>> al jazeera america presents >> it's a beginning of a new life for me... >> can't keep running from everything... 15 stories, 1 incredible journey >> edge of eighteen coming september only on al jazeera america >> strehl launches a military offensive overnight, bombing targets in gaza and building troops for a possible ground invasion. president obama is responding to the latest mideast escalation. >> pushed back by the ukrainian military, burning down bridges and gathering in donetsk to make a final stand. >> the immigration controversy heats up as the white house announces thousands of migrant children will be deported. the united nations call on kids

to be treated at refugees. >> a roller coaster derailment, 27 riders dangling in the air. the daring rescue that took hours. >> good morning within welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. with begin with breaking news out of afghanistan. four nato soldiers are among 16 killed in an overnight attack near a medical clinic north of kabul. two afghan police officers and 10 civilians died and at least 14 others injured. >> those nato troops said to be investigating a rocket attack that hit nearby baghram air force base. the taliban has claimed responsibility. we'll have the latest on the attack with a live report from kabul. >> turning now to israel, military officials have launched an offensive against hamas. >> they're calling it operation protective edge. overnight, israeli forces began bombing dozens of targets in gaza. they are mobilizing troops for a

possible ground invasion. >> president obama addressing the crisis in an israeli newspaper today. the president called on both side to say make peace, adding: >> snibbing shiv has the latest now from the israeli-gaza border. >> for hours, israeli hit gaza by land and sea, striking training bases and rocket bases. it tore through buildings and flattened homes. they are picking through the pieces. israeli warned this man's family before dropping a missile on his house. >> after 10 minutes of evacuating the house, they attacked it. the house is destroyed. >> rockets keep being launched, forcing hundreds of thousands of israelis into bomb sheltered. this is the sound heard often.

one rocket flew into the house. the hole created is just a few feet from his and his wife's bed. this is how it looked thursday. >> everything is broke. the wall is break, it is a miracle. my wife and my children is ok. >> so this is the safe room. >> actually, they owe their lives to a feature of every house here, a safe room. she had to grab her children in 15 seconds. >> the sound was strong. i said to myself, the explosion is here in my home. when i got out, the stairs were filled with smoke. >> in gaza, the strikes wounded and killed dozens and terrified thousands more. >> suddenly, the rockets shook the whole area, my family fled from the room except me, i was in shock. i couldn't move my leg. >> in this region right now, the fear sparks anger. hamas, which runs gaza responds

with defiance. they portray their fighters as matters. >> it is free to defend its people. >> they call on their government to be defiant for a long term ground war. >> we hope forces enter gaza and you within for all so everything will be eradicated there. >> both sides are escalating. the israelis don't expect this operation to be short. >> coming up in just a few minutes, we go back live near the gaza border. we'll look closer at the israeli military build up and long term impact on the region. >> tempers flaring at an immigration protest in california, people exchanging insults over undocumented immigrants coming to murietta. angry residents turned away several buses filled with migrants flown there from texas. the white house is asking congress for help with the

border crisis. mike viqueira joins us from washington, d.c. congress is nearing their summer recent. is there a sense of urgency to get this situation under control before they leave. >> there is a suns of urgency, but both sides are staking out their political ground and both sides, republicans and democrats have unhappiness with what the president wants to do. for today, yes, we do expect the white house to officially announce what's expected to be more than $2 billion to expedite the processing of many migrants who have rushed to the border. president obama is taking political hits over his handling of the crisis. >> it's becoming a familiar sight in california, plane loads of undocumented women and children arriving from overcrowded detention centers in other states. today, the white house will ask congress for more than $2 billion to help deal with the problem. >> we're seeking additional judges and lawyers and asylum officials who can process claims more quickly to make sure each case is heard and given the

requisite amount of attention. >> claims said to include 50,000 children who entered the u.s. on their own so far this year. >> it is unlikely that most of these kids will qualify for humanitarian relief. >> a question homeland secretary refused to answer, if those kids will be deported. >> if they don't qualify for that humanitarian relief and don't have a legal basis for remaining, they will be sent back. >> yes, we can. >> but that news was not well received outside the white house. >> we're going to take action on this. we want these kids to reunite with their parents. that's what they came for. it's not their fault. >> we need to find human way to resolve the issue to make sure the kids who qualify for refugee status stay here. that is number one. >> that echoed by the u.n., who say thousands of children qualify for refugee status,

displaced by violence and armed conflict. meanwhile, the political battle continues with texas governor rick perry saying he will not greet president obama when he lands in the lone star state unless he agrees to discuss the crisis. it is compared to another disaster. >> i hope this doesn't become the katrina moment for president obama, saying he doesn't need to come to the border. he does need to come down and see exactly what's happening. >> stephanie, there are late breaking developments overnight in what the president plans to do while in texas. we saw that rick perry said he's not going to be shaking the president's hand, greeting him when he arrives in texas. a round table has been set up in dallas. the president's going to spend two days in texas raising money for democrats. he is adding this event, a round table with officials and clergy to talk about the immigration crisis and governor perry's invited.

>> yet pointedly, mike, the president is choosing not to go to the border. has the white house said why? >> we can look at this and pretty much determine what the white house calculation is. if the president goes to the border, he owns this problem politically and of course the republicans are trying to push him into that ownership already. the white house scoffs at the notion that the president needs to go there. the white house said cabinet officials ever visited, as well as secretary of state john kerry and other top officials who visited those country, those three countries in central america that is the origin of this exodus. >> in arizona, there has been a major court ruling involving the right to some undocumented immigrants there. federal appeals court blocking arizonas attempt to prevent thousands of dreamers from getting driver's license. those are young people who came to the u.s. as children without documentation. >> australia pledging to give asylum seekers more time before

they are deported. more than 150 were picked up off boats. >> our top story, the military offensive launched in israel in gaza, nick schiffron is live at the israeli-gaza border. what is the military hoping to accomplish with this action? >> the military is hoping to accomplish a very serious operation, they've had briefings for all of us reporters this morning and they've said we're trying to retrieve the stability for the residents here, eliminate hamas' capabilities and destroy the terror infrastructure. behind me, the last time the israelis launched a major operation into gaza, three were killed by rocket fire here. last night there were six sirens.

this is a town barraged by rockets. clearly, the military trying to argue that it's time for this to stop once and for all. the spokesman for the prime minister saying put an end to this finally. that really does seem to suggest that this is just the beginning of the escalation. israel is going to take it further in the days to come. >> doesn't israel risk making matters worse with operation protective edge? >> yeah, the tension is extremely high everywhere, not only on this border, but in jerusalem, northern israel, there's been a lot of tension over the last week over the death of the palestinian teenager in jerusalem. what's happening here on the border is a lot of fear, a lot of hostility on both sides. hundreds of thousands of israels spent the evening last night in bomb shelters. the rockets are now reaching much farther than before, some 50 miles from gaza and inside

gaza this morning, we are seeing a barrage of fire, and when the israel's do this, they are big weapons. i've been there quite a bit. you can really feel the ground shake and that really terrorizes many, many people. israel attacks fighters launching those rockets into israel. >> nick schiffron live from israel. thank you very much. >> also pro russian rebels probable to make a final stand in donetsk against on you craneian troops. they've destroyed bridges leading into the city and stole a local world war ii tank from a museum. residents were forced out of their homes by soldiers late last week. >> chicago's top cop sounding off about gun violence in his city over the weekend. sixty people were shot and nine killed. the police chief says it has to stop now. >> ladies and gentlemen, it's groundhog day here in chicago. >> police superintendent gary

mcarty compared the weekend shootings to the famous film because it keeps happening over and over. >> we had basically the same level of shootings that we did last year, which is unacceptable, because this year, we put a ton of effort into preventing it. >> those efforts included hundreds of additional cops on the streets. the strategy seemed to be working thursday, friday and saturday with you sunday, 21 shootings in total, chicago's top cop admits something went wrong. >> we are constantly looking what's going on and trying to do it better. >> everyone should be outraged and demand changes at every level, said this priest. >> when people talk about chicago is getting a bad name, then end it. ending it means doing a whole lot of things, yes, parents, yes, police, yes, neighbors, yes, blacks and communities, but it also means jobs. >> most shootings happened on the south side. police say there are eight separate incidents where

officers discharged their weapons or were shot at. >> everybody asks me what's different about new york and chicago, i can tell you proliferation of firearms. when i chaises people in new york, they used to throw the guns away. we chase people in chicago, they keep the guns and turn on our officers. >> chicago police have taken nearly 3400 illegal guns off the streets since january, recovering 100 in the last days alone. >> there is more of a sanction by their gang for losing their guns than there is to get arrested with it. >> 19-year-old star said she's been a gang member 10 years and numb to the violence. she asked that we not show her face. >> you can be afraid, but then again, there's really nothing you can be afraid of. either you're going to get killed or you're not. >> you don't worry about dying. >>? >> if it happens, it happens. >> i'm not scared. >> chicago police will continue the program to pack more cops into high violence areas, but

the superintendent says with current resources and laws, the criminal justice system in illinois is simply not designed to reduce gun violence. aljazeera, chicago. >> this has been the biggest surge in gun violence chicago has seen this year. >> 6.9 magnitude earthquake near guatemala's border with mexico, killing two people. local news anchors could be seen swaying side to side when the quake struck. it triggered mudslides and damaged several buildings. >> japan is bracing for a typhoon equivalent to a major hurricane, and it is impacting u.s. troops in okinawa. >> we have the very latest. this is a major storm. >> yes. what we would consider a strong category three, almost four on the scale, hurricane and typhoon being the same thing, different words for different parts of the world. winds 125 miles per hour. you can see where this is

impacting the southern islands, bracing for that. in japan, unlike the united states, they have very strong building codes in a lot of areas, where as the united states is kind of a patch work, so you're more likely to see flooding damage. this is heading into colder waters. these are water temperatures, as it does that and heads towards the mainland, it looks like we'll see that storm weakening, so by the time it hits mainland japan, looking at possibly still a typhoon, maybe tropical storm at that point. what we're concerned about is this is slow moving, so dumping a lot of rain that in region and that could lead more to the flooding concerns but definitely more of that coming into the area. >> really an active season on both sides, too. >> we are getting into the heart of it, so it will get more active now. >> israel preparing for escalation of violence with a troop build up. >> how the military move is in they were related by the

palestinians and the rest of the world. >> recreational pot goes on sale in washington state in just a few hours. why there's already a shortage of the popular product. >> straight ahead, we'll preview today's big world cup semifinal match between powerhouses brazil and germany. >> $675 million, that's how much the nhl is expected to shell out to former players who suffered brain injuries because of concussions. >> we'll look at what each player may be entitled to. stuart! stuart!

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>> a major decision for a former nfl players who filed concussion related claims against the nfl, 675 surprised that is the amount a federal judge approved monday, a judge previously questions whether that would be enough to pay the claims. $5 million will go to young retirees with lou gehrig's disease, 1.6 to players over 50 suffering alzheimer's.

>> there will be testimony at closed armed senate services hearing on afghanistan and iraq, where there is a new road block to creating a unified government. aljazeera is in baghdad this morning. good morning. what is behind this impasse in parliament? >> quite simply, stephanie, absolutely everything. it seems nobody in the iraqi political spectrum can agree on anything, whether it's the speaker of the house, whether it's who's going to be president or who will be prime minister. therefore, there was a meeting that was supposed to take place today. the parliamentary sessions choosing speaker of the house didn't happen. they put it off until the 12t 12th and political impasse just keeps getting wider. it seems that nobody has one candidate that they want to back. there's nobody that wants to

come straight out and say prime minister malaki, that's the one we want. there's differing opinions. they can't agree on anything. >> short of a political solution. the islamic state continues to hold cities. how secure is the capitol, baghdad, and what have military advices been doing to secure the capitol? >> military advices are specifically designed to train and help equip for the iraqi army. they're not in charge of securing baghdad itself. that's up to the baghdad operations command. we've seen suicide bombings, car bombings in the last few days. baghdad isn't safe and hasn't been for 18 months now. people still keep getting inside the perimeters of the city and using car bombs to create a lot of damage and death here.

baghdad itself isn't under attack directly, but it certainly is part of the war that's ongoing here. in terms of the islamic state, the longer the political impasse continues, the more entrenched they get, the more reinforcements they bring in and the more tougherrer they get to fight. >> thank you. ahead in our next half hour, america tonight correspondent taking us inside a christian village in the middle of the iraqi war. we'll take a closer look at the powerful leader of the islamic state. >> israeli military officials launching a major offensive against hamas, calling it operation protective edge, and israeli forces bombing dozens of targets in gaza. israeli officials say they are mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion. nine people killed on monday by air strikes in gaza. hamas said they will avenge their deaths. company director of the middle

east center for peace, culture and development at northeastern university is in boston this morning. professor, good morning. israel getting ready to call up 1500 reservists positioned around gaza as it prepares for escalation. how do you interpret these moves and how should the palestinians interpret them? >> so far, israel is clearly indicating a willingness to increase the military pressure on hamas and to show hamas in particular that it is willing, if necessary, to launch a ground invasion into the gaza strip. however, i think it is clear from everything israel has said and done over the last few days that that's not actually their desire, what the israeli government has indicated so far is that they want to strike at hamas. they want to punish hamas. ultimately, they want to stop the rocket fire and deterrents but have no desire for a lengthy

ground war inside gaza, let alone to reoccupy the gas mistake strip -- >> both sides are saying that and yet we see these troop build ups. is there an international high stakes game of chicken or are we getting ready to see another war? >> i think there's saber rattling on both sides and i think yes, both sides are in essence being dragged into the confrontation. neither wants the situation. neither wants to sort out a war, but the danger is a war can happen anyway. 100 years ago, the first world war started in an escalation, also neither side wanted but ended up in war. the danger is there once again. neither hamas nor israel wants an all out war but are driven by internal political pressure. both sides could end up in one. >> the president says not too late for peace that kind he says that is the only avenue forward.

are those wasted words at this time, and is there any u.s. role in deescalating the violence? >> well, i think there's always a u.s. role to play. certainly the united states has an important role in mobilizing the international community, send messages to both the israeli and takano leaderships, including hamas that an escalation is not in their interest. the u.s. has a rolen couraging egypt to play an active role and try to mediate and bring about a ceasefire. in terms of president obama's message, it's always important to remind israelis and palestinians that the only way to ensure their long term security is to a peace agreement and all other ways of trying to improve security, particularly a military ways are ultimately going to be futile. i think that's the message that israels and palestinians need to hear now more than ever. >> thank you for being with us

as always this morning. that is doug waxman from northeastern university joining us from boston. >> it's down to 14, still in the hunt for the 2014 world cup and after tonight, we'll be able to whittle that down to three. >> they had two days off, now going into the home stretch. tonight's game featuring the home team. we have a preview. that is going to be quite the matchup. >> it will. this world cup started three and a half weeks ago with portugal, like costa rica, like the united states advancing while favorites made early exits. now the upstarts are down and out. the four teams left standing are true heavyweights, two of them slug it out tonight. >> brazil, germany, argentina and the netherlands, your world cup finalists are all

international soccer powerhouses. tonight, host country brazil and mighty germany strayed blows, although they hope not literally. brazil has seen rough play break the back of their star namar, scoring or assisting on half of the world cup goals is too hurt to play. germany's coach thinks that's a same. >> we have to see that these very, very brutal and rustic fouls are prohibited, because otherwise, we don't need players like namar, getz, or recognize, but other players that destroy things. >> silva is suspended for making too many of those brutal and rustic fouls germany's coach wants to see out of the game. >> all that is happening is only help to go unite the group. i think its strengthens the group. >> while brazil is feeling the

pain going into tonight's semifinal, both team are feeling the pressure. germany feels what many consider the most talented team in europe. they're the first to make four straight world cup semifinals, but can't seem to win the big one. in 2002, germany's last world cup final appearance ended in a 2-0 loss to tuesday's opponent, brazil. the brazilians risk disappointing their home crowd if they don't win. they haven't lost at home in 12 years. >> both teams have this big motivation to play in the final. for us, it is a special challenge to play the hosts in the semifinals. >> the winner of tonights match will face the winner of wednesday's semifinal between argentina and the netherlands in rio this sunday. the winner of that game will bring home the 2014 world cup. >> we will have much more world cup coverage in our next hour, including the excitement

building for brazilians getting ready to cheer on their home team. >> the excitement is building for nicole mitchell, because she is back with another check of our weather. >> good to have you back. >> not as cooperative with weather areas. we have flooding in the midwest. this isn't the only place in the world that dealt with in a flooding, kind of a similar situation in spain, week after week of heavy torrential rain especially the rivers as everything drains off. as i said, still as all that have water that floods down the mississippi, still causing problems along the way. let's get to temperatures this morning, cooler in parts of the midwest, 50's and 60s. already 70's through the south and it is going to be hot up and down the east coast, although the southwest wins with those 100s, so a few sultry spots.

>> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> we've been talking an awful lot about the islamic state, isil. as it battles for control of iraq, their leader remains a mystery. >> who is abu bakr al-baghdadi and what role that the u.s. played in his rise to power. >> an all out riot, why people took to the streets following a deadly fire. >> a scary ride on a california roller coaster. two dozen people trapped for hours off the a tree falls on the tracks. >> a federal judge's message to the supreme court was not appropriate for morning television. one of the stories making headlines around the world.

>> you're looking at the sandy hook light house on this tuesday morning, eighth of july, summer flying by. >> pretty picture there. >> it is going to be hot and miserable today.

good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. ahead, a roller coaster rescue, first responders rushed to the scene after a ride leaves passengers dangling in the air for hours. >> we'll be joined by an owner of a dispensary licensed to sell recreational pot in washington state. >> in our next hour, the baby abandoned on a subway station platform by her own mother. >> first a look at today's top stories. israel launching a new offensive against hamas. it is now preparing troops for possible ground action. president obama writing in the israel newspaper calling on both sides to make peace. >> the white house looking at thousands of children wants $2 billion to process those kids and eventually send them home. the u.n. said they should be treated at refugees. >> the political impasse in

iraq, the parliament agreeing to meet next week trying to find common ground and elect a new leader as the islamic state threatens more attacks. >> the violence in iraq has affected everyone across that country. in the north, thousands of christians have also been forced to flee the violence. america tonight correspondent visited a nearly abandoned village caught in the crisis. >> christians in iraq are a small minority of the countries mostly muslim population. while they have little to do with the on going fighting, they are suffering the consequences. >> it is a christian village that has come under attack by isil, launching mortars into the city. people are start to go flee. it's unclear whether or not people will be targeted individually because they're christian. >> a few brave residents were just start to go trickle back home. >> we are heading into village

and they're not allows a lot of people in, so we've got a military escort. >> amir is returning home for the first time. he says at least eight mortars were launched into his city. he showed us where two landed in his fronted yard. >> they hit here. this is the mark here and then it just sprayed the rest of the house. >> when the shelling started, the kurdish forces stepped in to make sure the islamic state did not occupy the city. residents here fear the next move. >> who are these guys? >> those guys, they protect the church. they are standing here 24 hours. >> are you prepared to fight the isil if they come here? >> was, that is why we're here. it is our duty to protect the

church. there are enemies all around us, muslims, who would like to take our land. isis wants to occupy us. >> as for the guards, the archbishop and priest never fled, even as isil was at their doorstep. >> what are you telling people who live here who are afraid? >> to stay on their land. i have this stone. it's my stone. i stay and we are in our land here. >> little by little, people are returning. most of those we spoke to do not feel that resolve and faith in god alone will be enough to protect them. >> if the u.s. army come again here to iraq, it's better. >> you want the americans to come. >> yeah, yeah, i want, because they know how to read like these

people and they have many kind of weapons to use with these kind of people. i think they can dismiss them out of here. >> aljazeera, iraq. >> joining us to shed light on the islamic state group's goal and their shadowy leader is mike lyons approximate the truman national security project. i want to start with abu bakr al-baghdadi, this man that now calls him the leader of the caliphate. who is he and how did he come to power? >> he was a sunni insurgent when the united states first went into iraq, captured in 2005 as an individual rung insurgencies, went to prison in a u.s. led prison effort there and then released, came out and then became responsible for al-qaeda in iraq, and then saw his power grow as he gained more

followers, went into syria, had a split from al-qaeda there, took isis to another level as they control iraq. >> the u.s. had him in 2005. the iraqis released him. did the u.s. realized his potential back in 2005? >> no, no idea. we didn't really know anybody in 2005 as we came in here. even when he was released, had no idea that he would go back and align himself with al-qaeda there. by 2009, we had thought we had routed al-qaeda completely from iraq. we never expected these individuals to go back and reform and regroup that organization. >> which he did, but the u.s. has had a $10 million bounty on his head since 2011. do you think that u.s. forces and operatives actively trying to hunt him down and get him and could we get him if we wanted to. >> now that he's been shown and come out over the weekend in mosul, i think that's a possibility, working with allies in the region there.

still very tougher and risky mission to say we are going to try to go and get him out of that situation. it's on the table, but i'm not sure it is feasible right now. >> how big is his mission? >> throughout europe, rome, spain he's been talking about. he clearly wants to go back east, back west towards syria, south into jordan and possibly into lebanon and israel. this is an individual that now has got tremendous power. the fact that he shows himself, he's telling others come here, this is going to be the place it's going to happen. i'm now the leader of this organization. i've got territory, this is something osama bin laden never did. >> mike lyons, thanks for coming in. >> thank you. >> stay with us for continuing coverage of the turmoil in iraq. in our next hour, we'll go to baghdad for the very latest. >> the veterans anniversary department saying no proof connecting medical conditions to the gulf war. some doctors reported higher

rates of brain and lung canner and migraines. the v.a. said there's no concrete evidence linking those illnesses to military service. >> a sheriff's deputy who killed a boy who had a toy gun won't be facing charges. he shot him seven times last october. the santa rosa team had a beebee gun that resembled an ak47. the da saying the deputies actions were lawful. >> he believed honestly and reasonably that he was faced with a do or die dilemma, wait for the subject to fire what he believed to be a deadly weapon and risk that either he or his partner would be shot and killed. >> in a statement, lopez's family saying the decision left them feeling their son had been killed all over again. they plan to file civil suit against the deputy and city. >> protests over this deadly fire in philadelphia took a

violent turn. demonstrators outside a firehouse last night days after the blaze killed four children, the crowd said the firefighters responded sue slowly to the fire. three people were arrested, one protestor sent to the hospital. >> southern california firefighters performing a daring rescue after an amusement park roller coaster literally took a turn for the worst. >> we have the latest on the accident and rescue. >> the coaster is closed this morning as investigators figure out what went wrong. this six flags magic mountain ride is a suspended roller coaster that gets up to 50 miles an hour. last night, a tree fell on the track, bringing it to a screeching halt. the impact derailed the front car of the ride, causing it to dangle off the track. 22 people were stranded, near 30 feet in the air for three

hours. firefighters wearing manner necessaries removed passengers one by one. >> we heard yelling. it sounded like they were like panicking, because they didn't know what to do. >> only four people were injured in the accident. one complained of a neck injury, another a knee injury. park officials say the ride in remain closed while they full i inspect the area. >> crews in montana have finished their work removing three plane fuselages. each weighs 20 tons, make the operation difficult. the reason for the derailment is under investigation. >> there is a growing trend across the country to invest local. a lot of businesses need money to grow, but they are too small to qualify for a normal bank loan. we look at new ways of financing that are making it all happen.

>> lisa runs a free range chicken ranch and found herself in a position any farmer would envy. offered the chance to sell chicken and eggs at one of the state's largest farmer's market, she expected sails to grow 600%. she didn't have the money she needed to scale up production quickly. >> the feed runs $2,200 to $2,500 every other week. it's a lot, but when you have an opportunity to grow product, you've got to do something. >> she turned for a loan at 6% somebody from her neighbor. >> i think we sketched the turns of the loan out on the back of a napkin. for me, it was a no-brainer, i know what a great job she's doing, she's a great marketer. >> high tech c.e.o. turned cattle rancher is part of a small but growing wave of

investors choosing to park their money in community businesses. >> we're going back to the time where there was a local banker who had known you for your whole life and knew your community. >> tightened lending standards, investing local has in recent years become a national trend. >> we feel like today's financial system can be described as complex, opaque and anonymous based on short term outcomes. we feel like where people want to go now is toward financial transactions that are more direct and personal based on long term relationships. >> c.e.o. of social finance, investing in local businesses in need. schafer says in the last three years, his firm's assets have grown 40% to $170 million. >> of course it's important to keep in mind that wealthy investors like calhoun can afford to take a big chance on upstart local businesses, not a luxury the average american might have.

>> i can afford not to get my money because, it's not my retirement funds i'm putting at risk. >> most use property at collateral. >> i think we're looking at risk incorrectly when we say that our money is less risky to hand it to wall street than invest it in the community and people we know. >> this fall, she plans to further expand her farm with a goat milk creamery. she'll need another loan but knows it's a short ride down the road to keep her business growing. >> one network which links investors with small food businesses said since its inception in 2009, it's raised $35 million. >> a federal judge using some strong words for the supreme court in response to the hobby lobby ruling. the huffing to know post said u.s. district judge richard copp said it's time for the court to

stfu. >> what does that mean? >> you should look it up in the urban dictionary. the judge put a link to it. he's upset that the court has an activist behavioral and points to hobby lobby and points that justice are catholic, going beyond the scope. >> he said they are all catholic, all male. >> he's made other comments before, by the way, including telling female lawyers to dress more conservatively. >> so no l.o.l.? >> he's opinionated. >> superman, wonder woman, refusing to allow the superman logo on a statue for 5-year-old murder victim. according to the star, jeffery baldwin dreamed of being a superhero before he died of starvation at the hand of his grandparents. he was three years old, kept locked in a cold room with little food, forced to live in and eat feces. he died from starvation an

november 30. a alone put up the money for the foundation and the statue, but now they're going to use a j. >> because d.c. marvel. >> they don't want to be linked to child abuse, not the child, but the child abuse. >> dubai will piled the first temperature controlled city. it will be named mall of the world, occupying 48 million square feet. it will contain the largest mall in the world, but also all of this other stuff, spa services, a hospital, just to give you an idea, 48 million square miles, that's six times the size of disney land. it will all be indoors. it gets so hot in the summer there. >> live from dubai. >> it's going to take a while for them to build. >> a big day for marijuana smokers in washington. >> they can now buy legal pot there today for the first time.

why there may already be a shortage before stores open for business. >> it is the world's biggest bird and we are not talking big bird on sesame street. the details next in our discovery of the day.

>> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. >> it is time for our discovery of the day. the skeleton of a giant bird with a wing span of 21 feet found inside a museum door. >> it was a bird the size of a small plane. the fossil's wings r. twice the size of the largest living bird capable of flying. >> it had a relatively small body. couldn't hold many passengers. researchers believe it was capable of flying up to 39 miles an hour. >> the skeleton was discovered in 1983 in south carolina only

to be found decades later at the charleston who you seem. >> recreational pot goes on sale today for the first time in washington state. we'll tell you why there's a shortage, even though they haven't sold a single bud yet. >> let's check with nicole mitchell. >> the wing span, too. >> big bird. >> we've got a couple things we're watching. the great lakes, you can see the showers associated with that and monsoon flow in the southwest over the next couple of days. some moisture in that region, we'll take whatever we can get. >> you already have water flowing down the mississippi, that bulge of water, so northern edge falling as the water continues to go sawedward, those areas are rising, so more of that flooding concern.

we're going to see the potential for stronger storms today along the boundary itself, running into the ohio river valley and in terms of rain, that's going to be the core of some of our heaviest rain. states like ohio could see the best of all of that. >> as we've been saying in just a few hours, recreational marijuana becomes legal in washington state. thousands are expected to flock to get their hands on it. there are concerns today that there may not be enough pot to go around. >> the empty cases are ready for product. >> james can't wait to fill those cases, open the doors and start selling. there might not be enough weed to go around. he'll start with 10 pounds sold by the gram. >> that gives us 2,200 packages. the first 2,200 people. >> are you done by wednesday? >> that's the prediction. >> throughout washington's marijuana industry, there's

concerns demand will far outstrip supply, pushing prices up. >> we're going to be in that rain of $15 to $20 a gram. >> only 20 licenses will be issued this week and only a handful of shops, including cannabis city are expected to open. >> there's been a lot of red tape and hoops for the producers and producessers to go through. we had to jump through this, but the hoops they've had to jump through has been a lot. >> this is one of the pinch points in the industry system and another place where we get an indication that the big pot rollout is going to be more like a big pot dribble out. this is one of two companies approved by the state for testing marijuana products before they go on sale. ed is the founder and c.o.o. shouldn't you be swamped testing recreational samples. >> yes. >> what happened? >> we had a delay in the licensing process at the end of last year, and people around

ready. >> we don't have enough pot. >> we don't have enough pot. >> colorado's legal pot lift off was a huge retail success. first day sales estimated at $1 million. that state already had a booming and well regulated medical marijuana industry and the switch to retail recreational pot was smooth. in washington, though, medical marijuana is virtually unregulated and isn't written into the new law, so the business of legal pot for fun has been built from the ground up. growers and processors got licenses in march, and in many cases, the first legal crop hasn't been harvested. >> so it's been hard for them to get up and running. the only place i can get product from is those people and they are struggling. >> store owners and regulators expect a bumpy beginning but supply problems to ease in the months ahead. aljazeera, seattle. >> new york the latest state to

legalize medical marijuana. the governor signed it into law with a 10-year-old epilepsy patient by his side. doctors hope medical pot will help control her condition. the first sales likely won't begin until next year. >> vermont is making life easier for owners of electric cars, opening a charging station between the canada and new hampshire hire borders, bringing the charging station to say 33. green mountain power purchased and installed the units. state officials say it's part of a long term plan to make vermont emission free. >> that awkward family photo reminds you of why you hate to love the people that you grew up with.

awkwardfamilyphoto.com is a website. >> people in the photo don't realize it's awkward. you can feel that when people took a photo and thought this is a great pose, having the entire family piled on top of each other. there's something about that, about the spirit of that that makes it awkward. usually it's our parents who are setting it up and bringing us to the port resided studio. they're looking for that perfect family photo, for that photo they can hang over the mantel, the photo they can share with the neighbors and that captures the family in the perfect light. i think what we see in the awkward family photos is the imperfections. it could be the kids look miserable wimp we see a lot. it's that we're see that go kind of real family dynamic in a photo that we know, you know, the purpose of it was to capture the family in this kind of perfect light. i can think of one, you know,

easter sunday photo we got of a family posing, you know, looking very formal but in the background, grandpa is down ago beer before going to church on easter sunday. there's something about that photo, just seeing the grandfather in the background that made that really viral and resonate with people. the website is a celebration of awkwardness. we're really careful about that and not making it a mean-spirited place. it really is a celebration, the idea that we love our families, but they drive us crazy. i think everybody can relate to that in some way. we've always had this idea of doing an exhibition and there's something interesting about taking this website and artifacts and turning it into a live exhibition where people can interact with the photos. when we sat down and decided on the photos, we chose the photos that we knew were kind of fan favorites and viral over the years. we chose photos that had great

stories behind them. that spoke to this idea of family and awkwardness. >> awkward family photo exhibit will be on display at the california heritage museum until july 27. >> do you have one? >> all my photos are awkward. >> here's what we're following this morning. israel launches a major new operation aimed at hamas bombing gaza and calling up troops. president obama called on both sides to step back and work for peace. >> new anger over immigration, the white house asking for billions to help with the crisis along the border, but many are saying that's not enough. >> it could be the final stand, ukraine separatists are destroying bridges in the east to try to slow them down. the last night could come near donetsk. >> beaten on the side of a highway by police, that woman's family planning a lawsuit and more s against the officer accused. >> pope francis sitting down with sex abuse victims for the

first time begging for forgiveness. we'll speak with an abuse victim for her reaction. >> we are back with more aljazeera morning news in just two minutes. we will see you then. >> on tech know, imagine getting the chance to view the world. >> the brain is re-learning how it sees again >> after decades in the dark, >> i couldn't get around on my own >> a miraculous bionic eye... >> i'm seeing flashes >> great >> tech know, every saturday go where science meets humanity. >> this is some of the best driving i've every done, even though i can't see. >> tech know. >> we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america.

>> 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 >> over the last day, hamas launched over 80 rockets at israel. it's unacceptable, unbearable. we're not waiting for that to return. >> israel shows signs of preparing for war as president obama weighs in on the crisis unfolding in the middle east. >> in ukraine, bombing bridges, pro-russian separatists making a last stand in donetsk. >> a mother accused of doing the unthinkable on a new york city subway. what dozens witnessed that

sparked a city wide manhunt. >> listen to the rockets. the first rockets. >> it is one of the most festive and dangerous traditions in the world, a day in the life of a paramedic in pamplona. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. >> in afghanistan, an attack north of kabul left at least 16 people dead including four nato soldiers. >> we are live on the ground. we understand that you have just now learned the identities of the soldiers. >> that's right, del, they were foreczech soldiers. the attack took place at a village early this morning. they were on a patrol checking out where rockets fired on the base a couple of days ago came from. it was a suicide attack that killed 10 civilians, those four

soldiers, afghan police and wounded two others. it comes at a delicate time here in afghanistan as afghans wait to see who is their next president. abdullah is rejected results today waiting for secretary of state john kerry to come here later this week. we expect him friday to try and help moderate the situation here. a very precarious political situation and certainly these kind of attacks is not what afghanistan wants to see. >> any idea why these soldiers were in this area? >> we understand that they were on a patrol, trying to check out rockets that had been fired on baghram air base, trying to beef up the perimeter there, so that's why they were outside the air base itself. baghram a very, verge air base just outside cob bull, about a

45 minute drive from here. that's why they were on patrol. apparently the suicide bomber was on a bicycle and caught them unawears. it must have been a massive bomb to kill that many people. >> jennifer, thank you very much. >> nearly 300 rockets and mortars have been fired at israel in recent weeks. it's called operation protective edge and overnight, israel forces began bombing gaza. they are mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion. >> let's go to nick schiffron for the latest from the israeli-gaza border. what is israel hope to go accomplish with this military operation? >> it's very clear from what the spokesman are now telling us

reporters, that this is not going to be a short operation. this is not any kind of pinpoint or pin prick operation inside gaza. this is a major operation. they want to redrove the stat for residents here in israel, along the gaza border, eliminate hamas' exhibits and they want to destroy terror infrastructure once and for all and that's exactly the word that the spokesman used to me, put an end to rockets once and for all. clearly the message from israel, they are not going to stop in the next hour or day. there's talk of a ground invasion. >> does this represent an escalation by israel that could exacerbate this conflict? >> yeah, i think the escalation is happening on both sides. it's not about exacerbating the conflict, the hostility and violence is increasing and death increasing especially inside

gaza. in this town, you can see it's very calm. here last time the israelis bombed gaza in a major operation, three people were killed last night, but in gaza, it's a very different scene, f16 drones firing from the sea. this is a bombardment of a very small area and very heavily populated area, so a lot of residents are feeling that. israel is targeting militants, rocket launchers, concealed rocket launchers, tunnels that fighters use and even a car just in the last few minutes carrying two fighters, according to israel, but of course many in gaza feeling the full weight of the israel military right now. >>-wise is the israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu now taking this more hard lined stance? >> i think basically he has -- his people believe that he's been restrained in the last few days. this barrage of rockets, the

number is higher than in a year and a half and the range, it's now about 50 miles from gaza and that's approach ago red line for israel. they really do not want places like tel aviv to be in the range of fighters within gaza. what prime minister's aide's say is that he has been restrained and had no chins. there is a tit for tat retaliation. >> nick, thank you. >> the president addressing the crisis in an israeli newspaper today. the president says:

>> major bridges are being destroyed in eastern ukraine. pro-russian separatists are preparing to make a final stand after losing a major strong hold to the ukrainian military. those rebels are blowing up infra structure in an attempt to slow ukrainian forces. three bridges have been attacked along key roads leading to donetsk. now that government troops ever retaken the city of slovyansk. >> on the outskirts, clear evidence the final battle for slovyansk was hard fought. no doubt that the ukrainian army is wasting no time, a column of vehicles and soldiers move on two days after they regained control of the city. these are people who lived through months of shelling and

attacks trying to get back to normal life. the minister of internal affairs paid a visit. the people asked him about the way forward. >> it is clear if russia stops supporting the separatists, the situation will be over in the next two weeks. >> this woman stayed in her slovyansk apartment block to help others who could not leave. it was shelled several times. >> we hope as they promised, the government will help rebuild our homes. we are left with our hope. we've lived here 41 years. we have nowhere else to go. >> slovyansk is under the control of the central ukrainian government. many soldiers who fought here are headed south for other battles. >> officials here tell us those battles are going to be much different than what happened here. the tactics both for the separatist fighters and for the ukrainian army have to change. hundreds of retreating separatist fighters flooded south to donetsk.

the city is the largest so the concern for civilian casualties is greater and will need a different battle plan than slovyansk. this bridge was blown up 30 kilometers north. the ukrainian army leaves the scene of bun battlefield as victors but head into a new one with completely different rules. aljazeera, slovyansk, ukraine. >> 400 have died in the fighting since it began more than three months ago. >> we are now about an hour away from a senate hearing on iraq and afghanistan. defense secretary chuck hagel and martin dempsey will testify about u.s. roles in those nations. we are live in baghdad. let's start with efforts to create that new government that has repeatedly failed. what is the agreement among iraqi lawmakers? >>

>> the agreement is almost sectarian and what i can tell you is if you're shia, you are frustrated with the sunnis and kurds for block ago very simple choice of prime minister al-malaki being the next prime minister. if you're sunni, you say malaki can't be the next prime minister, he hasn't reached out to the sunnis within iraq and within his own government and therefore he needs to go. if you're kurdish, you're saying this man blocked us from giving us money, we're seeking our independence. we want to see prime minister al-malaki go. today they were supposed to meet in the parliament, elect a speaker of the house, very simple technical procedure, politically incredibly charged. they didn't meet today and haven't done that and the political cries continues. >> there are reports that the islamic state struggle to go maintain unity with its sunni allies, the ones that helped the

group overrun the government. is the islamic state as strong as it was when it started? >> it's certainly more entrenched, let's just say that. it's still in the areas that it controls. it has faced a number of difficulties towards baghdad but in mosul, it's still very much in control, in parts of tikrit, it's very much in control. it's facing pressure. that's not because of the iraqi army. they faced an incredible air assault, but no ground troops have gone in so far. to really get rid of them, the iris need to send ground troops in. it's not so much that their weakening, it's just things seem to be at a stalemate and probably due to the political stalemate that's going on. the other is to do with the fact that the community has said we are going to wait until there is a new government in iraq before

we give you anymore help. it all comes down to politics. >> a murder case that's transfixed many is one step closer to a verdict this morning. the defense team for oscar pistorius rested its case in south africa. the athlete is on trial f killing his girlfriend last year. he thought she was an intruder. prosecutors believe he killed her after a fight. the court is adjourned until next month when both sides will present final arguments. >> the white house will deport the majority of children coming into the country alone illegally. the president will ask congress for $2 billion to speed the pros. that request for aid as more undocumented women and children flew into san diego from texas where the borders are overwhelmed.

>> witnesses say she got back onboard her train without her

child. the child is six or seven months old, a baby, really and its said to be ok. it's not clear if the woman being questioned is the baby's mother. >> a lawsui teenager had a beebn that reassembled an a.k.47. >> he believed honestly and reasonably that he was faced with a do or die dilemma. wait for the subject to fire what he believed to be a deadly

weapon and risk that either he or his partner would be shot and killed. >> in a statement, lopez's family said the decision left them feeling like their son had been killed all over again. they plan a civil suit against the deputy and city. >> can the desert become too hot and dry? >> when a drought hits them, they're the first to go. >> the epic drought in the west threatening one of the world's most famous species of plants. why an entire national park maybe forced to change its name. >> the state protects against voter fraud, the state said it disfrom him nights against students, minorities and i woulderly. >> slip and slide on steroids, just one of our videos captured

by citizen journalists around the world.

>> a death defying hike, just one clip captured by our citizen journalists around the world.

climbing the trial in china. the sky walk is considered the most dangerous hike on the face of the earth. i can see why. at one point, daredevils have to latch on to ropes and tiptoe across a sheer cliff. >> wildlife photographer watching a pair of blue whales. another nearby boat quickly came to his rescue. >> people get nutty and do stuff like this. in poland, a massive slip and slide with a motorcycle. the in sane speed launched sky high before they belonged into the lake with a bang. >> recreational marijuana sales becoming legal in washington state.

several stores will begin selling pot to consumers and thousands are expected to line up to get their share. the store owners warn of a shortage. only a few producers have won the right to grow marijuana, meaning some customers may walk away empty handed. >> medical marijuana now legal in new york. the bill was signed into law monday. amanda houser, her doctors hope the medical pot will help control her condition. the plan will restrict anyone who has access to the pot, something the governor applauded. >> in this situation, government actually legislated with nuance and legislated with balance, so we have the medical benefits of marijuana. we also have public safety and public health concerns that are addressed. >> patients will only be able to use non-smokable versions of the drug when the program becomes available in 18 months.

>> one of the strictest voter i.d. laws under fire in north carolina. it's the latest challenge to new voter laws across the country. aljazeera's robert ray is in atlanta. remind us what this debate is about. >> the debate if you talk to lawmakers in north carolina. they are looking at many different things right now, asking a federal judge in the state of north carolina in a hearing this week to temporarily suspend voting laws until 2015 when they hope they can take this to trial. the new law that was just put into place last year stopped same day registration.

it reduces early voting and it takes away from 16 and 17-year-olds looking to register early for their 18th birthday. they can't do that anymore. folks at the naacp and students say that's not right. yesterday was the first day of the hearing in winston-salem, north carolina. thousands showed up for this rally there and reverend william basher said this to the crowd: >> it is all out attack on the right to vote and voter suppression, the worst that weaver seen in a full measure since jim crow. >> reverend william barber said i could not help but think home of our forefathers fought hoping we would never have to fight for these rights again, but if it is our time to fight, so be it. we can't give up now. >> aljazeera in atlanta, thank

you. >> mississippi state senator chris mcdaniels is challenging last week's runoff results, alleging voter fraud and offering $15,000 rewards for anyone who can provide evidence he lost to incumbent senator thad cochran by 6700 votes two weeks ago. mcdaniel said the only way to solve the situation is to hold a new election. he is suing the mississippi secretary of state and the state's republican party. >> he is the tea party candidate. >> they are cleaning up after violent storms moved through the state, strong wind and rain uprooting trees and bringing down power lines. a transformer exploded. >> that is not the only wild weather that ripped across the country. >> nicole mitchell has more. >> there are over 300 different reports of severe weather yesterday, most of that wind and today our risk is around the great lakes in those same areas and south of the great lakes is

where the boundary is and a broad area where we could see thunderstorms. getting to the temperatures behind that, cooler, more 60's and 70's this morning and as we get into the rest of the day, behind the boundary, 70's and 80's, ahead of this, really warm air. you can tell the contrast between chicago and new york, about a 10-degree difference. also much more sultry and steamy ahead of that. the southwest we've had really exceptional heat really. today, looking at 103 in las vegas, 105 in phoenix. it's going to be more in the day ahead. we have a bit of a man soon flow. some moisture in this region, but not a lot. temperatures remain warm into tomorrow. places like joshua tree, the next couple of days will be 100 degrees. >> scientists raising the alarm on climate change from coast-to-coast. >> that is putting the attention

on flood prevention. >> even the hottest parts of the planet suffer. >> we look at joshua tree national park in california. >> drive through joshua tree national park, some 140 miles southeast of los angeles, and you can immediately see how the park got its name. >> joshua trees almost like they're reaching towards heaven. >> so the story goes, the trees were named for the biblical figure joshua, guiding followers to the promised land. christina came from germany. >> the park is very unique. it's very beautiful. >> the very nature of what makes the park unique and beautiful is fighting for survival. these wonderfully weird trees are the reason more than 1 million people visit this park each year. there is growing concern that more and more trees will go from

looking like this to looking like this, and then where would that leave the park if its namesake dice and disappears. >> if there are no more joshua trees, we're going to have to change the name. >> we are meeting researchers combing the dessert, examining plants, rocks and animals as part of a study on how climate change is threatening the park's eco system. there's already plenty of evidence that the dessert can get too hot and true dry. you'll see hundreds of dead and dying frees littering the landscape. >> the bad news is we could lose 90% of them. >> cameron, a research ecology with the university of california riverside is leading the study. >> the baby ones don't have a reserve of water in their trunks, because they're too small. when a drought hits, they're the

first to go. >> if the joshua trees disappear, the park will loose more than just its name. >> if we lose the tree, we lose the liz yards, the moth, we lose orioles, we lose lots of different species. >> there is hope for survival. at the higher elevations, where a little more water can be found, the team finds young, healthy trees. >> this is one of those places we think is going to be a refuge from climate change. >> that's the direction visitors may have to go to see these iconic parts of the dessert. >> it was the scandal that rocked the obama administration. >> thousands of american veterans waiting months, years for medical care at the v.a. today the president's pick to

fix the problem faces congress and the whistle blowers speak out on capitol hill. >> an apology from the pope, victims of church sex abuse meeting with the pontiff and the vatican will ask a director of a group of victims if it is too little, too late. >> imagine all of a sudden seeing a tree branch on a roller coaster track, the accident that left dozens stranded. >> our images of the day, a packed train in india, people hanging from the roof of the train cars. >> despite several accidents on this route, passengers still pile on the train. india's parliament now considering funding to improve safety on the rail ways.

>> 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 >> in gaza, israel is ramping up its offensive against hamas with military air strikes.

deadly violence in the wake of the murders of three israeli teenagers and now a palestinian teenager. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. nigeria is one of the world's largest energy producers, but most rural areas ever had no electricity until now. the simple tool that could have much of the developing world buzzing. >> it is day two of the running of the bulls. we're going to look at a day in the life of a paramedic in pamplona. >> president obama's choice to pick the department of veterans affairs is bob mcdonald. >> he heads to capitol hill today for the first in a series of meet and greets with lawmakers who will decide his faith. >> tracy pots in washington now. with a kind of questions will mcdonald face on capitol hill today? >> he's going to have to do quite a bit of homework.

today is sort of more of a getting to know you meet and greet type event where he's going to be going around, talking to different lawmakers, particularly those on the set of veterans affairs committee that would vote for his confirmation. he's going to face questions not only about the most recent controversy, the scheduling problems that led to the deaths of some veterans waiting for appointments, but other issues, like disability claims and the huge backlog, homelessness and unemployment. easy got a lot of homework to do before the hearing and we don't know yet when that hearing is going to be. what we do know is that he is not the typical person who lead the v.a. that we've seen in the past in terms of being a four star general or someone with a lot of military experience. bob mcdonald was in the top 2% of his class at west point, served five years as a captain in the military, however, he is

also not typically associated with the pentagon. he's been in the corporate world and that's part of the what the administration's looking for, someone to take this on from a management perspective. >> is he a popular choice for the position? >> in terms of his backing, there are already republicans like house speaker john boehner and others who have come out in favor of him saying that he's got a lot of good experience that could help turn the v.a. around, so that's certainly working in his favor heading into this confirmation hearing. >> the veterans affairs department saying that there is no proof connecting medical conditions to the gulf war. some doctors had been reporting higher rates of brain and lung cancers, as well as migraines involving veterans from that war. the v.a. now saying there is no concrete evidence linking those illnesses to their military

service. >> we heard yelling, sounded like they were like panicking. >> yeah. >> because they didn't know what to do. >> spectators reacting to a scene at a los angeles amusement park. a falling tree partially derails a fast moving roller coaster, stranding dozens. >> we are not talking about a small town fair. this happened at six flags park. >> exactly p.m. magic mountain gets 3 million visitors a year. this particular ride that carries thousands of passengers is called the black belt of roller coasters. it races along a track, swooping through trees at 55 miles per hour. last night, 22 riders got more than just a thrill. >> it took plea hours to get everybody off the roller coaster dangling off a track at a six flags in los angeles. 22 riders stranded nearly 30 feet off the ground. nearby park goers watched in

horror. >> we heard yelling. >> just confused and scared and we really didn't know what was going on. >> normally, it is a different kind of adrenaline rush. this is the view up and running as it weaves through the trees. a large pine tree fell on to the track this time. >> when the tree went down on to the tracks and the ride ultimately hit the tree, our deputies were quickly on scene. >> as emergency responders react, the rest of the park stays open and rides continue, making other riders fear the worst for themselves. >> if stuff happens on rides, maybe it might happen on the ride on him on. >> i was sketched out to get on any other rides. >> the firefighters secure to a beam to keep it from falling as they ready to rescue the riders. chain saws clear a path. they lower riders to safety, a tricky situation, the firefighters take their time until everyone is safely on the

ground, an endeavor that went well into the dark. >> there were four injured riders taken to the hospital with minor injuries. now the ride is still closed this morning as inspectors try to figure out what went wrong. this incident comes almost a year after a deadly accident at another six flags in texas. a woman was killed after she was ejected from a roller coaster. >> the same judge who said the nfl got the settlement wrong for concussion related claims now says they got it right. >> we have more with john henry smith. >> this past january, the judge gave the thumbs down to these nfl $675 million settlement with the players. now at the time, she said she was worried, because the settlement was capped at that number and wouldn't be enough, she thought to compensate the nearly 20,000 players who could be eligible for these funds. since then, the nfl has uncapped

that number and said that all valid claims would be paid in full for 65 years. that appears to have been enough to satisfactory the judge, who approved the preliminary settlement to the players class action lawsuit on monday. now, here is some heights of what the deal covers. $5 million will go to young retirees with lou gehrig's disease, $1.6 million will go to players over 50 suffering alzheimer's and $4 million will go to the families of players diagnosed with brain injuries after their deaths. >> the lead attorney for the players are christopher seger and sal weiss. they released a statement saying: >> the next step is for the plaintiffs in this case, former players like tony dorsett and

exbears quarterback jim mcmahon to accept or challenge this deal. >> pope francis is asking forgiveness from clergy sex abuse victims and pledge to go track down on predator priests, some say that doesn't go far enough. >> in a private chapel near his official residence, the pope held mass and then met the victims of abuse one by one. it's taken 20 years for such a meeting to take place in the vatican. >> there were tears and high emotion. according to the official communique, the pope told the six before god and his people, i express about my sorrow for the sins and grave climbs of clerical sexual abuse committed against you and i humbly ask forgiveness. >> it will do nothing to placate

support groups in europe and the united states who describe the encounter as a public relations stunt. that brought this response from the pope's official spokesman. >> if you see the person that come out of this meeting with the pope, you understand it was not a public relation event, it is a very profound, spiritual encounter. >> but there are many victims of abuse who are angry and frustrated by their subsequent treatment. as a teenager, diego, not his real name was abused by the family priest. after breakdowns and panic attacks, he finally told what happened to him. >> i asked for help, but this help didn't arrive. i've had nothing from the church, despite frequent requests. >> the vatican said it's dealt with 3,420 abuse cases over the last decade.

848 abbreviates have been defrocked, 2,572 have been ordered to live a life of prayer of penance in a monastery. the church set up a commercial commission to improve the way it deals with abuse, but critics say what it really needs now is a strong enforcer. aljazeera, the vatican. >> washington director for snap, the survivors network of those abused by priests joins us now from washington, and is an abuse survivor herself. what was your reaction to pope francis begging forgiveness. as a survivor, did you feel this was heartfelt or was it just a p.r. stunt? >> it doesn't really matter whether they were heartfelt or a p.r. what matters is that meeting with the victims, while i hope they find healing, isn't going

to protect a single child. apologizing is not going to protect a child. >> what are the demands your group has to protect children is making sure bishops that have covered up sexual abuse are held more accountable. did you hear what you wanted to in that reward? >> it doesn't matter again what i hear, we've heard things. we hear things over and over again. what we need is for him to take an action, discipline, denote a bishop who covered up. a good place would be bishop finn from kansas city who has been convicted but yet is still a bishop. >> why do you think the vatican continues to protect these bishops, there are those also in buenos aires and europe. >> it's hard for the church to change and we see the church over and over again protect the priests versus protecting the children. i don't have an explanation.

i can't imagine anyone not want to do everything possible to protect children. >> let's go into some explanations and these root causes. what about addressing what some would say are the roots of sexual abuse that has become so prevalent in the catholic church. our reporter said 3,420 cases of abuse, issues of priest sell booze and marriage, how big a role do they play in prevention? >> none. there hasn't been a proven -- celibacy what nothing to do with someone being a pedophile. >> what would your group recommend? >> again, making sure that those who cover up abuse are punished. that sends a message if you cover up abuse, you are going to be held accountable and that will stop a lot of the abuse. a priest abuses one person and estopped, then that's it. if he's moved or it's covered

up, he could literally abuse hundred was children. >> 848 abbreviates have been defrocked. the vatican might say they are starting to hold priests accountable. when i read the list of demands from your group, it seems what you would like is outside accountability. do you think the vatican would be open to that? >> i don't know. they haven't proven that yet. it's like every time an abuse case comes up, you have to go to court to get the documents. i think that pope francis could do something tremendous, and that is open up the vatican records for all the abuse cases. he can insist that every bishop open up their records whenever an abuse case comes forward and that would give me hope as a victim that he is actually going to change how the catholic church has handled this crisis so far. >> does it bother you that it took pope francis 16 months in his tenure to meet with 60s? does that tell you anything about where he prioritizes this

issue? >> it is a concern. it was hurtful to victims who are still hurting. why didn't he address this right away. why didn't he do something. now he final leset up a commission to come up with yet again new policies instead of taking actions. i think he can correct this by doing something right now. >> washington director or survivors network of those abused by priests, thanks for being with us, becky. >> western michigan cleaning up after a tornado tore through several holes. at least six injured by the twister in the town just outside of grand rapids. winds were clocked over 80 miles an hour, ripping the roofs off a number of buildings in that city. >> nicole mitchell is here with more on today's weather. what can you tell us? >> the system that's been going through really causing wind damage yesterday, 300 reports, all wind damage. that's one of the things we'll watch for today, as well. pretty easy to pick out where

this has been going. this has been rain after rain for the midwest. that's not the only place we've been dealing with some of the flooding. kind of a similar situation. this is into spain, but a lot of saturated ground,%ent thunderstorms, heavy rain and flood concerns here and a lot of rivers especially coming out of their banks right now. that's exactly what's going on into the midwest. that video, spain, this is what we're seeing through the mississippi. down the river, it's start to go lessen as you get farther north as that bulge of water goes southward, the areas of flooding move. in iowa, that rising water continues to move into missouri the next few days. this isn't our only player. that is our biggest concern for strong storms today. the areas in yellow is that slight risk, ohio, you could be under that today. especially the wind damage has been prevalent with this particular storm system.

we've got activity, a little bit of florida, some afternoon thunderstorm activity is possible. we've had that monsoon flow. it's very hit and miss, but the possibility for that really the next couple of days into the southwest. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> nigeria, one of the world's largest energy producers but seven in 10 people that in country have no access to electricity. they are living without power for lights and other needs. the government now is turning to renewable energy to try to fill the void. >> up until february, people in a village of 3,000 people on the outskirts of the capitol have no access to electricity. now, everyone has power, thanks to solar energy. people like timothy joseph, who runs the local barbershop was spending $5 a day on a generator to power his tools before solar power was introduced. now his electricity is free.

>> the solar i use to do my business now. now i'm saving my money. that's what i'm going to use to help my family. >> the panels capture the sun's race which is connected to an in verier inside, converting it into electrical energy. the introduction of solar power here is part of a government project providing electricity to 16 local governments. if the pilot is a success, solar power will be rolled out to all local governments across nigeria. >> around 3,000 people now ever access to the electricity because of the solar panels installed. 120 million nigerians don't have access to any electricity at all. >> energy companies say solar power con solve the crisis because of the abundance of sunshine.

the problem is managing and maintaining the technology. >> if you would just deploy the technology, without training the people how to use the system, and without any maintenance, then it is not sustainable and soon people will say it's not working. >> the government has failed to provide conventional electricity and despite being one of the world's biggest energy producers, but in order for solar energy to work successfully, not only will it have to invest in training people to use solar power, but also in manufacturing parts needed to run the technology at home. >> the president, president obama is expected to extend and initiative to provide power to

20 million homes and businesses in africa. the united nations declaring 2014 a decade of sustainable energy for all. >> excitement growing in brazil this morning. >> they are a few hours away from the world cup semifinals. we are looking at how they are getting ready for that big matchup against germany. >> a baseball fan goes to court over what an announcer said to him on the air. he is angry and wants to be compensated to the tune of $10 million.

life... >> killing the messenger on al jazeera america >> looking live at the capitol dome, president obama's pick for secretary of verb affairs preparing for his confirmation hearing with a series of meet and greets there today. welcome to al jazeera america. just ahead, a very big day at the world cup, brazil facing off ains germany. >> we know who you are rooting

for, brazil. >> home country. >> first, meteorologist nicole mitchell has a look at our forecast today. who you are for? >> good morning -- may the best team win. >> we're looking at what would be our equivalent of the category hurricane as a typhoon passing through the southernized of japan, causing damage in okinawa. they have incredible building codes, so not seeing a lot of damage. i wish the united states consistently had such good building codes to withstand hurricanes. it's moving into colder water. by the time it hits mainland japan, should loose intensity. it will dump a lot of flood and rain and landslide concerns. >> stephanie's husband is brazilian, my to him german.

the lines have been drawn in t sand. it comes down to a semifinal match taking place in their own back yard. >> fans could not be more excited for today's big home game against another soccer powerhouse. >> at the market, famous for its cheese, nervous brazilians stock up on snacks ahead of the semifinal against germany. >> we will be eat ago lot, especially our nails, says this woman. brazilians are as anxious as they are excited about facing such you a strong opponent without their star striker who suffered a fractured vertebra in the quarter finals. >> we're nervous, because both teams are very good, but namar's absence is a heavy blow. >> brazilians know their team will need more than skill which

is where the spiritualist comes in, lighting candles with brazil's team, including the ailing namar included. >> i will wipe my hands of him like this. he is looking great in his little corner with all 12 and lots of luck. lots of luck says brazil wins. >> he'll tie the legs of one of the german players. other people have a better weapon. >> we have 200 million brazilians who will be cheering for our team. that's their strength. >> the german team will be wearing red and block jerseys, precise sizy the colors in one of brazil's most popular football clubs, flamingo. people say they're furious and

wearing those colors will increase the desire to beat the germans. >> a few meters away, we wonder if these fans are feeling intimidated. >> i think they're welcoming us very well and even the beer tastes like home, so not at all. >> for now, nervous smiles and laughs all around, mixed with the suspense that is almost unbearable for brazilian fans as they face the unthinkable prospect of losing the word cup on their own soil. >> it is day two of the annual running of the bulls in pamplona, spain. officials say two people suffered minor injuries after falling during the frenzied dash, one person was bored. each year, hundreds of people get injured. one of the paramedics told us about the rite of passage.

>> we are here, very happy to wake up 5:00 in the morning to help the people, something that you feel inside. we are right now 120 people with the red cross in other run. we are deployed at different points. we are just in case something happens. i have been working here during the last 25 years. every morning, i am excited to come here to listen to the ruckus. the first rocket, you know the bulls are in the street. >> how do you feel?

>> there's only one condition, going to the hospital. when you have 2 million people in one city, there are 2 million different voice to lead the party. we feel the festival more inside, because it's something more religious. people from outside, it's a big theater. >> he likes him a lot better when he's asleep. >> the sleeping yanukovych fan was the butt of endless fans. he's suing both the yankees and major league baseball, as well as espn.

>> he is seeking $10 million in damage, alleging defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. >> that is it for us here.

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, and welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm shiulie ghosh in doha. the top stories this hour. at least 12 dead and dozens more injured at the israeli military attacks targets in the gaza strip the owner dome defense system intercepts palestinian rockets fired at israel.