>> this is al jazeera coming to you live from new york. i'm del walters. here are today's top stories. >> we will not be silent. >> there are calls for answers after messiah shooting at messiah navy yard. >> success off messiah coast of conversation itthe shooting at

yard. >> success off the coast of conversation it -- success off the coast of italy, "costa cordia" floating again. >> flags are flying at halve mast to honour those killed in washington on monday. a lone gunman walking through a packed naval yard building, opening fire and killing 12 people. in the moments of chaos that followed, the gunman, identified as 34-year-old aaron alexis, injured eight others before being attacked and killed by police. the investigation is just beginning. >> a short while ago this was the scene in washington. defense officials, including defense secretary chuck hagel laying a wrath at the navy memorial. the wrath is next to the statue of the lone sailor, representing all of those who have served,

are serving now or are yet to serve in the united states navy. chuck hagel called the shooting a tragic day for the democrat of defense, the nation's capital and the nation. >> randall pinkston joins me live from the navy yard where the search continues. >> the search for a motive conditions and the search for the method the gunman used in sneaking in weapons into a building that is said to be one of the most secure in the city. >> trying to make sense of the unthinkable. investigators and city leaders are looking for answers and information about 34-year-old aaron alexis - a gunman who shot and killed 12 and injured eight others at the washington navy yard on monday. ed. >> we don't know what the motive is. we were asked if terrorism was involved - we have no indication of that. we haven't ruled it out, we continue to investigate that.

>> the motive is a misty, but investigators say aaron alexis used a valid pass as his employment from a defense contract to gain access to the facility. police ruled out other shooters. >> we feel comfortable we have exhausted all means to eliminate the possible last suspect. we feel comfortable we have the single and sole person responsible. >> the shooting brought the capital to a standstill. the first shots at # 8:15 at the sea systems command. >> it was said aaron alexis was in the atrium, picking off his victims below. roughly 3,000 people working at the navy yard were told to stay in place as officers and tactical teams hunted for the

shooter. the captain described the scene inside. >> we were hunkered down, on the floor. we heard the previous gunshots. we heard gunfire and looked up. there were two bullet holes in the top of the wall of the conference room. >> aaron alexis was armeded with three weapons - an ar 15 assault rifle, a semiautomatic handgun and a shotgun. it's unclear if the suspect brought the guns with him or if he took one or more from his victims. as the drama unfolded president obama took time at an event on the economy to honour the victims and offer words of comfort for their familiesism. >> these are men and women going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us. they are patriots. >> the white house ordered flags be flown at half staff through september 20th at public buildings and military facilities in the u.s. and abroad in honour of the victims. >> hewlett packard released a

statement confirming that aaron alexis worked for experts - one of their subcontractors. they were dealing with the it equipment. there were six people on the job. aaron alexis may have joined them a week ago and was living with them in a hotel in the washington area. >> still so many questions. what is the exact latest on the investigation? >> well, the investigation has already spread to four states. in washington dc they question the people present at the scene of the shoot ing, but also people who may have seen aaron alexis during previous visits. they talked to some of his colleagues, went to the hotel, searched the hotel room where they were staying and impounded aaron alexis's car. we presume they have obtained a search warrant to look at it. they are talking to friends, relatives, neighbours of where he lived in brooklyn, along with places where he served,

including seattle washington, where there was a shooting incident - where he shot out the tyres of some construction workers with whom he was angry. and in texas - another shooting incident. and talking to his military commanders and medical personnel who said he had a history of anger, and possibly paranoia and sleep doords. >> thank you randall. >> we have the names. seven of the 12 killed have been identified. police say they'll release more names throughout the day. the names that have been release include: >> we are learning more about gunman aaron alexis himself. first, as you heard randall mention - aaron alexis was treated for mental treatment. the reason is yet to be

disclosed. in 2007 he received an honourable discharge from the army. he was arrested for two gun-related offences. in 2010 he was arrested when he shot through the it floor at a neighbour's apartment. >> he was not charged. >> mark schneider follows the story from texas. we have been reading reports on the gun-related arrests. any sense from the people there that he had violent tendencies or possibilities of mental illness? >> no, but there were certainly concerns because he had complained relatively recently after a trip to japan, where he was a naval contractor, that he wasn't getting paid regularly or as much as he thought he would. he was, indeed, angry with the government, but never made overthreats that any of his friends are aware of. >> we hear you have one of those friends with you now.

can you tell us about that person? >> yes, i a mike here. we were talking about the word coming out today about aaron alexis having possibly some mental illness, maybe trouble sleeping, hearing voices. talk about the last time you talked to him and if you had any of those concerns? >> it's been a few months since i talked to him. i heard that in the news about voices. i didn't know anything about that. i do know that when he did call me, he was concerned about slow pay with the company he was with. he did call me about, you know, maybe needing financial help. at the time i couldn't help him, other than a bit of gas money here and there. aaron was like a member of the family. they took him under the wing at happy bowl. he lived with the people here that owned the restaurant for a few years. it was time for him to go because the owner was married. the house got smaller.

aaron was always, you know, just a nice guy. he is from new york like me. that's why we hit it off. we were giants fans, so to speak. we hit it off as friends. we joke, i say, "you're my brother from another mother", he joked about me being an italian from new york, the mafia. we never believed he'd do anything like this. >> you say he called you at night sometimes saying he couldn't sleep. >> he had sleep depp rafation - it could have been because he was playing violent video games. i was trying to discourage him. it was almost as if he was involved in that, not the togetherness - like when he invited me to a house to watch a football game, he spent his time online playing a violent video game. he was playing because the guy came online. it was a violent game.

i was a little upset over that. that was the extent of his being, you know, any close to being anything like shooting or anything. i didn't like it. i didn't like it about him. >> you didn't think he'd go in... . >> i never thought he would be a person that would point a gun and fire at a person, a human being. >> here we are 24 hours after the shooting and friends at fort worth say... >> before you let michael go - he described aaron alexis as being someone who needed money, calling him and saying he needed money. would he describe him as a person financially at the end of his rope and that might have been the motivation for the shooting? >> i'm sorry, would he be described as - the financial... >> someone who was at the end of his rope financially, needed the money and that might have been the motivation for the shooting.

>> okay. the question is do you think aaron alexis was financially at the end of his rope, and could that have been the motivation for the shooting in your mind? >> not knowing the true circumstances of why he would have done what he done, because we are all pretty mad about that, because it didn't seem like him, but, yeah, he's been tight financially. the problem was - what he reiterated to me on the phone is the company he worked for was slow pay. they didn't pay him when he went for a month in japan with him. he called me and told me, "man, they haven't paid me." i said, "they'll have to." at that point they didn't. i know he was upset about them not paying him right away, which anyone would be, but never being capable of - i don't know that that happened. i know financial issues, yes, his car broke down always. he needed help. i would help any way i could. i couldn't help him much. i would try, because he was like

a brother here. after hours we'd have dipper, that's the way the -- dinner, that's the way the thai people do it. after the customers go, they'd sit down for a family dinner. they'd include him, he was like part of the family. >> sorry to cut you off. it was an important point. he cleared it up a lot. >> rain has stopped for now in colorado. the search crews are back out looking for victims of the flooding. nearly 1200 have been rescued from areas cut off by roads washed out. eight people are dead, hundreds missing and unaccounted for. some evacuees making their way back to homes to assess the damages. hundreds waiting to be evacuated. rod reynolds caught up with some families who returned to find their neighbourhoods in ruins. >> relentless and powerful the water flowing down. >> paying no heed to the frazzled works of mankind.

roads, houses, possessions, lives. the water moved. and hayden court was just in its way. jennifer ferro moved into her new house on hayden court six weeks ago. in her basement there's a thick lair of mud and a foul river smell. irreplaceable tokens lay ruined in the muck. [ crying ]. >> it's all gone. yes, it's just gone. >> she has no flood insurance, but with all the damage she he is redemption. >> i'm safe, you know, alison my sister is safe, my dog is safe and the people in the neighbourhood are safe. what is important is that, not this stuff. >> up and down hayden court - wrecked cars, huge chunks of asphalt and toppled lamp posts

testify to the power of thursday's flood. people are taking stock and figuring out what to do next. emergency workers cleared debris. rowan robertson helped his parents scoop muck from their garage. nina larson, hobbling around with an injured leg was at home with her 13-year-old son and a friend when the water swirled up fast. she saw her car swept away. >> it was a time span of 2-3 minutes before the water hit the tyres on the durango. we watched it go over the durango and take it down the road. >> larson and the two boys were trapped for eight hours before rescuers arrived in a boat. in the meantime jeff, her husband, swam across the fields, battling the current, to get to his family. >> family is all you thought of.

you have to get to your family. that's it. >> emergency workers say they'll have the power back on in a day or two, but the repair work and the clean-up will take a lot longer than that. and none of the families who live here on hayden court will forget the day the waters rose. >> still ahead on al jazeera - we'll tell you about the painstaking efforts to salvage the "costa cordia" and how it paid off. >> and the impact of those two tropical storms battering the coast of mexico.

>> to honour the victims in the navy yard shooting defense secretary chuck hagel hung a wreath at the u.s. navy memorial plaza, next to the lone sailor statue, that represents anyone that has been a part of the united states navy. more details are coming out about the alleged gunman, aaron alexis. moments ago a friend told al jazeera that aaron alexis was cash strapped needing money to keep his car running. aaron alexis was arrested twice for gun-related offence, and was

discharged from the navy in 2011. he was a subcontractor for hewett packard as an it contractor. >> the rains stopped in colorado allowing rescue efforts to be resumed. 1800 have been rescued from areas cut off by washed out roads. some residents are making their way back to their homes. >> 42 people are dead after two storms converged on mexico forcing mass evacuations. two storms, twins, ingrid and manual affected two-thirds of the country. we have this report. >> this is manual and ingrid - rare major storms hitting mexico simmual tainious from two ends. >> dozens of lives were lost. dozens of homes from destroyed

or damaged. >> translation: we are waiting for boats to come to take us across. we have been waiting since last night. there is no sign of help from the authorities. >> a state of emergency is in place as heavy rains are hampering rescue work. 20 highways and a dozen bridges were badly damaged. major roads have been blocked and air traffic disrupted. >> translation: two simultaneu ourks s weather event. there has been practically three states not affected. >> the states of gir , oaxaca puebla, have been worst hit. state authorities are providing food and shelter. for more than three dozen people - man made defenses were

no match. >> as some grieved the deaths of loved once, others are missing. >> warnings of flash floods and landslides are in place. >> the government fears the death toll may rise as cases of accidents come in. >> just devastating footage coming out of mexico. the reason we had heavy rainfall across portions across mexico is due to two tropical systems - ingrid and manual. they converged across central portions of mexico and are considered remnant lows. in terms of ingrid, it's pushing into mountainous terrain, which is what is causing the flood water to rush to the city, and that is causing devastation there. over 40 are dead. we'll have to deal with the presip itation for

the next several days as the air pressure dissolves across portions of the mountains in eastern mexico. looking at the rain, pushing into texas. it's good news, they have been dealing with exceptional levels of doubt not thin this summer, t back in the spring. as we touch into tonight and tomorrow, we'll see more rainfall across southern and central portions of texas. we'll make our way back out west where we deal with high pressure building across colorado. good news - although we could see areas dealing with spotty, heavier downpours. the ridge of high pressure will set up, we'll see sunshine. it will be a dry day across boulder, colorado. we definitely are looking forward to that. because we are dealing with the

sunshine, we'll continue to see areas dry out and may see the south platt river rise. if you travel along i 25, from werrima to sedgwick counties, we want you to be careful. the ridge of high pressure not set up across mexico, so there could be heavy rain. >> in italy they are breathing a sigh of relevel. the cruise ship cord upright, almost two years after sinking on a reef and capsizing off the coast of giglio. the effort to get the ship upright took almost 19 hours, marking the first time the operation was performed on a vessel of this size. >> 32 were killed, two victims never found. the salvage operation costing more than

$800 million - the most in history. >> aaa saying today marks day 1,000 - the 1,000th straight way that a price for gasso lean topped $3. it's the longest stretch since the organisation began keeping records. aaa said we may never see gas be below $3 a gallon again. >> ben bernanke and other top policy makers are holding a meeting in washington. they'll put the brakes on the $85 billion bond-buying program. when the fed does that, interest rates may go higher. be sure to stay at al jazeera tomorrow for the decision and what it means for you. the fed pay gs close tangles to inflation.

-- paying close attention to inflation. we are not seeing much of it. inflation over the past year has been 1.5%. >> with the release of the most expensive video game ever, we'll look at gaming systems bigger than hollywood now, and still growing.

>> today is the day that millions of you gamers have been waiting for, the highly anticipated grand theft auto 5, the most expensive video game ever hits the shelves. when the first version hit the streets 17 years ago it became a global phenomenon. they are watching in tinsel town. we have this story from hollywood. >> watch the trailer for grand theft auto 5. you might think you are watching the trailer of a hollywood film. you would be wrong. >> if you think video games feel like a big budget film - you'd be right much. >> the lines are being blurred. it's high def, cgi, life-like in the recommendation of people,

places and things, and is rivalling movies as far as the look and feel. it's quite amazing. >> it's not just the look and feel of the video games, it's the money. grand theft auto 4 released in 2008 cost a reported $100 million to produce. fast-forward five years, the budget for grand theft auto-5 was roughly there will 265 million -- roughy $265 million, making it the most expensive video made, but one with a budget higher than hollywood films. >> video games can cost a quarter of a billion to applies. a game like grand theft auto-5 might generate that money. it's about risk versus reward. >> the rewards are huge. in 2012, video game sales made more nun -- money than the box

office, over $14 billion, compared to $11 million by the movie shows. the release of grand this theft autodoesn't certainty the same buzz that a major motion picture does. >> what happened with the video game industry is it's become its own mooesh. >> gamers, like rock star, can afford to take a different marketing approach. ed. >> rock star took a less is more approach where the press is concerned. so the release of a single rock star trailer or a few screen shots from a game almost becomes an event, and, you know, it's a huge deal because it keeps the audience hungry. >> what is hank? >> he carr jarked back. >> gamer patrick mcdonald agrees. they don't market the games at the same level as

films? >> they don't have to. >> why? >> people who play these games will want more. once you have played these games, you're always going to have your ear to the floor, waiting for the next one to come out. >> with the price point of $60 or more for each game, the industry is on the fast-track to break more records as it continues to try to keep hollywood in the rearview mirror. >> there is a new concern about a deadly germ that is it resistent to antibiotics. the interests for disease control says the superbug kills 23,000 each year. it's called cedifercel. the problem is doctors describe it for too often. the bugs are fighting back. if the problem is not sold, the drugs won't stop you getting sick and antibiotics can become

useless. that's it. we are live from new york, del walters. updates throughout the day on the website. enough money to buy food for themselves and their family. the future of the food stamp safety net is in questions. on inside story we'll unravel the politics of hunger, how to feed everyone in the land of plenty. we begin at a foot bank a short drive from the u.s. capitol. >> i just can't afford the prices. and that's one of the reasons why i thank god for places like this. you know? that i can come by and get nutrition food, you know, and a lot of it, you know what i mean? that will last me for a while. you know. if i had to go in the store to buy what i have here now, it will probably cost me $150, you know what i mean. and i just don't have it. i got $76 from food stamps, you know what i mean? and $76 in the grocery store don't go that far. >> 47 million americans rely on food stamps. officially known and is supplement al nutrition assistance plan. or snap. cutting $4 billion from food stamps over ten years. drippin stripping from the house bill, house republicans are pledging even dweeper cuts, $-- deeper cuts. republicans say the programming has gotten too big. >> this legislation restores the bipartisan welfare reforms adopted in 1996 to the supplemental nutritional assistance program. it focus he the program on those who need it most. no law abide b ing bitch willbiding beneficiarl lose their benefits under the bill. mills of oaforts who depends -- millions of others who depend on snap. >> for the hive of me i can't understand where the republicans want to cut this program that provides food to millions of americans. i can't understand why the republican leadership wants to