>> as the battle rages in iraq, baghdad calls on the u.s. to send in air strikes and hundreds of thousands of people on the run are trying to escape the violence. >> effective july 31, i will be stepping down as majority leader. >> the fallout for eric cantor's primary loss. how it's shaken the republican

party. >> in brazil for today's world cup kickoff. >> the program helping troubled teens get off the street and learn the tools to make a brand new life. good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. >> i'm stephanie sy. there is concern that iraq's military is crumbling in the face of an al-qaeda inspired group. >> the islam like state of iraq is expanding it's power base. >> the fighters have toppled three northern cities in the past 48 hours and now taking aim at baghdad. >> fighting between isil and army forces has been going on since tuesday. a half million people ever fled the city. >> the target is the shia led government.

this is just the latest round of fighting against isil and won't be the last. we don't have the numbers to--they don't have the numbers to take the city. >> they are considering possible air strikes against isil. >> president obama campaigned on ending the war in iraq. he did so in 2011 and 2012, campaigned on the fact that he did end that war. american officials are loathe to get involved militarily in iraq. they are under criticism now is

president obama for not coming to an agreement to leave some sort of residual force to battle this kind of sectarian violence we are seeing now. as far as request for air cover, missile strikes, drone attacks, a lot of reluctance that from the part of the u.s. government on that score. here's what the spokeswoman said yesterday. >> the threat to iraq's stability is from isil. we have an idealogy that has little to do with iraqi politics, it has to do with taking territory and terrorizing the iraqi people. there's more that can be done, including taking a more unified approach to the challenges and threats of terrorism that they face. >> there's a code in there and that is that the iraqi government, se shia dominated

government need to do more to bring sunni's into the government. >> does it appear that the u.s. will get involved in this conflict? >> the united states has provided billions of dollars in military aid in terms of heavy weaponry, f16 fighters, artillery, things of that nature, a great deal of concern that when some of those posts were abandoned, much of that hardware was simply left behind. the white house did put out a statement that reads as follows: >> that's money, that's armament, that's material, that is not air strikes, at least not at this point. no active military involvement being contemplated by the united

states. >> mike viqueira reporting from washington, thank you. >> it's been three years since president obama with drew the last of the forces from iraq. a report by brown university institute for national studies said the iraq war cost $1.7 trillion. it balloons when you factor in the benefits owed to veterans. the study says expenses can grow to more than 6 trillion over the next four decades when you add interest. >> a half million people are trying to leave mosul. it has been under isil control for two days. >> it's a long wait under the scorching sun. cues of cars stretch for kilometers. the searches are slow, but this is the only road to safety for

iraqis who have fled mosul since the city fell under the hands of isil. some took what they could. others made their way by foot. >> the battle started in our neighborhood. they were just fighting the army. we don't know who they are, we left, because there is no water or electricity in our area. >> a half million people left their homes, the vast majority hoping to cross into the kurdish region. >> this is a security challenge. at the moment, priority is given to families or to those who happen to have some cert of connection to the kurdish region, but everyone has to register. >> single males are not allowed in. there are fears they could infiltrate the north among the flow of refugees. there is evidence some iraqi soldiers have made their way

here. they have been the main target of the isil so far. this man would not give us his name nor show his face. >> the armed men are controlling the city. the ones who are there now are from mosul, but otherwise left. how can he make a difference now? >> it's a common feel. many fear baghdad would unleash its air power over the city like in other parts of iraq where the fight against isil isengoing. the kurdish region government has put its forces on high alert, bracing itself for a bigger in flux of people in the days to come. >> stay with aljazeera for continuing coverage of the violence in iraq. coming up in 20 minutes, a live report from baghdad, plus a look at the mysterious leader of

isil. >> two american drones are believed to have hit northern pakistan. the first strikes in that country in nearly six months. at least 16 people were killed in the attacks. security officials say six suspected militants were killed last night. a second compound was struck this morning killing 10 and wounding four others. the u.s. has yet to comment on the attacks. the last known american drone strike was on christmas day. >> armed for a blood bath is how police in oregon described the student who gunned down a classmate before killing himself. 15-year-old gerald michael packagant was carrying a car and duffle bag packed with a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. there was no link between the boy and the substituting

victims. >> mr. risler made his way to the office, notified administration and then immediately initiated the lockdown. >> the teacher is a hero, who's quick thinking saved many lives. the shooting was the 74th in the 77 weeks since the newtown massacre. >> one priest is dead and another critically injured at a church in phoenix. a reported burglary of the mother of mercy mission near the arizona capitol building resulted in one priest shot who died at the hospital. a car was found abandoned a few blocks away. the suspect remains on the loose. >> house major city leader eric cantor's stunning defeat sent shock waves through washington. >> in a matter of a few weeks, he will no longer be in congress. >> the first house majority leader in history to lose a primary election, congressman eric cantor announced he is stepping down july 31.

the man who toppled him from that position, dave brat, despite only spending $127,000 to fund his campaign versus cantor's $5.4 million, the tea party believes the underdog won because the republican leader is out of touch. this historical primary election ousted a 14 year washington power player. cantor called on republicans to join forces for the conservative cause. >> while i will not be on the ballot in november, i will be a champion for conservatives across the nation who are dedicated to preserving liberty and providing opportunity. truly what divides republicans pales in comparison to what divides us from the left and their democratic party. i hope that all republicans will put minor differences aside and

help elect a republican house and senate. >> the dems are claiming the gop has been taken over by extremists, saying condition tore's loss will not hurt the democrats. majority whip kevin mccarthy of california and peter sessions of texas are supposedly tossing their hat in the ring. we'll have reaction to the stunning announcement in the next half hour. >> erica pitzi reporting. republicans and democrats give us their views of the leadership shake up and where this leaves the gop in the next half hour. >> americans are becoming more politically poll rides than ever before. there are fewer people who have a mix of political views.

more than 38% have unfavorable views of the opposite party. >> defense secretary chuck hagel faced tough questions over the deal that freed bowe bergdahl. it got tense at moments. hagel wasn't backing down. >> defense secretary chuck hagel walked into a packed hearing room. he strongly defended the deal to hand over five taliban prisoners in exchange for sergeant bowe bergdahl. >> i would never sign any document or make any agreement, agree to any decision that i did not feel was in the best interest of this country, nor would the president of the united states. >> takingle said the administration had to move fast to free bergdahl, who was believed to be in poor mental and physical health, that the

qatari government warned to the risks to his safety were growing. >> for all these reasons and more, the exchange needed to take place quickly, efficiently and quietly. we believe this exchange was our last best opportunity to free him. >> committee members particularly republicans blasted the deal. >> this transfer sets a dangerous precedent in negotiating with terrorists. it reverses long standing policy and could innocent vice other terrorist organizations, including al-qaeda to increase their use of kidnappings of u.s. personnel. >> both republicans and democrats are angry that the five taliban were released from guantanamo without congress getting 30 days notice, as required by law. >> if the president can vital the law and say no in this case, we're not going to give you the information, it undermines the oversight process that we have with the intelligence community.

>> there's no word of whether bergdahl who's still in a military hospital in germany would be back in the u.s., which prompt add heated exchange. >> you're trying to tell me that he's still being held in germany because of his medical condition? >> congressman, i hope you're not implying anything other than that. >> i'm just asking a question. >> i'm going to give you the answer, too, i don't like the implication. >> answer it. >> he's being held there because our medical professionals don't believe he's ready until they believe he is ready. >> when that happens, said hagel, bergdahl should be judged by the facts, not hearsay or innuendo. >> before he disappeared from his military base, bergdahl wrote about frustrations about life in the soldier. he described coming under fire after a vehicle in his convoy through an explosive device. he blamed the situation on

commanders who were "too stupid to make up their minds." s residents of his hometown just want to see him reunited with his loved ones. he said he's disappointed in people who have made threats against his family and friends and takes a jab at the town. >> we ask not to direct misguided rage against his family and this community. we appreciate the interest that's been shown in our community but acknowledge now we will be getting back to our lives, businesses and normal activities. >> he warned against rushing to judgment over whether bergdahl left his post. >> the department of veterans affairs at the center of the v.a. scandal, the justice department working with f.b.i. agents in phoenix to determine if there is a basis for criminal charges. recent revelation of long waiting lists for appointments and attempts to cover them up

led to last month's resignation of eric shinseki. the u.s. passed a bill to make it easier for veterans to get treatment from local doctors. under the bipartisan plan, the v.a. will pay for doctor visits. the bill would allow the v.a. to hire addition doctors and nurses and lease 26 new health care facilities. lawmakers hope a compromise version will soon go to president obama for signature. >> let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. what is that? >> i'm going to go around the world first, it isn't here we're dealing with flooding concerns. this is out of argentina and some of the impressive flooding in some of these areas, as it flows downstream, even impacting the soccer going on in brazil. you can see how impressive this has been in some of these areas,

other areas like paraguay dealing with this, as well. they've had to shut down famous sites out here. in our country, we are looking at potential flooding, probably not like that video. in the northeast, band after band of rain. this was expected and tomorrow is another day of it. it's a soggy go of it. the southern areas have seen at least southern on this image, places like maryland and the rest of the region under the watch with the core new york into pennsylvania could get an inch or two of rain. other places it's going to be spotty and more do tomorrow. we have the lingering boundary into the northeast, another setting up in the midsection of the country is causing showers and storms in oklahoma this morning, ahead of that, the moist flow is the humidity, the stickiness and all the way into the dry line of texas, you get

on the other side of that, we have the drier air. ahead of that line, it's been very oppressive. the biggest chance for strong storms would be into the southern plains for today. as i say, you can already see some of that line that's been going through over the course of this morning. you've got plans that eastern third of the country, keep the umbrella handy into tomorrow. >> an explosive situation that could have turned deadly all caught on camera. >> a disabled driver slammed into a gas pump right there, and then it bursts into flames. how another driver's day job helped save his life. >> i look at things a whole different way. i look at everything as a positive situation. >> life lessons with a side of grits. a new orleans restaurants giving troubled kids a job and a second

chance. >> our big number of the day, what it has to do with do your laundry, after the break. the performance review. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance

is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business.

>> americans are paying a big bill, a huge bill to dry clean their clothes. >> today's big number is $9 billion. it's actually regular laundry we're talking about. >> i was speakingful my dry cleaning, sorry about that. >> that's how much americans spend operating inefficient dryers. >> let's break this down. typical electric dryers use as much energy as a new refrigerator, washing machine and dishwasher combined. >> power dryers, that's what we're talking about here, the dryers haven't improved energy efficiency since the 1970's. >> americans could save $4 billion if all their electric units were updated to the hybrid model used in europe. >> soon it will be easier to tell which dryers are the most efficient. energy star will label dryers using 20% less energy than the

standard. consumers could save energy by drying clothing on a not outside on the line, on a low temperature setting and putting in consecutive loads while the drum is still warm. you have to be on top of things. >> the report says consumers can save more if they do the old fashioned line drying. >> like my grandmother. all right. a trade group is suing seattle over its $15 an hour minimum wage. they say the plan should be blocked because it invites federal and state allows. the complaint argues seattle discriminates against its members by treating them at large businesses, despite being independently owned and operated as a small business. the $15 an hour plan is expected to be gradually phased in starting next year. >> a restaurant in new orleans is serving up second chances.

the cafe trains teens including lessons in budgeting effective communication while building self-esteem. >> once homeless with no job and running the streets of new orleans. michael johnson found himself on a dangerous path. >> started hanging with a bad crowd. >> he spotted someone wearing a shirt with the words cafe reconcile on it. >> i said what is that, are they hiring. she said it's a training program for troubled youth. i jumped at the chance to come in and fill out an application. they say you receive a pension. >> the cafe is more than a go to stop for southern food. it's best known for the young faces that cook and serve it. >> the vision from the founders

were to go into the worst area or one of the worst areas of our city and to make sure that we plant a seed for change. >> in a city with such a vast hospitality industry, the cafe eequips the young with skills to work in top restaurants and hotels. >> from the time you greet the customer, take the order, receive the food, deliver it, that's very similar to life. if you make a misstep along the way, your guest is not going to be happy. >> it's hectic, but i love the work. >> working in the cafe happens after learning life skills. >> you learn how to invest your money and save money. >> what were you doing on the streets before cafe reconcile? >> drugs. >> six weeks into the training, this 23-year-old is learning discipline, having to wake up at 7:30 every morning to clock in and pass regular drug tests. >> i learn to control my attitude, working well with

other people. [ applause ] >> the payoff is a paid internship, which usually leads to a full time job for the graduates. since starting more than 10 years ago, cafe reconcile has helped more than 1,000 young adults find hospitality jobs. >> michael finished the program a year ago and landed a job and now has his own apartment. he works part time in the cafe, training those new to the program. >> for me, i look at things a whole different way. i look at everything as a positive situation. >> with help from big donors from emrelevant la gas see, the cafe was recently expanded, adding more opportunity to help people like michael, who are hungry for success. >> thank you all for coming in and supporting us. >> aljazeera, new orleans. >> this week, the cafe graduated another 22 students. >> that is outstanding. all right. >> up next, a heroic save caught

on tape. >> let's find out with meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> we have warm air as we get to the midsection of the country where we have the humidity. anywhere that in eastern third of the country, 60's and 70's this morning and it is still sticky already today, 40's and 50's behind that. through the rest of the day, the heat will still be on, especially places like houston through the southwest, cooler into los angeles. a lot of this will be in the hundreds. back to you guys. >> thank you. a video of an act of heroism. an elderly man lost control of his car and slammed into a gas station. you can see it caused this huge fire. the impact knocked the pump over and almost hit an off duty officer. the policeman managed to run to safety but he turned around to save the elderly man. >> you can see that the actual compartment was compressed. you could see the way his legs were tucked under by the seat.

his seatbelt was on. he was pretty much helpless. >> six people were injured. no one has life threatens injuries. >> that is incredible. >> they are calling it an earthquake in the gop. >> congressman eric cantor's loss to a tea party opponent, many wonder how that will effect top leadership on the hill. >> as the world cup games begin, we're looking back at the biggest upset in world cup history. meet a man who was part of the team that stunned the soccer world. >> fighting his way to the top, floyd may whether, jr. learning it pace to continue boxing at age 37. other headlines making stories around the world. nd the world.

>> republicans and democrats weigh in on the fallout from house majority leader eric cantor stepping down and how much this is shaking up the gop. >> a rising trend of police

officers being killed in the line of duty. what some say needs to be done to stop that. >> in the next hour, a fight between lawmakers and the white house over school learnings, a food fight. some say the schools should not have to follow the rules laid out by first lady michelle obama. >> a student in oregon was carrying an assault rifle and ammunition. a teacher is expected to fully recover. >> defense secretary chuck hagel said the u.s. had to move fast to free bowe bergdahl after warned of growing risk to his safety. he testified wednesday before the house armed services committee. he said the prisoner swap with the taliban was in the best

interest of the united states. >> the u.s. senate passed a bill who would law veterans who had to wait for an appointment to see a local doctor. it would authorize the v.a. to hire more doctors and nurses and lease additional medical facilities. a criminal probe is launched into the phoenix office at the center of this waiting list scandal. >> in iraq, the government appears to be on its heels trying to stave off attacks from isil. the group has taken control of the second large evident city in the country. more than a half million people have fled the city. the pressure is on as the group readies an assault an the capitol city of baghdad. we have the latest on this insurgency. how concerned are government leaders there about an impending attack on the capitol?

>> they were so concerned, they wanted to declare a state of emergency. there was an emergency session of parliament called today. they met within the last hour or so, and they were unable to come to a decision on the state of emergency, simply not enough people turned up in particlement to be able to pass that vote. the speaker of the house had to adjourn the session. reaction from prime minister malkey's camp was swift. he said let's declare a state of emergency anyway. it goes to show you how angry they are they weren't able to get the state of emergency that they had been talking about for two days, which would have allowed sweeping powers. he said he would have been able to route isil fighters from mosul with that power. >> despite dealing with internal poll licks, is he banking on the u.s. to aid in this fight?

>> he's been asking for u.s. aid for three years now, he needs intelligence gathering equipment, drones, he also wants to speed deliveries of bomber jets that he doesn't have now. more than that, the americans reacted as well. saying they are going to speed up training of the iraqi army, but nobody here believes that that will happen anytime soon. simply, there is a disconnect between what the u.s. says and what the iraqis see happening on the ground. the prime minister is in the middle of this, trying to get as much help as he can. it looks like the u.s. are stepping up their help, but nobody really sees evidence of that on the ground. >> what is the situation in mosul right now?

>> need to win over the population, so isil is treating the population with respect. there is a disconnect between what's happening in mosul and elsewhere in iraq. they've besieged the city and are about to go in. they might take over another city quite son. >> reporting from baghdad, thank you. >> isil fighters obviously making huge advances in a relatively short period of time. the group has been a dominant force in the an bar province. it's now staging an aggressive offensive throughout the country as it moves to expand its power base. isil fighters toppled at least three northern cities in the past 48 hours. the group will also target the

shiite sees which is the location of the holiest shrines for shiite muslims. who is the man leading the isil fighters? we have more now on the group's mysterious leader. >> he certainly made himself a force to be reckoned with. time magazine called him the world's most dangerous man and the state department agrees. they put a $10 million bounty on his head. other observers tagged him as the true successor to osama bin laden on the world stage. he differs from bin lad inin two fundamental ways. he keeps an even lower profile to the point where some call him the invisible sheik. this picture is from his state democratic wanted postedder, his name is one of his many aliases. this most recent photo became public last february. he is said to famouslyion

photographs, cover his face with a scarf even talking to those in his inner circle and prefer addressing his followers via audio recordings. the second major difference is that he and his organization are not part of al-qaeda. in fact, he's openly defied an al-qaeda leadership that has since made it clear they consider him and his group too radical. that's a snapshot of who he is. in the next hour, i'll talking about what has made him who he is. back to you. >> republican representatives are vying to replace eric cantor as house majority leader. republicans now trying to smooth out the divisions within the party. >> after losing his seat in congress, eric cantor says he'll step down at majority leader

next month, backing the party's number three california's kevin mccarthy to replace him. >> i think he'd make an outstanding majority leader. >> two texans are in the running. >> we'll see what happens. i think we work very well together. >> the party votes june 19, next thursday. if mccarthy wins, republicans will need a new whip. members are throwing their names in the hat for that. cantor's announcement came after a tearful private meeting with john boehner called for unity. >> he is doing the right thing for the conference. he wants to keep us all united. >> he was held in high reward as a leader, so we're feeling the pain. >> still up in the air, whether there's any chance for immigration reform. that's the issue that propelled cantor's opponent to victory. >> eric cantor saying he opposes amnesty is like barack obama saying he opposes obamacare.

>> any degree of modest support for immigration can be effectively cast as pro amnesty. >> a shocking defeat, leading to a big political shakeup and perhaps more gridlock. joining us now to discuss the political fallout, former aid to president bush and former peach writer to former president bill clinton. mr. blakeman, one critique of eric cantor is he focused too much on d.c. and not enough on his home district. he addressed that yesterday. >> yeah, i mean he violated politics 101, and that is remember the people who got you there, because they are going to be the people who keep you there. if you disregard the wishes of the people you represent, then you're going to be voted out. this is certainly a surprise,

nobody saw this coming, but when you analyze the results, you can see very clearly that the people in his district did not appreciate the fact that he ignored them and he was a national figure, a republican leader, but first and foremost, the congressman of the seventh district in virginia. >> i suppose there are lessons for all lawmakers in that all politics of local. what did democrats take away from all of this? >> that we're going to go through yet a longer period where it's very difficult to govern, because we don't have in the republican party a governing partner. i completely agree with brad in his diagnosis of what mr. cantor did wrong. it's also clear he was badly hurt by the perception that what he was trying to do is cut deals and get something done, in other words govern. on the one hand, politically, you always want to see your opposing party divided internally and eating its young. on the other hand, if you care

about governing, and your party holds the presidency, this doesn't make things easier or better. >> is that what's happening, brad, your party is eating its young? cantor yesterday when he came out and said that he would be stepping down as the leader at the end of next month said these were minor differences within the gop party. what's your take? >> look, we had a very diverse party, the same as the democrats do and we have a far right faction as the democrats have a far left faction. we are going to come together. i think you're going to see it in the caucus when they pick the new majority leader. the republicans are going to come together pretty quickly. november is looking very, very good for republicans. i believe we're going to take the senate, retain the house, and then we'll have a new governing strategy and partner with the president in 2017. so, the republican party is together, we're united and i think the good example of that will be the picking quickly and

unified manner the new majority leader. >> heather, do you think this is going to impact at all the presidential ticket in 2016? >> well, whom ever, whether secretary clinton, whether she runs, whether it's someone else, on the one hand, this is going to give the republican base a lot of energy. there's going to be a lot of excitement around the republican primary and sort of very differently from what we've seen, that that's going to be the more exciting primary. when you get into the general, the folks who just got rid of mr. cantor and the folks providing excitement, there aren't enough to win a national election. the mainstream voters who don't vote mid term will not be affecting what happens this november, they're turned off and unnerved by what they see coming from the republican party. in that sense, it's helping republicans on the excitement mode, but in terms of people thinking who's going to be a

safe choice to govern the country, my view is it's going to help us in 2016. >> brad blakeman, former aid to former president bush and former speech writer to president bill clinton, thank you for joining us this morning. >> in nigeria, protestors are putting pressure on the government to bring home more than 300 missing school girls. they gathered in the capitol wednesday, marking three months since those girls were abducted by boko haram. the military has come under criticism for slow response in the search for those girls. >> in brazil, workers going on strike hours before the opening match of the world cup demanding pay raises. it's been more than half a century since brazil hosted a world cup. the final match between you are guy and brazil was sure to be a

victory at rio's stadium. what happened next was completely unexpected. >> the last time brazil hosted a world cusp, the outcome shocked the world. and crushed brazil, the hot favorite to win. that winning goal for you are guy in 1950 has gone down in history, and so, too, the player who scored it. >> it was a bitter moment, saying many people committed suicide. the pope, frank sinatra and me the only people that have ever silenced. >> today, the last surviving member of the team is 88 who took part in the historic final.

>> the biggest crowd in football history attended the. now 60 years later, he is loved. they all want to have their picture taken with him at you are guy's football museum. >> he told me he saw his father cry when i scored the goal. he said don't worry, dad, when i grow up, i'll make brazil a world champion, and he did. >> this team won the america's cup and is clearly hoping that history will repeat itself right here where the final game of this world cup tournament will be held. >> he says the only thing missing in his life is to witness you are guy win again, but this time from the stands, so he can celebrate with the fans.

>> i listen to lieu gee and realize i need to work on my accent. >> gearing up for today's big opening match, right? >> you've got time. >> i've got to work on it. >> let's look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world, speaking of the world cup. in thailand, all world cup 2014 matches will air live for free on t.v. defying a supreme court ruling, that country's military junta stepped in. not everyone loves soccer. >> most people do. >> they basically ruled against

the supreme court, the rights holders have to give up their rights. >> sometimes you're at that moment when your phone's about to die and you need it charged, right? what if you can go into starbucks and get it charged for free? >> i'd like that. >> that's about to happen. it is reported that starbucks is about to roll out power mats wireless charging station in san francisco to test this out. they'll expand to other cities in 2015. they say it's for free. i keep feeling there's a catch. >> there is a catch. apparently when you put your phone there, it means that starbuckss knows how long you've been sitting there and they're going to give you coupons. >> forbes has reds their annual list of the world's highest paid athletes and coming out on top for the second time in three years, boxer floyd mayweather, who had a great year. he was paid $105 million for just 72 minutes of work in the ring during the past year for

those two big matchups. he has become one of a small fraternity of athletes who have hit the $1 million marks. >> there's not a lot of football players in the list. there's basketball players, but football players, matt ryan who place for the atlanta falcons, actually basketball is big. >> i bet athletes in our countries are paid more, because we're talking soccer. >> the blue shirts squeaked out a 2-1 victory against the los angeles kings. with the win, the rangers avoided the first team to be swept in the finals. the series go back to l.a. >> a violent trend impacting police departments from coast-to-coast. >> last week, a shooting in las vegas, one of many ending with officers killed this year.

some wonder if political extremism is creating a new threat for police. >> just take the hard route about working hard. don't take the easy route and settle for what you have. >> words of wisdom from a high school valedictorian. her rise from a homeless shelter to a full ride college scholarship. >> it is 61 degrees in new york city. you are looking live at a misty bryant park.

with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america

wisconsin's mining standoff on al jazeera america >> time now for our discovery of the day. yes, we will explain what this is you are looking at. leonardo divinci played an important role in understanding human anatomy, creating the

oldest handmaid skull. it was found more than 20 years ago. after stayeding the artifact, scientists attribute it to davinci. researchers say he was ahead of his time and this model features extraordinary details. it looks like a real skull. >> up next, from a homeless shelter to top of her graduating class. >> first a look at the wet weather across the country today. >> a couple places are already starting off with it, it might not improve much over the course of the day. a lot of the northeast mid atlantic we're watching that, showers into florida and then the next weather system, misery down into texas dealing with areas of rain and chances for storms. i also want to mention the southwest. i mentioned all the heat in this direction. this is where we can't seem to

buy a drop of rain. the drier areas are expanding, this is a high risk area tomorrow, too. watch that. it's getting close to firecracker season with july coming up. do not do that in these areas. >> anymore mitch, thank you. >> nicole, thank you so much. last sunday, two shooting deaths of las vegas police officers appear to be a part of an alarming trend. 23 police officers have been killed by gunfire in the line of duty since january 1. that is up from 15 in the same period of time last year. an increase of 53%. here to discuss the rise in gun violence is jim johnson, baltimore county police officer and chair of the national law enforcement partnership to prevent gun violence. we appreciate your time so much. we hate that it's got to be a topic like this, but something that needs to be discussed, mr. johnson. >> good morning. >> you issued a statement that

said this: >> the president has also said enough is enough. we have heard this before. what do you think is not connecting? >> certainly i think the will of the american public is not being heard by our elected officials. over 90% of americans support a national background check. frankly, 75% of nra members in a recent poll revealed their support of a national background check. law enforcement across america believes a national background check will save lives. over 40% of firearms are bought, sold and traded without a background check. it will save lives. >> so, if that's the case, if

those are the numbers, we also have similar numbers in a recent poll, 78% of those surveyed said if they do favor more background checks, also psychological exams, 80% suggest closing the gun show loopholes. why is that not connecting with people's representatives in congress. what do you think is missing? >> i think powerful organizations across america are placing their will or exercising their beliefs on a certain group and we're not advancing these changes in america today. these will save lives of citizens and frankly police officers, and while we recognize as your statistics reveal an increase in deaths of officers due to firearms violence this year, it would be much higher if it weren't for the intervention of emergency medical technicians, advanced tactics, training, technology, ballistic

outer wear. we lose americans to firearm violence and believe that a national background check and keeping the guns out of the hands of people who should not have them, the mentally ill, for example will save lives and reduce injury in america. >> we appreciate your insight. unfortunately, i'm sure we'll have to continue to talk about this issue. jim johnson, baltimore county, police chief, thank you for your insight. >> a homeless high school student is defying the odds by graduating at the top of her class. on wednesday, class valedictorian told her classmates never give up. her father was murdered when she was a baby. her mom and two brothers have lived in a single room in a

washington, d.c. shelter. >> just to keep going no matter what and don't let anything keep you down, because you will get put down, but get back up. >> she juggled multiple sports, a 4.0g.p.a. and homelessness. she has a full ride to georgetown university and dreams of becoming a forensic pathologist. >> a 10-year-old got his high school by that roma this week, one of the youngest to ever do so. his goal would be to study science and medicine, but he wouldn't mind being president someday, either. >> twin baby boys born in boston don't share the same birthday. lynn desalva gave birth and 24 days later, her second child was born. >> i wasn't having can

tractions, the water didn't break. they put everything together, like all the signs doesn't look like you're going to deliver today, maybe you can tomorrow aband two hours from now, but not now. >> now, three months later, the twins weigh more than six pounds each, that is fantastic. doctors say this king of split deliveries incredibly rare and both boys are doing very well. >> fighting continues in iraq where the al-qaeda linked islamic state of iraq is vowing to target baghdad. the group seized mosul and tikrit. >> house republicans are scrambling to replace eric cantor as majority leader after he lost the primary to a tea party backed candidate. >> a classmate killing himself at school, classmates say he was hot tempered and obsessed with guns. >> ahead, congressman sam far joins us to discuss the fight

taking place in washington, d.c. over children's lunches at school. some lawmakers want to let the schools opt out of being forced to offer healthy options. >> we will be back with more aljazeera america in just a couple of minutes. keep it here. it he >> on techknow. we're heading to cutting edge cal tech campus >> here's a look at just a few of the students shaping the future of science >> see the latest research, discoveries and breakthroughs inside some of the worlds most advanced labs. >> how do you scale somethig you learned from a jelly fish? >> techknow every saturday go where science meets humanity. this is some of the best driving i've ever done, even though i can't see. techknow. we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america.

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interesting people of our time. >> you're listening because you want to see what's going to happen. >> i want to know what works what do you know works? >> conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> talk to al jazeera. >> only on al jazeera america. >> oh my! >> al-qaeda and isil don't have the numbers to control the city. they don't have the power to confront the iraqi forces. >> iraq leader is calling on the u.s. for help in stopping an al-qaeda inspired group overtaking cities there as hundreds of thousands flee for their lives. >> picking up the pieces, the republican party is assessing the damage from eric cantor's historic primary loss. >> congress is preparing for a food fight over school lunches.

the plan that some of trying to pass that would no longer make healthy options mandatory. >> have fun, play hard and we'll be watching on the international space station. >> soccer fans both in and out of this world are watching brazil as the world cup kicks off today. brazil looks to put months of preparation to the test. >> good morning. welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm richelle carey. >> there's concern that iraq's military is crumbling in the face of an al-qaeda inspired group who have grown stronger since the u.s. withdrawal. isil is expanding its power base beyond anbar. >> three northern cities have topped in the last 48 hours. they now take aim at baghdad. >> fighting has been on going, the siege forcing half a million people out of their homes. the pressure is now mounting for iraq's prime al-malaki to stave

off the defensive. >> we have team coverage. we are on the ground in baghdad, but we begin our coverage in washington. u.s. officials have been meeting with the isil threat. how concerned are they? >> not only is this a crisis for the iraqi people and military, but it also presents a significant challenge both in terms of policy and politics for the obama administration. of course, president obama campaigned on ending the iraq war. he did so in 2011 and 2012. he campaigned on having ended the iraq war. his aids have said that al-qaeda in iraq is pretty much gone, da put, finished. events over the last several months and last couple of days have given lie to that fact. certainly, the iraqis want more u.s. help. there is a great deal of money and material flowing into iraq from the united states, but the iraq keys want air strikes, manned aircraft or drone

aircraft. the united states is very reluctant. the american public has war fatigue. they are certainly not interested in getting resolved in iraq. the state department spokes wham yesterday had this to say: >> the threat to iraq stability right now is from isil. they have an ideology that has little to do with iraqi domestic politics. it has to do with taking territory and terrorizing the people. there's more that can be done, including taking a moor unified approach to the challenges and threats of terrorism that they face. >> between the lines there, a more unified approach, the united states government wants al-malaki, the leader of iraq to bring in more sunnis into the government. they lay part of the blame at the feet of al-malaki. >> will this insurgency in iraq

affect the u.s. withdrawal plans in afghanistan? >> a great question. probably not. now there is a great deal of finger pointing going on in washington right now. in hindsight, they think the obama administration and critics should have come to an agreement of a nature that would have left american forces, anti terrorist force within iraq, the sort of thing being negotiated in afghanistan right now. very little chance there's going to be reversal on that policy. here's a statement from the white house yesterday: >> for now, that means no air strikes. mike, thank you. >> now let's bring in --

>> yes, isil says that baghdad is their next target. that is where we are. how concerned are leaders in baghdad about an impending attack? are they propping for that? >> well, not -- well here in baghdad, absolutely they are preparing for an impending attack. more importantly, there are political considerations going on. prime minister al-malaki wanted a declaration of a state of emergency. he wasn't able to get it. parliament met, not enough people turned up to carry the vote through. he didn't get a state of emergency declared. this is a big blow for him. he needed that sweeping power, he says, to be able to fight isil fighters in mosul. he didn't get it and they're very angry about that. >> beyond baghdad, are there further isil threats that the government is worried about?

>> absolutely, they're attacking a number of different cities in the north, a real flash point in 2006 when a shrine was hit there. it sparked an all out sectarian war that lasted three years. isil fighters have besieged that city and giving the army an unit mate item saying you must leave the city or we will come in. they did manage to get inside six neighborhoods in that city, so do know their way around. >> in kirkuk, isil controls a third of iraq and that's a huge number, considering just a year ago, they didn't control hardly any territory at all. >> reporting live from baghdad, thank you. >> iraq's request for more aid underscores the staggering amount washington already contributes globally. from 2002 to 2011, the u.s. gave iraq $64 billion in economic and

military aid. afghanistan received the second most with just over $60 billion. israel also received 30 plus billion dollars during that period. one thing to note, the aid figures for afghanistan and iraq don't take into account the military equipment donated to their armed forces. >> coming up at 8:30 eastern, we'll document the rise in that group. how is life dictating the battle plan. >> two american drones are believed to have hit pakistan. 16 were killed in the attacks. security officials say six suspected militants were killed last night in north with a zero stan.

>> a scheduling and communications staffer will have to go to the white house national security council before they can release the names of people meeting with the president. the staff will receive additional training on handling sensitive information. those meeting with the president will also have a chaps to object before their names are released to the press. >> i hope that all republicans will put minor differences aside and help elect a republican house and senate. >> house majority leader eric cantor calling on republicans to join forces as he prepares to step down from the leadership position. >> that stunning announcement comes after his historic primary defeat. the reaction in washington is really all over the map. >> that's right, richelle. you've got the tea party rejoicing, republican leadership like house speaker john boehner reacting to the stunning news without emotion in front of the

cameras, calling cantor a good friend. democrats are claiming the gop is taken over by extremists. >> >> house major city leader eric cantor's stunning defeat sent shock waves through washington. >> it has ban tremendous honor to hold this position. >> the man who toppled him, little known tea party candidate dave brat, despite only spending $120,000 to fund his campaign versus cantor's $5.4 million, the tea party believes the underdog won because the republican leader is out of touch. >> this leadership team rode a tea party wave to office, and the last four years a growing concern that we haven't followed through on that.

>> on capitol hill, some say without cantor, an immigration reform deal is dead. the house majority leader rejects that claim. >> i've never known mr. cantor to be an advocate for immigration reform. i think this whole thing about it being dead is exaggerated. i'm always optimistic that it can happen. >> the day after brat's victory, the first time politics was pressed on other issues. when asked about minimum wage, he had this to say. >> i don't have a well crafted response on that one. >> some tea party members hope this primary pick points to more changes on capitol hill. >> the people are going to make their decision. they're tired of washington, d.c. and that's the message, the establishment better hear today. >> as far as the cantor loss hurting democrats. >> no, not at all, because we are close to our districts. his opponent said he was too

close to wall street. that's what we've been saying all along. >> two congressman have tossed their hats into the ring, mccarthy of california and peter segs of texas. >> this is going to be interesting. some on capitol hill think immigration reform won't happen without eric cantor. we're going to find out if the deal is really dead. it wasn't quite a deal, but a potential she'll is really dead. >> the f.b.i. is launching an investigation into the v.a.'s phoenix office at the center of the waiting list scandal. the justice department is working with f.b.i. agents to see if there is any basis for criminal charges. revelations about long waiting times for appointments and attempt to say cover them up led to last month's resignation of v.a. secretary erik shinseki. a bill was passed allowing veterans to see local doctors instead. under the plan, the v.a. will

pay for doctors visits. the bill would allow the v.a. to hire additional doctors and nurses and lease 26 new health care facilities. the house approved a similar bill tuesday. lawmakers hope a compromised version will soon go to pour for signature. >> fallout over the deal that secured bowe bergdahl's release from the taliban continues. some say the law was broken by the congress not being informed. chuck hagel spent wednesday on capitol hill telling the armed services committee it was a tough call, but a necessary one. >> defending the deal, the u.s. secretary of defense told members of congress the obama administration could have done a better job of keeping them informed about the swap of five taliban detainees for u.s. army sergeant bowe bergdahl but said the trade was: >> in the best interest of our country, military and sergeant bergdahl. the president has constitutional

responsibilities and authorities to protect american citizens and members of our armed forces. that's what he did. >> the answer didn't satisfactory furious lawmakers. they say the deal raises serious security and legal issues, accusing secretary hagel of violating u.s. law requiring 30 days notice to congress before prisoners can be released from guantanamo bay. >> this transfer sets a dangerous precedents in negotiating with breasts. it reverses long standing u.s. policy and account innocent vise other terrorist organizations. >> u.s. officials say bergdahl walked off a u.s. base in afghanistan and captured by the taliban. some fellow service members allege he is a deserter. u.s. officials say bergdahl has

not yet reunited with his family and is recovering from psychological trauma in germany. congressional critics of the exchange are skeptical, saying assertions the army sergeant's health is deteriorating is exaggerated. >> wait a minute. wait a minute. why hasn't he been returned to the united states? you're trying to tell me that he's held in germany because of his medical condition? >> congressman, i hope you're not implying anything other than that. >> it's a contentious exchange with the taliban, one he calls the left best chance to free a soldier in jeopardy. >> house appropriations committee voted in favor of barring anymore money in the defense budget being spent on the transfer of future

guantanamo bay defeighees. >> armed for a blood bath, that is how police in oregon described the student who gunned down a classmate before killing himself. 15-year-old jared michael paget was carrying a guitar and duffle bag filled with rifle and a semiautomatic handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. investigators offered no motive and said there was no link between the shooter and the victims, including a high schoolteacher. >> mr. risler made his way to the office, notifying the administration and then immediately initiated the lockdown. >> police say the teacher is a hero whose quick thinking saved lives. >> lawyers for boston marathon bombing suspect dzhokar tsarnaev want to judge to move his trial out of boston.

his lawyers plan on filing a change of venue motion but will need some more time before making that request. they ask the judge to extend a june 18 deadline to august 3. >> a landmark court decision about privacy and cell phone location tracking, police must now obtain a war rant to get data routed through cell towers. a federal court said it's a preach of policy. >> the wet weather is making a messy morning commute. it might actually turn pretty severe today. >> for more, lets bring in nicole mitchell. good morning, nicole. >> for a lot of places, this is going to be nuisance weather the next day or two of on and off rain. my family is coming to visit, so it's all the museum plans, indoors. you can see up and down the northeast, one area a lingering boundary here and another one into the midwest. that's our better chance for strong storms. let's start off in the northeast, where it has slowed down the commute in some cases.

you can see a lot of this kind of spotty, but once you get under it, you could occasionally have heavier rain and then more for this region into the day tomorrow. there's two days we're going to have to watch to this. the southern edge has gone through places like maryland, a lot of watches and even a couple warning areas out here. for the next 24 hours, you can see some of this corridor seeing an inch or two easily. that's one boundary, and all in the middle of this, we had that moist flow. even if you're not getting the rain, definitely the humidity and heat has been pretty high and sticky. then we have the other boundary moving through the midwest. behind that, a nice cooling trend and at least some drier air, but ahead of that, that's the setup for stronger storms. a lot of this with this boundary has been the high wind in terms of severe, so the slighter risk for hail or tornadoes out there, but still something we'll have to monitor through the course of the day.

>> taxi drivers across europe bringing traffic to a standstill. [ cars honking ] >> the popular phone application for those drivers that is causing anger. >> a luxury home dangling off a cliff over a lake. the structural warning the homeowners got more than a year ago. >> sky divers showing off their skills several thousand feet in the air. that video and the others captured by citizen journalists around the world.

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performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. >> thousands of people taking to the streets to protest the australia prime minister's recent budget. filming the rally from a building above, union organizers marching to a local parliament

building carrying signs. >> a strong storm system across texas is causing problems including reports of a tornado. the strong winds are rocking things back and forth, and causing power outages. >> if you have a fear of height or congress -- i'm not sure this is the right video. we had a video of sky divers coming down. do we have it? should we keep talking to pretend that -- apparently we... >> all right, let's roll it, let's get to it. daredevils, getting a good look at the skies over the u.k. this is a special kind of sky diving called free fly diving. it involves both upright and upside down positions, no matter how you flip it. >> up next, why the popular ride

sharing phone app uber is ticking off cab drivers. >> tax deals benefited apple and starbucks, between the ireland, nexter land are being investigated whether they were legal. >> representatives for apple and starbucks abide by all international tax rules. the e.u. us investigating fiat's deal with luxembourg. >> taxi drivers blocked the streets in europe wednesday, protesting uber, the cell phone technology which allows people to call for a private cab with a swipe of a finger. drivers say the app is hurting their business. >> the traffic slow in paris in the best of times.

>> this is french fury, vented by cab drivers and not for the first time here, they have the smart phone app uber. >> it's organized robbery, really. they are their own bosses. they work 24/7. the government should address this. >> this is a battle between tradition and technology. tradition states you want a ride, you physically stand outside and wait. you flag down a cab. sometimes that's really easy. sometimes it's not. technology says you stay where you are, let your smart phone sort this out for you, which is where uber comes in. it locates you and shows cars nearby and sends one to pick you up. the driver has an app. this uses g.p.s. to calculate the cost of the journey. it's not hardwired into the car.

this is basically software on a mobile phone which brings up a question, can this be a meter. uber says no. the judge will settle the argument. >> in london where the language is different, but the sentiment very much the same at france, this is going all the way to the high court. >> we believe that uber is an illegal act. >> this is a row on europe streets for europe streets. german drivers claim it is ruining their lively who said. >> they have never faced competition and today, companies like uber are bringing more choices to citizens. >> uber's journey began in san francisco, but has traveled around the world, taking in 36

countries and all this covered in just five years. last august, it was valid at $3.5 billion, last week, that rose to $80 billion, thanks to buy-in from the likes of google and goldman sachs. as its profits grow, so does the notoriety and with the protests comes more publicity. this is a company with global ambitions and pro tests or not, no intention of putting the brakes on. >> uber is band in las vegas and facing lawsuits in chicago, and washington, d.c. >> lets look at temperatures across the nation today. meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. nicole. >> still sultry, from the south up through the mid atlantic, that high humidity. cooler behind the front,

minneapolis a little more on the comfortable side versus 95 in houston with the humidity and then the heat continues all the way through the southwest, a little cooler by the time we get to the california coastline. impressive temperatures in dallas at 90, el paso at 100. definitely a brisk day. friday, a little bit cooler in chicago. that will be a nice break. >> iraq's future face ago new threat follow isil which has gained control of major cities. the rise of the leader and how it shaped the group's tactics. >> eric cantor primary loss sending shack waivers around capitol hill. some argue the defeat could result in a serious road block to immigration reform. >> discussing the battle between lawmakers looking to overturn a mandate for healthier school lunches. >> a look at our images of the

day in young children in cambodia, scavenging a landfill for scrap supplies. these images coming from the international labor organization, marking today at world day against child labor. the organization estimates that nearly 57% of the four mill children in cambodia engage in child labor. when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for suvivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now

>> ahead in our next half hour, aljazeera america joins a group of migrant children trying to illegally enter the u.s. the harsh conditions they face during that obviously dangerous trip and ones they're trying to escape back home. >> very important reporting there. >> congressman sam far joins us to talk about the effort in congress to allow schools to opt out of offering students healthy lunch options. >> we begin in iraq where the government appears to be on its heels trying to stave off attacks from isil. the fighting began after the group attacked mogul. the siege forced half a million

people from the second largest city. >> isil fighters have made huge advances in a short period of time. it's staging an aggressive too far throughout the country moving to expand its power base. it toppled three cities in 48 hours. the next target is baghdad. >> isil's leader is a man so careful that many in his inner circle have never seen his face. >> a man al-qaeda says is too radical even for them. we have more. >> the sheik is thought to be around 44 years old and very well educated, having earned a master's degree and p.h.d. in islamic studies. he was born in iraq to a sunni

family. a biography said he formed his own armed group in eastern "rack. he was captured by american forces and spent the next four years as a prisoner in southern iraq. u.s. officials say while there, he met and formed relationships with al-qaeda leaders. for unknown reasons, the united states released him and in 2010, he took control of al-qaeda's iraq organization, but reports are he became too radical even for al-qaeda, who cut all ties with him and his organizations isil earlier this year. the u.s. is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest or capture. second to the bounty an the al-qaeda leaderral doe. >> wednesday outside the city of ban gassy, six people were

injured and a driver killed. security officials say the attack targeted the general. he has been leading an offensive against islamic fighters dominating libya's political scene. his troops have bombed their camps in recent weeks. a suicide bomber hit the same army checkpoint in december, killing 13 soldiers. >> tendings are flaring along the bored every of rwanda and the democratic republic of congo. five soldiers were killed sunday, both sides blaming the other for starting this fight. the two countries have been at odds for years. the u.n. accused rwanda of supporting the rebels in the democratic republic of congo. >> india's new prime minister said the country must protect the rights of women. in his first speech to particlement, he said his government would act immediately to respect and ensure women's security. his comments come in the rape and hanging of two girls two weeks ago. the appeal comes after members

of the girl's families claim police have not investigated the crimes thoroughly. >> president obama's house majority leader's message of the immigration reform debate is discussed. >> although it was a shock to see mr. cantor lose, nobody predict that had, even the person who won the election. definitely was not because of the issue of immigration. our opinion is he lost because

he didn't take care of his district and the base and he never really was clear in terms of how he felt about immigration reform. we hope and expect that the leadership of the republican don't use this as another new excuse for not getting the issue of immigration resolved. >> those will say this is why the immigration has been derailed. is it a scapegoat? >> bottom line is the republican party has used all kinds of excuses for not addressing this issue. we approach shortly a few days, one year ago, the senate passed a bipartisan bill and the house has not been willing to take this issue on. i just think that mr. boehner has in his hands the political party needs this issue to be resolved and our community is waiting and we're not going to

continue waiting. we're going to continue fighting until we get this issue resolved. if the republicans fail to act, then we're going to ask the president to do the right thing. >> let's talk about numbers here. 62% of registered voters favor a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already living in the u.s. and 17% favor permanent resident status, although not in the path to citizenship. with numbers like that, why hasn't more been done. do you think there is a chance that something will be done this year when you look at numbers like that. i think that something is going to be done. we're going to continue working on it. we have given that line to the end of july. hopefully we start seeing something quickly, being introduced in the house and can start discussing this issue in a very serious way. the public engeneral and the voters are in favor of immigration reform. we should not use what happened

in virginia with a small group of people in a very conservative congressional district, we need to look at the country as a whole and the political party on the republican side want to have a real shot to go to the white house, they need to decide are they afraid of the tea party or are they going to be respectful of the new growing latino immigrant community, making more and more their voices heard at the ballot box. >> thank you for joining us. >> there is concern this morning about conditions at an immigrant detention center in arizona. it has taken in more than 300 undocumented children in recent weeks. aljazeera's jennifer london has the story. >> when you're this close to the mexico-arizona border and you see children wearing camouflage backpacks, it usually means one thing, they're getting ready to

try and cross illegally into the u.s. with only the clothes on their back and a few possessions in their bag. >> over the past few months, aljazeera has witnessed dozens of these children and teenagers, most under the age of 17, make the desperate crossing. they are fleeing gang violence and crushing poverty in central america. countries like el salvador, has not doors and guatemala. the wave peeked this past weekend, overwhelming customs and border protection. buses arrive almost daily at this makeshift detention center in nogales, arizona, turning immigration enforcement into a humanitarian crisis and diplomats from the three countries are angry. >> you have these children in one place restricted, every movement is restricted, no, it's not a place for a child. >> the honorary consul general for honduras tuesday spent the better part of seven hours

meeting with the 368 honduran children corralled inside. >> you have children all over the place, still sleeping on the floor, very thin mattresses. they told me they were going to order mattresses. they're still waiting for them. they have no clothing for the children, so showers can't be used. >> the consul for el salvador also visited. >> these are not appropriate conditions for minors. there is a lack of hygiene. the young people aren't finding the best conditions to get a good night's sleep. they've gone six days without bathing. >> the question of why large numbers of minors are flooding into the u.s. now have yet to be

answered. >> that's the question everybody wants to know and i don't have a good answer. i know honduras pretty well and like many other of our neighbors, we've been facing challenges for the last few years. the numbers are there, they don't lie, but why the reason they're coming now, i don't know. >> for now, the children are caught between two countries, the one they wanted to leave and the united states, which is struggling to care for them and may ultimately deny them a place here. >> aljazeera, know dallas, along the u.s.-mexico border. >> arizona governor jan brewer is expected to tour the facilities today. >> a trade group is suing seattle over the $15 an hour minimum wage. international franchise association said a plan to raise the minimum wage should be blocked because it violates federal and state laws. the complaint argues seattle discriminates against its members by treating them as large businesses, despite independently owned and operated as a small business. the city's plan is expected to

be gradually phase said in starting next year. >> detroit's general pension fund will be asking its members to take a cut. 18,000 workers and retirees would have to agree to the 4.5% reduction in monthly pension checks as part of a city restructuring plan that would include the requirement for an oversight committee to watch over investments for the next 20 years. a trial is scheduled for august. >> a new report due today from the senate home land security committee said radioactive material that could be used in a terrorist attack is often left in unsecured areas. "the new york times" reporting investigators found radioactive chunks of industrial metal protected by nothing more than padlocks in some u.s. nuclear facilities. four trucks carry radioactive material have been stolen since 2006. >> in brazil, union workers at rio de janeiro's airport are going on strike just hours before the opening match of the world cup, demanding pay raises

and better wages during the month long soccer tournament. union officials say the stoppage won't affect world cup travelers. around 500,000 tourists will visit rio de janeiro during the world cup. >> in sao paulo, workers are putting the finishing touches on the stadium. >> the world cup stadium here is about 25 kilometers outside the city center, so it's expected that the vast major city of the 61,000 fans coming to watch the opening match here will arrive ve. >> train for metro. this is the main metro station here at the stadium, it's already being decorated in the spirit of the world cup, this is the official world cup match, fans gathering to get a glimpse of it. just outside the stadium, you can see how much last minute work is still being done, construction crews polishing the

stadium, getting last minute things on the outside ready. critics and pessimists point to scenes like this as poor planning by the government and that brazil is really rushing to get ready for this. the government says these are just minor last minute adjustments and the government says as soon as the first ball is kicked, there will be so much excitement here that none of this other stuff will matter, that the stadium ultimately will be ready to host the matches. >> 57,000, that's how many army soldiers will be deployed all over the country, providing security for this world cup. they'll be providing, guarding hotels to airports to stadium. here at the stadium in apaul low, there are several hundred troops inside right now, doing a final security lockdown. >> inside the stadium, this is where the eyes of the football world will be tuned to thursday afternoon local time when brazil

kicks off in the word cup, they're putting on the final touches on the pitch. this will be 61,000 people packed arena here. outside the stadium, we're starting to see excitement build, tourists starting to show up from around the world, as well as some fans kicking balls, sort of exchanging pleasantries, really getting into the brazil football spirit here finally seven years after brazil was awarded this world cup, they are now just hours away from kickoff. >> more than 100,000 police are being mobilized around the country for the game. >> astronauts on the international space station are getting in on the football fever, cheering on their teams from 230 miles above earth. even without the help of gravity, the guys showed off

impressive moves, can i being the ball around. there it is, a save. the games are set to begin this afternoon. >> the new york rangers kept a stanley cup on ice for at least one more game, squeaking out a 2-1 victory in game four last night against the los angeles kings. with that win, the rangers avoided becoming the first team to be swept in the finals since 1998. back to the west coast where the rangers had success scoring in games one and two but lost in overtime. >> still alive. >> still alive. >> congress is finding itself in a food fight. lawmakers are battling over whether to let schools have access to healthier food options. options options

learn from your last incarceration >> some prisoners try to get it right >> i'm trying to go to school and get a nice job >> you're only 22, you can turn this around... >> and some just don't >> he actually told people in the halfway house, that he was amazed that they had given him parole >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america

we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america.

>> the house is gorgeous from the front, right? >> yeah, not so much there. >> teetering on the edge. this is a vacant luxury house, thank goodness vacant, about to fall in the lake near dallas. the bluff it was built on gave way. the first signs of this problem showed a year ago. the house doesn't pose a risk, it's a gated community, all the you at this time are shut off. their just waiting for that gorgeous house to fall into the water. that's all you can do. >> just ahead, how some are helping the homeless earn a dollar and show off their creative side. >> school lunches have often been the target of students' scorn. 31 million children are fed every day for free or reduced price. the white house is ready for a fight over what's in those

lunches. the house of representatives may vote today on the agriculture appropriations bill for face asking 2015. it includes additional funding for schools to implement healthier lunches, but allows schools that can prove they are losing money a one year waiver out of the healthy school lunch standards championed by the first lady. the president is threatening a veto. congressman sam far joins us this morning. congressman, thank you so much for your time. 90% of schools have already met that standards. what evidence do we have that kids are actually benefiting? >> well, the obesity in children is going down in the united states. it's been very effective. this new program of getting healthy food into schools is essential for national security purposes, because so many children can't qualify to get

into the military because of obesity and other health problems. the health is at risk. it's not rocket science nothing we have to begin feeding people healthier foods to have a healthier society and should begin in the schools. >> there's a study that found the standards are increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, but also finds that 60% of vegetables serve said with the school lunches are thrown out. that is compared to 75% before the standards went into effect. 40% of the fruit is thrown out. is there more schools can do to make sure those foods are more palatable to kids. >> that is called food waste. what this debate has done is gotten the word into the vocabulary. 60% of the prepared food in the united states gets thrown out in

restaurants and in cafeterias, even in their own homes. and here in the congressional cafeteria. we ought to be concerned about that. the way you do it is you make meals proportion anotherly so you don't throw out the waste and make them healthier and exciting to eat. some of that's learning. we are used to growing up in the home where parents say you've got to eat your investigate bess. it's got to be in our feeding programs. >> i want to get to what the critics say. arkansas republican representative rick crawford is one of the republicans challenging this mandate. he has said they were hungry later in the day. he claims this of the schools in his state have had to dip into general fund revenue to pay for healthier lunches.

>> they ought to be concerned about how schools are being run. i represent a lot of schools in california and go to them and kids are adjusting. there is lots of i don't want to eat that stuff. this is a teaching moment, it's an opportunity to show that the calorie counts and all kinds of things you can do with math and science and burning off calories and what kind of food is healthy for you, that's what the schools are doing and they're going to each other to say what are you doing to overcome the problem where kids are throwing out the food, how do you change the food? it's using the same vegetables prepared in a different way. there's all kinds of exciting opportunities. look what's going on on the food networks on television. food is heart of the mainstream of america. we have to not sell our children's health to the junk food industry. people who want to take the easy way out want waivers. they don't want to change.

change is difficult and they don't like the fact that we've got to do something different, something we didn't do yesterday. kids are throwing the food away. we use that moment to make it an exciting opportunity to teach something new and exciting. >> congressman sam far joining us from washington this morning. >> he makes a good point that change is difficult. >> it's hard to get the kids to eat the broccoli if you've also got cheese bread and nachos. cultural change takes time, i assume that was the congressman's point. >> a diet high in protein may prevent a stroke. scientists in china compared those who aid high protein diets a understand found high animal protein diets cut the risk of stroke 20%. doctors saline protein, fish and

chicken provide a greater benefit than vegetables. some warn high protein meats can also be high in saturated fat, posing a different threat. >> parts of the u.s. will be dealing with welt weather, other growing fire risks. meteorologist nicole mitchell is here. let's bring her in on that. >> it would be nice if we could just do an exchange. >> i know! big a big fan to blow the rain that way. >> we haven't figured that out. if i could, i'd be making a lot more money, switch the weather around and give people what they wanted. the lingering boundary into the northeast, that in general with high humidity levels is going to cause unsettled weather the next couple days. another system through the midwest already caused a history of stronger storms, high winds especially yesterday and could do that again for portions of the southern plains anywhere from texas to mississippi, we'll watch for that slight arriving. showers and storms in general along the rest of that line

willower humidity as we get toward the weekend. a lot of people will be happy about that. this was the fire risk i was talking about. the heat evidently has been on. we've seen that recently in the southwest, places like las vegas, 101. we've had the high winds picking up recently, so the fire threat area has been expand, now anywhere from parts of oregon farther to the north than we saw yesterday and all through parts of new mexico, very risky this time of year. this is when people start playing with the fireworks. this is kicking up surf moving away from the mexico, a category four hurricane and we're only early in the pacific season. this is our third storm and second major hurricane out here. it's been active in that part of the world. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> a new exhibit in chicago is helping the city's homeless tap into their inner artist. this is also putting some money in their pockets.

>> mike becker rolls along chicago streets in a wheelchair. >> that is a cool shot of the john hancock right now. i like to get the sun behind the flowers a lot. >> a spinal cord injury two decades ago left becker partially paralyzed and unable to work, but six years ago, the 49-year-old discovered a talent for photography. >> i'm from chicago. there's a lot of things i like i see, i'm wheeling everywhere. i had things in my mind that i would like to take pictures of. >> becker is one of 60 homeless chicagoans who's paragraphs were on sale at the exhibit. >> i like the rain and the black and white's my favorite. >> catholic charities started the program 12 years ago, giving disposable cameras to a handful of guests who attend dinners, creating a creative outlet.

>> i feel like all i do is blow dust off. >> volunteer coordinator otherwises the exhibits and is astounded by the talent she's seen. >> if you know some of our guests, you know they have profound troubles, but they really have an eye, you know, so being poor or being or struggling doesn't mitigate against creativity. >> kelly fitsgivens is a regular attendee, purchasing several exhibits. >> they are proud and excited just to share how they see chicago. >> each print costs $100. the artist gets 70% have the money. catholic charities gets the rest to defray the cost of the probable and buy more cameras to give to diners. becker generally makes around $1,000 at each show, enough to help him buy his own camera and equipment. he feels it's really not about the money. >> it's about just being here,

being alive, having fun. >> and finding a place in the city that beck are says always inspires him. >> i think i'd save this shot. >> aljazeera, chicago. >> starting this week, the photographs will be available for sale on line. >> tomorrow morning on aljazeera america, it was called the trial of the century. twenty years later, we'll look back at the o.j. simpson verdict. >> when you see the pictures, you know the exact moment of the trial. that trial revolutionized how television networks created courtroom dramas. that's tomorrow morning on aljazeera america. thank you for joining us this morning. >> stay with aljazeera throughout the day as the word cup games get underway in brazil. 4:00 this afternoon, the first matches start. we'll see you back here tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. at 7:00 a.m.

>> hello from aljazeera headquarters in doha. this is the news hour. coming up in the next 60 minutes, they already have two major cities, now rebel fighters in iraq say baghdad is next. the government scrambles to take control. the fighting trigger add huge exodus, hundreds of thousands have left their homes in fear. >> just hours to go, the countdown begins in