>> hundreds of days in detention. >> al jazeera rejects all the charges and demands immediate release. >> thousands calling for their freedom. >> it's a clear violation of their human rights. >> we have strongly urged the government to release those journalists. >> journalism is not a crime. >> kidnapping and of course any harm that's been done to these teenagers is a tragedy. >> three kidnapped israeli teenagers found murdered overnight. strehl responds with a rain of rocket fire felt from the gaza strip to washington. >> i take executive action when we have a serious problem, a

serious issue. >> children crossing the border from mexico, president obama flexing his executive muscles on immigration. >> g.m. and how they plan to pay for those who died in their vehicles. the troubled automakers dealing with another massive recall. >> a spectacular show in the sky, our first tropical weather have the year taking shape in the south. >> americans rally around the u.s. soccer team as they prepare to play in a do or die match against belgium. >> the u.s. state department trying to ease tensions between israel and the palestinians as the deaths of three israeli teenagers sparks a fire storm inside the country. welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm de del walters. dozens of strikes in the gaza strip, palestinians firing back rockets into israel, the flare up coming hours after the bodies

of three israeli teens missing for weeks were found a few miles from where they were kidnapped. >> benjamin netanyahu says hamas is responsible and will pay, while hamas says any attack on the gaza strip will open the gates of hell on israel. >> nick schiffron live in gaza. >> tension here is very high, as well as the rhetoric. the tension really between the israelis and palestinians more than in a decade. last night according a an israel army member, hamas tried to throw a grenade. the troops killed and shot that member of the hamas. here in the gaza strip is a lot of anxiety and anticipation about how israel will respond. >> in israel, palestinian rockets are fueling fires and calls for revenge. this morning, at least eight rockets fired from gaza landed in israeli fields.

firefighters put out this one, but israel fears more. overnight in gaza, the israeli military unleashed and onslaught, 34 strikes from air and sea, all of them targeting empty training grounds for anti israeli fighters. >> this is a site of an air strike. it's been nine hours. you can still smell the sulfur from the might go sile. it destroyed the structure and rip that had tree right there in half. up until recently, it created this huge creator, which has been filled in with dirt. >> both sides only struck empty areas so far. >> each party reacts to the other side in accordance to the nature of the attack launched.

>> two men are suspected of abducting an israel teen. for israel, their kidnappings and deaths are unprecedented and they blame hamas. >> not unlike lebanon with isis or boko haram in nigeria, these are groups which have no qualms about forcing through deadly violence their radical agenda on innocent civilians. >> among hamas, the rhetoric is running high. >> the disappearance and killing of the three settles was an israeli story used as propaganda to start a war against our people. we warn israel against any stupid action. if israel wants war, the price they pay will be greater than previous wars. >> israel says it is united with the families of the dead and grief now turning to anger. >> today, the three israelis

will be buried and the question is what will israel do with all thatting or, how they will respond on what is called in israel a national day of mourning. >> what is the proof israel is citing against hamas? >> the israel government officials say there are two suspects they are searching for, both from hebron, both of them well known hamas operatives, arrest by israel in the past. that is where the evidence stops. very few in israel say there is any kind of connection or clear indication that the hamas leadership here in gaza told those two young men from hebron to actually do this abduction. however, the head of hamas on t.v. in the past couple weeks has said that members of hamas do not need his own authorization to do these

kidnappings. israel officials say there have been 50 or 60 attempted kidnappings by hamas, so that's the evidence, that they believe two operatives from hamas tried to undertake this kidnapping and did this kidnapping and murder but there's not necessarily a direct operational connection between the leadership of hamas and those two people they are search forego now. >> nick, thank you very much. coming up in 15 minutes, we're going to be talking to a middle east expert about the escalating prices in israel. we're going to ask him if he thinks the response amounts to an escalation. >> the u.s. is increasing military presence in iraq, the pentagon announcing 200 additional troops arriving this weekend and another 100 on the way. the new american forces arrive as fighting between iraqi forces and sunni rebels intensifies. the united nations says nearly 2500 iraqis were killed, and about the same number were injured. aljazeera's libby casey is in washington.

libby, good morning. what role will these u.s. forces play in iraq? >> good morning, stephanie. they'll provide security and intel and support on the ground and air even as the u.s. says it is not sending in combat troops. >> for the third time in as many weeks, president obama announced more u.s. soldiers are heading to iraq. in a letter to congress monday, the president said he is sending an additional 300 troops to reinforce the american embassy and the airport in baghdad. those forces now joined 275 others sent to protect the embassy last month, plus u.s. military advices aiding iraq's army. the pentagon announced helicopters and drones would be dispatched to protect air fields and to aid americans' ability to travel safely along routes on the ground. with sunni rebels battling iraqi troops 70 miles from baghdad,

iraqi security forces are anticipating any attack, sweeping bridges, fields and homes. the newly named islamic state released a video that they claim those their ability to move three-ball along the swath of land in syria and iraq when they established a caliphate. >> the soldiers took off the uniform in the street and ran away. >> the system was declared by the sunni fighters and has not been seen since 1924. >> i think such a scenario enables isil to become unified and fight soldier to soldier with one doctrine for domination. >> it calls on all muslim to say swear allegiance to one leader, long sought by the united states and seen as having his sights set beyond the area they

control. >> the holy grail for these groups are to strike in the west, attacks enlondon and the united states. this is what they strive for and more and more a concern of u.s. intelligence. >> those united nations numbers and more than 2400 people were killed in iraq last month make june the deadliest month of the year, more deadly than any month in 2013. that doesn't even include anbar province. >> israel's parliament just met to figure out what a new government might look like, a lot of people thinking that prime minister malaki should not be a part of it. where does washington stand on that. >> the u.s. called on malaki to share power cross ethnic divides. he has allowed the parliamentary process to go forward, but even as both his opposition, as well as allies are calling for him to

law a new government, the u.s. asking for the same thing. it has not called for malaki to step down. >> aljazeera's libby casey for us in washington. ahead in our next half hour, we'll have a live report from baghdad, plus major mike lyons joins us live for more on what these additional american troops will do in iraq. >> calling for an end to the ceasefire in ukraine. >> i take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue and congress chooses to do nothing. >> president obama reacting to news that the republican-led house will not take up an immigration bill this year. the senate passed a version last

year, but house republicans will not hold a vote on the bill as it is written, so the president says he'll try to fix the broken immigration system through executive action. waves of undocumented children from central america ever flooded texas in recent weeks. >> they have found the remains of one child, south texas sheriffs found the body of an 11-year-old boy from guatemala discovered in brush. they believe he was there two weeks. the boy was on his way to join his brother in chicago. no one heard from him in nearly a month. >> our investigation in this matter is kind of strange, because this was found where normally unaccompanied minors are not crossing over. >> they are working to getting the child's body back to his family. >> i've asked my staff to prepare a second executive order so federal employees already protected on the base of sexual orientation will be form ally be

protect. >> the president protecting the lbgt community, the community saying the federal ruling on sex discrimination was supposed to cover transgender discrimination but the government has yet to enforce it. >> g.m. is announcing the biggest recall so far. >> it comes also the company is now putting a system in place to compensate victims for faulty ignition switches. we have the numbers. >> g.m. announced it will recall another 8.4 million vehicles in the year of the recall for embattled automakers.

all have been recalled this year for the ignition problem. 29 million vehicles have been recalled this year, breaking the all time record for most cars recalled in a single year by a single automakers. every model of the cobalt, pontiac g.5's and solstices. certain model years included of three types of buicks, old mow beals, five types of chevrolets and two models of ponties. the company outlined a plan that could pay billions of dollars to victims of defective ignition switches. g.m. hired kenneth feinberg to be the sole decider on how much to pay victims or survivors. he'll start receiving claims on

august 1. >> g.m. has said under this program anybody who already settled their claim with general motors before they knew about this cover up or this ignition switch problem may rip up the release they signed and come back into this program to get additional compensation. >> they advice that you only use the single key to turn your car on and off and if that key came with a key fob, they advise that you take that off, too.

>> proud algerian fans singing and dancing in the streets of paris, even after their team lost to germany. after yesterday's dramatic game went into extra time, the boys in white and green will be heading home, but this was the first time ever algeria reached the top 16 in the world cup tournament, and it is, of course, game day for team usa, the americans against belgium, their first match in the knockout round. do you see the worry on my face. >> i see concern, not worry. >> the loser gets a ticket back home, soccer fans getting ready for the new game. >> live in new york city's bind park, what you are wearing, john? i know that hundred was people are gathering later today to watch this match. >> to watch john, to tell you the truth. >> you've got enough american flags on you for like 100 fans.

>> good morning, stephanie and dell. i thought i'd dress the part. this is a team tee shirt. i bought that last night, this is the shirt, a little pin there, i've got u.s.a. boots on, but you can't see those now. this is bryant park, it's where new yorkers come to breathe at lunch time. it's very needed in this city, it's very hot and humid here now. there are going to be two football games shown on a giant screen behind me. they'll be playing thear jen teen-switzerland game, coming down from the offices here, including the regional headquarters, the bank of america, just over there to come to bryant park to watch the big game at 4:00 this afternoon. just like last week when we were near the manhattan bridge, fantastic. >> management just called and said they better not see any of that on an expense report and

belgium managed to get through group one without a loss. how worried should web? >> we should be quaking in our boot, quite frankly. here's the deal. the belgians are a really good team. i didn't tell you this, between you and me, in europe, the belgians are a little bit of the burt ball jokes, the belgians fed up with this said we are not having this anymore, we will spend some money and spent $222 million on their soccer team, buying up the best players from around, anyone who could spell belgium got an entry into their team. they spent a little less than spain and brazil and less than germany, france and argentina. with $222 million spent, that compares to $26 million the u.s.

spent. the u.s. team gelled really well and has played well and done better than expected, not less well than expected. it's a pretty even match. >> we need a team with an ax to grind. thanks so much. >> today's game is a safe distance away from severe flooding affecting parts of brazil, forcing 50,000 people to bonn don homes, many buildings submerged under floodwaters. heavy flooding causing a tourist destination to flow. the government has declared a state of emergency in 20 towns. >> we do ever our first major tropical weather of the year. it's crawling up the eastern seaboard. >> ebony dionne has been tracking the storm. >> right now, it's just off the coast of florida and drifting to the south. it's expecting to make the turn toward the north and eventually parallel the eastern and he board into the next couple of days. here's a closer look, and most of the con investigation or

thunderstorm activity is well to the south of the center, battling drier air. that's going to increase rapid acceleration. here's a look at the forecast, could become a tropical storm by later today and eventually maybe a weak hurricane as it makes its way up the mid atlantic. we have the daytona beach area included. heavy rain will make its way north as a cold front picks that system up and shifts it to the north and west. it is certainly a system we will monitor as we get closer to the fourth of july. that front is a little further to the west. we are expecting severe weather along and ahead of it. we do ever video to show you out of iowa, the severe weather that ripped through that area, storm chaser caught video on tape of a rotating storm. maybe we'll see that later, but

today expect to see that threat shifting further east and right now, things are fairly quiet across the northeast. thunderstorms will be popping, some strong to severe, still watching out for the rain making its way clues missouri as well as into kansas. back to you. >> it is storm season in the midwest, that means residents seeing a lot of spectacular light shows like this one. a storm chaser capturing this in kansas over the weekend. severe weather produced lightning and spawned a tornado. no injuries, but the storm left a lot of people without power. >> a major decision from the supreme court. >> some saying it is a victory for religious freedom, others say a major blow to women's rights. >> israel mourns the loss of three israel teens murdered in hebron. >> a large physician's group

making a large announcement about pelvic exams, something every woman wants to talk to her doctor about. >> $8.9 billion, why one of the world's largest banks is forced to pay up that amount of money. of mo

>> the largest bank in france, the latest tragedy of the justice department, the subject of our big number, $8.9 billion. that's how much they have to pay for sanctions. >> charges against the bank include concealing billions of dollars of transactions for clients in sudan, iran and cuba. the bank will lose ability to convert foreign occurrence into u.s. dollars for a year. >> 13 bank employees were fired. half of the money goes to the department of justice and federal reserve. the finale clipses the $1.9 billion penalty imposed on hsbc. welcome to al jazeera america. >> straight ahead, we focus on the latest troop increase in iraq plus the supreme court

verdict in the heated hobby lobby freedom of religion case. >> first, let's go to ebony dionne. it could soak the fourth of july celebrations in the nation's capitol. >> it could. all that moisture making its way up the coastline, it's certainly something we are monitoring in addition to the heat building across the southwest. we will continue to see that make its way into the pacific northwest, but today triple digit numbers expected in las vegas and phoenix. we have heat warnings in place, take it easy here, also into the northeast, the heat indexes around rochester will be near 100. >> the supreme court has ruled in favor of certain for-profit companies who did not want to pay for some forms of contraception as mandated by the affordable care act. the divided court accepted their argument on religious grounds. >> crowds gathered on the steps

of the supreme court. >> what do we want? >> health care. >> when do we want it? now! >> when a divided court found in favor of hobby lobby, it's supporters erupted in cheers. the case also involved wood specials cabinet makers. the businesses argued they were religiously opposed to plan b., the morning after pill, which they view akin to abortion. >> today's decision is a landmark decision for religious freedom. >> others criticized the ruling. >> it's a bitter pill for women. it means that they can take away coverage for birth control. >> in agreeing, the two companies could opt out of the mandate in obamacare. samuel alito wrote: he said that

is not allowed under the freedom restoration act. it is the first time the court found this religious freedom law apply to say for-profit companies. alito said the decision covers only the contra septemberive mandate. ruth bader ginsburg called the decision sweeping and asked can an employer in business for profit opt out of coverage for blood transfusions, vaccinations, anti depressants or medications derived from pigs based on religious beliefs? at the white house, the president declined to comment but his spokesman said mr. obama feels the decision puts women's health in jeopardy. >> we believe the owes of for profit companies should not use religious views to deny

benefits. >> it is called an attack on the rights of women. republican leaders called it religious freedom. >> those representing hobby lobby insist the decision is a narrow one. >> this opinion is voluntary focused on closely held family-owned businesses that have a religious objection to the contraception mandate. it does not apply to i.b.m. and exxon-mobil. >> still, the president and democrats are looking at actions they might take to insure all women get full contra septemberive coverage. lisa stark, aljazeera, washington. >> coming up at 7:50, we will talk to a member of the legal team that represented hobby lobby before the supreme court. >> in a 5-4 ruling, the high court delivering a set back for labor unions, deciding that in-home health care workers hired by the illinois can't be

forced to pay their union dos. >> it's a bad thing for unions and unionized employees, a good thing for employees who want the benefits of representation without having to pay the cost. >> the ruling doesn't block organized labor from collecting the dues. firefighters, police officers and other public workers. >> the court says google must face a lawsuit over alleged privacy violations that happened when it was putting together data for street view. the high court monday refused to hear the challenge to an appeals court ruling. the company claims it didn't vital federal wiretapping laws when it streamed information, including emails, user names and pass words. >> former french president nicholas varicosey is arrested.

no officials charges have been filed. >> it's heartbreaking for everybody here. we hope we don't have such tragedy in the future. >> crowds of mourners gathered in tel aviv square for a candlelight vigil following the announcement that the bodies of three teens were found that went missing almost three weeks ago. their bodies were located just outside of hebron. the discovery brings to an end the largest search operation in palestinian territory in more than a decade. here now to discuss the israeli response to the discovery of these missing teens bodies is professor doug waxman from northeastern university, proffer, thanks for being with us. the israeli army already responding, demolishing in fact blowing up the two homes of the men they believe are behind

this. there have been numerous air strikes in gaza overnight. would you call this response by zeal an escalation? >> i think it's so far a fairly measured response. i think clearly the netanyahu government is under a great deal of pressure to respond aggressively, promising hamas would pay a price. i think we've seen the beginning of the response. i think we're going to see after the israel cabinet meeting taking place later today, many more steps israel will take. >> you are predicting it will escalate and raised may expand? >> well, i think we're likely to see more air strikes, but i think prime minister netanyahu has to be careful with escalating the situation. on the one hand, the israel

public are calling for a very strong and severe response against hamas. on the other hand, his own security establishment, the israel military and more moderate members of his government caution against that and are wary if the situation spirales out of control, this could provoke a military conflict with hamas. hamas has the ability to strike at targets deep inside israel and israel wants to avoid that. i think we're going to see a fairly cautious response, one possibility emerging is renewed settlement construction, so rather than a military escalation, we'll see other types of actions in the west bank in response to this. >> thank you for joining us this morning. >> the president is going to

send more troops into iraq. >> we'll have a report from baghdad about what those additional troops will be doing. >> we'll talk about the new gun laws in effect in georgia today, one that has police concerned about their personal safety. >> a little boy with big dreams, the 12-year-old who in vented something to keep children from being left alone in hot cars. it's just one headline this morning.

>> looking live in the big apple, rush hour on this first day of july in new york city. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. just ahead, the man known as the blade runner, oscar pistorius back on the stand in his murder trial. it looks like a rather unique bed, but is a priceless work of art, the piece hitting the auction block. >> you are being recorded. >> you are, too. >> turning the tables on touchy

state trooper, wait until you see the 180 this cop took when a truck are he pulled over told him he was being recorded. >> lets look at top stories this morning. israel unlaunching dozens of strikes into the gaza trip after the bodies are three israeli teens were found in the west bank. >> g.m. is recalling another 8 million vehicles for safety issues. they made the announcement just after unveiling a multi-million dollars compensation plan for accident victims, bringing the total number of recalls to more than 29 million, breaking the record of recalls in a single year. >> the u.s. military in iraq is getting larger, the total number now approaching 800 as president obama sent another 300 troops to the region. >> the pentagon said the forces are reinforcing security at the american embassy, support facilities and the baghdad

airport. president obama ruled out sending combat troop to say iraq but said the additional troops will be equipped to fight. what is the reaction in the iraqi capitol to the increased u.s. presence we're seeing there? >> there's a huge difference here between the boots on the ground, the soldiers in the street and what we're talking about now, which is really small teams of special forces operatives and analysts and people guiding the iraqi military. they're not actually seeing them but in general believe anything that can help is a good thing. it is really quite striking how many iraqis believe this is all part of some big american plan to destroy iraq. on that basis, they feel it's going pretty well. >> iraq's lawmakers met in the hopes of figuring out a new coalition government.

was any decision reached? >> well, that session meeting for the first time accomplished even less than expected, if you can believe that. they met for less than two hours, including a half hour break and it started off essentially quite nicely, there was an anthem and prayers and then turned into shouting between a kurdish member and a couple of the members of prime minister malaki's block. they went away and a lot of them did not come back. i was talking to members of parliament afterwards. they said the reason for the deadlock was not just the shouting, that there still is no agreement on who should be prime minister. before that happens, nothing else is going to get done. they did meet, adjourn for the week and next week, we'll see a repeat of this. stephanie. >> thank you. del. >> stephanie, mike lyons is a retired army major and senior

fellow with the truman project. thanks for being with us. 300 more troops going to baghdad to help with protection from the u.s. is this the mission creep that we were talking about and that americans should be concerned about? >> i think we've got to be concerned anytime we add droops to the ground. individuals went there last week and said we need more. the focus is the airport. we cannot led that fall into the hands of isis. >> some of these troops not far away, he added troops, but they were close by. >> they were in the persian gulf already. i wouldn't be surprised to see that number go to a thousand. if we start adding battalions and other forces, we start talking mission creep. >> they have claimed an islamic state in a large pores of that

country. the united spent billions of dollars, 4,500 casualties with troops. how can they do something so quickly that it took the u.s. so long to do? >> they basically took the syrian civil war, extended it to the eastern border there and took over vast, desolate areas of iraq and three or four major cities, stopped at baghdad. the united states started in await, moved up highway eight and stopped at baghdad. they were invaders, we were -- >> were they better militarily. >> we destroyed the iraqi army to say the least, the iraqi army does not fight to protect itself in northern cities. >> once the u.s. troops pulled out, the country fell back into civil war, leading to the surge, leading to us pulling out again, leading to where we are now. can the islamic state hold on to the territory it seized? >> they are going to need help from the sunni tribes and other

organizations. al-qaeda, all those groups are going to have to get together. they have numbers on their side, better equipment, better technology. if they get their stuff together, they should win. >> to the murder trial of olympic athlete oscar pistorius. he is back in court this morning after a month-long break. the runner spent four weeks undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. today's testimony focused on weather neighbors could have heard his screams in the moments after he shot and killed his girlfriend last year. the defense maintains the pair argued earlier in the night. pistorius says he shot her after mistaking her for an intruder. >> gorge. >> residents with a permit can carry guns in restaurants, bars and houses of worship unless they are specifically forbidden to do so by the proprietors. guns would be allows in

unrestricted areas of airports, colleges and libraries. >> there is a changeup to women's yearly checkup. >> doctors are recommending against routine pelvic exams, saying it may do more harm than good. this is causing controversy. >> that's that this is a recommendation coming from a large group of internal medicine doctors in the american college of physician. after looking at more than 50 past studies dating back to the 1940s, they found for most healthy women that pelvic exam is an unnecessary ritual. >> it has been an annual routine for women, when gynecologists inspect the cervix and feel for abnormalities in the ovaries and uterus. new guidelines suggest doctors skip the practice for healthy women, saying the pelvic exam does not discover enough disease

or cancer to balance out the false alarms, anxiety, pain and embarrassment that comes with it. >> they've looked at a large number of studies and find that the majority of women don't have improved health because of these internal exams. >> even though most problems found on pelvic exams tend to be benign, some argue it could help manage no one consistorrous conditions like endometrioses. >> we detect masses in a very small number of those patients that could be important, because it could be a sign of a risk for cancer. >> while women my nat need the pelvic exam, they still need to get a. a smear. although that practice has undergone guideline changes recently with the recommendation that healthy women only need that test once every three years. >> if people don't need to come in annually for their pap and

now don't need exams, far less women are going to come into the doctor if you're a healthy woman who still wants an annual pelvic exam, you can get one. it does not apply to those who are pregnant or have abnormal bleeding and pain. other national doctors groups recommend an annual pelvic exam for healthy women. >> lets look at news around the world. louisiana councilman known as the kissing congressman wants to be reelected, saying he thinks the people should decide if he should continue to represent his district. he said that before he talked about it, he is the person who was caught on camera kissing a staff member. he says that first he wasn't going to run but then consulted with his family members to decide whether or not he should

run. >> solidly republican district, so he does have a chance at winning. he's back, speaking of politicians, with a past, canada's most notorious mayor returned to work, rob ford, the mayor, apologized for his recent behavior while his rivals said people should be choosing a new mayor this fall. he apologized specifically to that woman who he ran into. >> one of his fellow legislatures there. >> he's been in rehab the last couple of months. >> it raises an interesting question, can you be out of control and then come back and be a politician again? >> 13 children died from heat strokes this year, left alone in cars. a middle schooler in vented the easy baby saver intended to save lives. what he did was attached it to the handle and to the adult handle, so when they leave the car, it reminds them that yes,

you have a small child in the back seat. >> there's a website that the kids put up where parents can see where they can make this device. i went to it this morning. it's actually a really good idea. >> out of the mouths of babes. >> companies given the ok to get around a key provision in the affordable care act. a fallout from the hobby lobby decision could be dramatic. we'll be joined by a lawyer who won the case. >> one of the most controversial pieces of art of the last 20 years in london is about to go under the hammer. >> looking good, feeling great. what your appearance could mean for your health. it's our discovery of the day.

only on al jazeera america >> we're following breaking news right now. you are looking at live pictures from moscow, where russian

penalty, you see there, vladimir putin, making a foreign policy speech. just a short time ago, president putin accused the west of trying to destabilize the entire region through the crisis in ukraine, saying ukraine's president has taken the path of violence. he pledged russia will deep doing all it can to protect ethnic russians inside ukraine. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. it is time for our discovery of the day. i do have a cold, as i read this, keep in mind, a new study out suggest that good-looking people don't get as sick as other people all the time. >> men and women rated highly for their attractiveness were much less likely to suffer from asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure. >> they were usually more positive about their health. the study focused on 15,000 people. it is the latest study to link

attractiveness and good health. >> the researchers belief attractiveness may be a marker of good genes. >> the u.s. supreme court ruled in favor of certain privately owned companies that don't want to provide contraception as part of the affordable care act. the justice ruled those companies can seek an exemption from the birth control provision of obamacare on religious grounds. the decision applies only to a small number of family-owned or closely held companies. members of standup for religious freedom celebrated with a rally in chicago. the challenge was brought by hobby lobby and a pennsylvania furniture company. here to discuss the ruling is eric baxter, senior counsel that represented hobby lobby before the high court. he joins us from washington. you worked on this case for years. i imagine there was a lot of celebration in your office. what do you think is the most significant part of this ruling? >> what a great day for

religious liberty in america, the supreme court recognized, confirmed that you don't lose your right to exercise your freedom just because you open a family business. this is hugely significant of 90% of the businesses in america owned by families, small businesses and what a great thing to know that those people who go to work can still answer to their conscience when they open a business to provide for their families. >> women's rights advocates have a different view, some call it discriminatory. >> the green family have no objection to women accessing whatever contraceptions they want to access and the supreme court made clear that the government can still provide those drugs to women. it just can't force the greens and other small business owners to provide things that are against their own religious beliefs. >> is this ruling really as narrow as your firm is describing it or is it a startling breath as justice

beginsberg described it, opening the door for companies to deny insurance coverage on other medical services? >> the court made very clear that it was making a very narrow ruling. we have to remember that this law, the religious freedom restoration act has been on the books for decades and the law was the same before written. >> it wasn't always intended for for-profit corporations. is that the part that's different? >> it's not really different. all corporations have been recognized at exercising it. this is the first time a for-profit corporation, saying just because the i.r.s. has given you tax liability doesn't determine whether you have the right to exercise religious freedom. >> other companies are seeking exemptions. what would you expect next?

>> we thought the court's opinion yesterday was hopeful and encouraging for non-profit clients who still of cases pending in courts across the country. the court made clear that it's really not the business of the government or i.r.s. or h.h.s. to pick and choose between different religious organizations, whether non-profit or for-profit. they shouldn't be treated differently because of their tax status. it's scary to think the i.r.s. might be making the decisions about how to treat these companies different p.m. we hope it will extend to non-profit clients still awaiting a decision. >> going back to the issue of for-profit corporations. justice againstberg said in her dissenting opinion: does this ruling up end our understanding of which businesses should qualify for these religious

protections? >> justice beginsberg's statement is just not true. all kinds of businesses exercise religion in different ways. the green family for years have given vast pores of profits to religious ministries, they close on sundays, they pay excellent wages and benefits for religious reasons, because they want to support their employees and encourage them to have productive and satisfying lives. that's all part of their religious exercise. it's not correct that just because you go into business, you stop exercising your religion. >> thanks for joining us this morning, sir. >> lightning striking the willis tower in chicago, severe thunderstorms hitting the windy city overnight, knocking out power for 350,000 people. a flood warning now in effect for the entire area until 11:00 a.m. this morning. >> it's coming, our first tropical weather have the year heading up the east coast. >> ebony dionne is tracking the

storm. >> it's certainly going to bring rainfall into florida. that's just the coast that is sitting off the eastern areas of florida. the midwest has been hit hard with heavy rainfall. a frontal boundary will make its way off to the east, taking rainfall with it. here's a closer view of our first croppiccal depression. it could become tropical storm arthur later today. it has drier air on the north side of it, limiting strength as we go through the next early hours. into the midwest, rain is coming down, heavy across missouri. st. louis was hot yesterday and today it's going to be stormy and a very warm one. >> an unmade bed hitting the auction block in london today. the unusual work of art caused a scandal back in 1998. >> tracy edmund has never shied

from the cameras, often controversial, always interesting. she's been a darling of the british contemporary art scene since the 1990's. now her most famous piece, her bed, is going up for auction. >> it means something different from the time. at the time it was about here and now. now when i look at the bed, it's like a ghost of myself, like a time capsule. >> the bed tells the story of a breakup. >> i don't see something ugly. i see something that saved me. i don't see something shocking that tried to hurt me, i see the complete opposite. i see a softness to it. i see something gentle about it that protected me. i am now still protecting this bed. i still love it. >> love this piece or loathe it, 15 years after it first went on display, it's come to embody an

important moment in british art. not least because it triggered a big debate about what constitutes art. the mid 1990's saw a new breed of conceptual artists. the young british artists movement he merged. she has become a member of the royal academy of art, but it's the bed that still gets people talking. >> it's become famous and it's got stories behind it, which adds to its value, notoriety and it's desirability as an object for collectors. that's what people in contemporary art consider to make it a work of art. is it a work of art in my opinion? no, it's an illustration of an autobiography. >> the bed is expected to fetch more than a million dollars when it goes under the hammer.

>> the controversial artwork includes cigarette butts and empty vodka bottles. proceeds from the sale of my bed will be used to fund entry into the art gallery. >> israel rains rockets on gaza after three missing teenagers were found murdered. the government blames hamas. >> hundred was additional u.s. troops head to iraq to protect americans and help the rack keys fight back. the death toll tops 2400 in june alone. a live report from baghdad. >> president obama taking action on immigration, sending more security to the mexican border and pledges he'll use executive action to say put in place immigration reforms. >> ahead, a silent threat facing millions of drivers. broken and battered bridges across the country. >> a surfer trying to catch

waivers in the water, the new aquatic friend that got up close and personal. >> we are back with more aljazeera america. we leave you now with a shot of the new york city skyline acknowledge, the first day of july. >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live.

>> america's rally around their

soccer team as the u.s. prepares to play belgium. we're covering the build up in new york, chicago and brazil. >> because you were driving recklessly and speeding out, it's got wet roads and you were on your cell phone. >> turning the tables on a police officer. how a trucker took the law into his own hands, because he says the officer was behaving badly. >> good morning. welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> the american presence in iraq expanding, 300 additional troops sent to the country. >> the security situation in iraq continues to worsen. sunni rebels attacked a shrine killing six and fueling the tensions. the group now calling its the islamic state continues to make major gains pushing ahead with its plan to create a caliphate in the region. >> in just the past month, 2500 iraqi civilians have been killed, and the same number injured. >> we have team coverage on the situation this morning.

aljazeera's libby casey is in washington, d.c. let's begin in baghdad. there was hope this morning that a parliament session would make headway in terms of forming a coalition government. that session ended quickly. what happened? >> stephanie, you're right. it was very short and not terribly sweet. it ended in a shouting match between a occurred issue member of parliament and al-malaki's coalition, basically about the courtesy' role, the sunni rebels and they went, took a break, some of them did not come back, not enough to continue the session. essentially, they postponed it for a week without really any agreement on what they were trying to do, which was elect a speaker and move the way forward for a new prime minister. >> we're hearing about the shia

somshrine attacked overnight. >> everyone had feared that the shrine which is sacred to shia's all over the world, it was attacked in 2006, and that attack by al-qaeda at the time set off iraq's civil war. again, it's a target. fighters ever artillery and it appears last night used that to hit the shrine. they didn't damage the shrine itself, but did kill several construction workers. the response from the iraqi government was to launch helicopter gun ship air strikes. there's deep concern that it could go further than that. if they did attack again and damaged the shrine, that could start this horrific civil war all over again. >> we turn to washington.

libby, 300 additional u.s. troops sent to iraq. what do we know about these american forces? >> 100 are in the region to work on security and logistics. 200 more personnel being sent into the country, and their mission includes enforcing some of those u.s. sites, the u.s. embass in baghdad, other locations, also the baghdad airport. officials say they are there to help teams already on the ground. they come, as well, with helicopters and drones. they'll be able to provide aerial support, security, transport, as well as try to really enforce and shore up some of those important sites. del. >> libby, all of this coming right after isil announcing they have formed a new country. what do we know about the washington response? >> a growing concern of course that the concern that long been in place. we heard from a former counter terrorism official in the obama

and bush administrations, michael lighter said this. >> the holy grail are to strike in the west, attacks in london and the united states. this is what they strive for and more and more a concern of u.s. intelligence. >> secretary of state john kerry has been speaking in europe, here in the u.s., as well as the middle east about concerns that this could bleed over not just to other countries in the middle east but to the u.s., as militants become in-country at things heat up there, that it could bleed across the globe. >> former french president nicholas sarkozy has been detained in a corruption crone. officials want to know if he tried to get a judge a better job. sarkozy could be held for federal days. his lawyer and two judges are

also held, no charges filed. >> nigerias military says it has broken up a boko haram intelligence creel, arresting a businessman who was involved in the mass abduction of 276 school girls in april. the government there has been under increasing international pressure to reign in the armed group. boko haram is threatening to sell those girls into marriage and slavery if the government does not exchange foam home run defind fighters. in the past week, the group has been blamed for several bomb attacks across the country. >> the family of a mexican teen killed by a u.s. border agent has the right to sue. the complaint says that the man shot in the crowd after the boys threw rocks at him. the ruling is the first nationwide to determine a

mexican family has a right to sue in the u.s. >> the body of an 11-year-old boy from guatemala was found in texas. they believe the remains were there for two weeks. the boy was on his way to join his brother in chicago. authorities are working on getting the child's body back to his family. >> the republican led house will not take up an immigration bill this year. as mike viqueira explains, the president will try to fix the broken system using executive power. >> president obama says he's fed up with house republicans and if they keep blocking immigration reform will go around them again, if he has to. >> their argument seems to be that because the system's broken, we shouldn't make an effort to fix it. it makes no sense. it's just politics. plain and simple. >> mr. obama asked for recommendations and said he'll sign executive action with some reforms by the end of the summer. in the meantime, he's moving 150

border agents to the rio grande valley where tens of thousands of immigrants, including many children from central america has overwhelmed the i am allegation system. the president will ask congress for what he calls a surge of resources. more than $2 billion for more immigration judges, processors and lawyers and humanitarian aid to care for the children. after touring a texas military base, home land secretary expressed optimism. >> i believe we're going to stem this tide and solve this problem. we're going to remain focused on doing that. >> to do that, the president wants to speed up the process of sending the children back to their home countries, where they may tase manassing youth gangs and high crime. that angered some latino groups and reform advocates, many upset that mr. obama, referring to him as supporter in chief for the

spike of deportation seen during his administration. the white house said there is a false rumor that if they can reach the u.s., they won't be deported. republicans blame an earlier obama executive action making it easier for immigrants to enter as children and grew up here to remain. in a statement, house speaker john boehner calls that giving false hope to children and their families that if they enter the country illegally, they will be allowed to stay. the president said boehner personally told him last week reform was a no go this year in the house. that brought mr. obama to the rose gordon. >> the only thing i can't do is stand by and do nothing while waiting for them to get their act together. >> that's mike viqueira reporting from washington, d.c. >> i've asked my staff to prepare a second executive order so that federal employees already protected on the basis of sexual orientation will be form ally protected based on

gender identity. >> president obama once again pledging to protect the lbgt community, announcing he would sign an executive order banning government contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identification, saying the 2012 ruling on sex disfrom him nation was supposed to cover transgenders. the government has yet to enforce it. >> the death of three israeli teenagers has sparked a fire storm inside israel, israel launching dozens of strikes on the gaza strip while palestinian fighters fired back rockets into israel this morning. benjamin netanyahu said hamas is responsible and will pay, while hamas said any attack on the

gaza strip. are we headed to a large scale clash? >> if you listen to the rhetoric, it seems to the two sides want a clash or are headed to a clash. not only did the hamas spokesman say he would unleash the gates of hell on israel, he goaded israel, saying if you come in, we will inflict more punishment on you than in any previous war or attack. we've seen lots of israel officials pointedly blame hamas for the abduction and murder and that continued today, including in a interview just a little while ago with the spokesman for the israel prime minister. >> hamas is a had calendar organization not unlike boko haram in nigeria, extremist groups that have no qualms about forcing through deadly violence their radical extremist agenda

on innocent civilians. >> the reality is much more complicated on the ground. we spoke to a member of the israel army, who's in charge of defending residents who live along the gaza border. he said to us that there's an understanding between israel and the fighting grooms inside gaza that it's a tit for tat escalation that if they launch a rocket group, israel other force will land one inside gaza. that's exactly what we saw last night, one rocket going into israel, 35 strikes into gaza. that is continuing. >> have the israelis offered paragraph that hamas is responsible for these killings? >> they say that the two main suspects that they are hunting for are well known members of hamas, living in hebron in the occupied west bank near where

these three israelis were abducted and murdered. they do newt say there was a direct connection between the hamas leadership and those two palestinians on the ground, but say that hamas leaders, has not been a secret that the hamas are allowed to do these kidnappings if they want. there is no connection between the leadership, but israel says hamas did this. >> nick schiffron in the gaza strip, thank you. >> it is game day for team u.s.a., the americans going head-to-head against belgium for their first match in the knockout round. >> the winner advances to the quarter finals, the loser gets to take it back home. all across the u.s., soccer fans old and new are getting ready. >> we have team coverage for you. live in new york city, sporting the red and white and crazy. we go to chicago's soldier field. thousands are gathering there

later to watch the match. how is the excitement this morning? >> the excitement is probably palpable. i mean, we're just a couple of hours away from this game and we're outside soldier field where the u.s. soccer federation is hosting the fourth of its viewing parties. 6,000 fans can fit inside this stadium. they've got additional room for 10,000 on the field. we saw crowds of 20,000 upwards coming out to these games. with each add management, it seems soccer fans are getting even more excited. >> we wait for years for this, look at american soccer, it's growing. >> i'm now a die hard football fan, i'll tell you that much. >> a little bit of interesting history here, 20 years ago

nearly to the day, the u.s. head coach played here at soldier field for the germans and defeated belgium. a lot of fans hope that he may be able to lead the u.s. team to a win once again this afternoon. >> good game, a lot of beer goes a long way. how is the team looking ahead of the game, josie playing today, do we know for how long? >> he has been cleared medically to play. he is available. there's some sun certainty as to whether or not he will actually be in the game and if he is in the game, how long he'll play. it's possible he may be put in for a penalty kick or down a goal, recovering from a hamstring injury, it's not clear how effective he can be. >> thank you very much. >> let's check in with john in new york city's bryant park. john, don't hurt yourself there with that fall. they're expecting millions of

television viewers to tune in for this game, right? >> they really are. there's going to be 10,000 fans down where the game is played in brazil, we're told and 15 million are predicted to watch it on television. here in bryant park, where new yorkers get fresh air is a big screen to watch the argentina-switzerland game and then the big one here at 4:00. we expect office workers to come down and watch this game in a collective spirit. it's important that the u.s. wins. if they don't win today, they're out of the tournament. >> all right, reporting live in new york city. thank you, have fun. >> in 25 minutes, we'll go to brazil to see how the fans there have rallied around team u.s.a. and brazil. >> i've never seen that kind of excitement for soccer. >> a little beer goes a long

way. >> parts of the midwest are cleaning up after severe weather tore through the area. >> for more, we turn to ebony dionne. >> we are expecting to see more rough weather today. the severe weather shifted further east in advance of a cold front that will eventually work its way into the eastern coastline, as well. we're going to watch this rain and thunderstorm activity push off to the east. behind that front, we're cooler and certainly going to catch a break. i do have video out of wisconsin to show you the heavy rain in this area. this is just off to the west of milwaukee. you can see it was rainy, windy, winds gusting over 30 miles per hour at times and just blinding rain throughout the day. we only ended up picking up officially about an inch in milwaukee, but that rain was quite heavy at times and here's a look at where we are see that go rain now. wisconsin now in the clear, we have just a few clouds streaking overhead. we've watched the heavy rain move across missouri now closing in on the st. louis area.

it looks like chicago, we're start to go clear a bit. through the afternoon hours, a few isolated storms can't be ruled out and that's exactly what we expect in the northeast. the larger cities will stay on the drier side today. further south, we are watching tropical storm one, winds at 35 miles an hour expected to strengthen later today. back to you. >> g.m. facing yet another massive recall. beal talk about the latest cars affected as the company tries to make amends with the families of victims who suffered from faulty vehicles. >> doctors giving a new prognosis for women involving yearly checkup. they say that routine exam may do more harm than good. >> new laws going into effect today allowing people to carry guns into bars, church and schools. we'll talk to an advocate who helped write the rules for one state about people who really

need to bring guns into those kinds of places. >> a kung fu master showing off his skills, including walking on water. >> wow. >> landed him in the report books, that and many others captured by our citizen journalists.

>> we are following this breaking news rights now coming out of israel. this is a live look at the town of avalon, funeral services underway for one israel teenager found murdered in hebron. he had dual israel and u.s. citizenship, studying near the west bank. >> a day of mourning in israel for those teens. >> a massive fire erupting in china after a leak at an oil gas pipe -- oil pipeline. you can see the flames breakingout near a university and residential area in the city. 20,000 residents evacuate there had. >> homeless advocates celebrating a victory in sao paulo. lawmakers passed a bill including more funding for low

income housing. they have been protesting since last week. >> one kung fu master showing off his skills that landed him in the guinness book of word records, demonstrating his ability to walk across water. wow. >> that is one cool piece. >> and doing that, walking on stilts. >> in just a moment, we'll talk about the recalls from g.m. dealing with deaths connected to its cars. >> a 10 day ceasefire in ukraine is over and the military launched a new offensive against pro-russian separatists in the east. vladimir putin voicing his opposition says neither russia nor ukraine's european partners could talk poroshenko out of ending the ceasefire. the fighting resumed in eastern ukraine this morning. >> the center south of donetsk,

president poroshenko in a televised address tuesday morning said the armed forces will not let themselves use force against peaceful people. they never hit residential neighborhood. i'm standing in a residential neighborhood and you can see new damage here. we were here just two days ago. the building behind me over there has been hit. that is a residential apartment block. this building is a school where we are told by locals there was a shelter. i've counted at least three residential buildings which have been hit, but the picture as we've been here is a little more complex than just the very simplistic idea of residential versus separatist-held. what one of the local residents told us is that even in the residential buildings used as impromptu barracks by separatist

fighters. you can see there is a fine line, well actually a blurred line between what is residential and what is not. the city building witness the headquarters of the separatists is 200 meters in that direction. you can see that some of the shells have been very much wide of the mark. as we tiptoe through here, another this on my left hand be you can see the smashed windows and probably the starkest impression of a shell having arrived here in the early hours of this morning after the ceasefire was ended is in the side of that building there. you can see how a shell has gone in. the direction of the shells arriving is from the north. that would strongly suggest that they are army shells coming in, because the army positions are in that direction. you can see very definitely the ceasefire is over, the anti

terror operation such as the government in kiev calls it has resumed. it's not always as accurate as they would have you believe. >> paul brennan in a residential community in ukraine. >> russian computer hackers targeting we were and oil gas companies according to "the new york times," says the attack appears to be drill espionage to sabotage western corporations to give russia a leg up on international energy markets. hackers can seize from of pipe lines and infrastructure from far away. >> a french bank palestinian sanctions for transferring billions of dollars on behalf of sudan and other countries black listed by the u.s. it is a record for bankers doing business with companies that face u.s. sanctions. >> in a year that's been filled with auto recalls, g.m.

announces the biggest so far. >> all of this happening just as the company put into place a system to compensate victims for faulty ignition switches. we have the numbers. >> a terrible year for g.m. and its consumers has gotten worse, recalling 8.4 million more vehicles, bringing the total number of recalls to more than 29 million, breaking the all time record for most cars recalled in a single year by a single automakers. the company outlined a plan to pay victims of its defective ignition switches. >> g.m. recalls touched most brands from chevrolets to upon thebacks, saturn to say buicks, old mobiles to cadillacs. g.m. knows of 13 who dated along with 54 accidents directly related to its now infamous faulty ignition switches. independent audits estimate the death toll may be closer to 300. for over a decade, g.m. failed

to rahm the switches which could turn off from being jostled or weighted with other keys. airbags, power steering and other critical systems then failed. one who dialed was the son of rosie cortinez. >> the loss of my son, i want them toage that general motors put out some defective vehicles and hid it for so long. he didn't to have die. >> hours after the latest recall, g.m. said it will pay the victims. the company hired compensation expert kenneth feinberg to decide how much to pay victims or survivors. he'll start receiving claims august 1. >> g.m. basically has said whatever it cost to say pay all eligible claims under the protocol, they will pay it. there is no ceiling on the aggregate dollars. >> feinberg once oversaw payouts to 9/11 victims and beep oil spill. he drew criticism in his b.p.

work for requiring victims who settled not to sue b.p. he'll be asking for the same promise from g.m. victims. >> i'm here to compensate victims, not punish general motors. >> so far, g.m. has had $2.5 billion in recalls on its books. that's only a fraction of g.m.'s reserve fund of $33 billion. g.m. advises people who own these cars if they can't get right away to the shop to get this problem fixed, take off all keys, key rings and all remote control fobs from your key chain, just drive with that singular key. >> easier way to lose your keys, but safer. >> as we prepare to go to ebony dionne, last winter we had three feet of snow on the ground. >> the polar vortex is for away. >> now, you got smacked in the face with summer. it is hot. let's find out temperatures we

can expect across the country today. >> temperatures are going to climb above average across parts of the west, the east, but right along the northern tear, we will feel a built of a cooldown thanks to a frontal boundary that has made its way through knocking our temperatures down. temperatures will foul in the dakotas and minnesota, far go only getting to 59. still in advance of the front, we do have very, very warm temperatures, 90 in cincinnati and we'll reach mid 80's in chicagoland. in the northeast, we have the heat and humidity. we are going to deal with heat advisories into western areas of new york, around rochester, where it's going to feel more like 100, the heat will continue for the next couple of days. >> you did say polar vortex this morning. ebony, thank you very much. >> hidden danger, aljazeera takes a close look at this countries broken bridges.

>> a trucker giving a cop a ticket. the crimes he accuses him of committing and the unusual encounter all caught on tape. >> world cup fever said to heat up again today as america fights to stay alive. how americans here and in brazil are getting set for the big match. >> now inroducing, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. get our exclusive in depth, reporting 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

>> a live look at the capitol building in washington, d.c. this morning. it's going to be a hot one in the nation's capitol, temperatures climbing into the 90's. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> we look at a major problem facing one in nine american commuters broken and potentially dangerous bridges. >> we're bog to introduce you to a group taking part in a special camp using music to overcome disabilities. a group of surfers joined by a whale trying to watch some waves. >> first, there is a changeup to yearly checkups for millions of women. >> a group of doctors recommending against routine pelvic exams, saying they may do more harm nan good. >> as expected, this is causing controversy. >> doctors groups are saying we

still support annual pelvic exams. the american college of physicians, which is an influential medical group said the pelvic exam is unnecessary. for decades, gynecologists have inspected the cervix and feeling for abnormalities in the ovaries and uterus, but guidelines suggest doctors should not perform the practice for healthy women, saying the pelvic exam does not discover enough disease and cancer to balance the discomfort and false alarms. this does not apply to women who are pregnant or have symptoms. while most problems tend to be benign, doctors argue it can help with cancer conditions. >> we can detect a mass. it could be important, because it could be a sign are a cancer risk. >> this does not mean healthy

women can skip the stirrups. you still need to get a pap smear, testing for diseases. >> the. a smear has new guidelines and changes, as well, right? >> it used to be once every year, no, now it's once every three years. >> why are some doctors concerned about these changes? >> probably because gynecologists tend to be most women's primary doctor. it certainly was for me for many years. they're concerned about women here, ok, i don't need a pelvic exam, that means going to the doctor once every three years and maybe some women will stop skipping the doctor altogether. >> a new nationals finds vaccines are safe, effective and there is no evidence they might cause autism. the report looked at 67 studies

and concluded serious cam applications from vaccines very rare. this as health officials report new outbreaks of measles and whooping cough. the authors want to reassure parents it's much safer to vaccinate children than run the risk of them getting ill. >> the supreme court ruled in favor of companies who don't want to provide contraception as part of the affordable care act. in a 5-4 vote, the companies can seek an exemption on religious grounds. it applies to family owned or closely held companies. the challenge was brought by craft store chain hobby lobby and a pennsylvania furniture company. >> he is back after spending more than two months in rehab, toronto's mayor rob ford back on the job this morning. speaking monday at an invitation only news conference, he said he is ashamed of past behavior and wants to continue to serve. >> over the coming months, friends, my top priority will be

rebuilding trust, rebuilding trust with the public and my fellow members of council. >> right after he delivered that apology, two candidates also running for mayor of toronto this october called on ford to resign. >> every day, more than 200 million cars cross bridges across the country. one in nine of those travel on bridges inspectors labeled structurally deficient. we traveled to three big city to say show just how broken our nation's bridges are. >> it collapsed. >> where at? >> in minneapolis, people are all over the place. >> everything you get, the whole bridge over the river fell down. there's cars all over the place. >> where, sir? >> 35. there's hundreds of cars in the river. bring everything you got.

>> lindsey was 24 in 2007. she was stuck in traffic, frustrated and anxious to get home after a long day, slowly approaching the i-35w bridge. >> so i got to about the middle of the bridge when i heard a clank. it was a very distinct sound of metal breaking. >> what did you see? >> my car was in immediate freefall. it just went straight to the bottom and it was immediately full of water. >> a formal investigation into the collapse took more than a year. at the time of the collapse, the bridge was also listed as structurally deficient. engineers ruled the bridge was in need of critical maintenance, but still safe enough to remain open. >> how many bridges in this country are deficient right now? >> we have about 60,000 structure ally deficient bridge, those are bridges with physical

problems that need greater mains nance, rehabilitation replacement. that's about one in nine bridges in this country. >> one in nine bridges. >> are structure ally deficient. >> stacy is with the american see so it for a civil engineers. every four years, they evaluate the state of america's infrastructure. the most recent report card gave our nation a shocking d plus, while our bridges were graded a c plus. >> how have we allowed this to happen in our country to get so many deficient bridges. >> like many categories of infrastructure, we've tended to take these things for granted. perhaps we can did he ever maintenance a little bit. there's a federal highway trust fund that supports bridges, roadways and transit systems. that trust fund is going to go bankrupt in august of this year. congress has a major challenge before it right now. >> that fund sends $35 billion

each year to all 50 states. for most, it's their primary source of funding, but it is not collecting enough revenue from taxes and could be drained to zero by august 1. lindsey still deals with post traumatic stress and survivor's guilt. she said the bigsest loss of all was to her faith. >> i can see the cracks. i can see all of the things that are wrong with our infrastructure and our believes and all the different ways that we don't care for stuff like that. i don't trust that things will be safe. >> adam may, aljazeera, minneapolis. >> a reminder you can watch america tonight weeknights at 9:00 p.m. eastern and 6:00 p.m. pacific time on aljazeera. >> a march for democracy this morning in hong kong. tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets there calling for the city's leader to be sacked. this is one of the most visible

challenge to the chinese communist party rule in a decade. hong kong's chief executive urging stability after people voted for full democracy in an unofficial referendum. >> japan's military may be able to get involved in fighting overseas, with a reinterpretation of the constitution allowing the countries forces to be involved in military action to defend its allies. japan's constitution previously denounced war. >> to the murder trial of oscar pistorius, after a month long psychiatric evaluation. today's testimony focused on whether neighbors could have heard his seems after he shot and killed reeva steenkamp last year. he claims he thought she was an intruder.

>> the stars and stripes beating the odds and getting ready to face a tough challenge from the red devils. excited fans from both teams taking it to the streets where the match will be held later this afternoon. >> the calming notes reverborrate off the walls of the old city. it is one of the most historic places in the entire country. both the u.s. and belgium are looking to make history when they face each other. monday night, hundreds of hard core supporters of the u.s. packed a ballroom in the city, a festival of red, white and blue.

the americans came into the tournament with low expect is as, and now find themselves in the final 16. >> go u.s.a.! >> one win away from equaling their best ever world cup performance in modern times. >> we ever to beat belgium. we beat belgium, we go on and most likely play argentina. that will be an amazing game. >> very cost you are. >> you have to be! americans, we're confident people and we have a great team. >> the belgian fans have other ideas, in the old city crammed into a local hotel pub, their unofficial base camp. >> oh, my god! >> the president of the belgian football federation clearly having fun, hoping some brazilian good luck would rub off on his side. >> we hope to lead them to play against the united states, because the alternative was germany was so, i think that we have a serious chance.

i don't say that web the win, but i think we have a chance to win. >> back at the u.s. party, they went late into the night, not wanting this improbable ride to end. >> we are joined live from the city of salvador. the countdown begins. how are the fans getting ready? >> they are probably still resting right now, stephanie after that wild night at that u.s.a. party. we left about 9:30 last night and there were still people pouring in there in red, white and blue, singing, celebrating, getting ready. in all seriousness, they will rest their vices, getting ready, because the u.s. is going to need all their supporters at full strength later today when they play belgium. this is a historic match for the u.s. they've been to the round of 16

six times in the last 20 years. it would be the first time since 1930 they have gotten this close to the final. it's going to be incredible. lots of belgium fans here, as well, the stadium will be rocking, lots of anticipation, a lot on the line. u.s.a. fans probably still resting here, getting ready for the big match. >> taking their hangover curious and getting ready. they have several hours to go yet. we did stories about the protests and construction delays, a lot of questions leading up to these games. are any of those problems showing up? >> >> the short answer is no. the stadiums were delayed, sao paulo stadium particularly, but everything has worked with the stadium so far. in fact, the stadiums have been really one of the heights, according to most football writers who have been here covering this. everything's gone fine there. airports, talk of massive problems there, not really.

the biggest problem at airports is the airport in sao paulo closing because of fog. that's not a big deal. security's been pretty good. here, the police put out some numbers, saying less than 1% of the tourists had any sort of security problems that they encountered. brazilian government is ecstatic with how well this has gone so far. >> party on then! reporting live from salvador. >> do you think those u.s. fans had practice before going into the bars. >> we are hard core fans here. >> new laws that make it ok to bring guns into bars and schools. >> we're talking with the head of one group in georgia that helped write that state's law. >> surfers in the waters off the coast of australia get a surprise visit from a rather large friend. r leads - all the.

al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> lots of plastic is floating in the world's oceans and could be taking a big toll on the global eco system. 88% of the water's surface is covered in debris. it takes hundreds of years to break down, instead, just splitting into smaller and smaller parts. welcome to al jazeera america. just ahead, how some of country music biggest stars help those with disabilities express themselves through music. >> three states have new gun laws that take effect today in indiana, consist and georgia, expanding places where a gun can be carried. gun owners can take firearms into bars, churches and schools. the executive director of georgia carry joins us from atlanta this morning, mr. henry thank you for being with us.

you helped write the law. why do you support it and why is it important to take a gun inside a church? >> well, because there are dangerous people in church. churches are private property, and as are bars and those private property owners ever the right to tell you whether you can or cannot carry a firearm on their property. they should not be treated any different. we have separation of church and state in this country and the church should decide, which they can now. >> i want to take you back to your statement, churches, there are dangerous people in churches. ministers would argue they are there to be saved. has there been an outbreak of violence in churches? >> over the last 10 years, there have been 440 people killed and 660. >>s in churches, so i would say yes. >> were they killed by guns? >> they were killed by guns when people entered the church illegally and started shooting, mass shootings, just like they do in schools.

>> according to the f.b.i., in 2012, handguns were the cause of 6400 murders, rifles used in 300 murders, but fists caused fewer than 700. the reason most people people the need to have a gun is that they are afraid of something or someone. who are you afraid of? >> i'm not afraid of anybody. i have a firearm. >> without that firearm, would you be afraid of anybody and if so, who? >> i would not be afraid of anybody particularly, but i would be very aware of where i go and when i go. anywhere i go, i should be allowed and i am under the constitution, to protect myself and my family and that's what we're fighting for. >> what about that person that fears you because you have a firearm in that school, bar or church? >> sometimes when people exercise their god given constitutional rights, it makes others uncomfortable and maybe this is one of those times. >> what do you say to them? >> if you want to be free one

have to have rights. >> but they're free, too. do they not have a right to say that they don't want that gun is a church, bar or school? >> they do have that right and they have the right to get up and leave if they don't want to be there. >> mr. henry, on average in the u.s., there has been a school shooting every week. now you're talking about bringing a gun into a classroom. why? >> now wait a minute. every week there's been one? where did you get those statistics. >> every week. >> if that is from every guns u.s.a., every guns, michael bloomberg's group that is a false statement. this law does not allow to you bring guns into school. it laws the local school boards to determine if they want to arm teachers or administrator to say help protect their children. >> let me ask you this. right now, handguns, correct?

>> any gun, it's not limited to handguns. >> where does it stop? are we talking about bringing an uzi into the tabernacle. >> if you have a license to carry, i can say yes, you can do that. however, the tacker knackle's not going to let you do it, so it's a moot point. >> mr. henry, thank you for being with us this morning. >> we're going to change gears here. some country music stars helping people with developmental disabilities tap into their creative potential. as jonathan martin reports, they're helping researchers study a rare disorder. >> i love what you say about the colors. >> it looks like a typical song writing session working on a new tune. as you'll see and hear, this is something special.

>> let's take ideas from everywhere. >> this music camp is for young adults with williams syndrome, affecting almost 30,000 people in the u.s. it causes cardiovascular, learning and developmental disability. those are the disorder have strong verbal schools and affinity for music. >> some are very talented and others interested in music and focus on their unique strength, which is music. >> they came here to record their song and that's where the magic happened. ♪ ♪ >> they have amazing innate sense of music, which is the amaze, inc. thing about the syndrome, there are negatives, but so many positives about

them. >> participants are from all over the country. as they write and record, researchers study how the brain responds to music. during this session, the song they recorded is called bright eyes. >> in our eyes, we have starbursts and when the light shines in our eyes, it shines to everyone else, so i guess it just means that we have bright eyes and we're here to shine it for other people in the world. >> country artists join and get a lot from their participation. >> they might be the biggest group of talented musicians in nashville, because they have big old hearts and they are to bright and that's what it takes to be in the music business. >> these kids just do it for the heck of it. they just love it. i learn from them. >> after a week of writing, recording and rubbing elbows with their favorite stars, it all comes down to this.

♪ we're in this together >> they performed on a the stage coveted by musicians all over the world, the grand ole opry. >> they're changing my world. >> the crowd gave them an honor, a standing ovation. >> it's not just folks there studying with williams syndrome. researchers are looking into music for alzheimer's and depression. we all have an innate love of music. >> wouldn't it be great if we sang more and shot less. >> not if i sang. >> we're going to talk about wet weather across the u.s. here's ebony dionne. >> i bet you sing, right? >> i don't. i can speak well, but not sing so much. >> speak, then, speak. >> we are watching for more wet

weather, no thunderstorm warnings or watches in place. we did have a line of storms pushing across the lower great lakes that prompted watches. here across the southeast, we will continue to monitor our first tropical depression of the season, could become a tropical storm later today. >> you do not want to hear me sing. >> a truck driver is getting a lot of attention this morning for turning the tables on a police officer. brian miner was driving through illinois when he honked at a cub speeding and talking on his cell phone. the officer tried to give him a ticket. >> you honked at me because you believe i was speeding. >> because you were driving recklessly and speeding out, it's got wet roads and you were on your cell phone. >> do you have a radar in here? >> the officer went back to his car and came back a short time later. >> you're just trying to, you know, help me out, help me drive safely. i understand that, so, but.

>> we're all out here sharing the same road. you should be held accountable to the same standards as i am. >> absolutely. >> the power of video. according to the video, the officer also inspected the driver's truck, which was violation-free and admitted he appoint paying attention to how was he was going. the illinois state police are verinvestigating the incident. >> surfers in australia getting an unexpected treat, hanging out side by side with a whale. a photographer and helicopter catching all of it on tape. the whale may have been pregnant. >> tomorrow morning on aljazeera america, the biggest game of the year for team u.s.a. at the world cup. we'll have reaction from the players and fans after what we hope is a big win. >> we'll tell you whether or not john changed clothes after all of that. thanks for joining us this morning. i'm del walters.

>> i'm stephanie sy. have a great morning.

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello there. and welcome to the news hour. live from our headquarters in doha. i'm shiulie ghosh, coming up in the next 60 minutes. israel strikes hamas targets after the bodies of three missing settlers are found in the west bank. dozens feared dead in nigeria after a car bomb tears through a market in an eastern city.