our conversation continue on the website aljazeera.com/consider this or google plus for twitter. i'm david shuster - see you next welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these stories we are following for you. president obama president obama

[ technical difficulties ] >> we have got to do something about sealing the border and ending this problem, so that we

can begin to move on to the bigger question of immigration reform. >> that is the republican mantra, seal the border first. but the bill that was passed just about a year ago, did in fact send billions of dollars to the border with more board patrol agents. >> mike hotly contested, but what can you tell us about [ technical difficulties ] [ technical difficulties ] >> three fund raisers there, come in to criticism. [ technical difficulties ]

>> if that's what they do, i cannot understand nothing. [ censor bleep ] sorry. >> at the edge, the hill provides the best views of gaza. and as israel bombards the strip, some residents seem to see this as a spectator's sport. >> translator: i wanted, he says, to see how we strike back. do you support this operation? >> we have to show them who is -- psycho in the

neighborhood. >> reporter: the psycho? >> the psycho in the neighborhood. >> reporter: tonight they are praying that israel strikes even harder. i asked him if they would ever leave that place like his daughter would, daughter would,

[ technical difficulties ] >> i have spoken to western diplomats. and they said that he went that far. so who is he really aiming his statement at? well the sunni tribal groups that are based in erbil. they have long been very critical against prime minister maliki. if you want to win against the rebels you need to enlist the help of the sunni shakes who command a number of fighters. they say they won't help until maliki goes. and they say he is directly to blame for the crisis that iraq faces right now. it's likely to be aimed at them. also, this is likely to be aimed at the kurds as well, because

they pursued a policy of looking at least at a referendum for independence. now prime minister nouri maliki and the kurdish president used to be very good friends. they fought against saddam hussein together. but their relationship has deteriorated as of late. these words are perhaps stronger than we have heard before. >> outsourcing it making it tougher these days to find a job, but one area is bouncing back. and washington has program in place to help americans in need, but wait until you hear how much they having spent on people who didn't deserve.

the government says it paid out about $100 billion last year to people who may not have been so deserving. unemployment benefits went to

people who had jobs. the house committee said to hold a hearing on improper payments this afternoon. the u.s. and china holding high-level talks in beijing. kerry is saying the u.s. hoping to build ties with china in which both countries will benefit. those meetings will go on until thursday. some chinese companies are starting to see the u.s. as a good investment. a new chinese copper plant in alabama could help create hundreds of jobs. andy gallagher has more. >> reporter: there was a time when the towns of wilcoxes county hummed to the sound of sewing machines and saw mills, but those days are long gone. all over the states, factories that once employed hundreds now sit idle. adding to rural alabama's chronic unemployment problem. >> it has been nearly 50 years

since there was an aindustrial aflouncement here in wilcox, alabama. quite frankly despair and back of hope has been the rule here. >> but now the tables are beginning to turn. across the state chinese businesses are taking advantage of tax breaks, falling energy prices and cheap labor. >> as you can see this is the table we have set up just for our chinese guests. >> reporter: he has worked hard to attract chinese investment, and for his county it has worked. the golden dragon copper pipe frac try --

[ technical difficulties ] >> and the bergening businesses here in the state of alabama represent just a small slice of the overall picture. last year, chinese firms invested $14 billion in the u.s. economy, and now directly employ 70,000 workers. a decade ago that number was close to non-none. and coming up, the mississippi river overflowing and one town now taking on water. we'll go to clarksville, missouri to see what people are doing to save their homes. r

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. the president is heading to texas today, one of the hot spots of the border debate. he is expected to meet with the governor and religious leaders, but he is still facing criticism for not going to the border itself. german authorities are investigating why a second man was spying on them. and at least 40 people are dead from the latest round of fighting between israel and hamas. and normer new orleans mayor has been sentenced to ten years in jail for bribery and money laundering. a injury convicted him of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from businessmen who wanted to work for new orleans, following hurricane katrina.

the mississippi river is rising, and that has towns in iowa, illinois, and missouri bracing for floods. volunteers have begun to fill stand bags to keep the river at bay, in part because some of those cities are broke. dianest ta brook has more. >> reporter: del the sandbags are doing a pretty good job. the bags are here, the businesses are over here, and the sidewalk is pretty dry, what is helping right now is the weather has been very dry the last 24 to 48 hours. we're starting to see the river beginning to -- recede. highway 79 is close to traffic. a couple of bridges are out. we have talked to a number of

businesses. and some homeowners are seeing water in their basement. we talked to a woman this morning who lived here in clarksville for about 19 years. she lives in an apartment building right across from the river, and she has been watching the water inch closer and closer to her building every day. >> i am getting used to it. i'm just moving stuff up high, and moved some stuff to my daughters. and i just keep watching. >> reporter: and this area has seen in the last ten years it has seen six years of floods, so these people are kind of getting used to it but now, but it is very destructive and frustrating. >> and the economy there is in bad shape? >> all of these businesses here in this community rely on tourists. there are a lot of antique stores. we talked to a woman who manages a lumbar yard that has been

around for a hundred years. it has seen a number of floods, and she says every time they go through it, it does disrupt business. >> we do a lot of business through here, and we're very thankful at lacrosse lumber company, but when the flood walls are up and they can't get to us as easy, yes, our business does slow down some. >> reporter: and this is not just being destructive to towns along the river, it's really affecting the economy around the midwest. keep in mind that they -- the mississippi river from southern illinois on north is close to barge traffic. this is the way we move a lot of grain, coal, chemicals and furtherlizers, so it could have some impact on the overall economy. >> diane eastabrook thank you very much. and now to dave warren, is mother nature going to give them a break? >> yes, a little break.

the rain has cleared out, but a lot of water has already come down, and that's working its way in to these larger rivers. all these areas are under a flood warning. focusing on clarksville, that river is cresting, meaning it is as high as it's going to get. but this is major flooding happens. here is the observed river stage. this is the forecast. cresting just below record stage, but it will take a while before it gets down below flood stage. it will slowly drop, but remain above that flood stage. the heaviest rain has pushed to the south. that is good news there. not good news across the northeast. these are wind report damages from last night to early this morning. over 400 reports of wind damage. but the good news is those storms are out of here. >> dave warren thank you very much. those terms by the way left as

many as five people dead up and down the eastern seaboard. i'm del walters in new york. and a reminder you are always check us out 24 hours a day by going to our website, aljazeera.com. ♪ >> if you're legally qualified to vote, that doesn't necessarily mean you can do it. you have to register and show up on the appointed day, and now in more places, show a government i.d. of some sort. a pursuant guarantee or impediments. that's the "inside story." hello, i'm ray suarez.