>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for a back and forth barrage in gaza. and the white house preparing to spell out why it needs more money to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants. plus a powerful typhoon hits japan, damaging homes and businesses. ♪

the israeli cabinet authorizing its army to call up 40,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground offensive on the gaza strip. as many as 130 rockets being fired in israel. 12 people are dead, dozens others have been injured. nick schifrin is live for us in southern israel. nick, why the escalation from israel? >> yeah, what israel says is that this is the operation to finally, quote, once and for all, in their words, eliminate the possibility of rockets being fired into israel. they are trying to eliminate hamas's ability to fire rockets.

if you listen to the spokesman for the israeli defense forces, he says they have no choice. >> unfortunately this is a reality we didn't want. we voiced it last week, that we're trying to calm the situation. hamas decided to attack us. we have our back in the corner. >> reporter: on the other side, dell, as you said, 12 are dead inside of gaza, and those bombs really create a lot of terror and fear among the people of gaza, a very small place even as the israeli army says they attack militants. at this point both sides are escalating and it's not clear when it will end. for hours israeli hit gaza by land and sea. the strikes tore through buildings and flattened homes, and this morning gazans are

picking through the pieces. >> translator: after ten minutes of evacuating the house, they attacked it. >> reporter: despite the strikes, palestinian fighters keep launching rockets. forcing hundreds of thousands of israelis into bomb shelters. and this is the sound heard often. one of those rockets flew in this man's house. the hole is just a few feet from he and his wife's bed. >> everything is broke. my bed, the wall is break. it was a miracle. my wife and children are okay. >> reporter: they owe their lives to a feature of every house here, a concrete safe room. she had to grab her 4-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter in 15 seconds. >> translator: 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. >> reporter: it terrified thousands more. >> translator: suddenly the rock shook the whole area. i was in shock, i couldn't move my legs. >> reporter: and in this region right now, the fear strikes anger. hamas responds with defiance. they parade their fighters killed as -- martyrs. seven miles away they are also calling on their government to be defiant for a long-term war. >> translator: we hope forcesen -- forces enter gaza to eradicate it all. >> reporter: we have seen tanks,tanks

tanks,el -- personnel carriers, and the last time they brought this many troops and military assets to the border, they chose not to go in. but the rhetoric today, definitely they could go in if they chose to. the president is weighing in on the crisis saying peace is possible. the president said . . . >> and the president also meeting with nato's leader today. the president and the nato secretary are expected to talk about ukraine, iraq, and syria. rasmussen is also at the white house to say good-bye. in afghan a suicide bomber

striking here a medical clinic. it happened about 40 miles north of kaboul. the bomber targeting two afghan police officers, and four nato soldiers from the czech republic. the taliban is claiming responsibility. now to iraq where government forces are plotting a strategy to take baxterer to from the islamic state. they say they will launch an assault to win back regions. they have now formed a shiite militia to protect shrines where the desendants of the profit mohammed are heyed -- said to buried. imran khan is in bagdad. >> reporter: the political stalemate continues here in iraq.

the parliamentary meeting today didn't happen. all they have to do is choose a speaker of the house. that triggers a constitutional process. and at the end of that is supposed to be the election of a new prime minister. it it's politically charged, nobody can agree on who the president, prime minister, or speaker of the house should be. backstage what is going on, lots of negotiations, lots of talking, but it seems the division is not just political, it is almost sectarian. the shiite parties say maliki is the one to lead them out of this crisis. his opponents say this is partly his fault. and that is what has lead to the current impasse. and the kurds say pretty much the same thing, but now they are

talking about independence, and they say we can't be part of an iraqi state that doesn't respect our rights and has a strangle hold over us. so it looks likely when the session meets on the 13th, that they won't get another agreement, and it will be postponed yet again. nobody is hopeful that they will come to an argument. meanwhile the white house is asking congress for emergency money to deal with the grower immigration crisis at the border. mike viqueira is live at the white house this morning, and mike, the white house some say is bowing to political pressure to address the crisis. >> there is no question there is a humanitarian crisis, and yes, at this house, we understand the white house has officially sent

its request to congress for $3.7 billion. they want to expedite the process. they have prioritized those who most recently arrived in the country for deportation hearings. all of this as the president takes political hits for the handling of the crisis. it has become a common site in california. today the white house will ask for more than $2 billion to help deal with the problem. >> we're seeking additional judges, lawyers, and asylum officials who can process these cases more quickly. >> reporter: those are said to include the 50,000 children that have entered this year. a day of homeland secretary jeh johnson refused to answer if the

kids would be deported, the white house stuck a different tone. >> if they don't have a legal basis for being in this country, they will be sent back. >> reporter: but that news was not well received outside of the white house. >> we want these kids to reunite with their parents. >> we need to find human way to resolve the issue to make sure the kids that qualify for refugee status stay here. >> reporter: that sentiment echoed by some in the un who say those thousands of children qualify for refugee status. meanwhile the political battle continues with texas governor saying he will not greet president obama on wednesday unless they meet and discuss the immigration crisis. some in the president's own party also say he needs to visit

the border. >> i hope this doesn't come the katrina moment for president obama saying he doesn't need to come to the border. he should come down to see what is happening. >> reporter: the white house is just now rolling out the details of what they will be asking for from congress. of the $3.7 billion it is reported that half of that will be earmarked to provide care for unaccompanied children, and we mentioned rick perry and the fact that he felt the president was not addressing the issues. overnight the white house laid on another event. the president will now hold a round table in dallas, texas tomorrow on wednesday with cler givemen and elected representatives to talk about the crisis. >> mike, thank you very much. a powerful typhoon striking

okinawa, japan. 600,000 people have been told to evacuate. most of them, though, stayed put. some aircraft are being used to the united states air force base nearby. roughly 50,000 troops are stationed in japan. they have been asked to stay in doors as recovery efforts get underway. dave how strong is the typhoon right now? >> yeah, we're watching this closely, because it will continue to turn to the north. not nearly as strong as it was, but still affecting the area around okinawa and moving up to the north. this is the latest advisory, wind 125 miles an hour. there is some dry area, but it's still a noticeable eye holding together and continuing to push to the north. you see it really intensify as it passes by okinawa, but now as it turns to the north, not quite

as favorable conditions, so should not maintain its intensity. it will continue to weaken as it turns to the north. but it's still a minimal typhoon, or a very strong tropical storm. these are bands of these storms that go into the eye. these bands are going over the same area of land so flooding will be a problem. it will continue to push north. we have continued updates here. we're also looking at flooding and the potential for more severe weather across the country. >> dave warren thank you very much. the defense resting its case in the oscar pistorius murder trial. he admits he fatally shot his girlfriend back on valentine's day last year, but he says he

mistook her for an intruder. coming up, nigeria has lots of oil, but most of the people there don't have power. now the government is stepping in to fix things. when you think of investing, you probably think of wall street, but some farmers found an invest or

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just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now ♪ >> nigeria's government saying it is determined to defeat the armed group, boko haram. the group blamed for several attacks that have killed hundreds over the past two months, and believed to still be holding over 200 girls kidnapped in april. >> it marked a turning point. this is hour terrorism is. you are fighting an army [ inaudible ]. so it's an unconventional kind of war that we are fighting

here. the government, you know, is committed to winning the war. >> and the government also says it is taking new steps to improve the country's infrastructure. 75% of people living in nigeria have no access to electricity. so the government is looking up. >> up until february, people in this village of 3,000 people on the outskirts of the capitol has no access to electricity, but now every has power thanks to solar energy. people like timothy joseph who runs the local barbara shop. he 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 used to do my business now. before i used a generator, but now i'm saving my money. that's what i'm going to used to help my family. >> reporter: a solar panel is

attached to the proof of the shop to capture the sun's rays, which is connected to a converter inside. it's part of a government pilot project providing electricity to 16 local governments. if the pilot is a success, solar power will be rolled out to all 774 local governments. around 3,000 people here now have access to electricity because of the solar panels that have been installed, but that's hardly enough, because around 120 million nigerians don't have access to any electricity at all. they say this could solve the energy crisis, because of the abundance of sunshine. >> if you are just deploy the technology, without training the people how to use the -- the system, and with -- without any

maintenance, then it is not a sustainable and soon people will -- will say, well, it's not working. >> reporter: the government has been forced to invest in renewable energy because it has failed to provide conventional electricity despite being one of the world's biggest energy producers. but in order for solar to work successfully, not only will it have to invest in training people to use solar power, it will also have to invest in maintaining the technology to run at parts at home. ♪ you might not want to check your 401k today, another down ta for wall street as the big board is now below 17,000 points.

investors are getting ready for earnings seasons. and a dozen for profit corin threeian colleges across the country are closing. 85 other campuses in the u.s. will be sold, another dozen in canada. the organization says around 3400 will be affected by the closings. some businesses are now going to their neighbor for a loan. >> reporter: lisa runs a free-range chicken ranch, and last summer found herself in a position any small farmer would envy. offered to sell chickens and eggs at one of the largest farmer's market, she expected sales to grow some 600%, but didn't have the money she needed

to scale up production quickly. >> the feed runs $2,200 every other week. >> reporter: so you turned to her neighbor for a loan. >> we sketched the details out on the back of a napkin, and for me it was a no-brainer. >> reporter: sally is part of a small but growing wave of investors choosing to park their money in community businesses. >> we're trying to go back to the time where there was a local banker who had known you, your whole life. >> reporter: investing local has in recent years become a national trend. >> we feel like today's financial system could be described as complex, opaque, and anonymous, and we feel like

where people want to go now is towards financial transactions that are more direct, transparent and personal. >> reporter: don connects investors like calhoun with local businesses in need. he says his firms assets have grown nearly 40% to $170 million. of course wealthy investors like calhoun can afford to take a big chance on up-start businesses. not a luxury the average american can have. >> it's not my retirement funds i'm putting at risk. >> reporter: most local investors offer loans at between 5 to 10%. >> it is less risky to hand it to wall street than to invest in the community and the people we know. >> reporter: this fall she plans

to expand her farm to a goat herd. now a law is under fire being challenged in court today. robert what is the law and what is the debate? >> hey, dell, good afternoon. to understand what is going on with the voter id laws in north carolina we have to do a little rewind. if we look at 1996, the state of north carolina ranked 43rd in voter turnout in the entire country. and then you fast forward to 2012, they ranked 11th in voter turn out. pretty good. the reason why is advocates fought for the poor, elderly,

and others to be able to make it to the polls easier. they allowed students who were 16, 17 years old to preregister, so when they were 18 they were allowed to vote if there was a presidential election. 2008, president obama, north carolina was a huge victory for him because of these rules. now the republicans came into the scene in 2011, 2012, and they took back the house, a republican governor came into the scene, and in 2012 all of those laws were put to the side under one bill. same-day registration is gone, reduced early voting, students can no longer register when they are 16, 17 years old, and the elderly and maybe else who maybe doesn't have a state id, can't vote now. so the naapc and others are now

suing to block this new law. yesterday there was a rally in winston-sal winston-salem, over a thousand people showed up. dr. william barber said this to the crowd. >> it is an all-out attack on the right to vote and voter suppression, the worse we have seen in full measure since jim crow. >> reporter: so strong words, and he also went on to say . . . so dell, an emotional debate there as north carolina for the past decade or so has had some

of the loosest, open voting right laws in the country, and now a reversal of time, and people want that to change. dell. >> robert ray thank you very much. >> iowa hit with terrible flooding, but the worst may be yet to come. stuart! stuart! stuart! stuart!

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♪ well as you can see, people in iowa dealing with major flooding. residents there putting up sandbags. a local company also helping out, donating 100 tons of the sand. some areas seeing flood waters nine feet above their normal level. dave warren is back, and from i hear it is only going to get worse. >> right. that area of flooding is actually moving down the mississippi river. so that is the big problem here. this flood warning goes from iowa to illinois.

and it is slowly moving south. these river levels are falling, but still above flood stage, rising south here. and it is cresting at quincy, illinois here. record stage is 32 feet, so it's near record flooding. but it will remain above flood level for nearly another week. but it has pushed to the south now. it's water left over from all of the rain we have had this past month. the severe flooding will continue in the south and northeast. 89 in washington, d.c., 82 in new york. cooler temperatures in the plains. wind and hail damage possible today to the south year right along the mid-atlantic states.

showers and storms will develop again today. >> dave warren thank you very much. from cairo, illinois, to cairo, egypt, we have you covered. thanks for watching. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. ♪ [♪ music ] >> to hear them tell it ,