welcome to al jazerra america, i am del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. i war of words in washington over what the white house will or will not do in iraq. they are expected to speak on the subject in just a few minutes. meanwhile a tug-of-war over iraq's largest oil refinery playing out on the field of battle. the end of a major industry in albania. ♪ ♪

at this hour we are a waiting poured from the white house has to what the president plans to do in iraq, all of this on a day when the cries let that country has only grown worth with both sides fighting for control of a major oil refinery. mike viqueira has been following the story. before i come to you i want to play sound from senator john mccain on the floor of the senate just moments ago. >> what has the united states of america done? told we see on the front page of washington post. u.s. sees risks in iraqi air strikes. the president of the united states going golfing and is now fiddling while iraq burns. >> clearly this has turned in to a partisan war of words in wash long before any shots have been fired or for that matter planes launched. >> reporter: it's been going for for quite a while now.

the president gave a comprehensive speech a month ago. just like the one that john mccain offered yet again on the floor of the senate today. republicans are trying to put the onus on president obama to come up with a plan. there is no question about it. of course mitch mcconnell left a meeting of the so-called big four congressional leaders here yesterday afternoon and went back to the capital and said the president told them he wasn't going to be consulting with congress if, in fact, he were to go ahead with military action in iraq. the truth of the matter is, del, republican leaders don't want to put it to a vote on the floor of either of house of senate. that's not a good vote for their members either. it's a sticky situation both politically. to say nothing of the situation on the ground, del. >> mike, we heard from speaker john boehner today, let's listen to what he had to say and talk about that on on the back end. >> until we know what the overall strategy is, we don't know what could be effective in reducing this violence. there is not one -- there is not

one fees this. and so i am hopeful that the president today will outline a strategy for dealing not only with iraq, but the spread of violence throughout the middle east. >> so mike, as i read the tee ta leafs is it say to say the only thing agree or is no boots ago? >> reporter: that's true. i am glad you brought that up. the reports over the wire service over the last few minutes leading up to this appearance by the president which incidentally was delayed 45 minutes while the president meets with his top national security advisers in the base. west wing just behind me in the white house situation room. they are discussing the options, but some of the reports now that the president will go ahead and do what's been talked about behind the scenes over the course of the last several days and that is send some sort of special forces unit in. said to be green berets in this instance. a commando unit and yet it's been described leading up to today, and we do have to wait to hear what the president has to say, as a role of advising and training. and so i think one of the

questions you are going to hear of the president, when he does appear in the white house briefing room in just a few minutes, is this is a commando unit and the popular imagination anyway, they engage, come in to contact with the enemy, how does that square with the pledge that we have heard time and time again not to put boots on the ground? now, that is the one caveat you are absolutely right, that the whitehouse has put forward time and time again over of course of the last week or so, when conflicting reports have emergeed in the press about is the president going to go through with limited air strikes? will there be limited air strikes? has he taken air strikes off the table altogether? the white house has not tipped their hand only insisting on the no boots on the ground line in the sand if you will probably not a very apt metaphor considering we are talking about iraq. it's a complicated situation, del, we don't have to remind ourselves of the sectarian strive there the sectarian nature of it. the rivalries which is related to the sectarian strive between

iran and iraq. including many in the president's own party, the democratic party looking at this playing footie with the iranians. now we also have members of the president's only party, diane feinstein among them, elliot angle the top democrat on the house foreign affairs committee all calling for nouri al-maliki to go. al-maliki has come under a lot of criticism as we have well documented from the administration, his ineffectiveness, unwilling to bring sunnies in to his government, del. >> mike viqueira for us at the white house, i will let you breakaway because i know you have to get back to the briefing room. we reminds you that we continue to watch the situation in washington and will bring you the president's comments live when he makes those comments. meanwhile, the comment that rages on in iraq at this hour including a crucial battle over the country's largest oil are you finery. iraq's government forces saying they control of the plant. however the sunni led rebels say they still hold the areas that

surround it. that refinery, by the way, supplies most of the fuel that is used in iraq. al jazerra's omar is in baghdad with the very latest. >> reporter: government forces are in full control of the country's biggest refinery in the town of baiji in dag dad. they say they have killed dessens of fight, from the isil along with assume i rebels. sources in the town also confirm that the fighters withdrew from the refinery. now, the refinery remains shut and there is severe shortage of fuel and cooking oil. further north the government say they are making gains. saying they control three areas, however rebel rebels did rebelsy they are in full control of the town which lies in the northwestern part of iraq. in another development, prime minister nouri al-maliki has

ordered to pay over $500 per month for volunteers who join the iraqi army. >> meanwhile, that fighting, the fighting in iraq has thousands of residents there looking to find safe haven. among those who got out of mosul as isil fighters took over a group of christians, here is their story. >> reporter: they hastily fled when mosul fell in in the today hands of the rebels they are christians and they feel vulnerable and abandoned. >> translator: we received indirect messages from the people who occupy mosul, that they have nothing to do with us and not to feel threatened. their target is different. what does it mean? we don't know. what will happen next? we don't know. the syrian example does not promise anything good. >> reporter: many among displaced still worry. they prefer to remain anonymous in fear of retaliation. the town is in the so-called disputed territories. but part of the province. it rely on his mosul for

services and basic necessities. and what happens there has a direct impact here. and like in mosul, w5u9e water d electricity were cut off a few days ago. the only water available is salty and undrinkable. during the hot summer days, tempers are high. >> translator: where is nouri al-maliki? where is the world? take us out of here. we don't want to live here anymore. every day we have to change location. what is the solution? >> reporter: since the sunni rebellion began over a week a ago, the town lives like an isolated enclave. people are on their own. here too the army pulled out. there is some local police because they are actually from this area. the kurdish forces, stepped in, but the presence of the sunni rebels just a few kilometers away from here is worrying everybody. the fears are common among the many villages in towns are all ethnicities that straddle the border between the kurdish ring and you want rest oregion and t.

it's a thousand kilometer as long formed ahead of the u.s. pull out in 2010. >> translator: the iraqi army is only present on the last 50-kilometers near the iranian border. nine sunni rebels have taken their positions and base all along the line. >> reporter: the town formed it's own militia a few years ago, unlikely armed forces that works with security forces to protect its town and churches. >> translator: we know everyone here, police, maybe 100 people. we are 150 1500 strong and we he to protect our homes. >> reporter: but the men admit they could not fend off any outside attack. that might explain why half of the community has already fled. al jazerra. meanwhile, in afghanistan, taliban suicide bombers attacked a nato outpost there today. dozens of trucks were destroyed. officials saying the attack happened near a compound near the pakistani border. more than 30 trucks and other supplies were destroyed in the following explosions. nato using that border crossing

to resupply its troops in afghanistan. in pakistan, tens of thousands of people who live in the north are now leaving their homes trying to avoid a military campaign. the army targeting anti--government fighters. owe storm uh-huhmore from the pe many are now heading. >> reporter: they left on foot when no help arrived and bombs kept falling around them. these are some of the thousands of residents of the tribal area trying to reach safety. pakistan's military says it will continue its operation until the last fighter is fleshed out. he and his seven children have sought refuge in this school. he's worried about those left behind and angry at the lack of preparation. >> translator: there is no food. the government didn't make any plans. we have been suffering for months. our houses are being bombed, innocent people are dieing. we have nothing. >> reporter: almost every we spoke to who came to the town shared similar sentiments. some have also come to the

adjoining area after going through multiple checkpoints and searches. tribal areas disaster management and the pr provincial disaster management authorities say they are making arrangements for those being displaced. hundreds of trucks were allowed to go in to get those stuck inside. and those who came out, say the government's claims of providing free transportation were just that. the government also says it will provide every destitute family $70 a month as many have already sought shelter with relatives. but it isn't convincing those being made homeless. >> translator: this is cruel and unjust. i am an elder of the area. if they wanted to target foreign fighters, we would have gone with them. they should have come to us before sending jets to bomb us. >> reporter: the military says it's killed more than 200 fighters. mostly foreigners. media has not been given access to the area where the operation is being carried out. and those coming out say thousands who cannot afford transport, including the elderly, the sick and the wounded remain trapped between the taliban and the army.

al jazerra, on the north border. and later today, the president will award an afghan war veteran william carpenter with the nation's highest military honor. the marine corporal will receive the medal of honor for his brave any in afghanistan. he lost an eye and most of his jaw shielding his fellow soldiers from a taliban grenade blast back in tennessee. he will be the eighth living vet ranter wars in iraq and afghanistan to receive that award and we will bring that events to you live at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. as we indicated we ar we we areg word from president obama to speak about the situation in iraq. meanwhile, this, residents of south dakota getting an unwanted glimpse of a twitter yesterday. and there is more severe weathers never our forecast.

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today. these are the reports from yesterday, all of the storm damage combined mostly really around the dakotas with the tornadoes but there was plenty of wind and hail damage as women. video coming in from yesterday shows these tornadoes there, mainly north and south dakota, this was coming in from yesterday. certainly an active day with a number of tornado reports as well as wind and hail damage. but we may not see tornadoes today. there is a slight chance that some of these storms rotate, but wind and hail certainly the potential for the damage today. this is the radar plus the clouds now. we can see the storms firing up here across minnesota, down through iowa, there is still flash flood warnings in effect from all the rain that we have had yesterday and a watch remains in effect because the potential is there for some flash flatting. in the warm sector of this area of low pressure is where you get the severe weather over the dakotas yesterday. pushing to the east today. the threat is still there. not a large area, but pretty much from minnesota down through

iowa towards missouri is where you can give that severe weather poe 10 -- threat today. more severe wheather expected the risk from the storm prediction center and look what happens as the area of rain push to his the east, the storm lifts up towards the great lakes, so it will be calm here for the next few days across the northern plains but stormy still across the midwest friday and through the weekend. 24 tornado reports from north and south dakota this could be for the same storms not 24 individual tornadoes but reports coming in from the storm prediction center. the risk tonight is minnesota, south to missouri, through iowa, wind and hail are the primary threats today. radar plus clouds show the area of rain, cooler temperatures in the northwest, even some snow in the higher elevation this is in the mountains of the northwest has been reported. but the temperatures now climbing in to the 60s, still hot and humid across the southeast. del del. >> dave, thank you very much. again we continue to watch washington at this hour as we await word from president obama

as to what he plans do concerning the ric crisis that s unfoldsing in iraq. we are also watching the high court as the supreme court justices are expected to hand down rulings on the several major cases in the upcoming days, several decisions are on key issue like contraceptive mandates, free speech and recess appointments. usually the court continues until late june or early july. street battles today in the west back, as israel tries to find the three missing teenagers. thousands of israeli soldiers moving in to the west bank in recent days making more than 300 arrests while searching houses and vehicles for evidence. most of those being detained are affiliated with hu hamas israel believes they carried out the object duckses. police in albania scoring a real coup. lawrence lee has more. >> reporter: the smoke rising over the little village in southern albania is actually clouds of burnt marijuana,

destroyed by its manufacturers as the police moved in. after years and years of this place allegedly being out of the grasp of the authorities, it's now being held up as an example of how albania with its lawless reputation, may be turning a corner. overtime, this entire village has been taken over by drugs gangs running an absolutely massive cannibus operation worth billions every year. the position in mountains near the aid attic made it a perfect point from which to supply european drugs markets. but albania wants to join the european union and the government is eager to show what it will do. this police raid hardly seems coincidental timing. >> translator: we will bring normal at this and law and order to that region. this action will continuing to o the police are working on it.

they are fighting against armed militants. this shows not only our will, but also our ability to continue to fight against drug smuggling. >> reporter: so big was this operation that its value has been estimated at half the total wealth albania produces every year. the authorities say they will be going after similar drugs factories in the coming days. lawrence lee, al jazerra. we want to show you this impressive finale to the day-long cave rescue that was taking place. hundreds pulled together to pull the injured man out of the cavern. al jazerra's dominick kane has that story. >> reporter: a climb that should have taken 12 hours to complete end after 12 days. johan had lane seriously injured deep underground while hundreds of people tried to rescue him. literally meaning giant or massive thing, the cave network is more than a thousand meters

deep. at times wide open, at times narrower than the width of a man. it stretches for more than 19-kilometers underground. officials say the challenges they faced in rescuing johan were unprecedented. >> translator: ladies and gentlemen, i want to sound too dramatic, but i think one can say that during the last 12 days here at the mountain, we have managed to write a piece of alpine rescue history. >> reporter: what made the rescue so difficult was a combination of the depth of the cave, the extent of johan's injuries and his remoteness from the surface. rescuers could not use powered winches to lift him because of the risk if he banged against the walls during the ascent. instead, his stretcher had to be lifted by hand, slowly being brought to safety. the final stretch was more than 180 meters. johan was one of the explorers who discovered th network in 19.

ever since, he's gone back to research and as his hobby. at times he may have wondered if he would ever get out. but now, thanks to a multinational operation, he has. dominick kane, al jazerra. and coming up the reporters are lining up in washington, we are watching the white house right now awaiting word from the president too fast what the white house plans to do concerning the worsening crisis in iraq. stay with us, we'll be right back.

welcome back to al jazerra america. i am del walters in new york. these are your headlines at this hour. we are awaiting a statement from the president concerning the worsening crisis in iraq. he's meeting with his national security council to discuss the response as you can see the reporters are gathered and we'll bring you the comments live when he comes to the podium. iraqial prime minister nouri

al-maliki asking for help against the conflict there. the site of the country's largest oil refinery. the house republicans the leadership there set to vote for a new majority leader this afternoon. following the resignation of eric cantor who lost last week's primary election to a tea party candidate. he steps down from his post in july. ♪ ♪ well, all this week we have been focusing on the issue of guns and today we are asking the question why do more mass shootings happen here in the u.s. than any other country? paul brennan has some answers in the third part of our series guns around the world. >> we are an out lier. we are so much worse than the every other developed country. >> reporter: the numbers tell the story in 2003, among 23 developed countries, 80% of all

firearm deaths were in the united states. 86% of all women killed by firearms were american. and 87% of all children younger than 14 killed by firearms were, you guessed it, american. the reason says harvard's david hemmingway, is simple, the u.s. has more guns and weaker gun laws than anywhere else. >> all these other developed countries cannot understand the united states. they are bewildered why we continue to let people die unnecessarily. >> reporter: why brings us to the other thing no other country has, the second amendment, which, according to a supreme court ruling in 2008, constitutionally guarantees individual gun rights. but it hasn't always been that way says author joan. >> in '76, n.r.a. called the gun owners a patriot army, a rally to -- i mean, whoa, that's pretty head y stuff.

so anybody who attempts to restrict your ownership is a potential tyrant. someone who is taking away your freedom. the gun rights language has defined the debate. once you make a gun a symbol of freedom, it's beyond regulation. >> your right to have a gun should not infringe on my right to live. >> reporter: regulating guns cost john morse his job. he's a former police officer later elected to colorado state senate, where he helped pass new gun control measures following the columbine high school attack and the theater shooting in aurora, colorado. last year he was ousted by just 343 votes in the state's first recall election which featured heavy spending by the national rifle association. even so, morse says the tide is turning toward tougher gun laws. >> i do think we will get there. because this is just common sense. and you know, i mean, as the ahead i believe goes, you know,

americans will eventually do the right thing. they just have to do everything else first. >> reporter: for decades the n.r.a.'s party line has sounded a lot like what i heard from rich wyatt, a gun store owner in denver. >> more guns equals less crime. it's inevitable. it's proven throughout this country. >> what we can tell from the studies of the data is that that's completely wrong. is that where there are more guns there seems to be a the lot more gun crime. >> reporter: which brings us back to president obama's line about crazy people and mass shootings, in fact although they account for a fraction of the gun violence in the u.s. stopping these horrifying and high-profile crimes would surely make us feel safer. but the way the second amendment is interpreted today just about any american has access to deadly force any time they want it. paul, al jazerra, new york. and in an already crowded smart phone field, amazon says they have what it takes to

standout. the on lane retailer has come up with its own branded mobile device to challenge apple, samsung and htc. al jazerra was there for the unveiling. >> i am excited to tell you that the answer is yes. >> reporter: yes to finally entering the competitive mobile phone market. amazon founder and ceo presenting the fire phone in a gushing, self-congratulatory roll out. >> it's elegant and refined, uses premium materials. rubberized frame, gorilla glass on both both sides. >> reporter: some of the bells and whistles, free unlimited photo storage in the amazon cloud. a system of four censors allowing screen navigation with the tilt of a hand and 3d image being the firefly feature which identifies songs, movies and more than 100 million objects, many of them available for purchase on amazon. online tech editor todd bishop says the company is making a

strategic bet. >> whether or not they gain a lot of market penetration against' and going and samsung, this is going to be something that could potentially help their e-commerce engine and business. >> reporter: wish unsays time and the market will tell whether the phone goes beyond the gimmick stage and is embraced by consumers. it's not a low-price device as many analysts had predicted. $199 plus two years of at&t service, the fire phone has been in development for four years. >> for the longest time the smart phone segment has been very well served by a lot of other players. but once we got to the point where we started inventing things like dynamic perspective that give you the new 3d view and auto scrolling and firefly, we realized that we were onto a kind of recipe that was very different. >> reporter: and with 250 million current customers, the seattle-based e taylor has a natural base to target as new phone buyers. alan, s*, seattle, washington. and we want to thank you for

watching al jazerra america, i am del walters. again we continue to watch the developments in washington, we arweare a a awaiting word from president obama concerning the worsening crisis in iraq, when the president speaks we'll bring those comments to you live. >> it's a universal language. >> the latest album debuted at number 1 on world charts. eve is inspired by the suffering she has seen on her continent in darur's refugee camps. >> i had the voice in nigh hea . artist is dedicated to improving lives of girls in africa. the only thing i know as an african person that can education.