>> good morning to you and welcome to al jazeera america. live from new york city i'm morgan radford, and these are the stories we're following just for you. casualties pile up as palestinians rockets and israeli airstrikes continue to fly over gaza. also lost in iraq. a land grab in the fight for power. plus the big headache from the world cup, the booming demand for black market tickets.

>> it's day five of israel's conflict with gaza. 120 people are dead and nearly 1,000 have been hurt. this morning a medical center for the disabled was destroyed in the north of the gaza strip. >> reporter: you can see where the missiles came through. it came through two stories of this house and landed in the ground floor. you can see the back end of that missiles. i don't think you can see that, but we spoke to the director of this medical center who said there is absolutely no one else here other than those who cared for the disabled. this was not a place where anyone would be launching

rockets. they had been here for three years, and all they were trying to do was good for people, and they still can't believe. you can see the scene of destruction here. there is a wheel cheer here that has been left intact. the rest of this building has been turned to rubble. a lot of people actually suffered burns, of course, because you can see it is still dark when the missile hit. amazingly only two people died. israel does say it launches precision strikes. sometimes they can be incredibly targeted an. but this entire place has been brought down and in the words of the director she says, i don't understand why they targeted this place because there are no factions associated with it. it is a question we have to ask the israeli army as to why this

place, a center for the disabled was targeted. >> for those caught in the conflict seconds can mean the difference between life and death. a mortar shell explodes on a roof of a building. it's what the israelis call the knock on the roof. in this video 57 seconds eloped before the building is hit by an israeli airstrike. we have the block and the sub titles to show you. the homeowner said he got a telephone call 15 minutes earlier warning him that have attack. israeli officials tell al jazeera that families should be getting several minutes warning with a knock on the roof instead of less than a minute.

explosion. >> now at this point we do not know if anyone was killed or wounded in this instant. val said 700 rockets have been launched into their territory. this week alone they hit gaza with more than a thousand airstrikes. there is a possibility that israel could intervene on the ground. nick schifrin has more. >> reporter: in the last few hours we've seen a handful of strikes in israel into gaza, including a massive run. according to the military a tunnel used by palestinian fighters crossed from gaza into israel. we heard a boom, boom, constant barrage from the sea.

these attacks are continuing 24 hours a day. in gaza nobody sleeps soundly. last night brought more israeli bombs, and this morning brings children checking out devastation. the bombs israel drops are massive. this one turned a building into a crater. it used to be a show room. all that used to b to stand was brought to the ground. officials in gaza say the strikes have destroyed hundreds of family homes. this morning means cleaning up what is left of a family's book shelf including this qur'an. hamas, which runs the gaza strip unleashes an unprecedented

rocket bombardment. they show rockets reaching farther into israel than ever before. it was intercepted by the iron dome, but when the city is attacked so often israel stepped up its bomb batterment including with artillery. it has enough troops and assets to launch at any point. inside of gaza the strikes have become so commonplace when they're in the distance that gazaens barely flinch. >> strikes are becoming so commonplace if you go out on the streets the place is a ghost town. there is no one on the streets behind me. last night we went out and there was no one on the streets then. there is clearly a huge amount of fear among gazaens with this bailey barrage, and there is a sense that that barrage will continue. >> that was nick schifrin

reporting from gaza. meanwhile the united nations security has created a draft that calls for de-escalation and cease-fire asking for the parties to respect humanitarian laws and civilians asking israelis and palestinians to achieve passthrough two-state solution. documenting only a statement it is not legally binding even if it is adopted. there is an in-depth look oh at the gaza strip in a segment tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on al jazeera america. archlet hunt for pro russian operatist who killed 20 ukrainian soldiers on friday. the ukrainian president promising it will continue. artillery and march tar fired

but still uncleared who launched that attack. over in iraq two kurdish land grabs by the kurds who are working towards full autonomy from iraq. >> we're 200 kilometers from the iraqi capitol, but it means little for the new iraq. the country is divided between kurds, sunni and shia areas, but here in the kirkuk province the lines are not clear. for kurdish force this is road is a vital supply line. they don't control this road. it cuts threw territories well under the control of sunni armed fighters. this district has long been disputed territory between the kurds and baghdad.

for kurdish officials this was a message from the central government in baghdad. the iraqi army may have abandoned the offensive early in june, but prime minister nouri al-maliki has vowed to retake this land. a few days ago the iraqi army used planes to target this neighborhood. three missiles landed in a residential area. two people including an 11-year-old girl were killed. >> we are afraid there will be more airstrikes. the government offered an apology, but an apology is not enough. they are confident that iraqi force also not return to this region. >> yes, it is a threat. we take it seriously. but monthl maliki does not have that much power. and the islamic state group is between us and them. they should attack them first and then us. >> reporter: but the kurds do have other enemies on the

ground. this is ethnically and religiously mixed district. a checkpoint close to a marketplace a week ago people here blame the self declared isla islamic state group for the attack. that group along with the sunni armed sanction sanctions are controllin controllingter toe. for now the curds are holding their ground. they're hoping to include this region in their future state. in the defenses they're building can't prevent their enemies from entering because this front is also a crossing point used by civilians. closing this road would only antagonize sunni arabs who live in the region. this front line is an important junction. one road lets to tikrit. the other to baghdad. the kurds want this land, but both sunnies and shia have said they won't accept a divided iraq.

>> work begins monday on moving the disabled costa concordia. the passenger liner sunk off the coast of industr italy. it was raised last september. it will be moved out 100 feet out so it can be cleaned and assessed. activists want to change its country drug policies. sentences are given up to 17 years in jail. that's equivalent to a murder charge. [♪ music ] >> reporter: it's a party atmosphere with serious protest. one of several rallies held in recent weeks. organizers say they're sick of being criminalized just wanting to get high. outside of the prime minister's office urine samples pile up to protest the hundreds of random tests police carry out each week. >> this is our right to have our

freedom. and government does not have the right to put their hands in our bodies taking our urine for testing without our consent. >> reporter: fines net the authorities an estimated $4 million a year, and there is no distinct between soft and hard drugs. they're waiting to be sentenced for marijuana possession. he maces up to 14 years in prison. marijuana users are treated as criminals according to our law. they're jailed or forced to payee nor must fines which make life so much worse. i know for example a rural family has had to their home to pay for a fine for using marijuana. >> reporter: the government is in little mood for big changes. >> we're not going to legalize marijuana use. we will not even discuss the topic as long as we're in pow. it means that marijuana use will not be decriminalized.

we can discuss the law but as far as i know our approach to drug use has changed already. >> reporter: according to one study by alternative gentleman, an ngo advocating changes in drug policy, 100% of convicted users continue to take drugs. drug-related offenses are on the rise. >> literal-minded georgians might be a minority in this country, people have come out in quite large numbers to make their point. and the current drug policy in georgia as far as they're concerned is not working. >> reporter: al jazeera, tblisi. >> well, cue to the countdown before germany faces off against argentina for the world cup championship. arriving for the match signing

autographs and taking pictures with highly anticipating and waiting fans. the world cup organizing body fifa is having to deal with a ticket scandal. the ticket agency is on the run accused of running a racket to help resell tickets for the tournament. we have the story. >> reporter: the copa cabana palace looks like a crime scene, and apparently it is. this security camera footage shows ray wheelen, the director of world cup hospitality tickets, leaving through the hotel service entrance just as police went in to rearrest him. >> he left an hour ago, and he's considered a fugitive at the moment. the arrest warrant has been issued. he's considered a fugitive. >> reporter: wheelen, who was first arrested on monday but police is accused of being the

main source of world cup tickets being sold to an algerian national who ran a reticket reselling scene worth $90 million. wheelen's company hired by fifa has denied any wrongdoing. when the world cup began we saw the usual street scalpers trying to make a profit by illegally selling tickets to games that officially had been sold out. >> that man in the orange is offering tickets for $600. but it's too high. we'll wait to see if they go down. >> reporter: there were sometimes thousands of empty seats but it was impossible to buy a ticket. for example, the germany-algeria game. but there were no tickets left. but i hear that there are still tickets available. so no more tickets. nobody sells tickets here. okay. many began to ask where all the

tickets were since almost no one was selling them on the street any more. as it turns out the biggest bizarre for the biggest black market ticket sales was right here at the copa cabana palace. fifa, which already faces allegations of taking bribes to allow qatar to host the 2022 cup said it will cooperate fully with the investigation. the same thing wheelen said before he disappeared. >> later today the third place game between the netherlands and brazil kicks off at 4:00 p.m. eastern and then tomorrow the big championship game between argentina and germany. kick off there is at 3:00 p.m. eastern. a. a man who helped define the

beat of punk music has died. tommy ramón. they even influenced the sound of groups like nirvana and green day and were enducted into the rock-n-roll hall of fame. plus a tv that you can roll up when you're not using it. coming up next.

>> people are not getting the care that they need >> a partisan standoff... >> i ride in opposition to obamacare >> millions un-insured... >> it hurts to see my family in this condition... >> our politics costing lives? >> there are people like me literally dying because because they don't have the cash >> fault lines. al jazeera america's hard hitting, >> they're blocking the door... >> groundbreaking, >> we have to get out of here... >> truth seeking, award winning, investigative documentary series the coverage gap only on al jazeera america >> the u.s. is set to record it's lowest annual deficit sin since 2008. treasury department reported a $71 billion monthly budget surplus in june following may's $130 billion deficit. following national debt stands at $17.5 trillion.

entrepreneurship and government bureaucracy has historically been at odds. but that could soon be changing. agencies have all started using entrepreneurs in residents program to cut some of the red tape. we look at the heart of innovation itself in silicon valley. >> reporter: lisa marie martinez has made it through just fine holding a full-time job and raising a family in the bay area all with the assistance of a cane. but when she needs to catch a flight, her hard-fought independence has all but lost. >> here you can see all around you and navigate independently through the airport. as a blind person i can't do that. >> reporter: the collaboration between the san francisco airport and a start up called "indoors" sponsored by the entrepreneurship in residence program hopes to change just that. >> we want to realize the

process where everybody going through san francisco airport can use our technology. >> reporter: by installing 800 small disks around the airport terminal that can track an user's smart phone and pairing that information with a custo customized app, visually impaired travelers like martinez can track to go. the san francisco entrepreneurship in residence program was announced last october. six companies were selected to partner with. from better monitoring air quality to improving services for blind travelers at sfo. each partnership was given only 16 weeks to complete their projects, and unheard of timeline for the usually slow-moving bureaucracy of government. >> by the end of 16 weeks our goal was to have clear

outcomes. our goal is to have that showcased. >> the francisco chief innovation officer and creator of the city program that brings a novel twist on the public-private partnership. >> we want start ups, who should we talk to better understand problems and sell your product. >> all start ups participating in the program volunteer their time pro bono. changing the dna of government may be an uphill battle but since the entrepreneurship in residence program is a first. >> it's a not going to happen overnight but by opening our processes and saying hey, we need help in solving this we can make this a much more collaborative effort rather than government knows best and we can solve these challenges. >> in the latest sign of a

chinese backlash against apple, it says that th it is a security threat. similar features will exist on all smart phones including those made in china. one company is taking tv to the next level with a bendable screen. our science and technology correspondent jacob ward explains how it works. >> reporter: it's will cliché of science fiction transparent flexible screens as in this scene "minority report." and in life it has endless potential for making our devices smaller and more partyible. but only in the last few years has it been made possible. at the electronic show in 2013 samsung showed the first truly bendable screen. at the same show a year later the technology began to show up

in curve, full-sized televisions. now lg, the iow the appliance giant, said they have a screen that can be rolled down to just over an inch. that's like a magazine in the back pocket, even though you shouldn't sit down on this. it's played of a polyamide, the material used in tables and adhesives. the resolution is comparable to a high end computer monitor. they plan to release a television that is both this flexible and almost entirely transparent. the thing to consider about this technology is that, yeah, sure, it's going to bombard us with ads, and you'll be able to watch a movie on a flexible screen on a flight some day. but the other thing to consider is it's going to make possible embedding display information into all kinds of architectural

features like these. some day when it's cheap enough and bendable enough it will will give traffic information and weather advisories. at that point the built in environment will be your personal user interface 237 for the moment this display is a very expensive fragile prototype but in the next few years it could be the beginning as televisions as easy to move around like posters on your wall. >> won'don't move a muscle. it takes a lot to make a new yorker stop and take a look, but this did the trick. stuart! stuart!

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>> good morning to you and thanks so much for joining us. welcome book al jazeera america. live from new york city i'm morgan radford, and here are today's headlines. it's day five of israel's arrow offensive against gaza. so far more than 120 people are dead, and nearly a thousand have been hurt. this morning the medical center for the disabled was destroyed in the lower gaza strip.

over in iraq kurdish force ohs have taken two major oil fields just outside of the city of kirkuk. it's the latest land grab by the kurds who are trying for full autonomy from iraq. and the director of the world cup hospitality agency is on the run. ray wheelen i's company has denied any and all wrongdoing. >> good saturday to you. we're watching rain across the midwest. it's also pushing off to the east. we start off today with across over but with all the moisture coming in to very water-soaked areas.

flooding continues to be a problem in mississippi and in chicago we have flash flood warnings out for this time. in addition to the heavy rainfall severe weather will be possible chicago all the way back to omaha, nebraska, with hail, downpours and damaging winds. in the midwest there will be cooler air. we havit will head a little bit east in the early part of next week. we're going from temperatures 80 degrees today down to mid 70s sunday. monday and tuesday that's when the fall-like chill in the air. and then a climb from the mid 60s to 70 degrees. >> thank you, eboni. we da giant rubiks cube was

taking a trip down the river hoppering the toy's anniversary. that's all for now. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. stay tuned because "inside story" is coming up next. . >> from the relative comfort of most american homes, spending a fortune to smuggle your kids from one vast country into another seems hard to imagine, but the conditions in el salvador, honduras and guatemala would be hard to imagine. that is the "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez.