♪ >> this is al jazeera. here now are the top stories we're following at this hour. the state department says that a meeting with russia on syria has now been postponed. a spokesperson saying it is in response to, "ongoing consultations about the appropriate response to a chemical weapons attack." monday secretary of state john kerry called the attack of last week a moral obscenity and said that all signs do point to the assad regime. syrian president denied those charges. out of control wildfires continue to spread in northern california where they've burned 2 25 square miles already, the blaze now edges closer to a

reservoir where san francisco gets its drinking water. extreme flooding in mexico have killed 13 people and there have also been landslides. it is one of florida's most abundant coastal ecosystems but a mysterious contamination is killing hundreds of mammals and birds and plant life and politicians, scientists and citizens have gotten together to try to figure out what is murdering the floridian habitat. tune in for a complete newscast at 7:00 eastern and of course you can always follow us on www.jazz.com.

there's more to financial news 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.

what happens when social media uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? >> they share it. >> social media isn't an afterthought. america. >> al-jazeera social america community online. >> this is your outlet for those conversations >> post, upload and interact. >> every night, share undiscovered stories.

>> the stream, tomorrow night, latest online at aljazeera.com. ♪ >> it is a desperate gamble for millions of immigrants trying to cross the u.s.-mexico border. people will risk their own lives even that of their children for the opportunity. america tonight's rob reynolds traveled to the border areas to hear from the survivors about their challenges. some of the images in the stories they tell may be disturbing. >> reporter: a corner of the cemetery in texas is set aside for th the lost and left behind. these are the graves of unknown migrants from mexico and central america who died lonely deaths

in the bad lands of south texas. >> it's horrible. it's senseless death. i don't really understand it. >> reporter: vinnie martinez is chief deputy sheriff of brooks county last year he reported well over 100 dead migrants. today numbers are on trend to exceed that. >> from year-to-date we're 92% increase from 2012. we had 129 in 2012. we see the influx. we see the volume high on pedestrians markers coming through the brush . >> reporter: an impoverished crumbling town near the mexican border. but the checkpoint just south of town is the last barrier for migrants to dallas and beyond.

human smugglers have found ways to evade the checkpoint. migrants rush out of the smugglers' vehicles and hide in the bush. then he they are led on a long march through miles of rough country. anyone who can't keep up or gets hurt or sick is left behind. and most of those people simply never make it out of the forest alive. these photos are of corpses found on the sprawling ranches, exhaust, heat stroke and thirst can kill a person in hours. >> you find them deteriorated like it's a horror movie. you're missing skin, limbs, or eyeballs, you know, that's a sad situation. >> reporter: recently in an effort to identify some of the bodies the sheriff's department oversaw the exhumation of dozens of unmarked graves.

those remains were taken here to baylor university in waco, where they're being examined by a team of forensic specialists. >> the job is opening them, starting to see what information we can put together, case reports and figure out who this individual would have been during life. >> reporter: dr. baker tries to match remains with descriptions of missing person's provided by family members. sometimes she's able to match dna. sometimes the team relies on dental records or other physical characteristics using high-tech tools like this laser scanner. this skeleton is in the process of being examined. >> do you know anything about who this person was at this point? >> what i can tell from doing a cursory glance is that it's a male individual, and that they did quite a bit of heavy lifting when they were alive. >> reporter: this was someone's

son, perhaps son's husband. >> father, when you hold the remains like that, due get a sense of-- >> oh, absolutely. >> reporter: the tragedy involved here? >> we do, we talk about that a lot. and it weighs heavily on you. when i first started doing this after the first i.d. i cried for a week. i knew about the woman, her mother was looking for her. she had two young daughters in mexico that she was raising by herself and she came to america because she could not support them in mexico. she was warned by her family, you'll probably be raped and murdered. this isn't a good idea, she said this is what i have to do for my daughters. she sprained her ankle and the group left her behind. when i worked on her case i was pregnant for the first time. she was my age, and i cried and cried at the idea of telling the daughters and telling the mom that she wouldn't be back. >> reporter: so far dr. baker

has been able to identify 70 people of the remains found in the board. >> do we have any idea how many people have we recovered. >> no, no idea. it could be hundreds, and its happening all along the borders. it's desolate areas. if you talk to an immigrant who has come through these paths they'll tell you that they saw at least one body but usually a number of bodies. >> reporter: that's what people did tell us when we visited the hospital in mexicali . a temporary refuge for undocumented migrants who have been deported from the u.s. most are not willing to talk about their experiences, but one who asked us not to show his face told us what he saw. >> sometimes i see people who have died in the desert trying to cross because they didn't have the water or the things

they needed to survive. they're just dead. just laying there dead. skeleton. and another that was a dead body covered with stand. it's frightening. sometimes there is nothing left of them. there was one, a woman, i think, and she had been eaten by wild coyotes. >> reporter: he's fully aware of the dangers involved, but he like every other person who we talked to was determined to cross the border again. his wife and children are in the u.s. >> there is nothing that would keep me from crossing a that border. the love a parent has for his kids and the love that i have gives me the strength to keep trying. >> reporter: the man who crosses his land include dangerous criminals. >> you always have your cell phone with you, and you always have your gun with you. you want to make sure that that

gun has plenty of bullets in it. >> reporter: victors has created a group patrol volunteers. he's staunchly opposed to immigration reform. >> i'm against amnesty or pathway of citizenship. most of these people are not going to simulate. they're going to maintain their own language, their own culture, their own way of doing things. and they're breaking us. they're coming in to capitalize on our social services, some of them to find work. some of them are looking for the lucrative business of crime. >> reporter: at their ranch house they keep guns and several large dogs as protection. secure. it's no longer if i'm going to be assaulted.

it's when. >> reporter: the u.s. has tightened border areas. the idea was forcing migrant to hazard the most dangerous routes would discourage them from making the attempt. but the strategy appears to have failed. migrants keep coming. the border patrol declined al jazeera's request for an interview for this story. deputy martinez said he doesn't follow the debate over immigration reform in washington very closely, but he said attention must be paid to what is happening here. >> these persons, they're human beings. they are human beings. the fact they're someone's dad, brother, whatever the case may be, they're humans. >> reporter: the reform will come too late for the nameless

ones resting beneath the sand. >> that report from our friend rob reynolds. when we return a mother's terror when her child does not return home. >> every time one of my kids walk out the house i fear it. just pray that they come in. and one didn't come in. >> another family in mourning. the fight in chicago, we'll take a first-hand look of the human and emotional toll of gun violence next.

more news. ♪ [[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country.

>> and now stories making headlines on america tonight. a deadly raid in the west bank delays a round of highly anticipated peace talks . an issu in issue, israel's decision to move forward with development of settle ments. in mexico a train rerails known as the beast. the train was traveling 2 mph when it derailed.

the sentencing phase for convicted fort hood shooter nadal hassan, who is representing himself, will either get life in prison or the death penalty for his shooting spree that killed 13 people. after a bloody violent summer chicago is going back to school, but trouble looks like it might never let up on the city streets. to protect the school children mayor rame mal ham emmanuel created safety routes. in a community that is suffering extreme hopeless ness already. [ sirens ]

>> the police. >> reporter: in response to a record-breaking gun violence i in 2012, rahm emmanuel assign police to the violent areas of the city. >> we developed our strategies and we ployments based on where crime is ha happening. >> reporter: the man in charge of the implementing is the chief of police. >> are you worried that when weather gets warmer that violence will go up, and how will the department prepare for that. >> the answer to that question is no, we don't have a different strategy for the summer, but we'll be doing more of the same things we've been doing. operation impact, our gang violence reduction strategy.

>> reporter: as this press conference, mccarthy irritated him when he boasted of operation impact and brought down the murders. >> we're down 80-something murder murders as we sta stand here, ts where we're having success. >> reporter: the police say the crime is going down. >> it's notber. if it's better in one night 31 people aren't wounded. that's not better. it's real messed up. >> reporter: this past july the month we're filming in chicago turned out to be the deadliest month in over a year. >> we're in inglewood, the south side of chicago, which has the large number of shooters and killers in chicago. >> reporter: right here. >> right here. >> reporter: reverend hood is a minister on the west side of chicago who is often called upon

the community to conduct the funerals for the victims of gun violence. >> we're turning in the street that people call beirut. we're not just talking about the war on gun violence. we're talking about the lack of resources. there is nothing but hopeles hopelessness in communities like this. look at all this. >> it just seems like people don't have much of a chance here. like houses are boarded up. jobs violence everywhere, crime. >> well, when you create this hostile living, this is what you get, violence. >> hey, they clap, they gave high five to each other. good job. they did a good job. >> reporter: police say 15-year-old michael wesley of inglewood pointed a .40 caliber

pistol at them before he was fatally shot. when we arrived at his candlelight vigil tensions were high as family members argued whether the police or michael's lifestyle was to blame for his death. >> you live the life. >> that was my nephew. >> we need to be mindful that the police has a job to do. the police is scared, too. we need to know that we can't run from them. i don't care if you're selling drugs, don't run. they will shoot and kill you. >> how can i advocate for peace and try to work with chicago police department to stop violence and now they're part of the violence. >> they fight the police. they shoot at the police. they don't hesitate. if they're going to get handcuffs on them, they're going to fight the chicago police. >> reporter: mike shields is head of the union that represents chicago police

officers. >> one thing that chicago gang bangers need to realize is that if they point a gun at a chicago police officer, they're either going to end up in county jail, the county hospital or the county morgue. >> reporter: in less than 24 hours reverend hood found himself at another prayer vigil for a victim of a police shooting. this time for antoine johnson who family members say he was shot in the back. he was in possession of a .9mm pistol. >> you need to spread around in a circle. >> the simple fact that the police did this to my nephew is crazy. they're supposed to be protecting us, not shooting at us. if he had a gun or not, you still don't shoot nobody in the

back. where's the peace? >> he laying right there on the ground handcuffed. what the [bleep] you handcuff him for? he done. >> you went over there. >> i was right there, man. my little homey lying there. i wanted to lay right there with him, man. >> can i ask you all a question, and i just want you to raise your hand. how many of you all had somebody in your family killed through gun violence, just raise your hand. look at all this. is it normal? no, it's not normal, is it. it's unacceptable. it's unacceptable, but we got used to it in our community. >> i wish i could tell you something to make you feel better, but that's your brother. that's your brother.

>> i'm seeing a lot of hopelessness now in 10- and 11- and 12-year-olds. 12-year-olds. >> yes, they're dying. the elementary kids think they're not going to make it to high school. they feel they're going to be the perpetrator of the shooting or the victim because it's either kill or be killed. >> reporter: we were invited to the church where the body of antoine johnson, the young man shot by the police, was to be viewed by his mother stacey for the first time since his death. she stood in the back for nearly an hour before finally making her way to the casket.

>> reporter: did you ever hering it like this could happen? >> i fear that every day of my life. every day. every time one of my kids walk out the house i fear it. just pray that they come in. and one didn't come in. one didn't come back. that's it. oh, right. he didn't have anything. >> reporter: they said he wasn't carrying. >> he didn't have anything. he didn't have anything. >> reporter: and the police claimed that they found a .9mm. >> that's what they said. >> reporter: you don't believe >> no. from this point it's in my lawyer's hands.

>> the guy pointing the pistol at the chicago police, if he gets shot, well shame on him. >> reporter: what if they weren't pointing a gun and they get shot. >> that's the family members "story," okay, and that's what they're going to stick with with their plaintiff's attorney, and they'll try to manipulate the facts, but i believe the shooting that you're referring to happened at 3:00 in the morning at 18th and springfield, which is one of the worst cities in chicago, and i challenge you to go out there at 3:00 in the morning without chicago police happens. it's a bad area. people get killed there all the time. drugs are sold there. there are certain parts of the community where you get shot by the police, and for the family it's like winning a lottery. there is always going to be a lawsuit. i can guarantee that. >> i'm not going to stop. nno, no matter much money in the

world, can't bring him back. >> reporter: are you going to seek justice. >> oh, i am. i am. the day it started i started. i'm not stopping it. i don't want that man on the streets. he can't walk the streets any more. he's going to be in jail. it's still not going to bring my son back, but he's not going to have anything. he's going to suffer just as much as i'm suffering today seeing my child lying in that casket. you're going to feel as much pain that i feel tha every day t i wake up. [♪ singing ]

>> i'm so tired of doing funerals of young men getting killed through gun violence whether by the police or another gang. it just wears you down. it seems like after a week or two someone else got shot. >> reporter: how many funerals have you been to of shooting victims. >> close to 114 to 115, i tried to stop keeping up with it like that because i don't want it to be something that i get used to. >> reporter: is it something that you've gotten used to? >> no, i'm still grieving with my sister being shot in the 80s. my brother being shot in 2002. my uncle being shot in 2004. it never goes away. same thing, same people, same neighborhoods. [♪ singing ]

>> truly as much a mother coo bear. i have here christof and shotgun brown joining us to talk about mission. >> there's more to america, more stories, more voices, more points of view. now there's are news channel with more of what americans want to know. >> i'm ali velshi and this is "real money." this is "america tonight." sglovrjs our -- >> our news coverage reveal more of america's stories.

this is the 900-page document we call obamacare. it could change costs, coverage, and pretty much all of healthcare in america. my show sorts this all out. in fact, my staff has read the entire thing. which is probably more than what most members of congress can claim. we'll separate politics from policy, and just prescribe the facts.

>>a. >> >> >> finally tonight we return to the place struggling with the challenges we saw earlier in this program. one community in california has already endured two severe fires in the last seven years and those blazes put pressure on two families. one that fled and lost everything, and the other chose

to stay. let's go to california's twin pines. >> i looked out the window, and the tree in the front yard was laying over, and it was getting really smokey. i looked out the side window here from the living room, and it was a friggin' wall of fire right at the creek there. i mean a wall of fire. that's when i knew the fire was here. >> reporter: james goebels house was less than on from the fire. >> i knew we couldn't get back up and i didn't want to drive around. >> reporter: martha and her family had to make a decision, what to save. >> we had to take all our medication. i'm diabetic, and we had to get

the cats, weird things that i did, trying to be optimistic, which i should not have been. >> evacuating is stressful. if you leave for an evacuation, you're just sitting there doing nothing worrying about what's happening to your house. >> reporter: goebels chose to stay to protect his home. >> i went out when i smell the smoke and found people to see what was happening, and from what they knew it didn't look like it was going to be a problem unless the win really picked up. >> reporter: but the wind did pick up, and the fire made goebels' choice a necessity. >> i had to stay. the fire was surrounding us, and we were forced to wait for the fuel to burn up enough to allow us to get out. >> reporter: the fire was within a few feet of

geobels's house. >> i didn't sleep for 46 hours. >> i always felt that i would be okay because the firefighters, maybe i'm like a 12-year-old, but they're heroes. this time i'm like, i felt i was left to die. >> the house sustained no damage, none. not so much as a scorched piece of wood. >> reporter: you're told just leave stuff because everything is replaceable, but i regret that. that's not true. it will never be replaced. >> oh my gosh. >> good score. >> which is weird all you know is to come home and be home and do stuff. but you come home and-- >> there is no home. >> i don't know what to do with myself. >> it's hard to picture living any other place .

it's quiet, serene, like it is now. but at night the stars, they're just thick and heavy, and the silence, it's deafening. >> i want to go home. >> we are home. >> we are home, thank you very much. >> voices and choices in the face of a fierce california fire. that's it for us here on america tonight. if you would like to comment on anything that you've seen tonight, log on to www.aljazeera.com/america tonight. tell us what you would like to see on our nightly current affairs program. join join the conversation with us on facebook page and we'll be back with more tomorrow. [♪ music ]

jazeera.com. ♪ make no mistake, president obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons. >> talk on chemical weapons, the u.s. edges closer to military action against syria. ♪ i'm in doho are the world news from al jazeera, also in the program signs of progress in what is a troubled relationship, hamid karzai extends visit to pakistan. thailand feels the strain as