the emotional debate over whether psychological issues should be enough for the government to step in. the conversation conditions on i'm del walters in new york. these are the stories for you. the president is set to meet with the congressional leaders concerning the worsening situation in iraq. mary barr is going before congress answering questions about the millions of cars recalled by her company. this time a look at israel, strict laws on gun ownership.

we begin with the worsening crisis in iraq and how to spon. that's the topic today when president obama meets with top lawmakers at the white house. administration officials say that several options are on the table and how to deal with the islamic state of iraq or isil. no decision has been made. mike, the options are on the table, but there seems to be conflicting reports about what the president plans to do. >> that's absolutely right, del. all indications are that this is, obviously, a complicated situation and the white house is trying to sort it out. chuck hagel the secretary of defense is before the senate appropriations committee right now. he said as much. when you sort out all the sectarian strife and the geopolitics with iraq and iran, it's a delicate and difficult situation. this afternoon at 3:00 the top four congressional leaders coming to the oval office to try

to come to a decision about the situation in iraq still deteriorating. today president obama gets a visit from top congressional leadership. on the agenda is how he plans to deal with the islamic state of iraq. the president continues to weigh whether air strikes is an option. >> the president must kwiekly provide us with a strategy and a plan that addresses the threat posed by the insurgency. >> the challenge is what is in our interest, what are the consequences to us. >> the meeting comes as isil this morning has attacked the biggest oil refiny just 130 miles from baghdad. should that refinery fall, it would strike another blow by the sunni militants, this time financially. it accounts for 25% of iraq's oil output to fuel gas pumps and electricity throughout the country. this morning the prime minister called for unity to fight isil. >> we will teach them lessons

and attack them and hit them whenever and those who stand behind them. >> reporter: volunteers answer the calls to arms to defend baghdad, but before president obama offers anything more than protecting the american embassy in baghdad, he wants assurances from prime minister maliki, specifically a college for a more inclusive government, but some say that's not likely. a day after saying he's the problem, former secretary of state hillary clinton doubled down. >> if i were an iraqi of what persuasion, i would think hard about do i want maliki to be the prime minister? he has failed as a leader. >> reporter: del, you mentioned those conflicting reports this morning from nothing less than "the new york times" and "the wall street journal" oppose one saying air strikes on the table and one says air strikes are off the table. it's safe to say the administration is still trying to sort it out. we have a statement from the national security council this morning, saying just that, nothing is off the table except american boots on the ground. >> ahead of the meeting, what

are congressional leaders say this morning as they prepare to meet with the president later today? >> we heard from a number of congressional leaders including john boehner. he's trying to put the onus on the administration to come up with a plan. harry reid took to the floor and excoriated many republican critics including some of the conservatives who were the architects of the war in 2003 who were very critical of the president. chuck hagel is testifying before the senate appropriations committee today, and he talked about isil, that insurgent group in iraq. >> isil and the other terrorist groups, those affiliated with al qaeda all are a threat to all nations, all governments, certainly including us. >> reporter: against this a backdrop of public opinion "the wall street journal" and nbc out with a poll this morning, del. all-time low for the president's approval rate at 37%, and 57%

disapprove. del. >> mike viqueira for us. as you heard mike mention, that scathing review of the obama administration by former vice president dick cheney writing in an editorial rarely has a president been so wrong about so much and so mm going to to say he's unaware or indifferent to the fact that an insurgent al qaeda presents a clear danger to the united states of america. that prompted this push-back from eliot engel. >> i don't think dick cheney has right to tell anyone to do. we're paying the price of the bush administration's failing in iraq. while he's intiened to his opinion, we shouldn't listen to it. >> we are on the brink one month. this time it's eliot engel speaking what would be a grave mistake in your opinion moving forward. >> boots on the ground and we

don't and what it will lead to what is essentially a sectarian war we can't control. if we haven't learned that lesson from our incursion into iraq, we haven't learned anything. >> iraq's prime minister says his forces are gaming control of the situation pushing back the militants from isil. he says there's no divide in the country. >> translator: we have absorbed the momentum of the set back and started the counteroffense, regaining the initiative and striking back. we will continue dealing heavy blows to militants. >> despite the prime minister's assurances, isil advanced further today taking control of the biggest oil refinery. the iraqi army has regained control of the site. it was that first operating refinery to fall to the rebels, and it's less than a three-hour drive from baghdad.

with balgs come z casualties. we have that part of the story. >> iraq ace par is mourn their dead. his family is shia, and his job was to deliver food to soldiers. last thursday he was delivering breakfast when he came under attack and was killed by the islamic state of iraq and lelvant. his brother says the people that killed him aren't muslims. >> translator: according to the prophet, no muslim can kill another muslim. my brother didn't deserve to die. he was exceptional and kind. >> reporter: despite the obvious dangers, a large number of people are registering their interest in joining the iraqi army, especially after the shia cleric said it was the duty of all iraqis. it's up to the authorities to call up those they think are

eligible. they're not giving out exact numbers but say hundreds of thousands want to be recruited. the vast majority are shia in the south of the country. it's not just the young. muhammad is a grandfather. he answered the call and registered. his grandsons are too young to join but say they want to fight. after giving his details to the army he waits and says he's willing to do anything asked of him. >> translator: this is you're duty. it's our jihad to fight. i will do anything they ask of me. my sons are the save. if i lose them or my grandsons, it is a blessing. i only wish i had more sons to give. >> reporter: despite the religious authorities and the government saying the call to fight is the duty of all iraqis, sectarian politics is still an issue. many political parties and clerics frame this as a sectarian war, and that means sunnis in predominantly shia

baghdad are worried. this is a sunni neighborhood and getting people to talk to us has been a real challenge. both the isil and sunni rebels say they're fighting for sunni islam, and that's a real issue for people here. they're nervous speaking about it. whether it's indifferent or pro or anti, they don't want to speak out because it's seen as dangerous. al jazeera, baghdad. and there has been push-back from libya today. the minister of justice says the arrest of a key suspect in the 2012 benghazi attacks is, quote, an attack on libyan sovereignty. that was the first from katalla, the first suspect arrested for the 2012 attack on the u.s. embassy there. it left four americans dead including american ambassador chris stevens. he was taken into custody on sunday. ukraine's president is calling for a cease-fire. he's outlined his plan to putin

in a phone call today. it includes amnesty for fighters that lay down weapons as well as tielter control over the russian-ukrainian border. and there is breaking news at this hour out of washington, d.c. the u.s. patent office there canceling the washington redskins trademark registration. the patent office calling it disparaging to native-americans. the case before the trademark trial on appeal board was filed on behalf of five native-americans. gm ceo mary barr is back on capitol hill today facing tough questions about the automaker's ignition switch recall. that defect is tied to 50 crashes and 13 deaths. employees are said to have known about the faulty switches as far back as 13 years ago, but the first recall wasn't issued until february of this year. lisa stark is in washington on capitol hill. lisa, round two for mary barr. what do lawmakers want to hear

this time around? >> reporter: last time they heard very little because the ceo kept deflecting questions say let's wait for the investigation. that investigation is now done and paints a troubling picture of a company where no one took responsibility really for safety. mary barr today called the report deeply troubling. she apologized to the families. she insisted that she is determined to change the way general motors does business. >> until these problems are resolved, as i told our employees, i'm not afraid of the truth. i'm not going to accept business as usual as gm. it's time, in fact, it's past time to insist on total accountability and make sure vital information is shared across all functions of the company. >> reporter: lawmakers are a bit skeptical the changes will happen. the chair of the committee, representative tim murphy, pointed out he could not believe of the 200,000 employees of gm that no one, no one over all

these years had the integrity to go, hey, we're making a mistake here. the questioning continues at this hour. >> lisa, the families of the victims of the crashes are holding a news conference in washington today as well. what are they calling for specifically about compensation from general motors and the victims and the families. >> reporter: it was an emotional news conference and they're sitting in the hearing room with pictures of their loved ones posted up on the walls. they want compensation, but more than that many want criminal charges. we heard from laura christian. she is the mother, the birth mother of a young girl who died in a cobalt accident in 2005. here's what she had to say. >> i believe certainly that the top attorneys and as well quite a few of the other higher level executives had some knowledge about this. that's my personal belief. that's something that i want to see addressed, because it seems like the report kind of did from the mid-level down. they kind of left off the top

tiers. it didn't seem to address them whatsoever. i sincerely hope that they hold the people that knew and did nothing criminally liable. i mean, if you or i went out and killed somebody, we'd be held to the fullest extent of the law. g mu shouldn't be held any different. >> reporter: the department of justice is, in fact, investigating general motors. del, for the compensation, mary barr said today that that is in the works, and se hopes to begin offering compensation to the victims and their families starting august 1st. back to you. >> lisa stark for us live on capitol hill today. thank you very much. also on capitol hill a hearing will be held on that kroefrs controversial prison swap involving bowe bergdahl. they're set to hear testimony from former military officials. one testifying today served with bergdahl in afghanistan. bergdahl, you may recall, spent five years in captivity until his release last month in exchange for those five men being held in guantanamo bay.

the execution of a death row prisoner scheduled for today in florida, this marks the first time prisoners have been put to debt since april's botched execution in oklahoma. last night 59-year-old marcus we willens was executed in georgia. he was sentenced for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. john winfield got a lethal injection in the state of missouri. up next, we continue our series taking a look at guns around the world, looking at israel and the strict gun control laws that citizens there must follow. low.

palestinian president abbas says he's working with israel trying to find the missing teenagers. there were more arrests overnight in the west bank. israeli forces picked up more than 60 palestinians including 50 members of hamas as they search homes and businesses. netanyahu believes that hamas is

behind those abductions. one of the missing teens has dual citizenship in america and israel. those teenagers disappeared almost a week ago. well, the issue of gun control has been debated in america for years, but in israel citizens don't have a say about who can and can't own a weapon. we have the story of israeli guns. it's the second part of our series "guns around the world." >> reporter: at the beginning of israel's work week, the commuters are all armed. this is sunday morning outside jerusalem's central bus station. soldiers off for the weekend are headed back to base traveling on public transport with their 44 millimeter grenade launchers, sniper rifles and m-16s, but in israel bearing arming is not a right. if you ask israel's gun sellers, business has never been worse. >> it's very, very hard to get the license. many, many people want to buy, but they can't. >> reporter: he runs jerusalem's

oldest shooting range. 20 years ago he sold 1,000 guns a year. today he's lucky to sell 100. the few customers he has are the only people in israel who are allowed to own guns, reserve duty officers, security guards, and residents of israeli settlements in the occupied west bank. isra israel's settler is moving to the states. he's come to this shop because while he's in the u.s., he can't keep his gun in his house. he secures it in his shop. if he didn't, he could lose his license. >> if anybody can get a gun, there would have been a lot of chaos around here. >> reporter: that's one of the country's strict regulations. before you buy a gun, you must have no criminal record and a doctor needs to declare your mental health. while you have a gun, you must pass regular firing tests. if you lose your gun, it's a criminal offense. you might think a country with

high security threats would be heavily armed, but in israel the idea is to limit the number of weapons as much as possible. >> professional people will actually know what to do and how to react in the situation out there. >> reporter: even the man who would benefit from fewer regulations calls the u.s. gun laws a mistake. >> in america if they do the way in israel, what israel does, i'm sure it would be safe. >> reporter: so the soldiers will stay armed. the civilians will stay unarmed, and israel's per capita rate of gun deaths will likely hold steady at less than a fifth of america's. in the next part of our series we focus on the issue of guns in the u.s. we look at the balance between gun rights and gun violence. coming up on al jazeera america, amazon slooking to smell their own smartphones, but some tech experts say apple and samsung need not worry.

experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news. vé

welcome back to al jazeera

america. i'll del walters. these are the headlines this hour. the president meeting with top lawmakers at the white house to discuss the worsening crisis in iraq. several options are said to be the on table on how to deal with isil. the president is urging the iraqi government to take steps to mend the sectarian fighting and have a more inclusive government. iraq's prime minister is saying his forces are getting control of the situation pushing back against the militants from isil. he insists there's no sectarian divide. militants did advance today briefly taking control of iraq's largest oil refineries. gm's ceo is taking questions on capitol hill right now. we want to return now to our breaking news story. the u.s. patent office canceling the washington redskins trademark registration. the patent office calling the football team's name disparaging

to native-americans. john terret joins us with more. >> this story won't go away. powerful people want the redskins name changed and it's happening slowly. we saw the president speak up against it and harry reid. we've seen 100 senators or 50 senators, whatever it was, writing to say, you got to change the name. now the u.s. patent and trademark office canceling six of the new patents applied for by the redskins team. they say it's disparaging to native-americans, and therefore they can't support it. it was filed on behalf of five native-americans before the board. does it mean they have to change their name? no, it doesn't. it limits the amount of money the redskins and nfl can make. it hits the wallets, but it's worth making the point, del, this happened on no fewer than 11 occasions in 1992, and the

redskins have won on appeal. it's another indication when you add in the president, harry reid and the senate letter and other people saying time to change the name, and dan schneider says we're not changing the name and put it in caps. he must wonder what's going on. >> former players are also saying they believe now that the team is disparaging as well. >> but not the fans, and the fans, of course, are overwhelmingly african-americans. they're not calling for the name to be changed and sing hail to the redskins every sunday. >> putting the nail right there on the head. john, thank you very much. all eyes on amazon today. the online retailer set to unveil a different and new type of smartphone. we're in seattle with more. hello, alan. i guess the question is right now, what is this new product shaping up to be? >> reporter: well, del, that's what we're going to find out here pretty soon a little later

on this morning. of the persistent rumors are that it's a smartphone that amazon is going to roll out here branded with the amazon name, of course. we've got a little streetside bistro scene set up here. the coe -- ceo and founder is on hand to present the device. a lot of rumors about what it involves in terms of devices on the phone and the capabilities and why the company is doing it and what sector to compete in and we will know more in a couple of hours. 250 million customers around the world, amazon has already made market for the device. apple iphones and samsung android devices are the heavyweights. if the seattle-based e-tailers wants to compete with them, it better be pretty slick. >> android has a stronghold on this market, and apple is doing very well in terms of the

high-end with the iphone. amazon is coming in really as a late entrant. >> reporter: todd bishop with geekwire.com says this rollout has been years in the making. this teasing promotional video hints at a device with features not seen before. >> it's really cool. how does it do that? >> reporter: invitees received a copy of amazon ceo's favorite children's book with a note about being different is being better. many tech analysts say the company isn't interested in challenging apple or samsung for device supremacy or market share, but to give customers a direct handheld link to shop for groceries, consumer goods and more on amazon. >> amazon wants its hand in your wallet. at the present times to reach out and say, hey, it's going to be extremely easy for you to buy content for us, stream movies, stream music, and this device is

one more way to do that. >> reporter: so the basic concept is that old economics formula where you give people the razor, and then you sell them razor blades forever. that, we think, is what this phone might be. it will be phone, it will be handheld device, and it will also be a means by which people can shop very quickly, people can get downloads of amazon-branded content, et cetera. here's the book, the cheer little children's book that jeff sent to us all with a printed notice with his autograph on there. apparently his favorite book, and we expect him to be on hand and enlighten us all about what this new device will be. >> alan, fascinating he didn't unveil it in the "washington post" because he owns the newspaper now. we will stay tuned. thank you very much, alan. i'm meteorologist steve warren with the forecast here.

looking at the california drought, the new numbers continue to come in. 49% of historical capacity. below average, and they will continue to drop until we get those fall storms hopefully. the storms have been below average and the moisture is below average, but certainly looking at levels continuing to drop. no additional rainfall despite heavy rain in california and the strong storms over the midwest. still dry over the next three days with the predicted rainfall. a little cooler, though. the overall weather pattern shows this trough developing out west, and here's this bermuda high. it pumps a lot of moisture and heat into the southeast and all the way up to the mid-atlantic states. the temperatures out west, though, are cool. only into the mid-40s. actually dropping into the 30s in some areas, so the cooler weather is here. you can't get that moisture in to areas that need it. the northeast, temperatures heating up. heat advisories in effect as the numbers climb above 90 degrees

and already there in washington, d.c. look at the afternoon highs in the mid-90s. not quite used to the heat then, and take precautions with prolonged activity outside. the heat and humidity affect how the body cools itself. there's some storms out there that try to move through yesterday and they weaken through pennsylvania and new england. where we see the stormy weather is on the boundary where we have the cooler weather up north, the warmer weather to the south and this front stalled out. severe weather is the risk today with more possibilities for wind, hail and even some rotation in these storms. we had a number of tornadoes yesterday. the threat today is that same strong, severe weather plus heavy rain that could lead to some flooding. del. >> thank you very much. we told you about it yesterday, that staff that at one time cost a penny. that stamp sold at auction for a record $9.5 million. an anonymous bidder had the winning bid. the 19th century stamp was printed back in 1956.

not the first time it set a record. back in 1980 it sold for $935,000. thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. >> a new partnership between coffee giant, starbucks, and arizona state university, has offered thousands of workers making cappuccinos and lattes their own higher end. that's "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. all of the big-think discussions