taken down by a police chokehold. garner later died. a grand jury declined to indict the police officers involved in garner's death. >> an egyptian court this morning postponed a verdict in the retrial of three al jazeera somewhere else falsely accused of working with the muslim brotherhood. an announcement in the case them r. against them is said that delaying the final verdict is continuing the strain on them and their families. we demand the court address the trial and drop the charges against them immediately. in cairo in absentia, he's still on trial as our colleagues are that are still in egypt. >> sitting here, peter, do you feel like a free man? >> i think it sounds ridiculous in this glorious sunshine pretty much able to go and do whatever i want to, but the fact is that i don't feel like a free man. we're still caught up in this judicial process, we're still on trial and i'm on trial along with my colleagues. we still have a campaign to fight. we still have a legal bat toll fight. there is still the prospect of a conviction, so no, i don't feel free. >> what are your hopes for the verdict? >> obviously i hope the judge will see the sheer lack of evidence and throw it out. there was no more evidence that the prosecutor was able to produce in this trial than the first, so it's quite clear that we were not involved with any of the things that the prosecutor has accused us of. we weren't involved with terrorism. we had no connection with the muslim brotherhood beyond the work of journalists. >> and your biggest fear? >> that we will not just get convictions but the original sentence will be upheld. the court can't give us heavier sentences, but it can confirm the original sentences. obviously to me, that would be an inconvenience, i'm not going to go back to prison, i'm over here, but that really is a serious matter for the other families and that worries my. >> what would be the consequences of a guilty verdict. >> for them obviously it could well mean going back to prison. we hope if they get a guilty verdict, at the very most, they mayent up with sentences for time served and that would mean that they would be able to walk free immediately. for me, it would be a little more difficult, because it would mean that i would have to be -- i would be under the same restriction as all of the other journalists convicted, meaning i can't go to anywhere that has an extradition treaty with egypt and that would be very, very difficult as a foreign correspondent. >> al jazeera continues to reject the charges against them. >> coming up, torture inside the united states. the investigation into police in chicago and the allegations they shocked, beat and burned people to get information. >> protestors are gathering... >> welcome to al jazeeraing... america. it is 7:46 eastern time. taking a look at today's top stories. >> an important measure of the economy is due out in about an hour. analysts estimate a solid rebound after the economy stalled in the first quarter. patricia sabga will give us the numbers in the next hour. >> much water the state has saved in the past month. officials in the state's largest cities have said they met or exceeded the required targets in june. that was the first month of mandatory water cutbacks. california is in its fourth year of extreme drought. >> a 911 dispatcher in albuquerque has resigned after a recording of him hanging up on a caller was released. he told a teenager who was reporting her friend had been shot to deal with it herself. he then seemingly hung up. the dispatcher did send ambulances, but the friend ended up dying. >> chicago is still trying to come to terms with what has been called a dark stain on the city's history. the torture of suspects by chicago police. the city earlier this year approved a reparations bill for victims. many insist they can never truly be made whole. >> ronald kitchen never thought he'd hear these words. >> we have ways of making you talk. >> kitchen was not being held against his will by men in white hoods or neonazis. he was in the hands of the chicago p.d. >> i'm going to introduce you to the telephone book. they get the telephone book this thick and night stick and put it on your head and beat me. i'm sitting there and as he's telling me. he's telling me you did this, we know you did this. >> this was a highly publicized murder. they picked him up and said it was for auto theft. >> they put the night stick against my legs, mutt me against the wall and lifts of me off my feet and he grinds and he grinds and he grinds and he grinds. >> kitchen said a resolving door of officers beat and interrogated him until he had no fight left. >> i said ok, ok, ok, ok, i'll do whatever you want me to do. whatever you want me to do i'll do it. >> you'll sign a confession. >> i'll sign. >> based solely on his confession and the testimony of a prison informant later discredited, kitchen was found guilty of all five murders and sentenced to death. >> the city tried to keep these reports from being released. >> in 1989, working on a tip, investigative journalist john conroy found hauntingly similar reports from suspects claiming to be tortured by chicago police. >> give us a sense of the type which torture used by that the officers. >> the most well known is electric shock. there was as far as we know three electrical devices. there also was one prisoner andrew wilson burned against a hot radiator. >> at the center of it all was one man. john burge is a former chicago police department commander and the face of this dark chapter in chicago's history. >> i will assert my fifth amendment right. >> he was convicted not for the torture itself, because the statute of limitations ran out, but for lying about it. he spent four and a half years behind bars for perjury and obstruction of justice. today, he's a free man and he still receives his police pension. this year, chicago became the first city in the nation to approve a reparations ordinance for victims of police abuse and torture. ronald kitchen isn't available for reparations because he received a multi-million dollar settlement from the the city of chicago. >> three university of virginia graduates are suing rolling stone magazine over its now discredited article on a fraternity gang rape, saying they were defamed and suffered vicious and hurtful attacks after the article was published. rolling stones editor said he also announced he will resign his post effective next month. >> another republican is now in the race for president. former virginia governor jim gilmore has filed his paperwork. he is a former army intelligence specialist, lawyer, prosecutor, and state attorney general. that makes 17 republican candidates running for the gop nomination. senator rand paul is one of them. his father, former congressman and presidential candidate himself ron paul said he does not see eye to eye with his son on all the issues but they do agree on the subject of taking america to war. >> you look at intervention per se and spending overseas and provoking wars, i would say that he is miles above all the other candidates who seem to be locked in to the neocon position that we have this moral obligation to police the world and where we are going to spread american goodness. >> you can see the full interview with ron paul on tonight's on target. that is 10:30 p.m. eastern time. >> it only happens once in a blue moon, a special full moon will light up the night sky tomorrow and our nicole mitchell explains this rare and unusual phenomenon, coming up next. >> last year, the state of oklahoma was shaken by 585 earthquakes, triple the rate of california and enough to make it the most seismickically active state in the country. if fracking continues unchecked, scientists warn a catastrophe is just around the corner. >> here in oklahoma, a town of 1400, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit monday, the largest reported in the state since the fracking boom and just one of the 15 major earthquakes that oklahoma's felt on just that one day. >> no major damage was reported, but the community is on edge in this oil rich region where the use of waist water disposal wells has been determined to be the major cause of earthquakes. the operators of two wells have agreed to halt operations after the 4.5 quake, but with more than 3,000 such wells across the state, the oklahoma geological survey says much more regulation is needed. >> what's the worst case scenario you can see? >> the worst case scenario would be that we have many faults within oklahoma that are capable of producing a significant earthquake. the largest earthquake we know about in geologic times occurred over a thousand years ago. if we were to have a similar sized earthquake today, that would have major impacts on oklahoma. >> you are saying the biggest in history. >> the joe alongic history was a mag any toot 5.7. it would be quite significant. >> that could happen here in oklahoma? >> absolutely. >> many are not heeding the warning. tonight, more on the industry pressures driving policy in oklahoma and the advocates who claim the state is putting dollars before lives. heidi zhou castro, al jazeera, crescent, oklahoma. >> you can watch the full report tonight at 8:00 eastern time. >> on the healthbeat this morning, new york city is investigating an outbreak of legionaires disease. it has been linked to two deaths. 31 cases have been reported. symptoms include coughing, fatigue and a loss of appetite. it is caused by a bacteria often traced to bluing and ventilation systems. >> we've heard the phrase once in a blue moon, but tomorrow, we're going to get to see the real thing. nicole mitchell is here with today's environmental impact report. >> what is a blue moon? >> it dependency on your definition. by our modern definition is when you have a month with two full moons in the same month, where we sneak in two full cycles, not necessarily the color blue. let's look at the july calendar. we have the blue moon we can we had the full moon on july 2, went through all the phases and will have another one tomorrow morning at 6:45 eastern time. this is a rare event. it only happens once every 2.7 years. the last time was in 2012. the next time won't be until 2018, where you actually see two of them, so it will be extra rare to have two in the same year. that's on the moon calendar. what about an actual blue moon? those happen, but it is even more rare. what happens if you remember back to the visible light spectrum, different colors are different frequencies. things reflect the red light. what will do that? the most typical thing that can make the moon blue is volcanos. they have dust particles in the air from the ash and about one mike chronwide filters out the reds, makes you see the blues. the biggest one in indonesia had blue moons around the world. mt. st. helen's in the 1980's had local blue moons. a big fire in the 1950's had blue. whos all the way to europe. tomorrow morning is the second full moon, might not necessarily actually be blue, though. >> i'm holding out for blue. >> ok. >> we want to see blue. >> even more extreme. >> exciting. thanks, nicole. thank you for joining us here this morning. randall pinkston is back in two minutes with more news from aljazeera america. >> plane debris found off the coast of africa fueling speculation it could be part of malaysia air flight 370. >> this is the most as nine act i've seen a police officer make. >> the routine traffic stop that landed a cincinnati police officer behind bars in the killing of an unarmed black driver. prosecutors say the officer's own body camera led to his arrest. >> emotional testimony from the mother of a colorado theater shooter as the jury prepares to decide his fate. >> i could have been crawling on all fours to get to him. >> trying to convince the jury to spare her son's life. >> making people sick, a lack of water leading to serious health problems in one town. >> the wreckage does resemble wing parts from a bowing 777, the type of aircraft in malaysia airlines flight 370. we're looking with great interest at this discovery, bowing and other experts are traveling to the site to see firsthand and confirm. >> this is aljazeera america. good morning, live from new york city, i'm randall pinkston. >> malaysia this morning is sending a team to investigate plane debris that washed ashore on an island off the east coast of africa. what appears to be a large part of a wing appeared on reunion island. it appears to be from a bowing 777, the same make and model that disappeared last march. reunion miles is thousands of miles from when the jet was last tracked over the indian ocean. >> the fate of malaysia airlines flight 370 has been one of aviation's most vexing mysteries. this morning, australia said prime minister is expressing the thoughts of many what he calls the plane fragment found a potentially "major break through." >> experts thing the plane fragment might be our first glimpse of wreckage from malaysia airlines flight 370, the plane that disappeared in march of last year with 239 onboard. >> it matches the platform in the rear of the wing. everybody say it fits to the bowing 777 and of course which plane is missing in this area. >> 40 minutes after leaving the airport, malaysia airlines flight 370 lost contact over the gulf of thailand. the massive search focused on two possible corridors to the north and the south. eventually concentrating on a 23,000 square mile area off the coast of western australia. now experts are headed west off the coast of madagascar to examine that piece of debris. >> bowing and experts are traveling to the site to see firsthand and confirm whether or not this is a part of the 777 aircraft and then as a further step, whether there's any way of linking that wreckage to the missing aircraft. >> serial number, if it does match up with other serial numbers presumably malaysia airlines have in their database, then it will give us the first clue that this does indeed come from the aircraft in question. >> even if the wreckage is conclusively linked to the missing plane, that may do little to solve the mystery. over nearly a year and a half, the debris is likely to have drifted thousands of miles and may offer few clues as to the location of the actual crash site. what it may offer, though, is a small built of information to grieving families. >> if the wreckage is identified, what that does is gives some degree of closure to the families who are waiting for information about what's happened to their loved ones. >> malaysia authorities say the debris will be shipped to france, that country responsible for aviation investigations on reunion island. the malaysians say it is too early to speculate whether this is actually the missing plane. >> at least a lead. thank you. >> western leaders promise families of another plane crash which last year's mh17 crash they will see justice, even after russia vetoed a security council draft resolution to set up a tribunal to investigate the crash. >> no veto will stand in the way of this heinous crime being investigated and prosecuted, and no veto will weaken our unshakable commitment to you, to ensure that you and your loved ones have the justice that you deserve. >> the plane went down in eastern ukraine last july, killing all onboard. western countries accuse pro-russian rebels of shooting down the plane using a russian made missile. russia denies that. >> being arraigned today, a 25-year-old has been charged with first degree murder and is an officer accused of killing an unarmed black man. prosecutors call it a senseless and brutal act of violence. >> do you have your license on you? >> yeah, what happened. >> >> newly released body cam video captures the last moments of the man's life. >> you have your license on you. >> i have it. >> it's july 19 and the 43-year-old black man is stopped by a white university of cincinnati police officer for a missing front license plate. seconds later, the officer shoots him in the head, killing him. >> stop! stop! wednesday, he was indicted for murder. >> i've been doing this for over 30 years. this is the most asanine act i've ever seen an officer make jew it's an absolute tragedy in the year 2015 that anyone would behave in this manager. it was senseless. >> officer tensing initially told investigators that he was dragged by the man's car before firing a fatal shot. >> he was dragging me, man. >> but the body cam video tell as much different story. tensing fell back after shooting, but he was never dragged. >> he purposely killed him. he should never have been a police officer. >> his family spent over a week pressing authorities to release the footage. >> seeing that video, let me know that my son did absolutely nothing, not nothing, nothing to even provoke this man. >> a few hours later, tensing, an eight year veteran was in police custody. he had been on administrative leave. the university fired him wednesday afternoon. the school also canceled classes in anticipation of a grand jury's decision, and 2001 riots erupted in cincinnati after a 19-year-old unarmed black man was shot and killed by a cincinnati police officer. >> he was peaceful. he loved people. he lived peaceful and in his death, we want to remain peaceful, you know, like my mom said, you know, led god fight the battle. i'm a lifetime cincinnatien. i remember 2001. >> reviews will be launched of the school's police department. the city's mayor said in a subsequent news conference that there will be an independent review of the university of cincinnati police department. bisi onile-ere, al jazeera. >> just hours after of the charges came out, hundreds of people joined a black lives matter rally in the city, calling for former police officer ray tensing to be convicted. protestors also demanded that a second officer should be charged after he gave testimony contradicted by body cam video. the county prosecutor says that second indictment is possible. >> activists plan to appeal to new york's highest court after judges again denied the public release of grand jury minutes in the eric garner case. cell phone video last year captured garner being taken down in a chokehold by police. he later died. a grand jury declined to indict the officers involved in garner's death. >> three university of virginia graduates are suing rolling stone magazine over its now discredited article on a fraternity gang rape. the men say they were defamed and suffered vicious and hurtful attacks after the article was published. it was later detracted. rolling stones editor will resign his post effective next month. >> toll ban leaders say that their leader, omar is dead and will announce his replacement. he died in 2013 issue pakistan from health issues. the reclusive leader was a close friend of osama bin laden and last seen in public in 2001. we spoke with an analyst who said his death will have a profound impact on the taliban moving forward. >> he is dead, but we don't know exactly when he was dead, but this is now something that will have a huge impact both on the taliban, on the movement and also on the afghan government, because the government has been engaged in the peace negotiation with the taliban, now that omar is confirmed dead, there's a big question, who will continue to guide this movement and lead this movement. this is a big question that we don't have any answer yet. >> you mentioned the impact on the peace talks between the government of afghanistan and the taliban. there was a meeting outside islamabad in july, between government officials and the taliban. who do you think will if i am the power vacuum created by his absence? >> the taliban denied the second round of peace talks with the afghan government, which have been taking place this week, and so tomorrow was the date that we were expecting to have the second round of talks with the taliban, but taliban have already denied this meeting, so it shows that the impact of the death is very, very important, because the unity of the movement is under question. prior to that, the taliban qatar office, which is the political representative of the taliban, refused to take part in the peace talks in pakistan. now we see a wrist between the toll ban top leadership and we don't know what will be the outcome in the next few days. this is an important thing. will it keep its unity or be fragmented into different movements and we don't know yet at this stage. >> so fighting is likely to continue, you think. >> well, indeed, because omar himself was not engaged in leading the military wing of the taliban, because it requires a very strong and very skillful military leadership, so mull la omar so they will continue work at before and the pakistani military has been playing an important role in leading the taliban's military wing in afghanistan, and as long as they continue receiving the support of the pakistan, they will not face any difficulty. in the long run, it will impact their field commanders on the ground in afghanistan, as well. >> pakistan officials confirmed this morning that the peace talks have indeed been postponed but are hopeful all parties involved will stay engaged in the process in order to promote lasting peace. >> israel's parliament passed a new law to permits forced feeding of inmates on hunger strikes. the bill was narrowly improved. it allows a judge to sanction forced medical treatment if there is a threat to an inmate's life. palestinian inmates used hunger strikes i in the past as a toolo draw attention. >> the state department is expressing concerns over israeli plans to build homes on disputed territory in the west bank. the demolition of a complex was forced nearby. a judge ruled it was being constructed on palestinian-owned land. >> on the digit albeit this morning, a story of success in the fight against isil. three chechen girls swindled isil fighters out of thousands of dollars. they made the men think the girls would travel to syria to be their brides. >> it's a twist to the typical bride recruiting story you usually hear about women being lured into traveling to syria to join the fighters. in this case, a trio of chechen young women turned the tables on the recruiters. >> this is one of the three girls, her face obscured to prevent her identity who scammed isil fighters for thousands of dollars. the trio made the fighters think they would be their brides. the plot was the girls would meet them on line but tell them they had no money to travel from chechnya to syria. that's when isil would send them the funds. >> he said i would like syria. i said i had no money. he said he would help. >> the girls received the money, but never traveled to syria. instead, they blocked the isil fighter they were communicating with and moved on to the next target. police say the trio made about $3,300 before getting caught by police, focused on suspicious on line activity. >> the young woman you saw just now hasn't been charged, but has confessed to everything. the other girls were arrested on charges of fraud. it's unclear whether they will receive punishment for the scheme. >> in a different court this morning again, postponed the verdict in the verdict of three al jazeera journalists paltry accused of working worth muslim brotherhood. the trial is now planned for sunday. al jazeera's acting general called the delay an outrage, saying all three men have been under immense stress and pressure for 19 months and delaying the final verdict has continued the strain on them and their families. we demand the egyptian authorities bring an end to the charges against mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed and peter greste. >> justice has been delayed yet again. baher mohammed and mohamed fahmy arrived at a cairo court hoping to hear a verdict reflecting the truth, that they're not guilty, instead were told that the case is postponed until next week. >> it's really disappointing what happened today. >> their colleague peter greste tried with them in absentia have all come to expect delays, but allowed themselves to hope there would be closure and a positive outcome at last. >> the only thing that any of us are concerned about at this point is the verdict. that's the thing that will define our lives from that moment. >> greste, mohamed and gnome familiar were sentenced to between seven and 10 years in prison. they spent more than 400 days in egyptian prison. the court this year threw out their convictions and ordered a retrial. in february, greste was deported to his native australia. mohamed and fahmy were released on bail later that month, but have been unable to leave egypt. just as they did during the first trial, analysts have criticized the evidence against the journalists. >> we've seen prosecutors present in open court family photos and news reels and pop songs as evidence that the men were involved in overthrowing the egyptian government. >> they hope this delay is not a sign of bad news to come. al jazeera. >> on the agenda today, california is set to reveal how much water it saved in the past month. june was the first month of mandatory water cutbacks. the state is in its fourth year of drought. >> activists are calling on president obama to issue an executive order to implement new hiring practices for former inmates. they want the question about past convictions removed from job applications. >> a house intelligence committee convenes today to convey cyber threats around the world. jurors could begin deliberating the punishment for james holmes. closing arguments set for this morning in the penalty phase of his trial. on wednesday, his mother took the stand. arlene holmes contradicted earlier testimony from her son's psychiatrist who said the parents were warned that their son was a risk to public safety. >> did she ever tell you she had concerns because he had expressed homicidal ideation? >> no. >> never. >> do you wish she had? >> of course i do. of course. we wouldn't be sitting here if she had told me back then. >> would you have been out here the next day? >> i would have been crawling on all fours to get to him. he's never said that he wanted to kill people. she didn't -- she didn't -- she didn't tell me. she didn't tell me. she didn't tell me. >> jurors will decide whether james holmes should be put to death or serve life in prison without parole. he was convicted of tiling 12 and injuring 70 others at a movie theater in aurora, colorado in july, 2012. >> tapped out. >> you're doing with things that you typically don't see in first world society. >> the california town desperate for water as the drought takes a toll on the health of residents. >> it only happens once in a blue moon. really. the special sight set to light up the night sky. >> welcome to al jazeera america. it's 8:22 eastern time. taking a look at other headlines around the nation, federal investigators are looking into claims of unfair business practices at the university of phoenix. the for-profit college is accused of deceptive marketing practice. this year, two other for-profits, corinthian college and i.t.t. were fined for misleading students about loans and job placement. >> new york city is investigating an outbreak of legionaire's disease. it is caused by bacteria from plumbing and ventilation systems. >> a highway spending bill, funding runs out on friday, the $8 billion measure is a short term fix to keep construction projects going as congress adjourns for the summer. >> a philadelphia congressman is pledging to beat charges of conspiracy and mismanaging federal funds. the democratic faces 29 counts for allegedly concealing a $1 million loan from a donor. he is accused of using federal grants and charitable donations to pay back the money. authorities say he used campaign funds to pay off his son's student loans. his son is facing trial on tax evasion charges. >> former govern jim gilmore filed his paperwork to run for president in the republican field. he is a former prosecutor and state attorney general. that makes 17 republican candidates now running for the gop presidential nomination. senator rand paul is one of them. his father, former congressman and presidential candidate ron paul sat down with our ali velshi. >> you look at intervention per se and spending overseas and provoking war, i would say he is miles above all the other candidates who seem to be locked in to the neocon position that we have this moral obligation to police the world where we're going to spend american goodness. >> you can see the full interview tonight at 10:30 p.m. eastern. >> potato experts hope to open a global market for a vegetable that is very popular here. they are hosting the annual gathering in beijing. this his the first time it's taken place in china, as rob mcbride reports, it's part of the country's efforts to promote the stable. >> it has everything to do with potatoes. from every conceivable way of consuming them to better science for growing them. the chinese government is on a mission to convince the people on the wonders of the potato. >> here in china, we have good quality potato varieties that giving high yields. they will provide more options as a stable food. >> facing ever more pressure on farming land from urbanization and drill pollution, it could be the potato the rescue. >> underpinning the great potato debate is the very serious issue of food security in a country that has a fifth of the world population to feed. it requires less land and water than rise but face as serious image problem in the eyes of chinese consumers. >> look around traditional street markets and it's hard to spot what's seen as a peasant food, only for those who can't afford rice. >> it's like a substitute fooled i'd have it if there wasn't rice. >> we will have it like an extra vegetable, but it's not the basis for a whole meal. >> now more westernized, younger people, they will eat a lot more potatoes. >> that's part of the problem. potato consumption is on the rise largely thanks to increasing amounts of french fries in fast food restaurants. the challenge is getting the chinese to learn healthier way is of having their daily potato. >> in inner mongolia, we've eaten potatoes for a long time. there are many ways of using them, like potato noodles. >> hopefully there will be more ways of putting potatoes on chinese dinner tables. >> climate change is changing the wine industry. how global warming is hitting some vineyards hard and is actually helping some make better wine. >> plus he be dieting the grand jury system, the push for reforms in america's courts. >> welcome to al jazeera america. it is now 8:29 eastern time. taking a look at today's top stories, a new clue in the search for missing malaysia airlines flight 370. investigators are looking into a large piece of debris that washed up on reunion island in the indian ocean off the east coast of africa. it appears to be part of a bowing 777 wing. it disappeared a year ago with 239 onboard. >> jurors today could begin deliberating the punishment for colorado movie school theater james holmes. closing arguments in the penalty phase are set this morning. holmes faces the death penalty or life in prison for killing 12 people and injuring 70 more in aurora, colorado. >> arraignment is set today for former university of cincinnati police officer accused of murder. ray tensing was charged wednesday in the shooting death of samuel dubose, an unarmed black man, during a traffic stop. >> grand juries have decided against charging police officers in the united states. that has caused some officials to call for reforms to make the secretive process more transparent. protests erupted in ferguson, missouri last november after a grand jury decided not to indict police officer darren wilson in the fatal shooting of michael brown. demonstrations in new york after a grand jury declined to charge officer daniel pantaleo in the chokehold death of eric garner. the video captured on cell phone went viral. both cases involving police officers and unarmed black men led to questions about the grand jury process in this country. the united states is one of the only countries to still use grand juries to indict people for crimes. the grand jury is an institution that existed before the constitution. its purpose then is similar now, to protect citizens from government prosecution without just cause. what happens inside a grand jury room is supposed to be secret, and for some, including new york state's highest ranking judge, that secrecy is the problem. >> in cases where a grand jury votes not to bring charges, where no true bill emerges, the public is left to speculate about the process, the evidence, the legal instructions, and the conclusions drawn by that the grand jury. >> chief judge jonathan lipman wants to change that in new york. he is supporting legislation that would allow the release of grand jury records in some cases. criminal defense attorney gerald lefkor agrees with the plan. >> if you want citizens to support the process, it has to be more transparent. >> several groups are fighting to get details of the eric garner grand jury proceeding made public. >> why should their testimony remain secret? i just don't understand it. we all know who they are. we all know they are saying in sum and substance that they didn't intend to kill him, choke him, that what they did they thought was justified. why can't we hear that and read that? >> the public can read the ferguson case. >> the evidence and testimony will be released following this statement. i'm ever mindful that this decision will not be accepted by some and may cause disappointment for others. >> former new york prosecutor randy zellen says what happens in the grand jury room must be kept confidential. >> if you remove that secrecy, witnesses are going to enall likelihood be far more hesitant about cooperating with a prosecutor in an investigation in a proceeding if he or she knows that her or his identity will be revealed to the defendant, will be revealed to the public. >> it is obvious that we need significant change in grand jury practices and protocols. >> the judge wants judges to preside over grand jury deliberations for police involved homicides and felony assaults. normally, it is the prosecutor who presents all cases to a grand jury. >> of immediate concern are the perceptions of some that prosecutors' offices which work so closely with the police as they must and they should are unable to objectively present to the grand jury cases arising out of police civilian encounters. >> some critics say that would create a separate system of justice for police officers. >> why should a police officer be treated any differently? yes, i understand that a police officer is held to a different standard in terms of being the one there enforcing the laws and making sure that the public is protected, but by the same token, what do judges tell jurors when a police officer takes the stand? don't treat a police officer's testimony any differently than any other witness. >> after several high profile killings involving police nationwide, new york's top judge hopes his plan will help avoid any appearance of conflict of interest in the grand jury process, and reestablish trust in the judicial system. >> a proposed federal law, the grand jury reform act of 2015 would require the appointment of a special prosecutor in cases involving deaths from use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. >> turkey's military says three of its soldiers have been killed by kurdish fighters. the attack happened in the southeast of the country during an assault on a turkish she army battalion. turkey stepped up attacks against kurdish rebels inside turkey and iraq. it carried out airstrikes against isil, also. we are joined from ankara. thank you for joining us. did the recent terrorist attack cause turkey to take a more active role or were there other facts moving turkey to become engaged against isis? >> the immediate factor appeared to be the suicide attack in suric. when we look at turkey's reaction to the event, we see other factors behind turkish involvement. for example, so far, turkish be airstrikes and shelling seem to be more focused on p.k.k. and even some p.y.d. targets than isil. at the same time, the turkish military's operation seemed to be as much focused within turkish soil on p.k.k. as it is focused on targets in iraq and syria, and we have reasons to suspect that the turkish involvement in the fight against isil is basically a pretense to change the rules of the game of engagement vis a vis kurdish organizations, either p.k.k. or p.y. >> as you indicate, turkey has been going after p.y.d. and p.k.k., both different kurdish factions. but the u.s. has been relying on one of those kurdish factions in syria to fight isil. now, is there a potential of a conflict between the u.s. goal of going against isis in syria, and turkey's goal are going against kurdish fighters? >> actually, turkey has been a reluctant ally, reluctant nato ally in the fight against isis and so far refused to allow u.s. forces to use their air base. only after the suicide attack turkey allowed u.s. forces to use the base. this involvement will probably bring turkey, u.s. and p.y.d. into conflict, because p.y.d. is one of the main allies of the u.s., literally the boots on the ground in the fight against isis. however, a.k.p. government and especially president erdogan have been skeptical about p.y.d. presence on the border. during the fight for the control of the city of kobane, at the beginning, it appeared as if president erdogan was wishing for an isis victory and destruction of the p.y.d. stronghold in kobane, but when p.y.d. gained the upper hand and made advances along the syrian, turkish border, this started worrying both president erdogan and the prime minister and i would argue that the latest turkish involvement in the region represents as much an attempt to restrict p.y.d. advances as it is an attempt to restrict isil. the no fly zone, suggested no fly zone -- sure. >> one final question. if turkey has to choose between fighting isisar fighting kurdish forces, what do you think turkey will do? >> i think right from the very start, turkish government tried to make sure that this is an attack on all fronts, so they will try to keep it an attack against both p.k.k., p.y.d. and isis, because in the language of fight against terrorism and we do not extinguish among different terrorist organizations, the turkish government drives some legitimacy out of the this campaign, but when you take a look at statistics, we know that the bulk of the effort is focused on p.k.k. and p.y.d. and this seems more like a domestic move, because turkey might be going to snap elections in the next couple which months and the strategy of hard line focus on kurdish groups is an attempt to consolidate turkish nationalist votes as much as an attempt to corner h.d.p., the successful party of the june elections. >> former member of the turkish parliament, thank you for joining us on aljazeera america. >> the devastating four year drought in california caused crop prices to soar, and led to mandatory restrictions on water usage. it's also threatening the health of residents. jennifer london went to one of the hardest-hit towns in california. >> the heat, the dust and the drought are becoming too much for graciella ramirez. >> her voice is hoarse and her throat is dry. >> she lives in the epicenter of the state's historic drought where the water crisis is becoming a health crise. >> you are dealing with things that you typically don't see in first world society. >> the doctor is the medical director at the sequoia medical clinic. much of her day is spent treating patients for these type of conditions. >> people with upper respiratory or underlying lung issues, c.o.p.d., asthma, allergies, their problems are worsening. >> california's central valley has some of the worst air pollution in the country. with mountains on three sides, it's home to big oil and big ag, big polluters. >> without the rain, the dangerous particles linger in the air longer. if you look behind me, it's what you can't see that really illustrates just how bad the air quality i also here. those mountains are nearly invisible. >> hardest-hit are communities like east porterville. this small farming town has no central water system. residents rely on private, mostly shallow wells that have been drying up as the drought continues to punish the state. more than half of the 7500 residents have no running water. >> can you tell me about that struggle? >> al jazeera first reported on east porterville says drought emergency last august. water rationing i guess now a way of life for yolanda and her family of four. >> in 2011, she was diagnosed to bone cancer. she says the poor air quality had ad to her suffering. >> why is the dust bad for you? >> because my immune system is really low, and i can't -- i just can't. >> she also worries about her 12-year-old daughter, jocelyn. >> what do you say to your daughter, sorry we don't have running water, you can't play outside with her friends. what do you tell her? >> i tell her when she wanting to outside across the street to my niece. i tell her no, mija, you can't go. there is a lot of dust. you can't. you can't go play, because of your health. >> is that anyway to live? >> no, that's not. it's not. >> everi have london, al jazeera, east porterville, california. >> we've all heard the phrase once in a blue moon, but tomorrow, we will get to see the literal version. nicole mitchell on today's environmental impact will explain it all. first of all, it's not the color blue. >> it is not the color blue. by our modern definition what we call a blue moon is when we have two full moons in the same month, a very rare event, thus the phrase once in a blue moon. the moon we will see tomorrow will be the formal color for most people. we have had two of them this past month. here's the calendar for july. we already had a full moon on july 2, went through the entire phase and have another one tomorrow morning about 6:45 eastern time. that's what we call a blue moon because of the rarity. it only happens every 2.7 years. the next time will be 2018 and that year will have two. you can actually get the color, blue, as well. what happens then? well, if you look at the spectrum, remember the light scale and different colors and frequencies? certain things defract the red light, leaving us to see blues. it is usually events, there's the scale, with a lot of ash, so volcanos for example can do this. they'll block out the reds, leave the blues and then you see those brilliant blue moons. these are rare events to have such a big volcanic eruption and sometimes really large forest fires can cause this event, as well. >> thank you for making it all plain, nicole mitchell. >> climate change having an impact on some of this country's best known areas for wine. some of the best wines are produced in the west coast. >> it's a crazy idea. that's what people said when he decided to move to oregon to make wine. at that time, a wet and cool climate. >> this was not a place that made you sit back in your lawn chair and drink a beer while you watched everything grow around you in the hot sun. >> 30 years later, he's turk out award winning wines, producing more than a quarter million bottles a year. it turns out that rising temperatures, which ripens grapes are helping oregon wine makers in the short term. >> we are benefiting from it now, the change in climate, because we have very reproducible reliable vintages now. >> oregon now produces some of the best wines in the world. wine makers and enthusiasts are flocking to what could be the next napa valley. >> i find that the wine has a certain complexity that can rival excellent burgundy. >> he wonders how long it will be until his luck runs out and it gets too hot to produce his wines. >> we're going to have to come in, take clusters off and drop them on the ground. even still, it's going to be a full harvest and it's going to be early. >> how early? >> it's going to be anywhere from three to four weeks early. >> it needs a cool climate. too much heat spells trouble and can change the chemistry of the grapes. >> we'll see in a very warm area that you harvest very early in the season. you look at the other things, tannins, color, some of that hasn't developed early. that's a key issue in the problem with too hot of a climate. >> a study by the national academy of sciences forecast temperature increases having a devastating impact on the wine world. by 2050, scientists predict an 85% decrease in production. production in australia could drop 74%, a potentially devastating impact on the wine world. >> the stakes are even higher here in napa valley, one of the world's most diverse and smaller wine making regions and it packs to powerful purge. napa valley contributes more than $50 billion to the u.s. economy, so wine makers say they have no choice but to deem with the rising temperatures. >> what are the tools that wine makers specifically in napa valley have? >> well, we have like the trellising system, the way we grow the grapes, the way that grows are oriented to reduce exposure to the heat of the day during warm days like today. we can work on how we use water, how we irrigate the vines. we have other kinds of grapes that are suited to warmer conditions than we have enough that we might be moving toward on -- you know in the decades to come. >> back in oregon, harry peterson those although he's benefited from climate change, it could be the thick that ruins him. >> when you've got a pope who understands more than high paid politicians, and he's supposed to be pushing regio religion and instead has to push climate change issues, i think we've got an issue here that can't be ignored. >> al jazeera, oregon. >> reaching the end of the road in death valley. runners face soaring temperatures as they test the limits in the world's toughest foot race. ot race. the incredible journey continues. >> welcome to al jazeera america. it is 8:51 eastern time. taking a look at today's top stories. officials in india executed a man for helping to plan one of that country's deadliest bombings in 1993. he was hanged in prison after a supreme court in india rejected his final appeal. the 1993 bombing in mumbai killed 257 people. >> protests against uber drivers turned violent in mexico. drivers were waiting for a drive request when they were pelted with rocks, sticks, aggravation and flour. several cars were severely damaged. mexico is investigating who was behind the attacks. taxi drivers? >> shell is cutting $4 billion from its operating budget. it says it is planning for prolonged downturn in oil prices. oil goes $53 a barrel, down from $110 last year. >> on the money beat this morning, numbers just reds show the economy grew solidly in the second quarter thanks to a strong uptick in consumer spending. pat sob is here to tell us what it all means. >> this is the first reading on second quarter g.d.p. the economy grew 2.3% in the second quarter according to the commerce department. that was slightly below what analysts were looking for. these numbers are being recalculated a little bit. in the first quarter, it was revised up to 0.6%. it's smoothing out the numbers, so it's a decent performance. consumer spending rose 2.9%. that's an acceleration. that is very good news. consumer spending accounts for two thirds of economic activity in this country. we want to see consumers spending more. i want to point out exports increased 5.3%. this was after a sharp decline first quarter. there were concerns because of port strikes and the strength of dollar weighing on that exports. to see that sharp rebound is very, very good news. it's solid, maybe not at much as economists are looking for, but certainly heading in the right direction. >> a few days ago, maybe weeks ago was this number out about the record low filing for unemployment claims. this seems to be several bits of good news. is it enough to see the obama economy has turned the corner? >> we're keeping a closeage" report and next two unemployment reports because of the federal reserve. they've got to decide whether to raise interest rates. they signaled it will likely happen this year. the question is september or december. we're going to want strong number in jobs and uptick in wages. the economy is growing, but not robustly. really the average in the economy has been 2.2%. it would be nice to see it pulling ahead of that. this is just a first reading. >> two beats zero. thanks, patricia. >> what's thought to be the world's oldest baseball card is being auctioned off tonight. it was with a family who had no idea of its value. we visited the woman who brought this piece of history to light. >> everybody was kind of just spell bound. i just said oh my god! that was it, you know? then we read more. then somebody said put it in a safe deposit box right away. it's really like a dream. i keep thinking i'm going to wake up and this didn't happen. i wish my mother and father were here. >> this card predates the civil war, and could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. we'll have more on the story and how much it goes for tonight at 7:00 eastern. >> marathoners still on the road today, racing through california's death valley. we have this report. >> after running all night, finally daybreak, first light for runners to bear witness to the unforgiving environment in death valley before temperatures get unbearable. they are barely a quarter of the way through the 217-kilometer or 135-mile bad water foot race. it's early and spirits are still high. >> absolutely wonderful. it is the hardest race, obviously. i'm loving it. >> ultra marathon runners can be a peculiar bunch. death valley, the hottest spot on the planet today are running under temperatures 46 degrees celsius, 115 fahrenheit. as this day wears on, the race takes its toll, the strongest continue running as long as they can. these athletes have been running or walking non-stop for close to 24 hours now. they are pushing their bodies to the breaking point. it's just a matter of one foot in front of the other here until the finish line just to continue. >> under these conditions, the human body breaks down, but the mind says to push forward. in the front of the pack is the brazilian, trying to break his course record of 22 hours. he's going for it, but takes a quick break to cool down. i ask him what he's feeling at that molt. he says pain. just like dozens of others that are behind him, hoping their legs will carry them through another night of running to the end. al jazeera, death valley, california. >> the spectacle we call the northern lights just got super sized. this is an artist's rendition of a newly discovered aurora looks like, 10,000 times more powerful than the aurora borealis. you can't see it with the neighborhood eye, that's because it's morn 18,000 light years away. it is the first aurora discovered outside our solar system. >> coming up in two minutes from doha, more on the death of taliban leader mul mullah omar. a new leader has been chosen. thanks for watching. keep up on aljazeera.com. >> it's two days on this boat just to get there... >> unspoiled... unseen... under threat... >> macaws, they're at risk of disapearing in the wild. >> the new fight to save a species... >> we're looking at one of the most incredible wonders of the natural world. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" - where technology meets humanity. only on al jazeera america. >> what did you see when you went outside last year? >> there was a dead body in the middle of the street... for 5 hours. >> there's a lot of work to be done. >> they need to quite talking about what should be done and do it. >> hello, there, welcome to the news hour from doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes, the afghan taliban confirms to al jazeera its spiritual leader mulla mullah os dead. >> force-feeding prisoners on hunger strike. the move is condemned.