>> follow the journey as six americans face the immigration debate up close and personal. >> it's heartbreaking... >> i'm the enemy... >> i'm really pissed off... >> all of these people shouldn't be dead... >> it's insane... >> the borderland marathon only at al jazeera america >> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. a victory for hobby lobby. the supreme court says private companies can opt out of the contraceptive coverage in obamacare. the bodies of three israeli teens have been found in a palestinian city. and a new islamic state. the implications of a caliphate

in iraq. >> the u.s. supreme court handed down two top decisions on the final day of its session. high court has ruled today, that certain companies can refuse to pay with certain types of contraception. >> both in their churches and outside their chimps. clumps. churches. >> to deny their employees federally mandated benefits. >> lisa stark is in washington for us and lisa this is something of a blow to the president's signature health care law. tell us about the ruling.

>> this was perhaps the most closely watched case of the session, tony. it broke down under ideological lines. some companies can opt out and object to the religious mandate. hobby lobby owns something like 500 crafts stores around the country and has 13,000 employees. the company owners say their, beliefs would not allow them to cover plan b which this their view is like having an abortion. the court did find that closely held companies like this can claim a religious exemption from the obamacare mandate on contraceptives. laurie windham filed the case on behalf of hobby lobby. >> today's decision is a landmark decision for religions

religions -- religious freedom. the supreme court, recognized that american companies do not lose their fundamental rights when they open a family business. this victory against the unfunded manato mandate is likel americans who seek to live according to their consciences. >> reporter: now the court found that the law violates the religious freedom act, this is the first time the court has applied that law to for-profit companies. sent justice ginsburg called the ruling a potentially sweemg decision an the religious community is no not united on ts particular issue. here is harry knox. >> we are very, very disappointed that the court has decided that the religious feelings of one powerful boss

means more than the religious feelings of his employees who think and feel it is a morally good thick to have birth control in their lives. >> and tony as you can imagine, there is a lot of talk on social media and elsewhere, how this broke down. five male justices found that the company did not have to provide contraceptive coverage and female justices and justice bryer on thbreyer on the other . an attack on women, planned parenthood for example says the court is giving bosses the right to discriminate against women, and putting bosses in the bedroom. the other side, this is a victory for religious freedom and a defeat for what they

believe is the president's overreach on obamacare and a number of other issues, tony. >> what does this mean for hobby lobby employees? >> hobby lobby employees about 13,000 people nationwide. for female employees, although they will are able to get some kind of contraceptive coverage under their plan, they will not be able to get the coverage for what the owners believe would violate their religious beliefs. they would have to pay for that themselves there is some issue about the government stepping in and covering that, that remains to be scene. >> what about another significant case? tell bus that one. >> this is a case about union rights. it involved a woman in illinois, pamela harris. she takes care of her developmentally disabled son, she's paid by the government

through medicare as a home health aide. she was shocked she would have to join a union and pay fair share dues to support that union. she says she shouldn't have to join that union. and the supreme court agreed with her, that home health care workers do not have to pay to support a public employees union but for others members of the public employees union who benefit by their bargaining they will have to pay forto support that union but for home health care workers they do not. it is a setback for unions but not as sweeping a decision as had feared. tony. >> lisa stark, thank you. president obama said this afternoon that he will bypass congress to, deal with a rising tide ever unaccompanied minors entering the united states. mike viqueria, at the white

house. >> president obama took to the rose garden to make this announcement. basically, no specific steps to address the problem but he is asking congress for that. in the meantime he is asking for recommendations from his attorney general his homeland security secretary of what he can do by late summer to try to alleviate some of this, and move in a direction that congress refuses to move, to institute comprehensive immigration reform, in the meantime, the president says he is going to be redirecting some resources from the interior of the country. as many as 150 border patrol agents among them, down to the rio grande area, on america's border with mexico down in the rio grande valley. president obama was in the rose garden. this is a little bit more of what he has to say.

>> i take executive action only when we have a serious problem. a serious issue. and congress chooses to do nothing. and in this situation, the failure of house republicans to pass a bill is bad for our economy, bad for our future. >> asking for supplemental money perhaps as much as $2 billion, more asylum processors, more lawyers, a surge in resources he calls it, he also wants to change some of the laws around deporting some of these young people who come here from central america. he wants to despit excite expede process. tony. >> thank you mike. tens of thousands of

unaccompanied minors from central america have arrived in the last couple of months and paul bee ban is here. >> our journey started inus. nogales, a city that straddles the border. axel fernandez he and two cousins made the journey all the way from honduras by foot on bus by train on the bestia, the freight trains that run through mexico, as you mentioned, dangerous risky, traveling with or wowt without coyotes, in hopt they can achieve asylum or some other status in the country. we traveled back to honduras,

met axel's mother and brother. here is part of the conversation i had with his mother just last week. >> translator: i have to be very cautious to say what i'm supposed to say. there are some things you're not supposed to say here. you join or you're killed. boys as young as 12, 15 years old had to leave. leaving seems to be the only solution. >> reporter: axel is in the u.s. now but he may have to come home, he may be deported. what's going to happen to him if he has to come home? >> translator: if he ended up back here and he didn't go back to the states quickly, they'd kill him, that is what would happen. >> reporter: so what axel's mother is talking about she's talking about the gangs. why he and so many like him are fleeing are the gangs. they are going to be wrapped into a very dangerous lifestyle. axel after a failed attempt to make it through desert presented

himself to the border patrol and has been reunited with his father who has been living undocumented for a decade. he will be in the u.s., he will be starting the school in the fall as his case works its way through courts. he may have a pretty good case to stay here on humanitarian grounds. his parents can say, look, if he returns he will be killed. but as homeland security, and the president has pointed out, there are no permisos for children arriving seeking a better life. >> which takes me to the roots, the origination. would you explain to me, families of many cases young children from central america, why are they trying in such big numbers to get to u.s. soil, particularly in this window that we're talking about? >> reporter: right, so of course the underlike circumstances have not changed.

it is estimated at least 42% of alall the cocaine that enters te u.s. transfers through honduras. there is the persistent issue of the permit, filtering its way down. they think something's changing now is the time to go. that rumor is also possibly being promulgated from the coyotes, getting people to spend thousands of dollars to transit them through mexico to the u.s. but finally the most important thing is this document that women with children are being presented when they are apprehended at the border. it looks like a permit. it allows them to stay in the u.s. for 30 days, it is a court order that allows them to appear before an immigration judge in 30 days.

it's really not a permit. it's a court order. >> maybe the president and congress can get on that right away. paul beban, thank you. the search for three israeli settlers in the west bank is over. descraiisraeli soldiers found te bodies of the three teenagers today. jane ferguson, tell us the back story on this. >> well, it was late in the afternoon, tony, that rumors started to spread that israeli soldiers near the city of hebron near the west bank had gathered with intensity. they had already searched the area for the last three weeks. three bodies were found and they were the three missing israeli teens who were settlers. two were 16, one was 19. it was believed that two of the

bodies were found in the field hidden under a pile of rocks, another body was found wuried -- buried nearby. both of the bodies were killed by gunshot wounds, likely when they were taken. the bodies turned up just about a ten minute drive from where the three young men went missing as they were trying the hitchhike home from a religious school over the weekend. >> jane, is there any new development from the israeli or united states as well? >> well, just this moment, a statement was released from hamas to al jazeera and the they said the disappearance and the killing of the three settlers was all an israeli story to use as a propaganda to start a war against our people. if israel israel wants a war, te

they will pay will be stronger than in other wars. now hamas has been repeatedly been blamed by the l '08s for the kidnapping. they never admitted that. the house middle east subcommittee released a joint statement saying if it is determined that hamas is behind this terrible tragedy, then mahmoud abbas must, statements really speak to what's happening right now which is pressure on that unity government, which is only a matter of weeks old. when fatah and hamas two rival groups formed a unity development ensensed -- insensed israel.

they see hamas as a terrorist organization. >> jane ferguson, thank you. the islamic state of iraq and the levant, or i.s.i.l, has declared the area it occupies in iraq and syria as the new islamic state removing iraq and llerant from its name. john terret is here on what all this means. john. >> good afternoon, we'll give you a little history lesson. the map of the countries that are concerned in the caliphate as well. very familiar with them, thank you very much. here are the capitols, there's baghdad and there's damascus. now let's add in the so-called caliphate which stretches across the two countries as you see. i.s.i.l, now islamic state, here in red on our map. it stretches across those two countries from west to east. now the idea of a caliphate,

think of it like an empire run by a religious and political leader who is called a caliph. all muslim thinking would come out of this caliphate. now islamic state says that this area is right thousand under the control of its leader, abu bakr al-baghdadi. these areas they control all the way from the aleppo in syria in the west to dialla in the east. and to keep all that area under the islamic state black flagged. the last time the caliphate existed was in 1924. but what's raising concern about this newest caliphate is islamic state is calling on all jihaddist countries in the

world, to come together under its umbrella and that is a direct threat to more moderate muslim countries and their leaders around the world and this also raises the stakes for iraq's prime minister, nouri al-maliki. he is struggling to put together a government in baghdad that is more representative of all the people of the country, the sunnies, the shias and the kurds. tony. >> that group was supposed to meet -- >> july 1st, what he agreed on with john kerry. don't expect that to happen, tony. fighters aligned with the new islamic state. zena hadr reports on what is it like to get into the region now. >> reporter: there is no

mistaking what is in force here, guards the gates of mosul. the gates of iraq's northern city, this is a front line. just 500 meters away are the kurdish peshmerga forces. they have been fort fieg their t are forces. >> translator: on june 26th the islamic state sent a suicide bomber in a truck and he blew himself up close to the gate so that's why we're increasing security. >> reporter: they are facing a threat. they tightened controls and increased security at all of the points. thousands fled mosul to erbil.

they can only enter by foot. only a handful are arriving because the kurdish force he have new security forces in place and while those measures might make life more difficult for others searching for security, kurdish forces insist they are needed to preserve stability in their region. >> the islamic state is planning to control the whole of iraq and they will impose their own rules on the people of iraq. they don't respect human rights so we are ready to spill out blood along the front line to protect our worms and children. >> the peshmerga, both groups have engaged in clashes in some areas over the past few weeks. the kurds have so far been able to hold their lines but the presence of american military advisors in this region underscores how seriously they regard the threat.

>> still ahead on al jazeera america, what a refund from secretary of state hillary clinton, david shuster is up next with power politics. when you compare the top speed of dsl from the phone company

with the top speed of comcast business internet... well, there's really no comparison. why pay more for less? call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business.

>> okay let's look at these numbers. a mixed day on wall street today. but the markets are expected to end june with a seventh straight quarterly gain. the dow lost close to 26 points. the nasdaq, s&p 500 were up. power politics has now put hillary clinton on the defensive over her speaking fees. david schuster joins us with more. david. >> tony, the students at the university of 9/11 las vegas are urging hillary clinton to give back a speaking fee she is set to collect later this year. clinton is scheduled to speak at the university this fall in exchange for $225,000. the money is coming from a

private donor to the university and clinton says the money will go to her foundation. as the student body president points out unlv has raised tuition and is set to raise tuition another 15% the next three years. >> it came down to the students, what's best for our university and what's obviously not best is to give a person nearly a quarter million dollars to anyone. >> a huge speaking fee is not unusual to clinton. in march she charged ucla $300,000 but i this is the first time students have spoken out. this weekend the chairman of the republican party opened fire. >> there's hillary fatigue already out there. ettethere. it's setting in. people are tired of this story. i feel this early run for the white house is going to come

back to bite her and people are already tired of it. >> about hillar hillary clintons wealth and the criticism she is receiving. here is how he responded. >> as soon as you jump back in a more politically responsive way, over time i don't think it's going to make a difference. >> massachusetts senator elizabeth warren will be challenging clinton. she made a high profile appearance in kentucky where she led a fund raiser and rally for democratic candidate allison grimes. grimes is trying to knock off mitch mcconnell. >> we want to build a great future for this country. a great future for our children and our grandchildren and we are willing to fight shoulder to

shoulder to make that happen. that's what tough women do. [applause] >> warren is referring to herself and grimes. the lathest polls in kentucky say grimes and mcconnell are running just about even. kay hain hagen is running ak ads. >> under tillis, all while he protected tax breaks to large yacht owners. >> tom tillis sinking north carolina's future. >> finally, remember louisiana republican congressman, vance

mcallister, who was caught on camera kissing a female staffer. at first he said he would not run for reelection, but today he says he's had a change in heart and will run in november. he says his family is behind him 100%. he wants the voters to decide whether or not he deserves to be stripped of his job in congress. that is today's power politics. >> all right, thank you. ukraine and separatist fighters are close to an agreement. and the president is scheduled to speak at any moment, we will have that for you when it happens.

>> president obama is expected to name the former ceo of

proctor and gamble as his pick to head the troubled department of veterans affairs. sorry i was a little early on that any moment now we will bring you the announcement when it happens. in the meantime, the supreme court effectively changed did how for profit companies are seen by the courts in a 5-4 decision the court said some businesses can refuse to cover birth control if they object on religious grounds. the government had based its arguments on the idea that companies could not hold religious views. jamie floitd is wit floyd is wi. hello jamie. >> hello tony. >> the supreme court decides in favor of hobby lobby. very close. are you surprised? >> we knew it would be a close

decision. we think it was the hardest case by far for the court this term. >> really? >> there were some easy cases, i think the cell phone case, cell phone privacy i think that was a slam dunk. this was never going to be unanimous. kennedy wrote a critical concurrence. to really understand this case you have to look at the concurrence. i'm not surprised. i wouldn't be surprised by any results. >> so talk me through some of the deliberative process. obviously there's oral arguments you get a sense of perhaps the court -- >> in this case you don't. >> what did you hear? >> the woman justices were on fire in this case. and this is a case where you could really see them concerned about the rights for women to get access to prenatal health care. and for all citizens to have access to health care as established under the affordable care act which the court has held to be constitutional. but here on the other side of

the case you have, this is very important, a closely held corporation. >> a family company. >> a family company but it is a big company. >> it's a big company. 500 stores. >> thousands of employees. that's really not what matters. what matters is how many shareholders and whether or not there is a moral core to the ownership, which even the dissenters acknowledge will give you that. that's not what really matters. what matters, according to the dissent and the majority, is whether or not the constitution is upheld. and according to a slim majority, we have a slight constitutional violation. >> so jamie, i've heard a bit of analysis today suggesting that here again the court is weighing in on this idea of whether a company is in fact a person. how did you see that? >> i think there are a couple of things we have to think about. first of all if a very narrow and the court, the majority, was

written by judge alito, and kennedy weighs in making it slimmer here, it's very narrow, specific to this case, these petitioners and this fact pattern. but tony there are very as justice ginsburg, her opinion from the bench -- >> may i read it justice ginsburg this her opinion wrote that this could read to the me too crime, this would open the flood gates for other employers to drop coverage based on this decision, based on religious beliefs. >> right. because you could say my problem isn't contraception or abortion, are my problem is blood transfusion. my problem isn't blood transfusion, it's products made with pork. we call that in the law the slippery slope. she's concerned that perhaps we will see case after case after

case not just related to affordable care but the law in general. >> president obama is about to announce his new head to lead the department of veterans affairs. >> particularly, veterans and family service organizations. i want to begin by making a basic point. those of you who serve here at the va do absolutely vital work. every single day for our veterans and their families. i know how deeply you care about our veterans. many of you are veterans yourself. veterans serving veterans. you help them transition to civilian life, go to college. buy their first home. start a new business. you have some of the best doctors and nurses in the country and provide some of the best specialized health care. at our national cemeteries you lay our veterans to rest with

dignity and compassion. i know that millions of veterans are profoundly grateful for the good work that you do. and i am grateful as well. but we're here today because of problems that have outraged us all. that includes the inexcusable conduct that we've seen at too many va health care facilities. so i'm here for two reasons: to update you and the american people on how we're fixing these problems and to announce my choice for the next secretary of veterans affairs to move this forward. the first thing everyone should know that those who are responsible for manipulating and falsifying the records at the va and those who tolerated it are being held responsible. as i said where we find misconduct it will be punished. i've made it clear i expect the

va's full cooperation with all the investigations into wrongdoing. second: we've reached out to 135,000 veterans so far to get them off those wait-lists and into clinics. we've added more staff. sent mobile medical units. and we're making it easier for veterans to use hospitals and clinics outthe va. and we're going -- outside the va and we're going to keep at it until every veteran is off the wait list and they've received the care they deserve. third, we're moving forward with urgent reforms at the veterans health administration. there is absolutely no incentive to engage in inappropriate behavior. providing the highest quality care, when our veterans need it, that's your incentive. there will be new measures of patient satisfaction from the veteran's perspective around today's outdated va scheduling

system is going to be overhauled with the latest technology. more broadly, the review that rob neighbors conducted of the va found and i'm quoting significant and systemic chronic failures including too little responsiveness and accountability and that is totally unacceptable. it recommends that the va be restructured and reformed with stronger management, leadership and oversight as well as more doctors and staff. and i totally agree. and we're going to make that happen. i've asked for rob to remain at the va for now to help move these reforms forward. hiring of new va -- vwa leaders has been frozen, vha leaders has been frozen to make sure the new team we're putting in place is the right one. based on the recommendations of our panel of experts i will be nominating the next leader of the vha. i want to get the very best

leader on the job and get going with these reforms and we're going to work with congress to make sure we deliver the care our veterans deserve. fourth we're instituting a new culture of accountability. the very idea that senior vha executives would receive bonuses this year rightly appalled many americans and those bonuses have already been cancelled. a review is now underway to make sure that when employees speak up about a problem action is taken, not to intimidate or retaliate, but to fix the problem. everyone is going to be held accountable for doing better and congress can help by giving the secretary more authority to remove senior leaders. finally, we're rebuilding our leadership team here at the va. i want to thank sloane and others here who have stepped up to serve in new roles during this critical time and i have to say sloane you have been an

outstanding driving force behind the reforms that are now underway. we'll be relying on your steady hand during this period of transition and through your continued service as deputy secretary. and i know all of you will have an outstanding partner, and secretary, in my choice to lead the va going forward. one of our nation's most accomplished business leaders and managers, robert mcdonald. now, i've gotten to know bob a bit over the years. he's come to the white house to share his perspectives as we've worked through complicated issues. he's no nonsense. he's pragmatic. he does not seek the limelight. he repeats the japanese saying. he worked and lived in japan for six years while at proctor and gamble. the saying goes he who climbs m mt. fuji is a wise man.

he who climbs it twice is a fool. bob climbed mt. fuji once. he is a wise man. you want to meet dee ann and his family who are here today because they are a wonderful family and obviously they've served along with him. in the past. for bob and his family the mission of caring for our veterans is deeply personal. his father served in the army air corps after world war ii. dee ann's father was a pow. was exposed to agent orange around still receives treatment from the va. so this is not an abstract mission for them. bob is a veteran himself. he graduated from west point where he aand sloane were classmates so this is a built of a reunion. bob was a soldier in the 82nd

division. he and sloane have teamed up to honor our veterans. but what especially makes bob the right choice to lead the va right now is his three decades of experience in building and managing one of the world's most recognized companies, proctor and gamble. the va is not a business but it is one of our largest departments. some 340,000 employees working in more than 1700 facilities serving nearly 9 million veterans. the workload at the vha alone is enormous. some 85 million appointments a year and some 25 million consultations. as ceo of proctor and gamble, reaching some 5 billion customers, in other words, he knows the key to any successful

enterprise is staying focused on the people you are trying to serve. he is rerenown for his operational excellence certaining at virtually every level of proctor and gamble. he understand is the grand plans are not enough. he understands the operations you put in place and getting the job done. bob is an expert at making organizations better. in his career he's taken over struggling business units. he knows how to roll up his sleeves and gets to work. putting an end to what doesn't work. adopting best practices that do. restructuring, introducing innovations, making operations more efficient and effective. in short. he's about delivering better results. he also knows the importance of building what he calls a high performance team. putting the right people in the right jobs. rewarding them when they do well. and holding them accountable when they do not. and finally bob's known for his

integrity. he's still guided by that cadet prayer from west point. choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong. he served our country in uniform. he's now prepared to answer the call once more. so let me state the obvious. this is not going to be an easy assignment. bob knows that. but like any army airborne ranger, bob has the reputation for being ready, jumping in the tough situations, staying charge and going all the way. so bob, on behalf of all of us to you, to dee ann and your family, thank you for your readiness to serve again. my bottom line is this: we've got to change the way va does business. over the past five years, this agency has done some excellent work in dealing with a whole range of real difficult challenges. and i don't want people to forget that. we have had a huge influx of returning iraq and afghanistan

veterans. we have had, i think, had to manage what was a good decision, to make sure that folks who previously had difficulty accessing va services were finally admitted whether it was because they had ptsd or folks with cases previously of agent orange all of which meant more people coming into the system. we have had to get up and running and as now, we're doing quite effectively, work in terms of the post-9/11 gi bill to ensure oour young people get the training they need after they leave our military. so across the board there's been some terrific work. but there's a lot more that has to be done. we've got to fix some things that are broken. and sloane's started that process. but we're going to have to keep on driving until we get it done. we've got to regain the trust of our veterans, with a va that is

more effective, more efficient and that truly puts veterans first. bob's the manager we need to help get this done. so i urge the senate to confirm him as soon as possible. i also urge the senate to finally confirm my nominee for cfo helen tierney, my nominee for assistant secretary for policy cam linda schwartz, my nominee for ve veterans appeals, constance tobias. in constance's case she's been waiting for more than a year. we need them on the job and need to do right by veterans. corporal kyle carpenter, some of you may have seen the story of kyle, i recently had the honor of presenting kyle with the

medal of honor, in afghanistan he used his body to shield his comrades from a bomb blast. he has gone through excruciating rehab and to see him standing in the white house strong and proud receiving his medal of honor was something i will never forget. it was an inspiration. today kyle is medically retired. on the one hald hand, he is is now in college. and it's an example of the good work the va has done. on the other hand his experience with va health care has often been frustrating. he said it was okay that i share this with you today so i just want to use kyle as an example. he is an american hero by any definition. sometimes we use that word too loosely. this guy's a hero. and deserves everything we can

do. but like other veterans, kyle sometimes had trouble just making an appointment. or had to wait a month to see his doctor, only to be referred to another doctor and wait another two months for that appointment. he often felt like a number he said being treated amongst doctors. not understanding why he needed certain medications, he has been helped by a patient advocate. but steps along the way it's been harder than it should have been. as his advocate said, it shouldn't be this way. so va does things well, like delivering kyle's educational benefits and we need all of you to keep doing that work, like reducing the disability claims backlog. and building on the good work that's already been done and reducing homelessness among our veterans. helping veterans get their

education under the post-9/11 gi bill, it's good to mention the work the va has done with joe biden and michelle in partnering with with the private sector in that transition from military to civilian life is better. but when it comes to providing quality health care we have to do better. we have to do better for kyle. we have to do better for all our wounded warriors. we have to do better for all our veterans from all our wars. they're looking for us to fulfill lincoln's pledge, to care for those who have borne the battle and for their families and survivors. i'm confident we can do that. and so long as i'm president we're going to keep doing everything in our power to uphold what is a sacred obligation. with that i want to invite bob

to say a few words. thank you, bob, so much for taking on this assignment. >> thank you, mr. president. [applause] >> mr. president, thank you for your confidence in me, that this nomination demonstrates. it would indeed be an honor and a privilege if confirmed by the senate to serve as the secretary of veterans affairs, to improve the lives of our country's veterans and to help change the way the u.s. department of veterans affairs does business. mr. president, in your remarks just now, you've made i.t. clear what you -- it clear what you expect. a va that is more effective, more efficient and that truly puts our veterans first. if confirmed by the senate my priority would be to lead that transformation. my life's purpose has been to improve the lives of others. i went to west point to be an

officer in the army to try to help free people who were living in nonfree societies. i became an airborne ranger infantry officer in 82nd airborne division because i wanted to be in the front line in leading that change. i joined the proctor and gamble company 34 years ago because of its purpose which is to improve the lives of the world's consumers. mr. president, thank you for mentioning my father, dee ann's father, and uncle. yes for our family taking care of our veterans is very personal. we need to put care for the veteran at the center of everything that we do at veterans affairs. at proctor and gamble we always focus on our customer. at the va the veteran is our customer and we must all focus all day every day on getting them the benefits and the care that they've so earned. that's the only reason we're

here. i look forward to working with the dedicated men and women of the veterans affairs to accomplish this mission. i'd like to thank my family for supporting me throughout my life. but especially during this next chapter. my wife dee ann, my daughter, jenny, my son-in-law scott, and my son rob, are all here today. my parents and dee ann's mother could not attend today. but thank you for your love and support. thank you again, mr. president, i look forward to working with you to transform veterans affairs to better serve our country's veterans. thank you. [applause] >> i got to tell you if you sit in this chair long enough you see a lot of these announcements. but the president clearly in taking the time he took in making those comments, make it clear this is an important announcement for him. the president putting forth the

nomination of bob mcdonald, the former ceo of proctor and gamble to be the next secretary of veterans affairs. he will have to be confirmed by senate. he will be charged there's nothing to suggest that will not happen, of cleaning up the veterans administration, cooked books and ridiculous wait-times for service personnel to get care. it's a daunting task that bob mcdonald has accepted and the invitation from the president to lead that charge moving forward. but he has to be confirmed by the senate. we'll take a break and come back with more of al jazeera america right after this. this.

>> we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america. >> general motors said it planned to recall more than 8 million other vehicles for safety recall, in addition to defective ignition switches. >> gm has basically whatever it cost to pay under the protocol they will pay it. there is no ceiling on the aggregate dollars. >> kenneth fineberg is in charge of this particular fund. says he alone, not gm will decide how much each person

gets. gm has linked 13 deaths to faulty ignition switches. the taliban has secured a foothold in the southern afghanistan regional. the test of forces as u.s. ant nato forces leave. jennifer glasse is in kabul. >> it has long been a haven for insurgent, it is the center for opium production. opium production was up in afghanistan this year over last year. this is the first year afghan forces are totally in the lead, especially in southern afghanistan. they fought and lost more than 120 forces in a very difficult summer long battle. this fight has been going on more than ten days. the afghan officials are saying at least 28 people have been

killed. 28 afghan forces have been killed. many people have fled the area because of the fighting. the afghan military says tha thy have beaten them back but the taliban say they have a foothold there. this is a test of forces, as nadir intends to pull the forces out at the end of 2014. not far from kandahar or the pakistan i border. many have said there are pakistani links to this insurgency. it's hard to get a clear purr, no journalists in there. the afghan military has sent in reenforcements as they have tried opush back the substantiated taliban attack. >> still ahead on al jazeera america, after a nail biting day, team u.s.a. is gearing up

for its match.

>> hang on a second. we are more than halfway through the round of 16 and there are only three remaining slots left to fill. france knocked out the nigerians earlier today. with a 2-nil victory in brazilia. the match on everyone's mind is tomorrow, right? the u.s.a. and bell jim. gabriel alisando is there for us. gabe, this is going to be a big one, you got to know it, it's going to be a big one. >> it is. and salvador is one of the most historic cities in all of brazil and it's a perfect setting for the u.s. bell jim match.

because -- belgium match. as you might imagine it's awash in red white and blue. they're expecting more than 10,000 u.s. fans here for the match. we've already seen them walking through old city all day here. a lot of fans wearing shirts saying, we believe, u.s.a, dempsey jerseys. a lot of excitement here. u.s.a. was not expected to do much in the tournament, the expectations are low, but now that's all changed. do or die stage of the tournament. against belgium we'll see. >> the u.s.a. never was expected to get out of the group of death. everyone thought it was portugal, whatever the squat, was expected to get out of that group. what's been the secret to the u.s. squad getting this far in your opinion? >> the coaching. the players do the playing. they played a great tournament so far but the coaching by

klinsmann has been really, really good. he's pushed all the right buttons. we'll see if he can do it again, against the belgians. they have to play their best in order to win. we'll see. >> all right that is terrific. all right gabe appreciate it. thank you. that's all of our time. inside story is next on al jazeera america. >> what the hobby lobby decision means for working people and their bosses is the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez.