♪ hello and welcome to al jazeera, i'm tony harris. in new york our top stories at this hour. as the crisis in egypt unfolds the obama administration tries to figure out what to do with the millions in aid that goes to the ally. crews are stretched as wildfires stretch across the west, and the biggest continue to grow. plus . . . >> sometimes you get nothing, just to pay the rent. >> u.s. workers who never get a paid vacation. ♪

our top story the president has met with his top security and defense officials at the white house. at the top of the agenda, what to do about egypt. at steak is millions of dollars in u.s. aid, and an alliance that is one of america east most important in the middle east. and authorities have arrested mohammed badie. separately judicial officials say a court will review a petition to release, hosni mubarak. mubarak is waiting to be retried on charges of being behind the killi

killings that take place. and demonstrators waved flags and posters of ousted president, morsi. egypt's cabinet says more than 850 civilians have been killed in the last week. the muslim brotherhood puts the toll much higher. let's begin in washington with mike viqueira. mike what is the latest on the meeting with the president and his national security team? >> well that meeting broke up just a short time ago, tony. we don't yet have a readout. we know egypt was certainly tops on the agenda. what to do about u.s. aid that is still blowing after the chaos, killing and carnage. under mounting pressure to halt payments to egypt, today a flat denial from the white house that aid has already been cut off.

>> this is not just a faucet in which you turn the spigot. whether tranches of aid have gone out since the announcement of this review, the department of defense has said today yes. >> reporter: hanging in the balance, why not stop the flow says one u.s. official, it's complicated. the aid covers an estimated 80% of the egyptian military procurement. they have plans to jointly manufacturer 20 abrams tanks. egyptian officers routinely train in the united states, including el-sisi, the current military leader and defactor head of the military government. but there are also larger

regional security issues. security along the suez canal, and in the sinai which shares a border with both israel and the gaza strip. the administration has few good on -- options. the detention of spiritual leader, mohammed badie brought this response. >> that is no line with respecting human rights. >> reporter: a decision to cut off aid would carry wide repercussions. >> and tony more than half of that u.s. aid is already out the door, $650 million is currently sitting in a federal reserve account. so the question is what becomes of the next step? what about next year when congress finally returns from their recess next month?

will there be steps taken to cut off the aid. the last time congress took this up before the recess the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of allowing that aid to continue. >> all right. let's turn to david jackson now. david what is the situation in cairo tonight muslim brotherhood leader was arrested as we mentioned earlier, how could his arrest actually impact the organization? >> well, there's a little bit of fear and intrepidation about all of this. there has been a response from the muslim brotherhood which is that there will be a response to the fact that badie is being held. they claim there is going to be a response. we presume perhaps on friday there will be demonstrations in that regard. one of the other things of interest to the issue regarding the muslim brotherhood is now

the man in charge who had been the right hand there is viewed as actually a stronger leader when the muslim brotherhood than badie had been. he was called the ironman of the brotherhood, and had been in the brotherhood for the same length of time as badie. they served together since they were young men. they are both 70-plus years old, and the indication is that he could be a much more difficult person to handle. there is an arrest warrant now sent out of course for him as well. it will be interesting to see how that place out. but the brotherhood is saying they will rally behind him and there will be a response to this. tony? >> the former interim vice president has been accused of breaching national trust. what more can you tell us about that? >> well, a breech of national trust is actually the way they

are referring to the fact that he left the vice presidentsy last week as his way of protesting the violence that had taken place out in the streets. he went home to the nation of austria where he has lived for a long time. but breaching the national trust is simply a way of saying that he left the vice presidency as his way of protest. by the way that's a misdemeanor crime here in this country. >> all right. david jackson for us in cairo. david thank you. michael hannah is with us, he is a senior fellow at the century foundation. michael good to have you here.

now since the military takeover on july 3rd, it is a triumph in stupidity. how would you describe the situation unfolding in egypt? >> well, it has been a slowly building catastrophe, and it's not just july 3rd, it's the week leading up to that. leaders including morsi, and now his successors really dealing recklessly with the future of the country. looking at clear winners and clear losers, and it has been described as a catastrophe of choice elsewhere. none of what has happened, particularly since last wednesday was inevitable. there are clear choices being made here, and very bad ones. >> so the 80 million plus in egypt now, there is no real way -- or is there a way to

assess what it is they want, what they really think, what is happening in their country now, where they fit in? i would imagine most of them want this all to stop so they can get back to their lives. >> sure. people want normalsy and stability. i think we can say the muslim brotherhood and morsi specifically has lost much of their support. and troublingly i think the military does maintain majority support for its re pressive crack down. >> you think so? >> i do. and definitely in cairo. >> but isn't this a case where both sides over the past year have overplayed their hands? >> absolutely. people have been pleading for notions of consensus simply as a way of producing a stable outcome, and that is what has not hand, and it's troubling, because egypt now has probably crossed a threshold that is

probably not retrievable. >> really? >> i think that's right. i think this is the beginning of a cycle of violence and oppression that is going to play out for weeks and months to come. >> why because no one will step back and cooler heads can't prevail? why? >> because the military sees this as an opportunity to be done with the brotherhood. and there's too much blood on the ground at this point for the brotherhood to step back. >> leverage points, who has the leverage? is there anything the u.s. can do to allow the space for cooler heads to prevail. >> i think the egyptians are making decisions in what they see as an struggle. the gulf is pushing on an open door. they are in agreement with the egyptian authorities, so it's not a case of the gulf exercising leverage. we're asking the egyptian authorities to do something they don't want to do. >> $1.3 billion in military aid

doesn't buy leverage? >> it buys influence, access, communication, but it won't change the bottom line of the military. >> great to talk to you. thank for being here. >> thanks. >> four state department officials who were put on leave after the attack on the u.s. console late in benghazi libya have returned to active duty. they were suspended following an internal investigation of the late night raid by a heavily armed gang last september. more than 50 large wildfires are burning across western states. some have been aloud back home, but have been told they should still be ready to go in a moment's notice. the worst is in central idaho, where the beaver creek fire has burped. today fires were contained in colorado, bringing the number of

states involved to ten. paul joins us live from idaho. paul let's start with bathe of the good news. firefighters had a bit of a tamed. they have been calling this is a beast since it was sparked by lightning almost two weeks ago. but they have managed to prevent the fire from coming down out of these hills behind us, where the homes are, where some people as you mentioned have been allowed back. today it is 90 degrees, still very hot and windy, but there is rain and thunderstorms in the forecast, they might also bring lightning. right now, again, the beast is being tamed is the word here. everyone very happy with the progress they have made. and the focus of the are being

the air. i know you have more on that later in the newscast. >> that's right. all day long, you can see helicopters flying back and forth here. making water drops on spot fires. in boise idaho, there are five fire fighting plains. that coming up a little bit later. >> paul, appreciate it. thank you. kevin corriveau has a look at how weather conditions are affecting the fires. >> tony the weather is a big factor here. a year and a half now we have been talk about a drought in the

western united states. you mentioned the ten states, this includes alaska as well. 53 fires are burning right now. you can see encompassing most of those western states, and we are looking at the possibility of thunderstorms. they are coming in from the south right now from parts of nevada and utah, and making their way to the southern part of idaho. we're seeing this area here of flash flooding potential in this region. we'll see how this plays out and if we do have flash flooding. back to you. >> thank you, kevin. a federal judge rules that california prison officials can force feed inmates who were on a hunger strike. but that position is not going down well. later jcpenney's bottom line takes a big hit. who the retailer is blaming, and what it is doing to try to make

a comeback.

jazeera america. >> i'm kim bondy, growing up in news was always important. you have this great product that you are ready to share with the country. i'm a part of a team that is moving in the same direction. ♪ welcome back everyone, police say a gunman dressed in black opened fire with an assault rifle at an elementary school in the atlanta area this afternoon. it happened in decatur, teachers were able to get everyone out through a back door. students said they could hear the gunman arguing with a the

principal over a pa system. the suspect is in custody and no one was hurt. a judge has allowed authorities to force feed innates in california prison systems. they were protesting keeping gang leaders and other violent inmates in sol dare sometimes for decades. in an order from a federal judge means they may have no choice but to stop the strike. >> reporter: the u.s. district court judge issued the ruling yesterday that allows colorado department of rehabilitation and corrections to potentially force feed or re-feed nearly 170 of the inmates who have refused meals for the last 144 days. this time henderson issued a blanket order so that immediate action can be taken for inmates who may be in failing health.

the health of california inmates is under the direction of a federal receiver. a spokes woman for the federal receivers office says the federal and state governments want to air on the side of life, and ensure we have appropriate protocols in place. the prison law office in berkeley was one of the groups that lobbied for the decision. many people are misinterpreting the new order. prison policy allows inmates to starve themselves to death if they have signed do not resuscitate orders. this allows staff to use their own discretion only for inmates who may be incapacitated. >> in most cases virtually all cases the order guarantees that the will of the prisoner is going to be respected.

>> the practice of forced feeding could impact snaking feeding tubes through the prisoner's noses and into their stomachs. isaac says the judges's ruling has turned this from a peaceful protest into a violent one. >> rather than to do the most simple humane thing, around the prisoner's reasonable demand, instead the cdcr, and unfortunately the prison health system is going to pile torture on top of torture. we feel like that's ages you have, that's outrageous and entire i will undernecessary. >> he says the practice of forced feeding has been condemned internationally, and california is one of the rare places that still allows it. >> tracy grant is covering the hunger strike for us.

tracy many say this order will s a lot of room for the prisons can decide to this at any change

immediately depending on the health of the inmates. >> tracy thank you. jcpenney is still hemorrhaging with sales plummeting again in the

the stock was up at the end of the day because some people think maybe this thing has hit retail icon, the history of jcpenney and where it goes from here. >> can't wait. thank you, aly. president obama just returned

from vacation this week. but as reported a paid vacation is an opportunity that many americans don't have. >> reporter: when president obama goes on vacation the job travels with him. the white house provides occasional proof of him keeping up on the job. but he does get a chance to go out to eat. take a bike ride with his family. >> hello, everybody. >> reporter: and play what seems to be here, some pretty bad golf. he is not the only elected leader in washington to leave town in august. congress is gone. members will have five weeks away from the capitol with pay. that is far more than most person americans. those who do get paid time off get an average of two to three weeks each year. but almost a quarter of workers don't get any time off at all. >> you have got to work hard,

awfully hard, like 15 to 17 hours a day. you start at 5:00 in the morning, and then you end up around 11:00 or 10:00 in the evening. sometimes you get nothing, you know, just to pay the rent. >> reporter: if he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid. compare the u.s. to other industrialized countries. in france workers are required to get 31 paid policy and vacation days. in the united kingdom it is 28. japan gives their workers ten days off, and in the u.s. it's zero. >> we also don't have any requirement for paid sick days which every other country in the world does. we don't have any requirement for provision of paid parental leave, and it's not just issues around timing, but it's also we have a lot lower unionization rate than the rest of the world.

>> reporter: there a few in washington lobbying to change the law, but plenty of businesses that would lobby against it, but they probably won't have to. mandating paid time off has beenn't a priority for the president or congress. and it is unlikely to become one once back from vacation. to sports now, where alex rodriguez continues to make news off of the field. >> sometimes his news actually effects other people. red sox pitcher ron dempster has been suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount. the suspension starts tonight as boston continues its road series. but as alex rodriguez continues his appeal, he is now taking aim at his own team. espn is reporting that attorneys

for rodriguez is preparing a malpractice suit against the team doctor claiming he misdiagnosed his hip injury at the end of last season. and chip kelly has started on a starting quarterback. mike vick officially named the starter when the phillies open the season. and a visit from one of the greatest soccer players of all time. general el-sisi is the man who currently rules egypt. plus after the flood waters disappear, this is what is left. china is cleaning up after one of the worst disasters in decades. ♪

♪

welcome back to al jazeera, i'm tony harris, the headlines at this hour. the wildfires burning out of control in idaho is a top priority. more than 1700 people r battling the fires. the suspect at shooting at an atlanta area elementary school is now in custody. a swath team rushed to the academy after the gunman fired at least one shot. no injuries and all students are accounted for. president obama met with his national security team to discuss cutting some of the

billions in aid america sends to egypt every year. as the u.s. government and leader overseas try to pressure egypt's military to end its violent crackdown, all eyes are focused on general el celinda lake. david? >> the most direct information the united states has been coming from chuck hagel. the two men bonded three months ago first over lunch and then in a series of phone calls. hagel has been speaking with sisi nearly every day for weeks, and yet he denied requests to respect opposition protests. this weekend he said he was acting on the majority of the gimentians. >> the honor of protecting the will of the people is more

important to me than the honor of protecting egypt. i swear to god on this. >> this general is 58 years old, was born in cairo, and has four children. he attended a college in pennsylvania, where he argued that islam as much of a cornerstone for democracy as is christiany. a year ago after morsi became the president, he named sisi minister of defense. but as the regime became increasingly unpopular, sisi began to distance himself from the president. by all accounts sisi is exceptionally shrewd and calculating. u.s. officials also tell us despite the general's continued willingness to talk with secretary hagel and others, when

it comes to american's reactions to events in egypt, he remains uncertain concerned. it has been a tough journey for egypt since the revolution. stephanie decker takes us through gicht's two years of turmoil. >> president mohammed hosni mubarak has decided to wave the office of the president of the republic. >> after eight days of protests, and almost 30 years in power, mubarak steps down as the president of egypt. behind the scenes egypt's powerful military plays a hand in mubarak's departure, and publicly the tanks stand by. the military takes immediate control. applauded by millions of egyptians the army declares it's a the protector of the revolution, but the love begins

to fade after violent clamp downs on those who continue to protest. there is a growing belief that the army is reluctant to hand over control. the morsi wins by a narrow margin over his opponent. but many accuse morsi to consulate the muslim brotherhood control over the country. after just a year in power millions take to the streets calling for him to go. morsi's supporters also come out in force, and for the second time in three years the military has the ultimate say. the military announces that morsi is removed from power rer and under arrest. and whereas the move is welcomed by many, morsi's supporters stage it is-ins in cairo and

call for their leader to be reinstated. six weeks later morsi remains detained and the military says enough. the bodies pile up. both sides accuse the other of using live ammunition. the euphoria of the revolution is long gone. egypt is violently divided. a national reconciliation now more important and challenging than ever. let's go back to the wildfires occurring in the west. paul has more on this joint effort between the forest service and the u.s. military. >> reporter: if this plane is lifting off, chances are a wildfire is raging nearby. with fire season in full swing throughout the west, these c130

air tankers specially equipped to fight fires are in high demand. inside is a 3,000 gallon tank and a powerful pump. they can drop their entire payload of fire retardant is just five seconds. as fires raged across the west this summer, we flu to boise, idaho, and caught up with some tankers stated in boise. the captain gave us a tour. >> constantly briefly, updating, constantly everybody is pointing out things, so the pilot can sit there and fly. >> for weeks they have been flying almost daily to fight large fires. when the launch order comes in, they can get off of the ground very quickly as we saw firsthand.

what we're seeing now is called a load and return. this plane just came back from a fire from dropping that retardant. it's going to reload, and hit it again. the forrest service owns the tanks and pumps, the military flies the planes. >> reporter: is that one of the runs sitting on the runway here? >> it's starting up. so sitting in boise. >> we have been using them all summer to support our large air tanker fleet. they do a great job for us. >> reporter: these missions are critical in the done dry west. they are also dangerous. >> the smoke, the flames, exploding trees, so it is a very dangerous environment. >> reporter: last year a c130 from the captain's unit crashed fighting a fire in south dakota. four crew members died. the first fatalities in the

program's 40-year history. last year crews flu more than 1,000 drops in 10 states. a record. they are on pace to set a new record this season. >> paul joining us again from idaho. nevada, and there are two others fighting fires in california. so five out of the eight are in the air today, but as i mentioned, they are ready to redeploy at a moment's notice. flooding is causing more devastation in china. around 4 million people have been affected by heavy are rain. several hundred have thought to have lost their lives.

harry foster reports now. >> reporter: this is now a town in name only. it was transformed in tearfying flash flood last friday night. some of the locals try to tell us what happened here. grief and frustration turning to anger. this man says officials aren't telling the truth about the number of people who died. another says he lost eight members of his family. after being driven away by authorities, we were allowed back some hours later, getting further into the heart of a ruined town. we have walked down the whole of the main street now, and the scale of the disaster is abundantly clear. some locals told us down side streets and told us what happened here. and soon it becomes clear why

the police didn't want them to talk. >> put them all together nearly 20 people died just from here. >> reporter: so many dead in such a small area. a neighbor accuses authorities of complacency. >> they told us beforehand we would be fine. the water from the reservoir would pass us by. no one cares about us. >> a local government official told us her story was nonsense. authorities would rather concentrate on a monumental recovery effort. 10,000 soldiers alone have been mobilized to this area. but for those who live here, there's more than mud and debris to be washed away, facts still to be uncovered along with the bodies. the u.s. is sending about

$800,000 in aid to the philippines after severe flooding there. water sub merged more than half of the capitol of manila today. several dams are also reaching critical levels. monsoon rains followed by a tropical cyclone caused the flooding. still ahead the challenges of building america's newest bridge. we take you inside the new bay bridge. and major league baseball has handed out another suspension.

standards in journalism. >> a new voice of journalism in the u.s., al jazeera america. america. >> we tell the human store ri from around the block, across the country. >> if joe can't find work, his family will go from living in a hotel to living in their car. >> connected, inspired, bold. what happens when social media uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? >>they share it on the stream. >>social media isn't an afterthought. it drives discussion across america. >>al jazeera america social media community, on tv and online. >>this is your outlet for

those conversations. >>post, upload, and interact. >>every night, share undiscovered stories. ♪ it was damaged by an earthquake in 1989, now the costly reopening of the san francisco oakland bay bridge is nearly underway. when it reopens it will return ten lanes wide over a 2.2-mile stretch, and at its highest point it will stand to 525 feet above the water, around 230,000 vehicles are expected to cross it every day, but as melissa chan reports the project has had

its share of challenges. >> reporter: the beautiful bay bridge, after years of waiting, residents will soon start driving down the new span in what has become one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the country. the journey to arrive here has hardly been smooth. structural safety has challenged engineers. two major fault lines cut through this area. in the 1989 earthquake, the one that broke the bridge, remains strong in many minds. size moll gists believe the city is due for another quake. part of the effort includes a suspension section demanding 51,800 tons of steel. it has been engineered to last a century. getting a infrastructure project

of this size off of the ground takes years and lots of political will. there has been controversy over the soundness and safety. and then there is the cost. americans went to where america usually goes to get a discount, china. at the time, we spoke to the head of the bay area toll authority. he had told us the product being delivered was so solid that if there was an earthquake, he would want to be on the bridge. meeting him again, i asked him if he still feels the same way. >> sure, i do. we're two years closer to an earthquake, and that bridge is built like a brick house. it will do just fine. >> reporter: in the end it wasn't steel from china that caused problems, steel bolts from ohio broke during testing.

after three independent investigations and ongoing repairs experts gave the go ahead for the bridge's opening. >> about the broken bolts and stuff like that? i mean, i'm not so sure. >> you just never know these days. people rush through to get things done. >> reporter: but transportation officials say the science is solid, the repairs more than sufficient. >> i think they should be reassured. there have been a lot of news stories about the new span, but none of them has produced any credible evidence that it's less safe than the old bridge, and in fact it is orders of magnitude safer. it's built to modern seismic standards. >> reporter: for more than 20 years drivers have crossed this bridge knowing if another earthquake struck it could crumble. for 20 years every time someone

made this commute, they knew they might be taking race k. finally the new bridge is here. for better or worse, but certainly iconic. >> melissa it looks terrific. tell us and the man who you saw interviewed in that report called it a cats strofic moment. but what has happened is the bay area toll authority is asked three independent investigation teams to look into the matter to see if the fix was good enough, and the determination was yes, it's a go ahead on the new bridge despite the problems this temporary fix will be okay, and it's much better to be on the

>> all right. thank you melissa. good to talk to you. ♪ michael eves is here. another day, an alex rodriguez story even if it doesn't involve him directly. >> it's no secret within the game of baseball that several players and kroechs not very fond of alex rodriguez right now. and that dislike recently spilled over on to the field. and that's something that major league baseball is not willing to tolerate. the league office suspending ryan dempster for five games for intentionally throwing at rodriguez during the game. the suspension is set to start tonight. he was also fined an undisclosed amount as was yankees manager

girardi. and r-- rodriguez is filing a suit against the team doctor for misdiagnosing a hip injury. he is also preparing to file medical grievance against the yankees claiming the club hid mri results and continued to play him as a way of embarrassing him. rodriguez is appealing his 211-game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. to the nfl now, bronco's linebacker will face a six-game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. his exact violation was not

disclosed by miller nor the league office. the suspension will cost miller more than $5.5 million in salary. when chip kelly took over the reins with the philadelphia eagles, it was important for him to find the right quarterback and he believes that michael vick is that quarterback. through the two preseason games thus far, vick has completed 13 of 15 passes, one touchdown and an interception, and a pick that came on a hail mary pass. for decades soccer has struggled to grab a foothold in america. some u.s. soccer leaders are hoping the return of the game's all-time biggest star will help turn the tide for good. >> the new york cosmos are back on the patch after a three

decade hiatus. they took america by storm in the mid-70s after arranging a transfer of the ultimate goal scorer, pele. the united states embraced soccer for the first time. even though he was at the end of his storied career, he elevated attendance and interest no an all time high. >> i had a good play at that time, i had an excellent team. >> yes. >> >> reporter: eventually the competitive balance of the league weighed too heavy on the cosmos, causing the team and league to fold. however, they are back and so is

its anchor team headed by pele who is serving as the honorary president. >> today's american soccer is now known all over the world. then unfortunately we have a little problem with the new york cosmos. then for me to be here, i thanks god to be here. >> reporter: to celebrate this occasion, the city of new york honor the cosmos by having old number 10 flip the switch in the lighting of the empire state building in the cosmos green. >> then i take this opportunity to ask to everyone who see us, who look for us, help soccer. help cosmo to come back. >> well the ultimate goal for pe le is to eventually be invited to play major league soccer.

but there are two mls teams here in new york, so it will be tough for the cosmos if there are two teams already. >> all right. michael, thank you. 80,000 gallons of radioactive water is leaking from a storage tank from japan. the damaged tank is over 30 feet from the coast. operators say it doesn't pose any immediate threat to the sea, however, authorities are worried that the toxic water could go to the sea through a storm. el more leonard is dead. he was a winner of the national book award 2012. he was 87 years old. kevin corriveau is back with a check on your weather. and coming up at 7:00 fm on

"real money with ali velshi." >> do you have any idea how much you pay in 40k fees? we'll tell you what you need to know. ♪

♪ hello again, i want to take you back towards china now. earlier you saw the video that had come in from china concerning the flooding that we had seen as well as the story about the flooding in parts of the philippines. we have had flooding in northern china, flooding on the south coast, we have had a heat wave that has gone on in sentra china for over 40 days. this is tropical storm located

tlieth to the east of taiwan. earlier this particular storm was so close to the philippines it dropped 26 inches of rain just in one day in manila. this is what we'll see in the next couple of days. more flooding is expected across this region, unfortunately, very, very severe situation there. i'm going to take you now towards the southeastern part of the united states. we have good news there. we are getting a break in the rain across the region. you are seeing the rain showers popping up in the heat of the day. these aren't as severe as what we had seen yesterday or the day before. so flash food warnings as well as flood warnings, and also a lot of georgia is under flash flood watches. so if you are traveling on the

i-10 corridor, it could be a little bit dangerous there. unfortunately we'll see more rain in the next 24 hours. and for atlanta we don't expect the rain shower to be heavy all day long, but we expect to see rain, wednesday, thursday, friday, lower temperature on wednesday of 83, and friday your temperatures will go back up, to around 90. in the northeast not looking too bad in terms of rain and clouds. really a lot of clear skies. it has been quite beautiful. temperature in new york 85, philadelphia 86, and we don't expect to see any rain in the forecast. that's a look at your national weather. have a great evening, everyone. your headlines are up next. ♪

♪ hello again everyone this is al jazeera, i'm tony harris. president obama met with his national security team today to discuss cutting some of the billions of dollars in aid the u.s. sends to egypt every year, the house with says it has not made final decisions on funding, but is evaluating the aid. the suspect in shooting at an atlanta area elementary school is now in custody. a s.w.a.t. team rushed to the area after the gunman fired at least one shot. no injuries were reported and all students are accounted for. a federal agency declares the two wildfires burning out of