age of 101. he was one of more than 70 prisoners of war who tunnelled their way out of a german camp. the feet inspired the hollywood film "the great escape." for more real news take a look at our website at aljazeera.com. ♪ state of emergency. florida's governor prepares for tropical storm erika. president bush returns to new orleans today, nearly a decade after hurricane katrina destroyed the city. and police arrest three people in austria after finding 71 dead refugees crammed in a truck. ♪

this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. tropical storm erika is plowing a deadly path through the caribbean and heading for florida. in fact the governor declared state of emergency just about an hour ago. this church collapsing under the fury of the tropical storm. officials say they have found 14 bodies and several people are still missing. erika dumped 15 inches of rain on dominica. power and water supplies have been knocked out completely. let's bring in kevin corriveau. kevin when might we expect to see the outer bands of this in florida? >> based on what we know so far and based on the current track, we think sunday night we'll start to see the feeder bands, and then monday morning, very early it will make its way from

the south up to the north, but there's still quite a bit of uncertainty. you can see the storm is really not well organized and they have moved it several different times over the last 48 hours, which changes all of the tracks ahead of it. but i wanted to go back over to dominiqua. we're seeing more visuals even on social media. this island was hit very, very hard. the mountainous terrain traps that rain and then you get that flash flooding, which is extremely dangerous across this particular island. i want to take you up towards puerto rico, because they are seeing a lot of the effects of the storm as well. there are reports that tens of thousands of people are without power, and this storm didn't even make landfall there. we're also getting information that parts of the dominican republic is now seeing the

effects of the storm. take a look at the current satellite. you can see us moving up towards the west, northwest. this is the track from 5:00 this morning. the newest track is going to come out at the top of the hour. but it will take us across the dominican republic and turks and caicos. the system is most likely going to reorganize after that point, and then we'll let a better handle on where it will be. we expect it to come in across the keys late sunday night, and monday morning. it will bring a lot of rain to florida. >> never too soon to be prepared. kevin corriveau thank you. former president george w. bush is in new orleans. he toured a charter high school this morning. that school suffered extensive

damage from the storm a decade ago. ten years ago the bush administration endured criticism for the government's slow response in the immediate aftermath of katrina. the hurricane slammed into louisiana and other gulf coast states, killing nearly 2,000 people and leaving unprecedented destruction. on thursday president obama was in the big easy. he said the city is an inspiration to all americans and applauded all efforts to bring new orleans back. >> what you are seeing here is an example of the incredible federal, state, local partnerships that have helped to revitalize this community. part of our goal has always been to make sure not just that we recovered from the storm, but also that we started dealing with some of the structural inequities that existed long before the storm happened. >> after katrina, hundreds of thousands of materials residents

sought shelters across the south. many of them made new lives in texas. heidi zhou castro reports on how today they have the opportunity to return to their original homes. >> reporter: ten years ago, 250,000 katrina victims were evacuated by bus to texas, and today a very different note on where this bus, which is celebrating survival and recovery one decade later. it is taking all of these former new orleans residents back to their home towns for a weekend of celebration. in that includes our guest mr. harrison. i understand that you were in the 15th -- or the 12th ward. >> 1 -- 12 ward. >> 12 ward, excuse me. how did you ride it out. >> well with the grace of god. i had no lights no water. was bitten and poisoned by brown

recluse spiders, but i knew to tie a tourniquet on my leg to stop the poison. >> you were alone under water for ten days, is that right? >> yes, i was. >> reporter: what the you want the world to know now about ka free that survivors? >> evacuate. don't stay. because you never know when another disaster like this will occur, and you take it lightly, it could be another katrina, so you learn through your experiences. and you could be shown everything, but if you never experienced it, there's nothing in life, you know, more than being there. >> reporter: a difficult less son learned i'm sure the hard way. but now you are going back, you are going to celebrate with your wife over the weekend. are you looking forward to that? >> oh, yes.

in a jubilant way as of right now. i'm very happy to think of what i might see when i get there. and i don't want to be sad going back, so i want to stay in this same way i am, happy, smiling. >> reporter: and that's the feel of this bus as it makes its way to new orleans today. okay. heidi zhou castro there. we'll have much more on what has changed in the ten year since cat treeia hit tonight on a half-hour special at 8:30 eastern. we have an update on the condition of the soul survivor of the deadly shooting in rowen oak, virginia. vicky guarder remains in good condition. she reportedly lost a kidney and part of her colon. the jury in a new hampshire rape trial is now in

deliberations. the former prep school student is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl last year. prosecutors said the alleged attack was part of a senior class culture of sexual conquests. >> for months before the senior solute, he knew what he wanted, and this was the night he was going to get it. >> reporter: in his closing argument, the prosecutor said that owen labrie, then 18 years old, planned the rape. he said the teen brought a condom and a blanket to the campus building where he and the girled a agreed to meet two days before he graduated. >> he had to use tactics to get what he wanted. he had to confuse and manipulate a 15-year-old girl to get what he wanted. >> reporter: labrie took the standing in his own defense wednesday, the only witness his lawyer called. >> were you doing anything to cause her pain, harm?

>> no. >> reporter: he insisted under cross-examination that he was innocent and that he liked the accuser and she liked him. >> and you wanted to have sex with her, correct? >> i -- i -- i don't know what you mean. >> you don't know what i mean when i say you wanted to have sex with her? >> when? >> let's use your word, you were interested and you wanted to slay her, correct? >> um . . . yeah, i -- i was fond of her. >> when labrie's accuser took the standing, she said she froze when the events of that night went beyond what she envisioned. >> where were you cloudy? >> reporter: other classmates the testified that labrie admitted having sex with the young women. the lawyer said the accused lied to both the detectives and the jury when she said she didn't

recall telling her best friend about the sex act she was preparing to have with labrie. >> i'm not saying he is a saint. he is not. he is a teenager. i submit he told you the truth. >> reporter: the case has once again focused attention on the issue of sexual assault on campus, and forced the boarding school to defend its reputation. in a statement the school says: courtney keeley, al jazeera. a u.s. district judge this morning sentenced 17-year-old ali amean to 11 years in jail for helping isil. he pled guilty to providing

support to terrorists. so far the u.s. go has charged more than 60 people in the u.s. with supporting isil. three suspects are under arrest in hungary this morning for human trafficking. they include the alleged owner and driver of a truck which we now have learned had 71 people inside, including several children. they all suffocated. police believe the victims were syrian refugees, and were probably dead when the truck crossed into austria on wednesday. european leaders have been discussing the migrant crisis in vienna, about 45 minutes away from where the abandoned truck was found. austrian officials feared this was coming. >> reporter: it has come out in the last day or so, that the austrian police had arrested three truck drivers on tuesday in separate incidents, suspected of having driven refugees and migrants across the country, and in one of those incidents we have learned that there were 34

people, mainly syrian refugees crammed very tightly into a lori, including ten children. thankfully they were all saved. but they said that they had been suffocated and fears they were going to die in that truck. so what happened yesterday was awful, but in a way, it was a danger -- a horrific incident that was coming, if you would like. the trends have been there, and the flow of people across austria is dramatically increased from last year. austria itself expecting some 80,000 asylum applications this year, up from 28,000 last year. but of course, austria is also a transit route to germany, the bigger country to the north, which we know is the preferred destination, it's fair to say, of most, particularly syrian refugees. earlier i spoke with hungarian government spokesman. he says the country is finishing

construction of a border fence. hungary hopes it will deter refugees and smugglers from making the dangerous journey. >> that accident never should have happened. clearly those arrested bulgarian and afghan citizens, matter of fact, are part of an organized ring of human traffickers who are helping -- or rather abusing these migrants. so what we're trying to establish is law and order on the southern borders of the country. our border are serbia, and the border which provides within the [ inaudible ] area freedom of movement for all european citizens. so building a fence is one tool to reestablish law and order. we are sending reinforced police forces as well as we're going to negotiate next week on a new set of laws and rules that are going to be helping us reestablish law and rule.

critics of the fence say it falls short. an e.u. rule does not allow senses to block two neighboring states. los angeles launches the largest body camera program in the country, but there's a lot of controversy over who will get to see the videos. and major corporations may soon be on the hook for labor disputes. the decision that could cost companies like mcdonald's millions.

welcome back to al jazeera

america. it is 10:46 eastern, taking a look at today's top stories. police are investing a shooting in georgia. christopher starks died at the hospital after a disagreement in the student union. no one has been arrested. grief counselors will be on hand on campus today. u.s. markets opening a little lower this morning. the dow jones trading slightly down right now. and the ceo of adullry website, ashley madison has stepped down. the founder had multiple affairs while working at the company. he previously claimed he never cheated on his life. earlier this month hackers stole information from the site. a major new ruling is making it easier for fast-food workers to unionize. before they could only deal with

the franchise where they worked. this could lead to wage changes on a national level. antonio mora reports. >> reporter: protests have called attention to the plight of fast-food workers nationwide, leading to minimum wage increases in some parts of the country. now a major victory could help their fight. a ruling has been handed down to enable labor unions to negotiate with companies that use local franchises, as well as those who rely heavily on outside contractors. >> these kind of arrangements appear in a mull tuesday of industries, whether it's hospital that contract out certain services, some hospitals will use staffing agencies to augment their nursing staff, hotels very often will contract out the housekeeping services.

i don't think there's an industry around that isn't potentially affected by this ruling, and that would mean millions of employees. >> reporter: until now the parent companies were considered joint employer of workers if they had direct and immediate control over employment matters. however many corporations argue this ruling could destroy their business models, one of the benefits of franchising and subcontracting is to spread the brand name while minimizing the legal risks and responsibilities. >> some of them are really looking at doomsday scenarios of what this ruling would mean. i think their predictions are very overheated. >> reporter: this may also effect an upcoming case that has been filed against mcdonald's and his franchises. >> i think the bottom line of this decision is that all of that being said that worker's

rights are also important. >> reporter: antonio mora, al jazeera. franchise owners are unhappy with the ruling. they argue they won't be able to run their businesses if they have no control over the pay and benefits of the employees they hire. business groups are calling on congress to overturn the ruling. the new york police is making changes to its controversial stop and frisk policy. they will now give receipts and badge numbers of the police. the new rules go into effect next month. the los angeles police department will take the first step to becoming the largest police department to put body cameras on officers. >> reporter: 860 officers will get cameras to start with more to floel, but not everyone agrees the program in los

angeles is a good thing. the mayor says los angeles's partial rollout of police body cameras is the first step towards keeping the type of police, civil controversies that have plagued places like ferguson, missouri, and baltimore, maryland from happening in his city. >> these cameras will be a critical step forward and provide the officers and an g o ganos with recording evidence. >> reporter: on monday 860 devices will outfit lapd officers. those cameras will go out to officers in three of the 21 units adz well as metro and s.w.a.t. the city plans to deploy more than 7,000 cameras in all, that would make l.a. the largest city to use cameras on a wide scale. the first wave cost $1.5 million, about $1,700 per

camera. paid for by private donations. city officials consider that money well spent if it builds more trust between police and the citizens they protect. >> reporter: the city-wide program for body-warn cameras will protect the community as well as the officers wearing them. >> reporter: but not everyone is happy about l.a.'s body camera plan. the most controversial aspect. it allows officers to review footage before writing reports or giving statements, and departments don't have to publicly release any recordings, unless they are part of a krim call or civil court proceedings. . >> we are no required to produce investigative records. we have not in the past with limited exceptions and never on digital video or other types of

video. >> reporter: some worry that police will use cameras as surveillance tools. >> body cameras will only increase surveillance of community members. >> reporter: others favor the move to body cameras, but want to make sure police departments don't stop there. >> i think it's only part of something else. the something else being there is still a place for training. >> reporter: the l.a. police commission says it will review the program in february and assuming all goes well, it will fully deploy the cameras to all officers by june of next year. john henry smith, thank you. protecting their tribal rights, native americans say a 150-year-old treaty lets them harvest off of nearby land, but they could be prosecuted for doing it.

a native american tribe is putting an 1855 treaty to the test in minnesota. members gathered wild rice outside of their reservation a right say they the treaty guarantees them. and they say if they are allowed to harvest that rice they should also have other uses for the land. diane eastabrook reports. >> reporter: the plan was to defy state rules about gathering wild rice, but it was subtle before the tribe members unloaded canoes. >> special permit from the department of natural resources.

>> i'm glad to see that. i'm sure everybody else is glad to see that too. >> reporter: this tribe member wasn't. he tore up the special one-day permit. >> we never requested this application or applied for it. >> reporter: they wanted to be ticketed so they could challenge the state in federal court. they say minnesota is ignoring a treaty allowing them to hunt, fish, and gather rice on hundreds of miles of land they creded to the federal government. rice is a staple in the culture, but it's more than that for this tribe member and his son todd. >> it's a spiritual thing. >> reporter: they fear any potential rupture in the pipeline could destroy a way of life. >> all of these lakes are like a spider web. they are all connected one way or the other.

and any oil that ever brokes down and gets in our waters. our rice is done. it's done. >> reporter: some members were disappointed that a possible confrontation was diffused for now. but the tribal attorney says it could be a sign that minnesota officials are listening to them. >> we believe they have to give us meaningful consultation and they need our consent, because if we have property rights they have to be dealt with through the due process clause, because we have a treaty. >> reporter: tribe members say they will come back on friday to harvest rice again, but they may not get the welcome they received on this day. this is a one-day only event. >> correct. >> reporter: tomorrow -- >> then we'll follow the directions we have provided to our officers. you have seen them floating over sports events now goodyear

is retiring its blimps, well sort of, they are replays inning them with vessels that are not technically blimps. van morrison is putting all of his albums online today. 37 track-compilation will also be released today. the new agreement does not cover his first solo album or his hit "brown eyed girl." thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy. the news continues next live from doha. have a great day. ♪

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello welcome to another news hour from al jazeera at our headquarters in doha, i'm adrian finighan. police in hungary arrest four men over the deaths of 17 people who suffocated in the back of a truck. at least 82 dead and 100 missing after a boat carrying refugees capsizes off of the coast of libya. security tight in iraq's capitol ahead of anti-corruption protests