>> welcome to al jazeera. i'm john siegenthaler here are tonight's top stories. leaders in chicago tonight are calling attention to a spike in violent crime. last night a group armed with an assault rifle stormed a basketball game and opened fire. 13 people were injured including a three-year-old boy who was shot in the face. attack is prompting more bans of assault type weapons. a fight is brewing between senate and house in washington, d.c. defunds president obama's health care law, senators are expected to strip the bill of the health care provision. both house he have until september 30th oreach a deal.

iran's president says he wants constructive dialogue where the west. in a washington post op ed piece, hasan rahani seeks win win outcomes instead of force to combat terrorism. tie fun usagi is boring between the philippines and china? sustained winds of 150 miles an hour. that's the news at this hour. america tonight is up next. >> when the bullets stopped flying 13 casualties including a

three-year-old. can anything bring about a cease fire? >> we need to stop. it needs to stop! >> and it's not just chicago. innocence lost, child casualties caught in the cross fire. and losing someone to gurn violence. coping -- gun violence. coping with a loss and reaching out to help others in pain. >> i wanted someone to tell me jen in six months it's going to be okay, you're going to figure this out. >> good evening and thanks for being with us. i'm joie chen. on america tonight we have trained a sharp focus on

violence, especially gun voinlz in our community. another barrage of gun fire and another round of national conversation about why this keeps happening and how to stop it. on monday it was the washington navy yard shooting, 12 victims and the shooter died there. by today we turned again to chicago. this week the fbi confirmed chicago had more homicides than any other u.s. city last year including new york which has three times as many residents. but it was an attack on a late night pickup basketball game thursday that put chicago's violence back in the national headlines. america tonight correspondent christoph putzel has the story. >> an all too familiar scene on chicago's south side, a scene of mass shooting. police say at least one gunman walked up to residents enjoying a game of basketball in the

southwest chicago and opened fire. >> lot of shots like boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom. >> i was on the other side of the parking lot, i came over here a lot of people down. >> among those hit three children including a three-year-old, diona howard who was shot in the head. his distraught grandmother summed up the thoughts in three words. >> needs to stop. needs ostop! >> they believe the shooting was gang related. police superintendent gary mccarthy laid blame on illegal firearms. >> we need to keep l illegal guns and military type are firearms. illegal guns, illegal guns, illegal guns drive violence and

military type weapons believed to be used in this type shooting belong on a battle field not in a street or a corner or a park in the back of the yards. >> mayor rahm emanuel cancelled meetings in washington to fly back to chicago today. in a statement he said senseless and brazen acts of violence have no place in chicago and betray all that we stand for. there were 500 homicides in chicago in 2012. but officials say killings this year are down from last year's pace. you know joie what's remarkable about this story is that the violence continues. just earlier this afternoon a 15-year-old boy was found dead on the south side of chicago after being shot in the back. >> christoph that's incredible. you spent much of this past summer in chicago yourself. reporting on the violence and the gang scroinls there. does this incident mirror anything that you saw there?

>> you know unfortunately joie it boss does. when i first arrived to report, there were 40 shootings in our first 48 hours on the ground. the fbi now calling it the most violent city in america and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down. you have the proliferation of install arms, poverty and lack of opportunity creating just the perfect storm.violence. back to you joie. >> america tonight correspondent christoph putzel. thanks very much, christoph. >> even before last night's shooting eight other children all under eight years old were victims of gun violence in the past seven weeks. the epidemic of gun violence what if anything could be done to protect the children? leer to talk about it is congresswoman kelly, the author and founder of the los angeles urban policy round table, and

jitu brown, thank you all for being here. congresswoman i'd like to start with you. you're not from the particular area where these latest shootings took place bus you've certainly seen violence in your district, certainly related to the growing emotion we've seen, what is going on and why can't it be stopped? >> i don't know that there is one reason it's going on or one solution to so solve the proble. we talk about lack of reasonable gun excavate legislation some people not being involved, i think it's multifaceted and it's going otake a number of solutions to solve the issue. >> have you seen a ground swell of the community really wanted to get behind finding some solutions? >> i've seen some ground swell. but we had a forum. and one of the things that an

active community member in my area said that she feels like people aren't outraged enough. that they are outraged but not outraged enough. >> gitu brown, you are out there in chicago, you've seen the community seen the violence and you see the children. do you see that there's enough outrage? >> i think that there's a significant amount of outrage. there's also a sense of hopelessness in regards of what to do. often, when we're talking about the issues of violence, the countersolutions, you know, young people, it's said that young people are making bad decisions which in many cases is true. but i think one of the solutions in addition to smart gun legislation, that i know our congressman is promoting, i think is also look at the destabilization of these neighborhoods. i've worked with young people for over 20 years. i've worked with several

different communities. it's an old saying that the foundation of any nation are the institutions that lay the dwrownd work of the development of any people. consequently, the foundation of a community lay the focuse -- fs of the people, the quality of life of people who live there so what happens is that poverty, lack of opportunity, are actually manufactured like a car on an assembly line. and we haven't confronted that yet and i think that that needs to be a focus of our conversation. >> earl lafaar hutchison, in 2010, more than 15,500 kids were injured by firearms. that's three times more than the number of soldiers who were hurt in afghanistan. that is shock. then you look at even more, the

new england journal of medicine, guns kill five times more than cancer does, 15 times more than infections. when you look at all of this are you left with this being a gun issue or a community issue or a law enforcement issue or what? >> i think it's all of those things and i think it's much more than that. i think when you really look at violence it is not new. this is a violent country. it's been born in violent, violent has been endemic in this society for many, many decades. what's new about it is two things. one much more attention is being drawn to it. we've had horrendous massacres. newtown and now washington, d.c. i think when you really look at violence overall yes you can talk about the poverty, yes you

can talk about the unemployment, yes you can talk about poor education, yes you can talk about you know pairnd and family -- parent and family responsibility. you can talk about lax gun laws, you can talk about all those things. you have to look at a comprehensive holistic approach all these factors that create the problems. they have the seeds and contain the seeds for actually solutions for the problems. so i 30 we can see that violence in some communities believe it or not last actually gone down. when you see a holistic comprehensive approach to combating it. >> but there's still a whole lot of it l.a. where you are chicago where you were born yourself these cities are still seeing a tremendous amount of violence. i know that congresswoman just this week had a rally was part of a rally where we were brought together a lot of people from all over the country who have all been directly affected. >> one thing we did that is we feel the urban voices haven't

really been hurt with all due respect to the mass shootings, when you lose your child it hurts no matter what the pain, no matter what the zip code it is, and the newtown alliance helped us to lobby congress for sensible background checks. >> the rally in wash has been -- >> this is actually more than a rally, they went to congress and committed to work together because unitunited it is strong. we have to keep being a drum majorette. the gun safety law is just one measure. >> congresswoman robin kelly, jitu brown, and mr. kelly, thank you for being here. thank you very much. >> a view from another american

city, new orleans, no one is too young to become a victim. millions who need assistance now.

we appreciate you spending time with us tonight. up next is the golden age of hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the entertainment industry there. next. on august 20th, al jazeera america introduced a new voice in journalism. >> good evening everyone, welcome to al jazeera. >> usa today says: >> ...writes the columbia journalism review. and the daily beast says:

>> quality journalists once again on the air is a beautiful thing to behold. >> al jazeera america, there's more to it. faultlines investigates why so many babies are dying in america's inner cities. >> lot a times programs and stuff all they care about is numbers. they don't care about people. >> faultlines: america's infant mortality crisis. >> we have focused much of our attention on chicago but other cities are not immune to violence. in fact gun violence have ricocheted across the country and in many cases the victims are very young. when you can't even protect your own children.

from new orleans, are america tonight correspondent sarah hoy. >> so we can teach our young mental that they are great that they can -- men that they can are are great that they can be great, that there is a vision for life, a purpose for each one of them. allow that they are loved and cared for so that we pray for the perpetrators tonight. we ask that you let them get oa place of peace, to allow somebody to be raised up god help them in the way you see fit. >> the shooting of a one-year-old baby girl in the arms of her babysitter and that of an 11-year-old girl has left the city of new orleans in mourning. >> why would they want to hurt a one-year-old baby? >> her name was london. for her young mother and father,

the grief overwhelming. >> i see every time i see a picture of her. any time somebody hug me i cry. >> in new orleans they launched a citywide reluctant for the killer. they say they found the person. >> when into baby is killed we all have to step extra hard. we all have to push hard. and our system did that -- team did that. >> over in the lower ninth ward and across the city, the shooting death is opening old wounds. >> each time you hear of the death of a child it brings you back to yours. >> this is where the last of his possessions. that was in his pocket when he was killed. $30.85. >> let the women say. >> amen.

>> amen. my son jarrod was murdered on september 27th, 2012,. >> shonda burke's son jarrod was shot multiple times. a year after her son's death she is now a regular at a weekly support are group of mothers who have lost children to gun violence. >> i'm at peace. >> five miles from the street where jarrod was killed. >> initially i was assisting helping out, getting this to other mothers but in turn i wind up being one of the mothers that needed being helped here. >> it's all about revenge. the person who killed my son was dead, someone killed him before i can even bury my son. >> these young boys brag about the fact that they don't fight anymore. they shoot. that's a badge of honor for them. they don't understand that really it's a sign of your

weakness. because you don't know how to handle conflict. >> i pray for this. because i'm telling you, i was totally angry with these people. >> okay, angry. but i'm not going to go get revenge. >> i'm frustrated because it's not that i can understand, okay, my 18-year-old was murdered. but a one-year-old an 11-year-old, it just really shows how reckless and how these kids don't have any hope, they don't have any guidance. and it's time, it's beyond time for a change. >> despite the break in the case new orleans remains one of the nation's deadliest cities, with the poverty rate nearly double the national average and the loss of life along the mississippi delta is the stark reality, according to the defense fund, a child dies or is

injured by guns once every 30 seconds. >> it's beyond just the violence, it is the community that has embraced crime that succumb to the criminal elements that exist in their city, they're comfortable with vigilante justice, which as a community we have a problem. not the safest choices in their lives but it helps them sustain and take care of their families. ultimately the result is incarceration or death. but these are the choices they choose to survive. >> it is not only choice. the vast majority of residents in new orleans walk the past of peace. like amara skinner.

>> it doesn't make you look like a man. it means you are stupid. like walking on street like you stay on guard like a lot. like i don't wear any shoes that i can't run in just in case. >> and back in the lower 9th patrina peters is rising above her grief. >> i do want queen won't bow down to violence. i am duriah queen. >> her son di did he -- demond. >> this suit had to hit the streets of new orleans. >> wild man d may be gone from this world but he is always with his mother as she marches on. >> we have to continue to stand. we have to continue to fight and we have to continue to get out of here and say it's not okay.

it's not acceptable. we are not going to continue losing children, our sons to the street. >> that story from our correspondent sarah hoy. after the break, not enough words, sympathy, consolation and the reality it just won't be enough to take away the pain. >> there's a way to su survive,a death of your loved one. there's a way to learn to love again. and it's not going to be easy.

>> every sunday night al jazeera america presents

many babies are dying in america's inner cities. >> lot a times programs and stuff all they care about is numbers. they don't care about people. >> faultlines: america's infant mortality crisis. >> finally from us tonight, what do you say to the families of those who lost loved ones to the navy yard or to the parents of

the children shot in chicago or new orleans? there are no easy answers sadly, many americans have had to face the same kinds of conversation he. we wanted to listen to the voices of people who have been there? in our series reaching out we hear from a young woman who lost her brother in the worst mass shooting in america. >> my name is jen herbstred, my brother jeremy was a graduate student in 2011 when he was killed in a mass shooting similar to the mass shooting that your loved ones were killed in. you don't expect these things. you know, you don't expect to go to work. and you know, not to come home. you don't expect to go to school. and you know, to not to come home to be killed. so i think that--you can't make sense of what has happened. like this is not real.

my life had just like frozen in the moment that i learned that he was dead and it was wait wait, like i don't know, i was in a complete state of shock. you know? in that first week, i mean, i really wanted to know what to expect, what is my life like in a month? i couldn't imagine how i was going to get to a month or to two months or to three months or to six months. i just wanted somebody to tell me jen in six months it's going to be okay, you're going to figure this out you're going to feel -- in a year this is how you're going to feel. and there's no guide book to grief. i needed a purpose in my life and i needed some way to connect with my older brother. so i rode my bike from north town virginia to san francisco, california. it was about 3700 miles. when i got to san francisco what i realized was i couldn't figure out life. i couldn't make my brother come back. i couldn't make this world fair.

i couldn't make you know senseless acts of violence like what happened to my brother never happen again. i couldn't rewind the tape of time. but i was stuck on this earth and i could find a way, i could do something, anything, to live again. in memory of my brother. for him. i could do the things that he never had the opportunity to do. there are still days when i am mad as hell that he's not here. mad at him for not being here. mad at the person who killed him. mad at the people who -- i pointed my fingers at for years because of all of the you know things that i felt could have prevented this. i continue to pay my brother's cell phone bill, so this is seven years out. and one of the things that i was so afraid of from the beginning of losing was you know i didn't want to forget jeremy's voice.

>> hello this is jeremy, i can't come to the phone now, just leave a message, and i'll get back to you. >> it's short but it is what it is. nothing anybody could have told me, you know, in the days and weeks and months after jeremy died would have changed the fact that jeremy was dead. nothing they would have told me would have taken the pain away from my heart. nothing they would have told me would have made the grieving process would have expediated the process, would have taken the grief away, that he was gone and he would never come back again. but -- but at seven years out, i know that there's a way to sur

survive the death of a loved one. there's a way to learn to live life again and it's not going to be easy. it's not going to be fun, it's not going to be a joy ride. but there's a way to survive it. >> the words of someone who has been there. thanks jen. and that is it for us here on america tonight. please remember, if you want to comment on any of the stories you see nirt, lo tonight, log oo aljazeera.com and we'll look ahead to the stories we're looking at here. you can tell us what you would like us to report on. and please talk to us on twitter or facebook. we'll have more next time on america tonight. have a good night.

twice as likely to die. fault lines travels to cleveland, ohio - to look at what is causing these deaths, and to try to find out why the united states has the worst rate