>> good morning. it's thursday, august 22, and these are stories we are following at this hour. after spending a year and a half in prison, egypts long time leader mubarak could walk out of prison today, buffetses house arrest. >> jury deliberations begin today in the court martial of nidal hasan. one day after he caught the prosecution by surprise resting his case without calling a single witness. >> one of the countries beloved landmarks is burning, a wildfire near yosemite national park is threatening homes and forcing thousands of people to flee.

>> a gun owner is forced to bite the bullet. a run on ammo have a lot of gun shops completely sold out. >> egyptian's former long time heatedder mubarak could be released from a cairo prison at any time. the 85-year-old has been held in maximum security since the arab spring uprising forced him out of power two years ago. wednesday, an egyptian court ordered his release. he'll be placed under house arrest awaiting retrial on charges he ordered the killing of hundreds of protestors. jonathan joins us live from cairo. has there been any indication when he will be moved from prison to house arrest? >> right now, stephanie, no indication of when that might

happen. that is the big question in egypt at this hour. cameras are set up outside the prison waiting for that moment. he may be airlifted by he will captain we are, driven out, we're still not sure. he is not a free man. he will be put under house arrest, a decision made last night to ease some of the concern and criticism. the other big question, aside from when is where, where he'll go, speculation is running wild. the assumption is that he will likely be sent to a military hospital, since he is 85 years old in ailing health. >> what reaction do we expect on the streets of cairo if he is released? >> there is certainly concern this could stoke anger and fuel more protests. this country has seen a lot of violence and blood shed in recent weeks and years. there's concern more could happen. on the streets of cairo, the people that we've spoken with, the reaction is generally muted. there's been so much loss of

life and so much fear and concern in this country, that a lot of people look at mubarak as old news and are much more concerned about the current government and current events. >> jonathan, has there been formal reaction about this news, this possible release from the interim government or the opposition? >> the interim government said that is what is allowed under egyptian law. mubarak has been in prison for two years, not convicted of anything. since those investigations do continue, accusations continue to fly, and the charges he continues to face, that he should be released from prison, since he has not been convicted yet. he has served a tremendous amount of time. the reaction officially is that they are simply following the law. the reaction from several groups has been slightly different. one of the largest youth groups in egypt are the ones actually

leading the revolt six weeks ago to drive president morsi from power. they are concerned about him being released, but since he will be sent to house arrest have now softened their stance and are encouraged by the news that he will not be released to his own whims. >> jonathan, thanks so much. >> wildfires are spreading across much of the western united states. right now, more than 50 are burning in 10 states, including at least nine new fires first reported on wednesday. the flames have scorched thousands of acres of land and the fight to contain them has cost over $1 billion. melissa chen has more on one of the more stubborn fires near california's yosemite park. >> the rim fire has spread today, but the containment number is still standing at 5%.

firefighters did make progress. it is still very much a wild wildfire, 5% contained. now the local county board of supervisors asked governor brown declare a state of emergency. they're seeking state assistance. the firefighters here today are from the federal level, and what we've seen is a situation called p.l.5, preparedness level five. it means that the federal government is stretched to its limits in terms of resources. fires are being fought across the western united states at the federal level. they've spent about a billion dollars so far. >> melissa, thank you. the u.s. forestry service has exhausted all but $50 million of its annual firefighting budget. they will make cuts and shift other money to the fun. >> the admitted fort hood

gunman, nidal hasan, who has been acting as his own lawyer rested on wednesday without calling a single witness. hassan is facing execution if convicted on 45 counts of heidis covering the trial live. i understand major hassan has only one piece of evidence to roundly criticized and discredited by the pentagon. in a report from the department of defense, it found that this evaluation failed to note signs of radicalization in hassan, signs that were obvious to many of his colleagues.

they include public statements that he made while he was working at walter reed. he told a room full of classmates and his instructor that the u.s. war on terrorism was really a war against islam, and he said that muslim soldiers serving in the u.s. army shouldn't beilable to for these many charges. >> they have a lot of evidence on the prosecution side, but they have one piece of evidence on the defense side. isn't it possible that they

could reach a we know you'll coo cover that, thank you. >> there are no calls for the united nations to take action following an alleged toxic gas attack by the syrian government. a coalition said it happened outside damascus, saying hundreds of people were killed and say this video shows victims being treated afterwards. the sir yep government denies it used the weapons. the u.n. security council is

calling for clarity over with a happened. cenk: san diego mayor bob filner has reached a settlement with one of the women accusing him of sexual harassment. jennifer london has details from our california bureau. >> we do not know details of the tentative agreement nor if it includes filner's resignation, but we do know that friday afternoon, the san diego city council will vote on the proposed agreement. if that vote is passed, then details will be made public. filner spent the last three days behind closed doors in mediation talks with the city, this following his releases from an intensive two week in-patient behavioral treatment therapy program that filner admitted himself into. when he made the announcement that he was seeking therapy, he said that he had failed to respect the women who work with him and for him. he said he was embarrassed by his actions. at that time, he said he was not stepping down. this comes amid growing

accusations from now 18 women who claim sexual misconduct by filner. this past sunday, a petition drive to recall him was launched in san diego. this amid growing cries from within his own party to resign, including the d.n.c. and u.s. senator barbara boxer. he has supporters, saying he is being denied due process. the 70-year-old was elected mayor in 2012. he previously served 20 years in congress. >> jennifer, thank you. as she said, the san diego council's vote will take place during a closed session meeting tomorrow. >> i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell. i hope your thursday morning is off to a wonderful start. a couple weather concerns today, but overall, a little quieter than we've been recently with all the moisture in the southeast.

let's take a look at everything as we head over the next couple days. what we are going to see out here is a lot more moisture moving through the area. we've got the storm system in the midwest, but that's also cooling some of the temperatures in the midwest. that is some good news. far go has been in the 90's up until yesterday, when the front came through and as the front continues to push through, temperatures still above average, but taking the edge off and getting us from the 90's into the 80's is certainly helpful out there. highs above average in the northeast as that front is on the move in this direction. it's the great lakes region, wisconsin, and witness we get into michigan, could see stronger storms today. yesterday, the threat was predominantly hail reports. i would say more of the same today, maybe a couple of wind reports, as well. northeast, otherwise, we are looking at a little moisture out here and as the front moves in, some chances, not a ton of moisture, though, but somewhere like new york, a chance of

thunderstorm today. heading into the weekend, looks like it's going to be dry and pretty comfortable out here. now, that forecast, as i said, it's a relatively dry one, other than the little bit of moisture with the front. this goes out 48 hours, so two boss. the southeast, some moisture, but not the heavy downpours like we've been getting recently. that will be a nice change for many of us. here's a look at the radar, almost dry right now. of course, more of this moisture will kick up in the heat of the day when we get that afternoon heating. into the northwest, a little bit of monsoon moisture making it this far north, but still very predominantly dry conditions, temperatures above average and with the winds kicking up no the afternoon, still a lot of fire concerns out here. ninety in spokane temperatures do not help with those efforts out in the west. >> u.p.s. making a not so special delivery, telling

thousands of their workers their spouses will no longer get health care benefits. we'll tell you why other companies may follow suit. >> the right to bear arms, but not getting bullets, facing an ammo shortage. >> is google ready for football? why the football giant may be looking to tackle the nfl. than the ups and downs of the dow. for instance, can fracking change what you pay for water each month? have you thought about how climate change can affect your grocery bill? can rare minerals in china affect your cell phone bill? or how a hospital in texas could drive up your healthcare premium? i'll make the connections from the news to your money real.

>> al jazeera america, a new voice in american journalism. introduces america tonight.

>> in egypt police fired tear gas -- >> a fresh take on the stories that connect to you. >> they risk never returning to the united states. >> we spent time with some members of the gangster disciples. with an autographed jersey, and obama shared a few praise. >> coach shula retired with more wins than any coach in history. each time that record has been challenged, team after team has fallin short. >> michael eaves joins us to talk more about that. the president was having a lot

>> companies are finding ways to cust costs at the affordable care act approaches. the company said spouses should get coverage from their own employers. it is the highest profile company to make the move, but not the only company looking to make add adjustments. lots of other host jack berkman. thanks for of this are

the working class. >> i think when you talk about losers, what we see is that costs have over and over again not just since obamacare, but for the last 10 years, health care costs that have gone up have been passed down to the employees and not to the employers. it's not the employers that are necessarily paying more, employees are paying more for the same coverage. >> that's right, you're exactly right. >> how can u.p.s. blame this on obamacare? first of all, the congressional budget office said large companies will see accounts forr

22% of the economy. you are effectively talking about socializing that, a quarter of the economy. what that will do, all of these health care companies, hospital systems, insurance companies, the stocks of all of these companies will suffer, as they suffer, workers will be laid off. i mean, there will be a giant ripple effect, and you're going a see it at the top with these second. >> sure. >> your point about this being some sort of socialization doesn't make sense to me in the sense that these are being run by private exchanges, the employer plans don't change. they're being runteresting insiu

us, thanks for your, the time. >> a pleasure. >> amid the debate over guns in the united states, gun owners face a problem that neither politicians nor protests can fix, a shortage of bullets. there are plenty of theories about why, but one thing is clear, the shortage is hitting gun shop owners where it hurts most, the bottom line. jonathan martin has the story from nashville. >> gun owners in tennessee and across the u.s. have a problem, ammunition for their firearms is hard to find. soaring numbers of new gun owners are part of a trend that has seen record sales across the country and led to a big ammunition shortage. small shops are hit the hardest. >> the gun industry's like every other industry, like the car

industry, you dry up the oil and gas, the car is no good. in the gun industry, if you dry up the mmm anything else and components, then people don't need the guns. >> michael's gun store is now a dental office. he's one of several area dealers forced to close, blaming a lock of bullets to sell. >> people were walking in, just i want all of that, you know, how many boxes of nine-millimeter do you have? well, i've got 12. i want them all. i'm like ok, this isn't good, because i'm a small shop and i replace the same day what i sell. >> for gun enthusiasts across the country, the shortage is the worst they've seen, many traveling state to state for ammunition. >> you can't buy it. it's not there. >> big manufacturers like remington have factories going around the clock, but still telling clients there's a six month wait on filling orders. even some bigger stores are limiting customers to one or two

boxes of bullets or restricting ammunition for target practice. >> we still haven't built our inventory to the level where we would feel comfortable selling it to the public. >> sure, there's a shortage, but it's because of the people panicking and running out and buying everything. >> the founder of the tennessee firearms association blames the shortage on lingering fierce of gun restriction after the mass shooting in new town, connecticut and reelection of president obama. >> when the politicians get to talking about we've got to get rid of guns, control this, control that, that's when the panic gets new fuel for the fire. >> one gun industry analyst has said the high demand for guns will slow by the end of the year. that could be critical for business owners hope to go keep their doors open. jonathan martin, aljazeera nashville. >> a confession of sorts from pope benedict. the former pontiff now saying it

wagon his idea to resign. >> i'm john henry smith. if there's one player who proves you don't have to be a power hitter to be a baseball star, it's ichiro suzuki. coming up in sports, we'll tell you about his latest milestone. w

gear. >> a new york yankee moves alongside elite company. john henry smith now here with

sports. >> we are talking about ichiro suzuki. he's had an incredible career. when he became the first japanese player to make the leap to major league baseball, many thought he was too frail to survive in the american games. suzuki has proven himself to be one of the greatest contact hitters this game has ever seen. he reached a milestone with his first inning single, collecting his 4,000th career. fans gave him a standing o., teammates congratulated him. he has only logged part of those hits in the major leagues, the rest came in japan. >> as much courage as it takes to play contact sports like football or hockey, it takes a special courage to stand in the batter's box and stair down a 90-mile per hour fastball. there was a terrible example of the danger wednesday night at citi field in new york.

mets pitcher jon niese threw a pitch that would drill atlanta leadoff hitter jason heyward in the jaw. hayward was clearly hurt. never lost consciousness. after getting x-rays, doctors diagnosed him with a fractured jaw. he is expected to miss four to six weeks, bringing him back in time for the postseason. rays have the best record in the american leagues. >> tuesday at the little league world series, a team from washington state advanced to the finals. wednesday, the teams from california and connecticut played for the right to get there, too about that california down in the sixth, carrying the big stick, the long flyball gone. the second home run of the game. connecticut's lead cut to 3-2. the pitcher's pitch gets past his catcher, races home from third to tie the game at three apiece. top of the ninth, 6'7" grant

hohman atoned forgiving up a homer earlier with a homer of his own. california wins since-3, advancing to play washington in the championship game. >> robert griffin iii is ready to resume his role as starting quarterback. he went to work wednesday for the first time. the team was not in full pads, but did go full speed. griffin ran 49 plays against the defense. his surgy radar knee is holding up. >> the event hasn't started yet, and won't start at all for the 2006 women's championship. shower perfect have a lobbied the tournament organizers to refer to her at maria

sugar-pola. i don't think they were too keen on that idea. >> gummy candies, interesting. >> could the nfl be headed on line. according to the los angeles times, google may be seeking a deal to stream the league's games on the web. the report was prompted by commissioner roger good dell's visit to silicon valley. google may be trying to get the future rights to the nfl's popular sunday ticket service. the nfl declined to comment on the story. >> pope benedict surprised the world becoming the first pontiff in 500 years to retire. now he says he stepped down because god told him to. according to the catholic wire service, he said that god did not visit him or talk to him but described it as more of a mystical experience. >> that will do it for this edition of aljazeera news. we are back at 11:00 eastern with another news update. thank you so much for watching. you can catch us on the web at

any time. america.aljazeera.com.