vice president -- >> reporter: john terrett, al jazeera, washington. >> look at john terrett getting a cameo on the daily show. and one other political note on this day after the first gop other side of the aisle. democrats will hold six show downs. that does it for us. i'm erika pitzi. the news continues next. have a good day. ♪ >>> the united nations announces an investigation into chemical weapons attacks in syria. sanctions could follow if bashar al-assad regime is found responsible. >>> i'm lauren taylor this is al jazeera live from london. the u.n. misdescribes the migrant crisis in greece as total chaos. thousands continue to arrive on the islands. >>> yeses over security in the afghan capitol as two suicide bombs hit kabul in as many days. >>> and a summer camp in norway

but as john terrett reports, the president is up against an equally strong campaign. >> reporter: the toughest critic, benjamin netenyahu. his line, i would accept a good deal, but this is a bad one. >> don't let the world's formost terrorist regime get its hands on the world's most dangerous weapons. oppose this bad deal. >> reporter: the white house continued the fight tuesday in support of the nuclear deal with iran. president obama attempting to ease concerns of the same major jewish organizations addressed earlier by netenyahu. >> this is an opportunity for the president to once again lay out his case to all of them, about why believes this is the best way for us to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear when upon. >> reporter: the battle on the airwaves is heating up to. this one spending 20 million in key markets against the deal. >> congress should reject a bad deal. we need a better deal. >> reporter: and this from jay street which describes itself as proi-israel and pro-peace, forking over 5 million to run this 30-second spot featuring military and security leaders. >> this d

john terrett in washington. john thank you. >>> some major retailers that sold rel listic-looking toy guns will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines to the state of new york. kristen sal loommy has more. >> reporter: not one of the guns in this arsenal is real but it can be difficult to tell. that's why new york passed laws years ago requiring bright markings. but that hasn't stopped some retailers. >> year after year we have found retailers such as wal-mart amazon, and kmart chose profits over safety and put thousands of new york kids and police officers at the risks of a tragic and even deadly encounter. >> reporter: more than 6,000 cases in the last two years, it was found that retailers like wal-mart sears and amazon were still selling the realistic guns online. in response each has agreed to pay thousands of dollars in fines, and comply with tougher standards limiting toy guns to bright colors. wal-mart.com has revised its policy they said in a statement: the move comes on the heels of the shooting

john terrett with us. thank you. process in the fight against ebola and turning point in sierra leone, we'll be right back in a moment. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with am >> it could be a major turning point in the fight to end the ebola outbreak in west africa. sierra leone is expected to declare itself free from the virus. there has not been a new case there in more than a week. of the 11,000 people killed worldwide by the very russ more than 4,000 were in sierra leone. joining us now is a doctor to discuss the progress on the eradication. good to have you back on the program. it's about time. it was just a couple of weeks ago, august 4th, and it was officials from the "who." in a press conference saying that the ebola could come to an end by the end of the year. is that realistic in your mind? >> i think we may finally almost be reaching the end of the ebola epidemic. >> finally almost. >> yes, guinea had three cases in the last week. no cases in sierra leone for over a week. and liberia was decad

john terrett is in washington tonight. john. >> good evening to you john. vacation season is looming here in washington, d.c. in fact, the house has already gone. the senate is about to leave town. and so the race is on to plant iran messages in the ears of politicians, who will have to vote on the issue in the fall so they might ruminate while they're at the beach. the toughest critic is israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu addressing major u.s. jewish organization leaders villa video link from israel. his line, i accept a good deal but this is a bad one. >> don't let the world's foremost terrorist regime get its hands on the world's most dangerous weapons. oppose this bad deal. >> the white house continued to fight tuesday in support of its historic nuclear deal with iran. they attempt to ease concerns of the same organizations addressed earlier by netanyahu. white house spokesman josh earnest. >> this is an opportunity for the president once again to, layout his case to all of them about why he believes this is the best way to keep iran from obtaini

if the drought continues, quality, this stuff, to go down >>> john terrett reporting. let's bring in richard howard a professor emeritus of agricultural at the university of california davis. he led a study on the economic effects of the drought. good evening to you, thank you for joining us. >> good evening. >> let's talk about the study. what is the big take away? >> the take away is you'll get your fruit, nuts and vegetables they'll cost a bit more. california farmers are shiftle crops around to where the water is and we'll grow them and we are tapping into big rarves of underground water. which don't come free and have a number of problems associated with it. they will keep the fruit and veg takes on your table. we are looking at four years, based on the study, has it got worse each year? >> yes, it's got about 30% worse each year. we could expect - it wasn't for the underground water, it would be a lot bores. it will get 30% worse if we have a repeat of 2015 next year. >> how much of this drought is caused by agricultural methods, versus mother nature. >> it's mot

john terrett is here to break down the 21st century's black monday, not nearly as bad as black monday in 1987, which was bad enough. >> funny you should mention that. it was worse. from 1987. in terms of how the market f, it wasn't as bad as all those years ago. whatever way you look at it, it was a panicked market. the broader market, the s&p 500, and the nasdaq down between 3.5 and 4% on monday's session, that means the dow jones is down 16-00 potts over the loft four days. -- last four days. >> reporter: if you missed it live, you should pay passengers to the clean. the dow jones down more than 1,000 points at the start of monday morning trading. giving a snapshot at a given moment, and the in the tell you all the need to know. the dow bounced back. before finally closing down and closing down 588 points after 3.8 off. the reason for the anxiety and confusion. first the health of china's economy. 40% of profits of the u.s. corporations come through china, and the economy there is slowing. no one knows by how much. beijing says the economy is growing by 70%. some reckon is could be

john terrett is here with more. >> i think it is, it seems to have come true for once in a lifetime. a.l.s., lou gurrics's disease or motor neurone is a masty illness that gills people. barely 12 months after the world went crazy, doctors say the money helped to spur a major injection. it's a fundraising campaign inundating social media. everyone's social media was awash with people throwing ice buckets of water over each other. the rich and maims watt there too. >> even faces from the familiar 2016 trail. president obama was nominated, but refused. >> i'm going to write you an ebbing ch. former first lady has other ideas. >> even i with the backdrop of new york. me in shorts. raising cash is not new, according to the website. it pulled in 115 million, compared to 2.8 million. 4,100% increase. now comes word of the access being put to good use. they helped unchallenge the military behind approaching. called ttp 43. in 90% of cases. >> trying to figure it out. the best part is it can be fixed. with any luck, this can lead to a cure or slowing down of a disease. the research joined in

john terrett is here with more. >> good evening. if you count up the days, it's 48, today since the supreme court made history. it is a tall order, i think, to expect all issues regarding same-sex marriage to have gone away. >> as you will say some gay couples, the fight is going on. >> reporter: one of the most significant days in recent u.s. political history, june 26, 2015, the supreme court made gay marriage legal in all 50 states. in the street celebrations lasting all weekend. >> we are considered equal to everyone else. it's a joyous occasion. >> in new york and multiple other cities gay pride parades bim became an extension of jubilation, now almost two months down the road and many gay couples realise in some respects, despite the momentous decision, not a lot changed. >> we thought we'd go down to the county court courthouse and get a marriage licence, and now it's quickly stopped. >> april and karen live in kentucky. with the help of the a.c.l.u., they are battling a clerk, refusing to give them a marriage licence on reli

let's get to john terrett on the floor of the new york stock exchange. john, if you would, talk to us about the move there today. there was a nice little bounce back to the start of the day, and then selling near the end of the trading day. >> 20 minutes ago, 20 minutes ago, this

. >> john terrett, thank you. >>> closing arguments are now underway in the sexual assault trial of a new hampshire prep school graduate. the jury is expected to start deliberating this afternoon. on wednesday owen labrie took the stand in his own defense. he is accused of raping a 15-year-old classmate as part of a so-called senior salute. >> reporter: when he took the witness standing wednesday, he continued to say what he has maintained to investigators all along; that he did not have sex with his accuser, and that whatever intimate contact they did share was mutual. >> she seems to be reciprocating towards you? >> yes. >> did she recoil in any way at this point or drawback? >> no. >> reporter: labrie told his defense attorney he liked his accuser, and she liked him. >> make it a point to say hi or like -- like a wink or like a nod or just something silly. >> how would you describe her personality? >> i thought she was great. she was a really, really nice girl. really easy to talk to. which makes it a lot of fun. >> reporter: but on cross examination, the prosecution grilled labrie

john terrett joins us mp. >> the israeli government calls them price tag attacks, hate crimes. they are perpetrated by a handful of individuals livering in israeli -- living in israeli settlements. >> reporter: in the occupied west bank olive trees are destroyed. he says the crops were burnt by ultra nationalist israeli settlers. these attacks are known as price tacks, as in the police paid for any perceived attack on the jewish settlement. in east jerusalem, golan heights and west bank the perpetrators spray paint the word price tag in hebrew. they range from the burning of crops to the destruction ever mosques and murder. >> violence of all koined. terrorism by settlers. this is what it can be called. >> reporter: although wide by condemned by most israelis some ultra nationalists say they are provoked by palestinians and are meant to send a message - stay out. >> jews got back after 10 years. we are back hotel. >> we stay. it's our home. >> reporter: according to the u.n. there has been 120 attacks by the israeli settlers and a report by the israeli human rights organization

john terrett is live in washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. well, this is a big deal. this is all set against the background of earlier this week, president obama and the israeli prime minister benjamin netenyahu lobbying jewish groups in the united states in favor and against, of course, the iran deal, and my extension they were lobbying politicians here as well. and the reason for that, we saw the president addressing a crowd at american university earlier this week. the reason this intense lobbying is happening before the congress leaves town for the summer vacation. the house is gone. the senate has wrapped up its business, and the idea is to plant iran-type thoughts in the minds of lawmakers as they head to the beach and the midwest with their families, wherever they are going to go. that's why today's news from schumer is so important. because he has basically kicked the president in the shins, stephanie. >> at least the last word before congress resumes. but what has he cited as some of the reasons he is not supporting dhael. >> number

john terrett reports. >> reporter: some call it a suicide note others a manifesto, it was delivered by fax to the headquarters of abc news roughly two hours after the shooting. in the 23-page document, 41 year vester lee flanagan talks about being a human powder keg, angrily motivated. he said he was inspired by the columbine shootings, and the virginia tech shootings. and he talks about being bullied and discriminated against sexually and racially. this is little comfort for the family and friends of adam ward and alison parker who died yesterday. allison's boyfriend has been speaking. he says their love together was white hot, and allison's father has also been doing the media round, he says he will now devote his life to the issue of gun control in the united states. and vicky garner being viewed by alison parker at the time of her death, she is in the hospital and her condition is reported to be good. >>> alison parker's father says he has spoken to the virginia governor about starting a legislative fight in the state on gun rights. >>> james holmes today begins his prison sentence

john terrett is here now. it was depressing to watch the numbers plunge. >> i was there at the new york stock manying. there were cries of give me a raise and there was a big boom. >> there's no reason for it. in new york, they came roaring out of the gate this morning. in the last hour of trading, it sapped away over china, worried that they don't properly know what is going on with the economy. they wanted to be caught in the wrong conditions overnight, and so they were sold off. >> what a difference a day makes. 24 hours after the biggest point trop drop that the dow jones read, a calmer see of clean could be seen for most of the tuesday. until the final hour of trade, where things fell apart. at the bell, dow jones down 200 points, most coming in the final 20 minutes. the reason for the positive vibe, a move by the chinese government overnight, low interest rates. a way of boosting economy. >> there are problems in the stock market, reflecting problems that may be deeper than we are aware of. >> the chines

john terrett is here with more. they are joining an elite club. this is incredibly tough stuff. >> the first two women to graduate the ranger school say they did it about one eye on future generations of female soldiers. the captain and first lieutenant will make history on friday, with the graduating class in fort bending, but they may not be on the front lines any time soon. >> i would say that it's awesome to be part of the history of a reigner school. >> captain christian on making it through the punishing school. and until now, a men only achieved. >> it's been trying to get the best training that the army can offer us, to be the nest officer. >> reporter: ranger training consists of physical endurance and survival skills with extremes, a 12 mile run, a 3 hour march. they finished tests ahead of the colleagues, earning the nickname physical stance. >> we came skeptical, with our guards up, ready in case, the hate ers, the naysayers. we didn't come with a chip on our shoulder like we had anything to prove. >> 354 soldiers, including 19 women,

but as john terrett reports, their journey is not over yet. >> it's awesome to be part of the history. >> reporter: captain on making it through the punishing ranger school, until now a men-only achievement. >> it's always just about trying to get the best training that the army could offer us, to be the best officer for my soldiers. >> reporter: ranger training consists of physical endurance and survival skills at extremes. captain and first lieutenant finished endurance tests ahead of some of their male colleagues, earning themselves the nickname, physical studs. >> we are came through skeptical, with our guards up, ready just in case, you know, the haters and nay sayers, but we don't come with a chip on our shoulder, like we had anything to prove. >> reporter: 19 women started the gruelling training back in april, but just the two, along with 94 men completed all of it. they will not actually be joining the army rangers, nor will that they serve in the infantry or on any special ops because they are woman. >> we do hope we have been able to inform that decision as to what they can

john terrett, al jazeera. >> the british embassy in iran reopened today, and philipp hammond said that the u.k. could start lifting sanctions on the country as early as the spring of next year. the embassy in tehran was closed four years ago after it was stormed by protesters demonstrating against economic sanctions. hammond said this was an opportunity to work on common concerns. >> we'll work together to deal with the scourge of terrorism, promote regional stability, tackle the spread of isil in syria and iraq, and to counter narcotics, and to deal with challenges of irreal migration. the important thing is that we now have a channel to talk to each other, and we will be talking about all the issues whether we agree with each other or not. >> meanwhile, iran's foreign minister said that it is still too early to reopen the american embassy in tehran. they said that the u.s. first needs to change its attitude towards iran before that happe happens. >>> raging wildfires in the pacific northwest is begin to go clear, but much of the area is still under air pollution advisories once the s

where we find our john terrett. thanks so much, john. >>> the unites nations security council voted unanimously today to set up a panel to find out who is responsible i believe for chemical weapons attacks in syria. the u.s. has blamed those attacks on the government of president bashar al-assad. now, this investigation could finally lead to justice for those victims. more from the united nations. >> reporter: there is an agreement on the what. now the u.n. security council wants to know the who. >> will those in favor of the draft resolution pleas raise their hands. >> reporter: a unanimous vote to set up a panel of experts known as a joint investigative mechanism to finally point the finger the blame for the chemical weapons and clear ina at in syria. it's a significant step. the first time blame could be assigned to the perpetrators. >> this sends a clear and powerful messaging to all of those involved in chemical weapons attacks in syria. the joint investigative mechanism will identify you if you gas people. it

john terrett joins us from washington. >> that's right. good evening. welcome to you. we really are in the middle right now of two days of intensive lobbying recording the iran deal. both politicians, lawmakers and today in particular with jewish americans. the reason for this is that we are on the eve of vasion season here in d.c. the house is already gone the senate is about to leave town and so the idea is to put a bug in politician's ears. they don't have to vote on this in the fall. the hope is that they'll ruminate about what they hear now while they are on the beach. >> the toughest critic of the iran nuclear deal israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu addressing major u.s. jewish organization lateders via a think from israel. his line - i'll accept a good deal. this is a bad one. >> don't let the iran get its hands on dangerous weapons, opposed this bad dealt >>> the white house continued the fight tuesday in support of its historic nuclear deal. president obama tempting to ease concerns of the same organizations. white house spokesman josh ernst. this is an

as john terrett reports, it's renewing hope that the families of the 239 people onboard will finally have some answers. >> 17 months after it vanished off radar screens, the first piece of malaysia airlines mh370 has been found. authorities said that a wing fragment that washed up on the shores of reunion, a tiny island east of madagascar was confirmed as belonging to the missing aircraft. >> it is with a very heavy heart that i must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on reunion island is indeed from mh370. >> hours later, french authorities were more cautious, saying there was strong presumptions that the aircraft debris was from the jetliner and boeing confirmed the wing flap was from a 777 but stopped short of making a definitive link to flight mh370. >> it continued its journey for six hours before plummeting into the indian ocean, presumably. the search involved 26 countries, and spanned more than a million nautical square miles. the malaysian government announced the flight's 239 passengers and crew were pre

john terrett is in the newsroom with more. >> they, john, the dow jones industrial average, the best measure of the u.s. and global economy almost wiped out yesterday's losses until worries over china simply overtook investors once more. >> what a different a day makes. the biggest point drop that was ever seen with red across the big board, a sea of green could be seen most of tuesday until the final hour of trading when things fell apart. at the bell the dow jones down 200 points, most of that loss coming in the final 20 minutes. the reason for the positive vibe for most of the day, a move by the chinese government overnight. lower interest rates. a way of boosting china's slowing economy. >> the chinese reckon their economy will grow 7% this year, but few economists believe that. it may be as low as 3% and 4%. still, why did the dow jones industrial average bounce back at all for most of tuesday when there is still so much uncertainty in the global economy? it's time for a reality check where most americans focus their attention on homes, investments and jobs. things are pretty go

john terrett reports. >> if you work hard you can get ahead. >> reporter: hillary clinton in new hampshire with a plan designed to make voters sit up and listen. she is proposing a plan to help pay for education. >> if you can refinance your mortgage or car loan, you should be able to refinance your student loan too. >> reporter: under her plan, states would not have to take out loans for tuition, would get $175 billion in return. and they would agree to cut education costs and increase spending over time. >> that money is out there and available for states. and when a state meets the criteria they get a cut of that, and it goes to either grants or lowering tuition. >> reporter: her plan doesn't go as far as bernie sanders. he plans to make college not just debt free but tuition free. >> i the her plan is more realistic than bernie's plan. his plan sounds good, but is maybe a little less reasonable. >> reporter: clinton's plan would be paid for by putting a tax on wealthy families. it's a growing problem that many think is crippling the u.s. financial economy. $1.2 trillion is owed in stud

john terrett reports. >> reporter: every shell, shot, blast, ukraine appears to be closer to open war. dozens of civilians and soldiers have been killed in the past two weeks, every hour that pass, the minsk agreement falters. diplomatic efforts crumble. for an example look to august 10th. russian-backed fighters, led by russian-military units attacked a town near donetsk, and the port city of mariupol. ukranian military units, thought to have included volunteers, fought back, both taking worst casualties for months. . >> we have seen a shocks increase in host itsies by both sides. >> things are so grim that ukraine's president is working up an emergency war council, and so, too, is vladimir putin in moscow. russia's foreign minister is calling on france, germany, guarantees of february's ceasefire to pressure ukraine to honour the agreement. >> it was necessary, in our few, to mount pressure on kiev. to convince them to honour agreements in minsk. it's the same rhetoric. slated to meet german president angela merkel and french president francis hollande in ber hin next week -- berlin

. >> john terrett in washington. thanks as was. >>> in colorado a jury said they do want to consider the death penalty for james holmes. the jury returned a -- unanimous vermont. if one juror would have disagreed disagreed holmesav without possibility of parole. >>> a comedian and u.s. senator joined forces today. amy schumer joined her cousin to unveil a plan to make it harder for criminals and the mentally ill to obtain guns. she made the outpouring after two people were shot and killed during the debay of her movie "train wreck." >> there is a way to stop them. preventing dangerous people from getting guns is very possible. >> senator schumer's legislation would reward states for increasing background checks. >>> wal-mart and others have agreed to pay more than $300,000 for violating a law preventing the sale of real-looking toy guns. kristen saloomey has the story. >> reporter: not one of the guns in this arsenal is real but it can be difficult to tell. that's why new york passed laws requiring bright colors at t

john terrett reports. >> mother nature's worst. >> across four western states, a trail of destruction, raging wildfires devouring everything in their path. for the first time in 10 years, active military will be set to help find the blazes. help can't come too sob. across in washington state are stretched to the limit. >> we don't have enough resources to put this huge containment line around all this fire. they have to prioritize what's near structures. >> the flames are not only decimating the state's tourist and apple industries, but reduced homes to ash. >> it hurts. i'll never get that stuff back. memorabilia and everything. we'll pull through this, you know? >> six fires in a popular resort town destroyed more than 50 houses, 100,000-acres of brush and sparked an evaluation order for more than 2700 people. >> it was a panic zone, but still, we had enough time, people coming up and just telling us hey, man, let's head your way, get out, don't act like you can stay. >> fires along the border around faring better. rings around the mountains can be seen from miles away. in drought d

john terrett, al jazeera. >> thick smoke from raging wildfire in the pacific northwest is starting to clear, but it's a mixed blessing. once the smoke lists, the humidity is expected to drop, meaning a rise in temperatures, which could cause fires to flair. the complex of wildfires east of seattle are only 10% contained and much of the region is under air pollution advisories this morning. >> firefighters across the west are getting new help to stop fires that have so far consumed more than half a million acres. president obama approved washington state's request for a federal disaster declaration. that means more trucks and water tankers to attack the fires, something authorities say is badly needed. >> there's been folks here since day one that they're tired, you know, it's hot, windy, they're watching lots of ground be lost. they're watching homes be lost, and that, you know, that just adds to it. >> there are more than a dozen big fires burning now in washington state, covering more than 900 square miles. that includes a fire in the north central part of the state where mechanic s

john terrett joins us live from virginia. the gunman left behind a manifesto. tell us more. >> that's right, stephanie, good morning, flag began issuing a bizarre manifesto via fax to abc news and it rift after the shootings took place yesterday morning here at bridgewater plaza in south verge. now in this manifest toe, he talks about himself as being a human powder keg, full of anger over all sorts of issues, not least of all the racially motivated shootings in charleston, south carolina. in july, he said he bought his weapons two days after that event. he talks about being inspired by the columbine shooter in 1999, which children people died, including one teacher, being inspired, too, by the virginia tech shootings in which 32 people died. that is ironic, because adam ward, the young cameraman attended virginia tech before working for the station. flanagan talked about being bullied and discriminated against both racially and sexually. >> allison parker's family spoke out. what did they say? >> we're learning more about her from her family and loved ones, cr

john terrett, al jazeera washington. >> the stage is now set for the first republican presidential debate. the event will feature trump bush walker, carson, huckabee, cruz rubio paul, christie and kasich. rick perry and santorum did not make the cut. they are among the candidates being trumped in the polls. >> two days before the represent debate and by nearly every measure, all of the gop candidates are in rough shape except for donald trump. >> i will be the greatest jobs president that god ever created. >> the latest poll suggestion trump is widening his lead among republican voters from 18% last month to 26% now. he's 11 points ahead of his nearest competitor, jeb bush and 17 points ahead of wisconsin governor scott walker. while the polls say more republicans disapprove of trump than approve all of his top chem pelt tories on that count of also underwater. on monday night most of the field spoke as a policy forum in new hampshire. >> 71% of federal spending is between entitlements and debt service. >> trump skimmed the event calling it boring and insignificant. hours later, he genera

john terrett reports. >> i would say that it's definitely awesome to be part of the history of ranger school. >> the captain spoke on making it through the training. >> it's about trying to get the best training that the army could offer is, to be the best officer for my soldiers. >> ranger training consists of physical endurance and survival skills with extremes. captain and first lt. finished endurance tests ahead of male colleagues. >> our guard's up just in case, the haters, the naysayers, but we didn't come with a chip on our shoulder like we had anything to prove. >> 19 women started the grueling ranger training in april, but just two along with 94 men completed all of it. they will not actually be joining the army rangers nor serve in the infantry or on any special ops, because they're women and not every combat job is open to women. >> we do hope with our performance in ranger school we've been able to form that decision as to what they can expect from women in the military, that we can handle things physically and mentally on the same level with men and deal with the same str

tonight terrett joins us now with more on the significance that have attack. john, the attack, this killing comes at the same time as isil is continuing its campaign of behead goes and destroying antiquities. the destruction of antiquities is beginning to resonates in the west. the fight against isil we are toiled is constantly being fought behind the scenes and today came a rare indication that that is true. a deputy leader of isil dead in a military strike in northern iraq. he was killed from an attack on tuesday. one former white house insider calls it a major blow. >> it shows the strategy that the u.s. and his 57 partners in working and strategically not only is he the number two person, but he was in charge of the war in iraq. >> he specialize ed in dealing with the group's logistic, he was said to be a key coordinate fore moving large amounts of weapons, explosiveses vehicles and people. the announcement of his death comes as isil continues to destroy tangible symbols of syria's heritage, it has did he knowledge i should an ancient monastery in the cent