>> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm michael yves with a look at today's top stories. president obama in texas pushing a plan to stop the immigration crisis on the border, but some say the white house plan is not enough. israel gives signs that a ground invasion at the gaza strip could happen soon as the u.s. urges both sides to de-escalate tension. and new reports that the nsa and the fbi spied on the e-mails of five muslim americans for years.

>> president obama is on his way to texas to push his plan to hip immigrants from south american. the president said it's a humanitarian crisis. he will discuss the situation with officials and faith leaders in dallas. this as congress holds hearings on the issue in washington. libby casey from the white house, members of the president's team went to capitol hill to answer questions about the funding request. what did we learn about those meetings? >> reporter: 57,000 children have come across the border an alone and have been detained. these are new numbers from the obama administration. the homeland security heard of customs, and also the head of fema and a lot of them are wrestling with these numbers

wrapping their mind around just how this problem developed, some digging into the law and what led up to this point. we're getting a sense of how republicans are pushing back and what their arguments are going to be over the next days or weeks. many republicans saying the obama administration has not done enough when it comes to border security. there has been a debate of whether this is a problem of illegal immigrants or a refugee crisis. a republican of wisconsin spoke at the committee hearing today and he said this is a problem, and, in fact, the most humane thing to do, he says, is to stop families from letting their children come to the u.s. in the first place. >> i can't think of a more humane thing to do maybe it sounds a little cruel, but then to deter parents from sending their children to the united states. i can't think of a better way to deter parents from doing that is to literally take these minors,

identify where they came from, and i've gone online. it costs $207 on runway trip, put them in a hotel, feed them and return them to the country of origin. >> johnson and fellow republicans say that will stop others were trying to make what is turning into a very dangerous journey. >> libby, as you mentioned a lot of public criticism for obama on this issue, but from his own party, how much support is he getting on how to deal with this crisis. >> reporter: some democrats are afraid that obama will go too far in sending kids back into what many say are dangerous situations waiting for them in their countries of origin. by and large, the home hand security are supporting this funding request. they're trying to move forward on things even as they request just some of the nuts, bolts and details. they're saying that these kids need on it taken care of first and foremost.

senator robert menendez pushed back on somewhat of the republicans had to say today. >> these families are not undertaking this journey lightly. my republican colleagues make it sound these parents are willingly let their children, risk their lives, as if that is really a choice. >> many members of the senate members speaking on the floor laying out their positions getting us ready to see a debate unfolding over what money should be spent, how it should be spent and whether or not they're going to support the president in that request. >> libby casey live at the white house. >> michael: meanwhile, the border patrol estimates 80% to 90% of women are sexually assaulted in their effort to

cross the border. many must face rape and assault for a slim chance at life in the u.s. we talk to many women in mexico about their fears. >> reporter: so close to realizing their dream of a new life these migrants try to cross the u.s. border. it's a journey some die making. something well-known to those at this soup kitchen. just like luce. a single mother who left her two-year-old behind hope to go work in the united states. asked about their greatest fear for the journey, luce has no doubt. >> i'm afraid of being raped, she said. i asked them if it was true that the smugglers raped us. it scared me, and i told them i didn't take any birth control. >> reporter: every woman i talk to knows they could be sexually assaulted, forced to trade sex for food and water. nearby migration is big business and migrants are increasingly

hiring professional smugglers, making them more vulnerable. for main migrants this is the final stopping point before they cross the border. here they buy things they need like camouflaged gear, but they're increasingly extorted, and some have to pay a thousand dollars to criminal groups just to pass through this town. the father said nearly 80% of migrant women he meets have been sexually assaulted. despite his beliefs he often takes women to the pharmacy to buy birth control pills and injections. with girls as young as 14 taking these percussio precautions, he said someone must step in. >> they risk everything. even the risk of being sexually abused. it's terrible. it's completely inhumane how they're used. the drive to migrate is so great they're willing to take the ri risk. >> reporter: sheriff estrada wants to act. he has been a police officer on the u.s. side in nogales for

more than 40 years. but with women scared to name their attackers the chances of arresting them are slim. >> very slim. very slim. it will happen if they're apprehended by border control. it will happen if somebody really cares and wants to do something about the perpetrators, but that's very remote. so we have a challenge. >> reporter: finally luce decides the journey acros across the border is just too dangerous. she's heard too many stories of women left to die after refusing to have sex with their smugglers. waiting for a bus to return to her family the dream is not worth the sacrifice. >> michael: in the gaza 53 people have been killed and hundreds injured. it has seen 200 hamas fired rockets since tuesday. the iron dome intercepted

several that were launched towards tel aviv. rockets from fired at the area where jerusalem has nuclear energy. nick, what is the latest in your location? >> reporter: yes, that building was right behind me in the community between me and gaza, and you can see gaza in the lights right there. it's been a very tense night here just a few hours ago for the second time ever, a couple of palestinian fighters entered the beach from a couple of miles from here. we've never seen that before. what happened, according to the israeli army those two fighters entered by sea and the israeli army open fired and killed them before they could reach the end of the sea. but it is a new tactic. we've seen video release by the israeli army of the first time that it happened, which was

yesterday. that's when five hamas fighters with a gun, heavy gun on the israeli ship firing at them on the beach. most of the attacks from gaza are rockets. what the officials are saying more rockets have been fired in the last few days since this operation began than in the nine days of the operation a year and a half ago. so that will give a sense of how much rockets will come in. one particular came in towards a wedding. instead of vows there were warnings. air raid sire republicans and people were told to get to shelters. >> michael: nick, what's been the response from israel as it relates to this dramatic increase as you said in these rocket attacks?

>> reporter: it's the symbol of the modern israeli state whenever attack is in tel aviv we have rockets lapping in the suburbs of tel aviv, on the streets. if you hear that, it's another boom. that's an attack inside of gaza. these rockets landing are really a red line for israel. israeli officials saying they simply cannot have the ability for hamas to go after places like tel aviv. that's why, in their words, they're trying to eliminate hamas capacity once and for all. >> nick, the latest conflict was sparked by violence committed against teenagers by both israel and palestine. i wonder if there is any new information about some of those investigations? >> reporter: yes, i think its important to separate gaza from what's happening, the tension that's happening in jerusalem.

we've seen a huge amount of it, especially as you say the abduction and murder of three israeli teenagers in the occupied west bank, and earlier last week the savage beating and holding, the arresting of a teen during the funeral of his cousin, who was abducted and murdered by jewish extremists, according to israeli police. the police officer who beat the teen, he has been summoned. he has been removed from the force for 15 days and, quote, suspected of severe violent crimes again the teen. that's just come down. we don't know the reaction. clearly the officials are hoping that the announcement that they're going to take in an israeli police officer, and perhaps charge him with violent crimes, that is hoping to quell some of the anger that we've seen in jerusalem and around

jerusalem over the last week and a half. >> michael: nick schifrin reporting live from southern israel. as we mentioned israel is stepping up its campaign and 53 people have been killed in gaza by israeli airstrikes. many have been injured and many of them civilians. ththeythe ambassador wants the united nations to pressure israel to stop the attacks. >> they have to pressurize israel to stop its policy. our people cannot continue to live under colonization. >> michael: we've seen video of the rockets fired during the day. it's nighttime where you are, has the trend been to increase or decrease in the evening hours? >> reporter: those trends increased as it gets darker in the evening hours. if you can look just over my

shoulder you can see two lights up in the sky. those lights were further down the coast a bit, and that's where we believe the army base that nick was talking about where a couple of palestinian fighters came onshore, several yesterday as well. those planes are israeli planes, we assume. those are bright spot lights that are shining down. they're likely either looking in the water for more palestinian naval operatives or they may simply be up there looking for the closest spot where our rocket is fired in order to target the response. and that is what we've been seeing in the past few hours. a number of rockets a few hours ago came out of gaza city, and then immediately there was a barrage of return fire that sounded like air fire from israeli warplanes about 20 shots after that. and that has angered people obviously. i mean, you see the funerals in

the streets here in gaza, and here w they carry the bodies out openly. that has driven the anger and frustration that has gone on here that has fueled support for the retaliation or for the rocket fire coming out of gaza. after those funerals, of course, we've begun to see strikes on homes. there have been some 60 houses completely decimated by airstrikes here. and the israelis have been striking gaza not just by air, but by sea and by land with artillery fire. that's driven the kind of support you see for some of the rocket attacks here and just over all frustration. >> john, this is a very important part of the calendar year for muslims as they're observing ramadan. and we mentioned this increased in military activity at night as families are coming off of their fast. how is that playing into the

emotions in the area right now? >> reporter: well, it's not helping. i mean, this is a time when people are focused on their religion, and that has all been affected by what's going on right now. this was a somber ramadan to begin with. 50% of people here are unmr.ed.. it was rough to start with. those hamas workers who have been part of unity government, they haven't been paid for months. that means a lot of money isn't happening here. then came this conflict, and it came right at the beginning of ramadan. the first couple of nights people were coming out, celebrating and filling the shops. those shops do a lot of their business this time of year. last night none of that has happened. all of the shops were closed. the hotels lined along the seashore celebrating to break their fast, all out of business. you're talking about a somber

ramadan, and they're focused on the things that matter. that focuses them on their frustration, living in a place where they don't have control of their own destiny. they're occupied by israel. that drives the frustration that has people driving the rocket attacks. >> joining me now from washington as congressman, a member of the house foreign affairs committee and co-chair of the allies conference. we appreciate the time this afternoon. >> good to be with you. >> i would assume that you heard the latest reports from both israel and gaza. i would like to get your immediate reaction from what you heard and stance and the conflict as it stands right now. >> every one of those rockets is a war crime, almost every one. every rocket that is not aimed as a military target but instead aimed at a civilian target or just a city is a war crime. of course, it's a war crime committed by hamas, and of course the owners of this tv

network help fund hamas. i'm very proud that israel, within immediately after the death of, the tragic death of that arab teenager, used all of it's resources to investigate and incarcerate all those responsible. it's hard to find any acre government or authority that has been willing to arrest, extradite or punish anyone for killing a jew because all too often among israel's enemies is open season on those of the jewish faith. and in fact, those who murder the most israeli civilians are the ones for whom squares a named, celebrated, families are rewarded, and this is a bizarre

response. >> councilman-- >> the fact is-- >> you recently said in your twitter page that revenge killings are not only irreprehensible, how would you advise israel's leaders to move forward. >> i would say those who killed mohammed need to be identified, prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and that the israeli justice system has to operate as it has. and if in addition to those who the six that are incarcerated, if there are others that need to be investigated, and they need to face the full brunt of the law as well. and the idea that you would have a tv station funded by those--and owned by those who fund hamas, and the hamas would use all of its efforts in a

clear effort to kill as many israeli civilians as possible, and then you on this tv station say well maybe it's not a war crime because it's not successful. the rocket didn't hit a kindergarten. it was aimed at a kindergarten, but it didn't hit a kindergarten, so then it's not reprehensible. >> congressman, i definitely appreciate your perspective on this, i don't know about us saying that anything was or was not a war crime. so if we could, i would like to stay on the actual conflict and how we resolve it going forward. with that being said, obviously there are always two sides to any argument. the palestinians would argue that the israeli response to those teenager's death was an overescalation or an overresponse. from your standpoint if the reverse had happened, how would you feel if israel would have done the same thing? >> i think israel's response is proportionate. i don't think there is always

two sides to every story. those who are trying to kill as many babies and children and women as possible and who rejoice in their death, that's not--o that's one side and then the other side are those who prosecute those who engage in wrongful death. that's not oh, well, there's merit on both sides. no. you have one side in this conflict that is doing everything it possibly can to reduce and avoid civilian casualties and to prosecute those who engage in acts against civilians, and you have the hamas side, and i won't say that this applies to everyone in fattah, but certainly the hamas side which of course qatar supports, that rejoices in how many babies they can kill, how many children neck kill.

they name squares and provide subsidies to those who are able to kill civilians, and they aim their rockets at civilian targets. that's not too equal sides. >> congressman brad injury than joining us from washington. thank you for your time here today. >> thank you. >> michael: coming up next on al jazeera america five prominent muslims--i'm sorry, we are going to a story in iraq. more than 50 bodies were found in a predominately shia area. the bodies were found just south of baghdad. all of the victims were shot to death. many were blindfolded and had their hands bound. this comes as curd issue authorities are accused of providing a save haven. hundreds of police officers in tennessee calling in sick in

protest. we'll explain next.

>> on wall street stocks rose. the dow rose 79 points. the nasdaq and s&p 500 ended on the plus tied. new revelation suggested that muslim-americans may have been spied on in an of th effort to find terrorists. this began in the bush era. >> reporter: we've known for a long time now that muslims have been targeted in the united states by the authorities seeking to stop terrorists. that's not news. what is news today, apparently prominent community leaders have also been targeted, some of who, as you'll see, worked for the government. >> i still just have shock and surprise as to why. >> reporter: meet musli

muslim-american fiesel, a muslim american who the record show was spied on by his own government. >> i think some of the law enforcement community or intelligence community might have seen those two things as not being compatible. >> reporter: the online publication published by glen greenwald said among the archives supplied by edward snowden was a spread sheet called ththat allowed the government to spy on people. according to the intercept. he was not the only high profile muslim being spied upon by his own government. so was a prominent attorney, who represented american muslims in there arism related cases from capitol hill. and an arabian-american

professor, and former political science director who worked to integrate arab americans into u.s. politics. and the executive director of the council of american islamic relations, the largest muslim civil rights organization in the country. the three-month investigation also showed the snowdon archive that went on. 7,485 e-mail addresses were apparently monitored between due and 2008. >> the fact that they're targeting these prominent muslim american activists and lawyers suggest they're considering people's political and religious views in deciding who to focus their energies on. >> reporter: fiezel said he and the four other americans spied on have all lived highly public, exemplary lives. >> what i'm hoping happens is

that congress and administration looks at these policies again and puts in safeguards so these things don't happen. >> reporter: all five deny involvement in terrorism or espionage or being involved in any crime. in response the office of the director of national intelligence said its false that it conducted electronic surveillance. >> all of these revelations come from edward snowden, who today applied for extension of his asylum in moscow. >> michael: immigrants are overwhelming facilities. we'll look at a new plan to fast track cases to alleviate the crisis.

>> michael: immigration is taking center stage today as congress and the president makes strides to tackle the issue. president obama is in texas where thousands of undocumented minors are overwhelming processing centers. he will not be visiting the border bu, but his administration is offering a fast track. michael, we've heard about this backlog of cases. give us an idea. put it in perspective, how backed up is it? >> a client comes in to my office. you should know i'm a second generation immigration lawyer. we've been doing this for 58 years. right now the shelf life of a case could be anywhere from a year to four years from beginning to end, and in it 60,000 children.

and you're going to have a system where there are less than 300 immigration judges. 5,000 ice or homeland security agents in our nation dealing with this. >> michael: this is a spike in immigration of children seeking some type of shelter. what caused the backlog? staff, resources? what is the problem there? >> michael, all of the above. the last time a president has ever changed a broken immigration system in a more robust economy was president reagan. president obama has deported more people than at any time in our history.

in our law enforcement, humanitarianism and the way we treat children, children who we know factually are facing not just economic hardship. that's not what america is for, but gangs, extraordinary murders. a child who has to start a life here without their parents. they're entitled to a hearing. if the local states can't deal with this, this is the back up. we see local communities throughout the united states whether it's in the urban centers, the day labor zones that you see all ove over the united states, and if you have a silence in washington, if you have a president who is not taking charge, what ends up happening is a backup. this is not good. this is not good to the millions of foreign students that we're sending back because we don't have a comprehensive fix on immigration system.

after we educate them they go to other countries because we don't give them work visas. it's not good for the migration, tilling of our farms, and it's not good for the hospitality world, it's not good for our moral campus. as america holds its itself internationally. not only for a day in court, but for parents who don't care about their children we're going to fight one citizen against the other. immigrants are the greatest risk takers that our nation has ever shouldered. if we don't answer this properly, u.s. citizen children are not getting the right messages from a nation founded on both legal and entrepreneurial immigrants. >> michael: let me ask you this, how will fast tracking these case also alleviate the problem. if they can't deal with it now, how will they deal with the spike and the surge? >> this is band aid on cancer. this is not a fix.

you can't throw a couple more judges and you can't give judge who is are already tasked so hard, or agents who have such an extraordinary job. years ago we were debating having local police step up in immigration system. it's completely inappropriate because everybody willing overtasked and over burdened. this is not just a homeland security issue. this is a snapshot of what america becomes if it doesn't pro actively or pre-act on its problems because this is a natural phenomenon as we have neighbors who have issues. we have to get to the root of other countries of what they have to fix. half of immigration lawyers in this town and throughout the united states are giving misinformation to people. we have to make sure that we not only give clarity to people in the process, they're getting notifications in h el salvador,

honduras that the document means they'll have a day in court once they have the removal documents. the greater clearty, and dealing with our immigration issues and deal with immigrants who seek refugee. with lady liberty just a few blocks from this studio, we have a mandate to get this right, and not to let it guess worse. >> i wish we had more time to talk about this. there is a lot of information that people at home don't have, quite frankly. thank you. >> michael: people with links to hard islamist groups would not be allowed to leave. they're ai afraid that they'll return to syria to carry out attacks. in ukraine, pushing a peace deal to end months of fighting.

petro poroshenko visited soldiers in slovyansk. poroshenko told germany and france that he would not agree to a peace deal until rebels laid down their arms. and a pakistani famil claims to have killed tons of taliban fighters. jennifer glasse has the story of one family. >> reporter: he came here with a hundred other families. >> it's very hot. at first we had no water, but now we have wells. now people are sick but there are doctors here. >> reporter: there are about 2,000 families here. a fifth of refugees in the province. another 3600 families are in a neighboring city. >> there are problems with water

and tent and food needs. the refugees came in like a flood. we couldn't register them all at once. >> reporter: the people say heavy fighting in pakistan forced them to leave. sometimes with only what they could carry. abandoning their homes, businesses, and animals. >> we came because there mr. uzbeck fighters there. we left everything behind. >> reporter: some hearsay what is happening in pakistan is a justified up rising against a government that oppresses them. >> they were treating us like donkeys. we were patient with them, but in the end we had to leave our area. we will not make peace with pakistan until we get our islamic rights, and god willing we will fight them. >> reporter: makeshift shops appear. the services are improving, and the government plans financial support not only for refugees in this camp but for the 80% being hosted by local families. the influx from pakistan has slowed for now but the u.n. is

planning a $20 million appeal to support these rafae refugees for the next six months. >> michael: utah will appeal the latest ruling in favor of gay marriage. maria ines ferre has this and more news around the u.s. >> reporter: utah said it will appeal directly to the u.s. supreme court. the state's attorney general said the state will challenge last month's ruling. the regional court ruled that that it's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. james holmes pled not guilty to killing 12 people. the state hospital said it will need until october 15th to submit a report. no word yet on a new trial date. in memphis hundreds of police officers calling in sick as a form of protest.

over the past week more than 500 officers stayed home protesting a reduction in their healthcare subsidy. >> you cannot ask an officer or fireman to run into a burning building, and we're not going to give you healthcare. >> reporter: by the end of the week it's expected that everyone in the homicide bureau will be out sick. the mayor said public safety has not been compromised because of the no-show officers. the west virginia company that leaked a chemical into the elk river was fined $11,000, that amounts to $0.27 for each of the 3,000 people left without water for several days. only 78 claims from filed against the company. the firm filed for bankruptcy shortly after the spill earlier this year. in california, from far away it looks like an oil slick, but get up closer and you'll see it's a massive school of anchovies.

you can see them hugging the coast in san diego county. there are underwater shots of the site. sharks from feeding on the anchovies. >> that was amazing video, and i'm sure it felt like a buffet for the sharks in the water. thanks a lot. >> reporter: thanks. >> michael: a storm knocked out power to homes and businesses, and winds last night tore homes apart with gusts as strong as 60 mph. four people were killed including a mother and her child. the national weather service sent investigators to see if a tornado actually touched down. in the midwest th the mississippi river is rising 10 feet above flood stage. volunteers have been filling sandbags to keep the river at

bay from the cities diane estherbrook is live in missouri, and you're up to your ankles there in water. how is the town holding up, diane? >> reporter: well, michael, the town is holding unfairly well. the sandbag is continuing, and as you mentioned i'm in over my ankles in downtown clarksville. the army corp of engineers think an inch of water has receded already, but it could be days or weeks before all of this water is gone. >> reporter: generators working non-stop. for this 100-year-old business flood something a recurring problem. a huge clean up, it takes a huge expense to get it out of the w way. >> clarksville has been preparing for the flooding all week. with volunteers and inmates from

a nearby prison stacking sandbags. still the river pushed its way up street forcing businesses to close and causing anxiety for some residents at this apartment building. >> every night i'm just sitting there wide awake just waiting for water coming in or not. >> reporter: during last year's flood the town was able to put up a large concrete barrier that ran several blocks along the riverfront. it didn't have the money to do that this year, so it had to rely on donated handbags. >> for the city not paying for another temporary concrete wall this year, some businesses opted for installing their own concrete barriers. putting up huge sand filled wire baskets around a home. he said it was worth it. >> after going through it a number of times, you learn from your mistakes. pretty soon you get proficient at making it work. >> reporter: the mississippi

appeared to be retreating from clarksville on wednesday morning. but by early afternoon it began closing again. the unpredictability of the river makes it hard to say when the town will return to normal. >> every flood is different. every time a flood comes, the extent of it is different. >> and for a hamlet that invites visitors to touch the mississippi, this is too close for comfort. and clarksville is a tourist destination. this flood is dealing a econom blow to this city. >> michael: coming up a prominent marijuana researcher who said she was fired without explanation. >> i have no skin in this game other than i care about the fact that this drug seems to be helping patients. if we continue to suppress this research we're doing a huge

disservice to our veterans in this country and medical patients everywhere. .

>> we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america. >> michael: china's finance minister said that the united states must drive the economic recovery. secretary of state john kerry are in beijing this week. the top of the agenda are accusations of hacking and espionage, the two country's economic ties have never been stronger. >> reporter: we usually hear about u.s. dollars going to buy chinese goods, but chinese dollars are in the u.s. buying real estate.

>> reporter: this new york real estate broker works in one of the hottest markets in the u.s. >> $3.25 million. >> reporter: . >> reporter: just under 1800 square feet of intear yes space plus a roof detective. he said most of his listings sell in the first month. >> reporter: what's an average price range, would you say? >> you're looking at the $1 million to $5 million price point. >> reporter: new york is in the mist of real estate boom with nosebleed prices fueled by foreign buyers. foreign buyers purchased $92 million in u.s. real estate, canadians bought the most, but chinese nationals spent the most on u.s. reality, shelling out

$22 billion for single family homes. >> reporter: foreign buyers including foreign chinese nationals are buying demand. park avenue, a 97 story tower where an one-bedroom unit is $90,000. >> your average price per-square-foot in new york city is 1300 per foot. which at the end of the day is a pretty good bargain considering the fact that sydney, london are 2100-square-foot and above. >> reporter: economists say chinese nationals are here to stay. >> this is not a quick investment scheme. in terms of the chinese buyers we're seeing, they actually want to put some money down on a property and rent it out over time if they're not using it

themselves. >> reporter: realities that cater to foreign buyers say most don't use mortgages. >> 97% use all cash. >> reporter: effectively shutting out american buyers. >> if you have a buyer with cash and said i can close in two weeks and pay new cash. puts someone who needs financing at a disadvantage. >> reporter: while it puts pressure on u.s. buyers, the economists say they are also helping because mortgages are funded by international investors. >> the chinese are one of the major investors that puts money into mortgage back securities that keep interest rates low for the average american. >> reporter: most average americans are not looking for places like these. but for those who are, no matter how low the interest rate it's not low enough to compete with cash. >> reporter: for now chinese nationals are focusing on

residential real estate but they'll soon be focusing on commercial real estate soon. >> michael: randall, thank you so much. >> reporter: yes. >> michael: a prominent marijuana researcher at the university of arizona got approval to start research, but the government go ahead was not enough to avoid controversy. jacob ward joins us from san francisco. what can you tell us what this researcher was trying to do? >> reporter: well, michael, marijuana is very complicated to study in the united states. in order to do so you need special permission from the drug enforcement organization and a public health review. to get that special permission you had to openly promise to study the drugs' negative effect, it's abuse, how dangerous its stone driving might be. but the professor at the university of arizona was it's first person to ever get permission to study the therapeutic benefits of marijuana, the overly positive potential. unfortunately, she ran into

trouble. university of arizona researchers have never studied marijuana before, and we befored her back when she had just gotten this permission, and had just gun to negotiate with the university o university of arizona and said where on the campus is this study was going to take place. that's where she ran into trouble. >> the university of arizona never conducted marijuana research on campus where we stored, studied the drug here and administered it to patients on campus. that's the tricky thing. the problem is the word "marijuana" is so politically radioactive that i think university administration are concerned about how do they manage this plus the public relations nightmare of trying to persuade our lawmakers that this is not becoming some type of drug then, here. >> reporter: last week the doctor was abruptly terminated by the university without any

real explanation. now one of the things, this is an interesting sidebar, the university said it can't comment on personnel matters. wwe have pictures of it here. the university had in mind that ptsd-inflicted veteran was have to make their way to this back alley office, a wrecked place to, participate in this study. while other states like washington and colorado are throwing their doors open to recreational marijuana use its still very, very difficult to study marijuana in other states. >> michael: we were just talking about this yesterday. it seems like there needs to be more marijuana testing, but here's an example of it just not coming to fruition. jacob ward in san francisco. coming up we'll take you live to about still where argentina and the netherlands are battling it out for the remaining spot in the world cup final. but first, ray suarez in

tonight's inside story. >> ray: the trust fund is fueled by the federal gas tax. it's $0.18 a gallon, and it has not been raised since 1953. despite aggressive lobbying from left and right, it's not in the conversation. why? roads, taxes and politics are the "inside story" at the top of the hour. join us.

>> 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 i >> michael: we're one-half away from finding out who will battle in sunday's match. the loser faces brazil, who of course was embarrassed in front

of the home crowd yesterday. gabriel, it's scoreless, 0-0 at the half. i wonder what the atmosphere has been like around this game today. >> reporter: you're right, it is tied, 0-0, it is hat the half. it's cold and rainy in sao paulo, a little bit. but the mood and atmosphere in that stadium is hot with excitement as both teams battle to get that final spot to play for the world cup championship. now there is only a thousand dutch fans here. a lot of them simply could not afford tickets to get here to brazil, however, there are several thousand fans from argentina, ass we kno as--as we know, argentina is a long drive, but they were able to do it. it feels like an argentina home game. and then there is the, and

there's the x factor are the locals who are rooting for holland. many want to see holland beat argentina. >> a huge rivalry to say the least between argentina and brazil. i wonder by yesterday's embarrassing loss for brazil, if that overshadowed today's semifinal between argentina and the netherlands? >> reporter: a little bit. let's face it, the world cup is taking place in brazil. it's dominated all the headlines here. there is a lot of second guessing happening here in brazil, and a lot of people just focused on that, and not so much as argentina gained with holland right now. there are a lot of brazil fans in the stadium.

there are a lot more subdued than we've seen them and other games that they've been to for sure. >> michael: gabriel, reporting at the world cup semifinal game in sao paulo. thank you. we'll see if today's game breaks yesterday's social media record. it was the most tweeted sports event in the history of twitter. maria ines ferre is following the action on social media. >> reporter: michael, 35.5 million tweets. that's how much traffic was generated during yesterday's game. here you see the concentration of that traffic. most of it in north america, south america, africa and india, a lot of those tweets were expressions of shock and tears and embarrassment. now remember brazil has to play another game on saturday against a team that lose today's match. that's for the third place title. so someone tweeted this out. brazilian fans will be showing up at the stadium with bags over their heads. now today's game of the netherlands versus argentina, a

lot of people will see it as robben number 11 and messi number 10. a little voodoo doll of robben, and this. everyone complains about the fact injuries on the field, the way the players go down and they look at the ref, like, one canadian film company just posted the following video. exaggerating injuries in real life situations. take a look. [♪ music ] >> reporter: and in the last 4 hours the video has gotten more than 150,000 views. a lot say this is why i don't like the game. but when you watch real tackles in slow motion, some of those look like they very much hurt. >> michael: because they're good at faking them, inez. they'll fall down on the pitch.

agony falling over and then they're sprinting down the other side of the field. >> reporter: ask neymar. >> michael: thank you for joining us on al jazeera america. "inside story" is next. >> ray: the highway trust fund, the money that is supposed to keep our roads and bridges repaired is set to run out of money in months. the tax fee to that feeds the fund has not been raised in 25 years. now what? that's the "inside story."