welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories that we're following for you. jauj set to decide if the larger bankruptcy filing in u.s. history will go forward. a meeting at the white house. drone strikes certain to come up. and the so-called bishop of bling asked to leave his diocese. ♪ the battle has now resumed over what could be the largest municipal bankruptcy in u.s. history. detroit's emergency manager and the city's creditors now facing off in court.

a federal judge has begun hearing arguments on whether to accept the city's bankruptcy filing. bisi onile-ere joining us live in detroit. bisi how long could this take and is there a chance that pensions could be saved. >> reporter: the judge on this case is really trying to push this process forward, and i'm told that the trial at the most could last about five days. there's crowds of people out here. there were hundreds out here at one point, protesting this bankruptcy. the crowd made up of many retirees who have so much to lose if this bankruptcy moves forward. they have -- they could possibly lose their pensions as well as their health care, and as to the question as to whether their benefits can be saved these retirees, they really think they can be saved, because they say they are protected by the state

constitution. so as i was saying a lot of drama out here earlier today. the crowd is beginning to die down a little bit. bankruptcy has been a huge topic here in detroit over the past couple of months, but there are things in the city that are showing signs of renewal. this is the detroit most of the world knows high crime, blighted neighborhoods, and poor city services. not this, new stores, restaurants and growth in small business. >> i have never seen it this busy in detroit. >> reporter: mark denison says right now economic development in the city is thriving. tax start ups and small creative-based companies are looking past detroit's financial problems and finding opportunity.

shinola could have been based anywhere, but they came here. >> we found an amazing energy that was about moving forward and less about the past. >> reporter: since $200,811,000,000,000 have been invested in business here. the downtown landscape has seen a resurgence. and residents like benjamin buller are moving in from the suburbs. >> so i came down thinking i would spend two or three years having a desen job and then move out, and you get down here and notice there's so much more to the city than you really imagined. >> reporter: some here think a bankrupt detroit might help the city's revival. bankruptcy is a process that at the end of it will only improve city government and its ability to deliver services. better services will actually be more attractive to long-term investors and businesses and more importantly residents.

>> reporter: while the bankruptcy judge may decide the city's largest fate, small businesses have already started rewriting detroit's future. and the labor unions and attorneys for the city they will spend the day making their case before the judge just to give you an idea on how big today is here in detroit. we have attended several of these hearings and there have been protesting but nothing this big. >> reporter: thank you, bisi onile-ere. so just how bad is the financial situation in the motor city? more than one-third of its residents are living below the poverty line. there are some 78,000 abandoned structures in the city. and less than half of the streetlights work. but perhaps the most important indicator is the massive number of people who have left, more than a million moving away since 1950 when the city was a thriving industrial hub, now just 700,000 people are left

pakistani prime is headed to the u.s. today. trying to improve relationships with the us. president obama said he would restore the $1.6 billion in aid. he is also offering assistance in afghanistan as u.s. forces prepare to withdrawal next year. still tensions remain, mostly over those drone attacks. and amnesty international issuing reports yesterday calling into question the legality of the strikes. jay carney says the strikes are not a violation of international law. he says the u.s. is making every effort possible to avoid civil casualties. >> they are precise, lawful, and effective.

our preference is always to detain, intier gait and prosecute. >> carney said president obama has a commitment to transparency. he says the administration is choosing the course of action least likely to result in a loss of lives. the bureau for investigative journalism found from 2004 to 2008 there were 42 strikes. president obama's first year in office there were 56. the country's first military academy opened for business today. jennifer glasse takes a closer look. >> reporter: these men hope to be the leaders of afghanistan's young army. at this new army officer academy in kabul, the recruits are seen

as the future of a sustainable military. >> translator: to make a strong army it's clear we need educational institutions like this, which are the basis of building of a country. >> reporter: the afghan army has a high attrition rate most of the solders are illiterate. 10,000 afghans competed for 270 slots in this first year at the officer academy. they are about to start a 42-week course. if they graduate they will be afghan officers. the recruits say they are ready. >> translator: we will tighten our belts to serve our country, to accept sacrifice so we can rescue the children of this country from dark times. >> reporter: the academy is still under construction, eventually 1350 men and 150

women are expected to graduate every year, with the help of internation internation international mentors from international countries. nato's future here defends on afghanistan's pending security plan with the united states. if it is rejected this academy and afghanistan security forces could find themselves without international support at the end of 2014, years before planned. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, the african army officer academy, kabul. last year more than 1,000 afghan soldiers were killed, another 3,000 seriously injured. the u.s. and israel still at odds over what should be done to curb iran's nuclear program. secretary of state john kerry and benjamin netenyahu are discussing the issue during

meetings in rome. netenyahu says the world should not accept what we calls a partial deal. the two leaders also to discuss syria and the israeli palestinian negotiations. egypt's interrupt president is considering a law that would essentially ban protests and demonstrations. it would ban any protests not approved by police, and allow senior government officials to ban those protests, the move an attempt to crack down on the muslim brotherhood. pope francis has temporarily expelled a german bishop today. the bishop was removed because of scandal over a $42 million project to build new housing for bishops. that has earned the title of the bishop of bling. earlier i spoke to nick spicer about this controversy. >> articles splashed across the german media, showing the bishop

has blown his budget by a factor of six. that's to say the budget went from around $7 million to around $42 million. this is coming during a papacy lead by a pope who says he wants the catholic church to be a poor church. so there is a bit of a message disconnect if you will between the vatican and the man being nicknamed the bishop of bling. he had to wait eight days before being granted an audience by the pope. >> nick do we know how this might effect the diocese of limburg itself? >> there is another prelay who

is going to step in and take over the administrative duties that were being undertaken by the bishop of limburg so there will be continuity on the administrative level. but there has been a serious rupture in the life of the church and faithful being lead by the bishop. around 30 people a day are leaving the church it is said because of this scandal across the country. when you pay your taxes about 7 or 8% goes to religious organizations, which means they are very well financed. the catholic church getting around $7 billion a year from the government not perishers, which makes it the second biggest employer in this country after the german government. >> could this scandal result in

any criminal charges? >> there's no discussion of that yet at this point. i don't think that the german authorities are particularly keen on judging something that the church is judging itself. there is cannon law, and an internal way of dealing with things. no prosecutor has said there has been overspending or anything in that regard. however, this bishop of bling does have another problem which does involve a prosecutor and the law, and that involves a story of whether or not he took first class tickets to go to india to visit the slums there. he signed an affidavit saying he didn't. a german prosecutor main thanks those affidavits are wrong, that he did buy first class tickets. that could have legal implications and be a further embarrassment to the church here

in germany. >> nick spicer joining us live from berlin on the bishop of bling. next up, a town comes together calling for justice on two high school girls that had been raped. stories of the day might affect your savings, your job or your retirement. whether its bail-outs or bond rates this stuff get complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down confusing financial speak and make it real.

[[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country. and with them, a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you've heard angles you hadn't considered? antonio mora brings you smart

conversation that challenges the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters these are your headlines. a federal judge is going to decide if the city of detroit can go ahead with its bankruptcy case. that hearing will determine if the city is eligible for file. pakistan's prime minister will meet with president obama today, the topic of drones expected to top the subjects. the bishop of bling has been suspended after wanting to have a $42 million resident build. a city in missouri, hundreds of people gathering in a call

for charges against two boys accused of sexually assaulting a teenager and her friend. jonathan martin has more from maryville, missouri. >> reporter: marryville, missouri, a town of just 12,000 people finds it's a in the spotlight, as protesters gather with daisies. >> all of the evidence was there, and they still turned their back on her. >> the girls one 14, the other 13 at the time, say they were raped by two classmates, a 16 and 17 year old boy, a third teen is accused of recording the incident on his cell phone. the girls and their families say they endured bullying and harassment from some in the town when they came forward. >> i want to know the truth. we want the truth and we want

justice regardless of where it is's going to go. >> reporter: the local prosecutor dropped the charges saying there was insufficient evidence and the victims refused to cooperate. >> this case was handled perfectly from beginning to end. >> reporter: the girls and their parents said they did cooperate. some in this small town believe that charges were dropped because one of the accused attackers was a stand-out football player and was from a prom next family. >> it was political, and because people knew people. >> ultimately the truth and the facts will come out in this case, and i hope when they do the people who have been so critical of this community are big enough to accept what the truth is. >> reporter: the story lead to an online campaign that fuelled new interest in the story, now a special prosecutor from another county has been assigned to reopen the case.

and if notaway county founds familiar it should. president obama has brought in a fixture to deal with the glitches plaguing the health insurance exchange website. it comes as congress is preparing to hold hearings on what went wrong with the rollout of a key part of president obama's health care plan. it is still going up, but the rise in the cost of a college education is starting to slow. a new report finds that prices at four-year public universities are up 2.9% this year, but that is the smallest increase in than three decades. the college board notes the smaller increase are being offset by a drop in student

aide. free is going to cost you more now at amazon.com. they are raising the minimum order for free shipping. the change coming ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season when online shopping and packaging activity sores and when amazon makes most of its money. the recent excitement on wall street is cooling off a bit. the dow in the red at 85 points. the stocks are pulling back on some disappointing earnings news. never before seen video of mainly syrian refugees who say they were left to drown in the mediterranean sea has now been released. the navy estimated that more than 200 people drown, about half on board. some of the survivors also say they were shot at by libbians.

karl joins us now. what more do we know about what happened to those on board this particular boat? well, dell, the survivors who managed to be taken on board the maltese rescue vessel and brought into the harbor here in the center of the mediterranean relayed their stories of the events which unfolded on the mediterranean sea about two weeks ago. therefore, some aledging that a libbian gun boat actually opened fire, leading them to capsize and throw everybody overboard. now not many of them new how to swim, and 200 unfortunately parished. this is not the first incident in the mediterranean where we had such a high number of victims who have parished at sea being migrants as they look for beater future in europe, but

this is also an eye opener of what is to come, because those migrants are syrian refugees. they are look for a better future in europe, passing through north africa, leaving the libbian shores and finding themselves victims to human traffickers who take all of the money they have, and when they are out at sea they attempt to steal from them once again. you have an act of piracy again on these refugees who are also left to drown. fit wasn't for the maltese navy they would have all parished. >> so what if anything are the libbians doing about these allegations? >> right. the maltese prime minister has immediately taken the initiative of flying to tripoli and meeting his libbian counterpart.

when the libbian prime minister was specifically asked about the allegations that the migrants were shot at by a libbian boat, he promised that he will investigate this. we have yet to see the results of this investigation. >> karl, thank you. still ahead on al jazeera america, the boat doesn't look like much, but it's helping a lot of people in japan. people devastated by that 2011 tsunami. on inside story, we bring together unexpected voices closest to the story, invite hard-hitting debate and desenting views and always explore issues relevant to you.

re# #a# #d# #y# ##fo# #r# ## california is returning a fishing boat to japan, but not just any boat. it was among the first debris to wash up on the coast of california after the tsunami.

>> reporter: the miracle pine became a symbol of hope, the only tree that wasn't swept away by the tsunami. an estimated 1800 people died here in 2011. now schoolmates continue their studies in marine science inside of a relocated school building. having lost so much, at last they are getting something back. a boat used by the school for staring skills training. the tsunami sent it on a 13-month voyage across the pacific. it reached the shores of california in april of last year. locals and high school students identified it, scraped off layers of barnacles, and helped it complete think long journey home. it is battered, but not

destroyed. the boat is symbolic of the spirit of the students here. like the pine tree, students call it the miracle boat, and it was the only one to ever return. >> translator: we never expected it would return. it surprised it. >> reporter: handwritten characters on its hull saved it from being lost. it will take pride inside a temporary museum. the tsunami destroyed a fishing industry. several thousand residents still live in temporary accomodations and lack of space has hampered the rebuilding process. in a worrying trend, the town's population continues to decline. younger generations are often left with no choice but to leave their hometown to find jobs

elsewhere. >> translator: there are so many things we still have to do, and that's why we haven't been able to take any solid measures, but we want to support the young in some way. >> reporter: for the students it is a moment to rejoice as they trace the long journey the boat has endured and to feel their only determination is also intact. and that boat is just one of many pieces of debris that continue to wash up on u.s. shores. they are solemn reminders of what was a deadly disaster. ♪ i'm meteorologist dave warren with the forecast. well we're talking about cooler temperatures mainly from the northern plains and moving through to the east coast. chicago at 39, minneapolis at 36. much of the country seeing cool

temperatures, well below 50 degrees. satellite plus the radar shows a few showers here moving through the mid-atlantic states but a storm will develop just off of the coast and keep that rain in place all day today from philadelphia up through new york. there is the rain really starting to fill in new jersey and delaware. it will intensify and then move north and bring in even colder temperatures across the great lakes. right now we're into the mid-to low 50s, but by tomorrow morning, many sites reporting temperatures below 40 in fact close to the freezing mark. freezing tomorrow around southeastern pennsylvania there's a freeze watch in ohio and kentucky. many places reporting freeze warnings. that cold air is coming in from canada. this storm will really intensify across eastern canada.

high-pressure is building so the wind will continue to gust. we're starting to see this little warmer color east of the great lakes. this time of year you get that cold air coming across the water and you start to see lake-effect snow. we could see a foot of snow where the wind sets up. certainly seeing that develop here from the great lakes. philadelphia will look at temperatures in the mid-50s with steady rain, then a little cool, thursday, friday, saturday, and sunday, but it is dry. the storm moves out but the cool breeze remains. 50s for the weekend. not warming up too much despite the sunshine. the great pumpkin l lie -- linus was looking for is now on display. the giant pumpkin and hundreds of smaller ones will be on

display through halloween. thanks for watching, i'm del walters. "inside story" is next.