that brings us to the end of this edition of "inside story." from washington, i'm ray suarez. >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm thomas drayton, let's get you caught up with the top stories this hour. the bitter battle continues in the skies over gaza. efforts to help the wounded and hungry strain a difficult humanitarian situation. two critical situations close to home. one on the border with mexico and one affecting american farmers for two years now.

thank you for being with us. the death toll from the crisis in gaza is on the rise. gaza's health ministry reports 167 are dead from six days of fighting. binyamin netanyahu, israeli prime minister, says the offensive could take a long time. many are fleeing northern gaza as the military launches more air strikes. john hendren joins us from gaza. we are hearing reports there'll be a heavy air strike tonight. what are you hearing? >> we heard heavier air strikes than usual. there's usually a lull between the evening and the morning. we didn't hear that at all. there was heavy strikes and we

heard heavy air strikes and batteries, apparently, from israeli warships. we are saw a number of rockets fired out from the horizon. after that we heard alerts in israel. so we know that there is activity, but israel has alerted people on the border that they will be launching heavier strucks, and they didn't -- strikes, and they didn't make clear what they would be, but we can proouk them be air -- presume they'll be air strike. they are going after the rocket launchers, and according to the israelis they are hiding around hospitals and schools. they want people out of there to target those areas. nevertheless, nothing slowed down. we have seen an increase in targetting institutional places, police stations and that sort of thing. if you look over the city, you can drive down the street and every few blocks you'll find a

targeted site. that is likely to increase with neither side backing down, and with israel preparing the ground for a ground invasion. >> as the strikes continue. >> that's a boom behind me now. yes, there are about 804 nationals who have the opportunity to leave through the araz gate, the land gate. there are those asked to leave by the israelis, this is a leaflet dropped by air telling people what route to take out of the areas, otherwise the israelis say you are in danger if you remain in the gaza border areas, because they will a step up operations. we are seeing thousands here, staying at schools and elsewhere, where the infrastructure is not prepared for the influx. can you is the the scene for

us? what is happening behind you? >> i don't know if you heard a few seconds ago, there was a boom behind me that is common at this hour of the night. you can see the areas they target. many are along the sea shore where, muching, there has been -- of course, there has been many along the sea shore. they tried to attack a military base on the other side of the border. there were planes up above looking for people in the water. there has been heavy shelling, some hitting hamas shipping containers, others like that. they are continuing to hit the sights throughout the city. anything that has hamas on it. i was at a police station that is a pile of striking metal. >> 11:04 in gaz a. john hendren joining us from gaza. be safe, thank you. the gaza strip has a

populationle 1.8 million living in a small amount of smiles miles. the population is made up of refugees from areas that became part of israel. unemployment is high, and the primary economic activities are family business, agriculture and small-scale industries. the boundaries existed since the 1948 arab-israeli war. >> the united nations escorted nationals with dual-citizenship out today. >> reporter: many in gaza describe this has a prison because they can't leave because of the israeli wall that surrounds gaza or the bodder with egypt that is closed or the mediterranean sea, and the naval block i had that israel has out there. in respect a few people, very few, able to leave. they seized the opportunity.

>> reporter: for the few gazzans with foreign passports this was the final mile and a half. the last stretch away from air strucks. how are you feeling? >> we are ready to be home. hope we get through fast. >> i'm glad i'm going home. peace, peaceful. >> hundreds of americans used a small window to flee gaza. all the belongings packed into suitcases. >> you feel afraid, like something will hit you at any moment. >> the major lives in new jersey. he was here to visit family. they live in a neighbourhood that was bombarded. that was a few blocks where were he stayed with a 14-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter. can you tell me what you heard?

she's too traumatised to answer, even with coaching from dad. >> she is really - was very, very scared. >> just this morning before we left there was an air strike down the street from our house. >> the sisters love to visit extended family but see too much war. >> we think of ourselves as experts. we know what an navy explosion sounds like or an f-16 sound like, and it's not something i want to know. >> reporter: when your kids ask you what is happening, what do you say? >> to be honest, i tell them it's raining, don't be scared. i'm scared inside. >> reporter: this man was visiting family. he's been in america for 17 years. >> to be honest, we didn't see

anything, but we heard it. that's the most fear you can get. i'm glad i'm safe, and my kids. >> reporter: were you worried that you might not be? >> yes. yes. we most afraid for our kids. >> reporter: and how do you feel right now? >> i'm so - i'm so glad we are leaving, to be honest. >> they can leaf. but 1.7 million gazzans can't. 149 americans or palestinian-americans have left. 500 or 600 dual nationals from 21 countries leave by the end of the day, desperate to escape the violence and relieved once they

saw the other side. nick schifrin in gaza. israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu defends israel's operation in gaza against hamas, but will not say how long the latest offensive will last. >> our goal is to achieve sustainable quiet and security for our people. we are doing that by degrading hamas and other terror capabilities. i'm not going to say how and when that goal will be achieved, whether by diplomatic or military means. but that goal has to be achieved. >> no israeli fatalities have been reported since the offensive began. six soldiers and 14 civilians have been wounded. there are reports that israeli soldiers entered gaza by the sea. binyamin netanyahu, at the same time, held a closed-door cabinet meeting. bernard smith has more on that from jerusalem. >> sunday morning was the first

kags we know about where -- occasion we know about where the israelis entered the ground. commandos, according to reports, entered gaza by sea, going up the sea to attack a long-range mice ail launching site. they said that three hamas fighters were kld in this assault -- killed in this assault and the four israeli commandos were injured and have been treated in hospital. on sunday the weekly cabinet meeting in israel, for the first tile the concept of -- content of that meeting embargoed and we don't know what the content is, and we don't know when the details of that meeting will be revealed. israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu took the opportunity before the meeting to have a go at old enemy iran, and blame it, partly, for this latest flare up in fighting between israel and

hamas. bernard smith in jerusalem. we have the unicef officer with us. many families are struggling to get through this, and it is hard for the children. what are the biggest concerns for unicef in gaza. one of the biggest concerns is that children are making up about a fifth of the total fatalities and injuries among the as calledies. this is a high pull that children are paying. at the same time the experience is terrifying. there's an unpredictability and relentlessness in terms of air strikes and shelling having a huge toll physically in terms of

farming children but on their mental distress. i mean, i have spoken this morning to parents who were describing how their children are frightened at every sound. they are clipping to them, they are not sleeping or eating -- clinging to them, they are not sleeping or eating. it's causing distress among children of all ages. >> you bring up a good point. how do you help the children of gaza cope, those who have experienced violence? >> it's challenging. bearing in mind that this is the third time within less than six years that children are going through this kind of a cycle of extraordinary violence. that is on top of their day to

day existence living under occupation. so the coping mechanism of families is at their limit. unemployment skyrocketed in the last 12 months due to closure of informal tunnel system of egypt. there's limited housing and no imported construction materials or cement. limited ability to repair and upgrade water and sanitation facility, today, right now, there's up to a hurt of the population and may not have access to water and clean drinking water. and another 400 thous now do not have power in comparison to

electricity that they had before this week began. it's a dire existence for the people to five through. >> we mentioned a population close to 1.8 million. has u.n.i.c.e.f.'s job changed at all in the loft couple of reeks. >> not really, in the sense that our job is to be ready and remembered to pond to an escalation, we plan with our partners, the water authorities, education officials and so forth. in the last couple of days, and hour by hour, we are now seeing direct damage to - and threats

to access basic services such as clean drinking water. and also power, which is necessary for so many functions of daily life. we are seeing the beginnings of massive displacement over the last 24 hours. there has been over, i believe, 17,000 people moving into shelters. several other thousands have relocated to their families and other neighbours, including a number of my own team, in fact, and myself. so there is not - there is not a single in this slither of land that is not impacted by what is going on. bear in mind out of the population over 50% are children. that's nearly a million children who are at risk right now. >> it's a difficult situation and a tough road ahead.

once again uni self joining us from gaza -- u.n.i.c.e.f. joining us now. iraq's government failed to reach a consensus on a new government. sunni, shi'a and kurdish politicians are supposed to name a new prime minister. we have the latest from baghdad. >> due to bad weather the parliamentary session that was supposed to begun has been cancel. kurdish mps were not able to make the flight because of the sand storm that you see behind me. that prarmentry session postponed until tuesday. there's good news. it looks like there's agreement on the speaker of the house. it's a key position. once they agree it kicks in a process that allows for 45 days.

there's agreement that dr seal eem may be the speaker of the house. we'll find out tuesday when parliament meets. whilst all of this goes on, the islamic state made more gains, taking over a town at a place called dalia. they are making problems for the iraqi army. also on pro-islamic state social media accounts. there's a badle for the baiji oil refinery and the islamic state have been able to take over some positions on the outskirts of the refinery. so far there's no word from the government on either attack. russia warns of retaliation of ukraine over what it says is military action on the border. the ukraine offensive was called

unacceptable by vladimir putin. >> reporter: as the advance continues russia claims there's civilian casualties on their side of the border. a shell landed in a courtyard killing one, injuring two. the russian foreign ministry called it aggressive and it will be dealt with accordingly. officials in kiev deny the attack. we visit an area outside donetsk. the heart of the movement. it was attacked on saturday. >> we are outside a western suburb of donetsk, where six civilians were killed. since we have been here in the last 90 minutes we have seen and heard incoming mortar rounds. you can see the plumes of smoke over my shoulder. they set fire to the wheat fields. some of the separatist fighters manned the check points. a few hundred meter from

-- metres from the attack. >> translation: the situation is different. children are scared. they will bear scars forever. what shall we do, we are waiting for them. it's our land. it wasn't us that came to them, they came here. >> the second day of attacks sent more civilians out of the area. >> it was terrible words can't scribe the depth of my despair. i saw houses on fire. i saw garages and factories burping, buildings destroyed. i was in the middle of it all. i couldn't do anything. everything was shaking from fear. a fear that will spread to more people in this part of the eastern ukraine as both sides in the conflict refuse to back down or talk. still ahead - the world cup. the final is underway and nowhere are fans for excited than in germany and argentina. later, the italian cruise ship

that sank two years ago gets ready to a new voiage. @

[ ♪ theme ] it is the day the world - or at least soccer fans have been waiting for. this is the fans waiting for the action. the world cup fine is under way, after 32 days and 63 matches, germany and argentina are on the pitch at maracana stadium in rio. argentina won two world cup championships but has not been to the final in 24 years. germany has three championships but lost to argentina in the final. they are tied at 0-0. daniel schweimler is there. fans, i imagine, are glued to the game. >> you are totally right. they are glued to the game in

buenos aires. there are tens of thousands of people watching from a big screen in the center of the city. there are similar scenes all over buenos aires, all over argentina, as well as 100,000 or so, perhaps more, argentines who have gone over the border to brazil, camped out on the beach, around the maracana stadium, getting as close as they can to the action. this is in the 56th minute, more tense. no goals, as you say. tension is increasing by the minute. >> did fans imagine the team would get this far? >> they were hopeful that they'd get this far. many that know about this know that the better two teams have reached the final. argentina with lionel messi, the best player in the world, and germany a good team unit.

many are hoping this will be a final worthy of what has been a fantastic world cup. >> as fans watch on, it's sure to get loud and excited. thank you. meanwhile 7400 miles and five time zones away nick spicer is in berlin where fans on the german team are hoping for the best. what is the mood among fans there? >> nick, can you hear us? >> yes, i can hear you now. >> what is the mood among fans there, nick? >> well, they would be sitting on the edge of their seats if

they weren't standing up. they are watching the match unfold. no one scored. there's been a lot of near goals, near miss, near goals by argentina, the team no one wants to see win here. the mood has changed from the festive atmosphere a few hours ago when there were tens of thousands of people celebrating, drinking beer, really high, if you will, on the victory of the semifinal over brazil. 7-1, putting a spring in the step of many germans, making many of them feel that the victory was really within their grasp, that this world cup was going to be theirs once again. the first time in 24 years. and now they are watching it unfold, and their team, for many people, is not as dominant as it has been in the past. it's a little tense. >> watching it unfold. nick spicer joining us from berlin, thank you. police in rio have been busy

all day. in one instance police used tear gas and stun grenades to chase away protesters marching on maracana stadium. there has been small demonstratio demonstrations, the largest took place before the opening game. >> next - lots of talk but no solutions to the crisis on the border with mech coe. and a look -- mexico. and a look at what is driving people to take risks and safe haven in the united states. and a blood test that could give an advanced warning about alzhiemer's disease.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories we are following. the death toll climbs in gaza, 167 are dead as more israeli air strikes hit gaza. despite calls for a ceasefire the israeli prime minister tells his cabinet that a military offensive may take time. residents in northern gaza are

beginning to evacuate. iraq's parliament stalls on naming a new prime minister three months after parliamentary elections. nouri al-maliki is seeking a third term. shias, kurdish and sunnis postponed a decision until thursday. russia threatens ukraine after claims a russian man was killed by a shell that crossed the border. ukraine denies it and says the attack could have been the work of rebels. washington d.c. is subdivided on how to handle -- divided on how to handle the tens of thousands of children crossing the boarder from the central america states. some democrats defending the president say the border is, in fact, secure. >> i go back to multiple years in the past in which we have drawn attention to the problems on the border. we asked for 1,000 national

guard troops for four years. in may of 2012, i gave the president a heads up of what was happening with the unaccompanied children, alien children. he repeated "the border, the border", and wants to put more national guards men. thinking that the children wouldn't come. the children are fleeing torture, violence, murder and rape. they'll come as long as those conditions exist. and we don't fix the broken immigration system. >> violence at home is a maim yore reason why so many children are coming to the u.s. united nations reports that nowhere is the problem worse than in honduras, as we hear from paul beban. >> reporter: in honduras, guatemala and el salvador drugs and gang cartels are more powerful than the governments. the carnage visited upon the people is driving them out.

the most dangerous place of all according to a united nations report is san pedro. from january to may the border patrol caught 2200 kids travelling alone. that is 15 kids fleeing every day. i ask what it is like to live in the city known as the murder capital of the world. >> translation: the fear of crime and violence in san pedro sulea makes people afraid to go to work or take their kids to school. it's a place where you see ugly lings. think of waking up to a photo splashed across the newspaper. it affects you. crime and fear leads people to pack their bags and leave. >> we are driving on the outskirts. it's a dangerous city. it's disputed gang territory.

in the middle is a juvenile detention center where kids are doing time from homicide to rape and extortion. here we are. we are going in the front gate. carlos, what options do kids that age have - is it the gangs or head north? can they get jobs, are there other opportunities for the kids is this >> translation: the sad reality is the day they age out and step out of the door of the facility they'll find the same situation that put them here in the first place. >> what about the kids that came back, so many are deported on the u.s. what happens when they come back to honduras. >> the future of those kids, if they have to come back, is worse. most, if not all, journey to family in the north, coming back they return to an empty house and will end up in the streets.

>> reporter: this is the autopsy room. is the morgue overwhelmed. can you handle the number of bodies you have to take care of here? >> translation: there are times during the night there's so much crime we wake up to 20 cadd avers waiting to be processed. during the day there's four doctors. weekends are worse. there's a lot of crime. we have 20-35 cadd avers waiting for us to work on. >> reporter: the doctor said this is the cold room where they store the corpses, there's 80 to 90. they are stacked up, one on top of the other. it's full to capacity all the time, and once a month are they able to take out and bury unclaimed bodies. the smell is unbelievable. it's staggering. we've got to go. it is grizzly to think about. in that locker are the bodies of children, victims of violence much many are teenage boys faced

with the starkest of choices, join the gangs, be killed by the gangs or leave. joining me were washington dc is the policy director for the american immigration council. good to have you with us. >> good afternoon. thank you for having me. >> obviously the situation in some of these countries is so dire that parents are willing to risk the lives of the children. are they misinterpreting u.s. law that the children, once here, can stay? >> well, we don't think that u.s. laws in germ are what is driving people to leave their homes. as reported, the violence in honduras is quite horrific and, as such, many are making choices to either let the children go on this journey or the children

have rost parents and fighting and can't stay any longer. that's what is driving folks. in addition, most of the developments are point of view in any sense of the word, are not programs that would allow the children to live permanently this the u.s. to the degree there may be rumours, it's possible that it helps to shape some of the movement. it's clear that it's the circumstances in the country that are forcing people to leave their homes. naturally the u.s. is one of the places that they'd be inclined to go. raising the points, we know the debate surrounding the issue. is it a question of morality in handling the crisis. >> i think that it does. it's disturbing to watch some. debate going on, that tries to put this in the context of an immigration enforcement issue. it's not. it's a humanitarian crisis

requiring a response from the united states and the region as a whole. if we focus on it as a question of do we have enough people, border patrol agents on the border and putting money into enforcement we will miss the point of what is happening, which is that we have a refugee crisis at the doorstep and we have to respond. we are talking about children that need the care and application of the united states, and we have that obligation, as would any country who find children on the doorstep. >> a responsibility, but what do we do with the influx of unaccompanied children. we are talking about 57,000 since october. >> yes, it's extraordinary. it's grown astronomically in the last 5-6 years. >> you have to take a series of approaches to deal with this. the first and most important thing is that i think that the president acknowledged that we have a humanitarian crisis and put f.e.m.a. in charge of coming

up with a coordinated effort to recognise the humanitarian issue. his second approach then was to ask for a 3.7 billion supplemental increase in funding. some of which will go to care and housing of the children. some will go to providing attorneys so the children can have a day in court. a great deal is going to border enforcement, not necessarily putting the funds in the plus where they can be most effective. we have to find a way... >> i want to get to the responsibility. where does the responsibility fall on countries like honduras? >> it's a shared responsibility, of course, the reason that the children are leaving is because there is a tremendous breakdown in civil society in those countries. of course there's a responsibility there, and the u.s. needs to act and use its diplomatic tools to try to engage those countries in finding whiches to address

their -- finding ways to address their own economic and political situations leading to violence. the bottom line is we have the kids in the u.s., and we have to make sure that we are providing them with appropriate housing and care, and that they get the appropriate adjudication to determine whether or not they should be allowed to stay. >> the dialogue continues. policy director for the american immigration council in washington d.c. appreciate your time. thanks for joining us. bit the way, we invite you to join us this evening. we'll take a look at the crisis along the border in the week ahead segment. 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific. >> there's a new advocate for the group of kidnapped schoolgirls. malala yosafzai is in abuja. she was shot in the head by the

taliban. it has been declared malala day in honour of her visit. it's her 17th birthday, she says she wouldn't want to spend it any other way. >> it is my 17th birthday. last year when i celebrated it was in the u.n., this year i thought it would be good to go to nigeria, where the girls are suffering and they need someone to raise their voice. they love education, and i need to support them. on monday malala will meet with goodluck jonathan, president, and will talk to some girls that escaped the attack. >> iran's foreign minister is reassuring the world that the country does not have ambitions to build nuclear weapons. more on the lifting of sanctions in exchange for iran reducing fuel capacity. >> i will commit to everything and anything that will provide credible assurances for the international community that iran is not seeking nuclear

weapons. we soept see a benefit. >> the group, p5+1, including u.s., france, germany, britain, russia in china is hoping to strike a long-term deal with iran. u.s. secretary of state john kerry says that date may not be realistic. >> we have significant gaps still. so we need to see if we can make some progress, and i look forward to substantive and important meetings and dialogues. this is an important subject. it is vital to make certain that iran is not going to develop the nuclear weapon, that the programme is peaceful. >> germany and u.s. officials say they are committed to repairing relations after allegations of u.s. spying on berlin. secretary of state john kerry met with his counterpast in vienna and both agreed cooperation is critical. >> we say that german u.s. ties

are, in view of the conflicts around us, necessary and essential for both of us. as a result of that, we want to work on reviving the relationship on a foundation of trust and mutual respect. >> kerry says the main focus was iran, and they didn't specifically mention the latest spy scandal. german chancellor angela merkel said she had different ideas from the u.s. on how intelligence services should be used. she said germany needs to work with the u.s. to combat threats in iraq and afghanistan. election officials in afghanistan say they are ready to begun an audit of 8 million votes cast in the presidential run-off. >> in three weeks time the auditing will be released and results announced. the two candidates agreed the results must be accepted by both. that agreement came when secretary general was in kabul

meet -- secretary of state john kerry was in kabul meeting with abdullah abdullah and ashraf ghani. there was claims of widespread miscounting. under terms, the winner will form a national unity government. still ahead - the impact of two years of drought. how the worst drought in three decades is affecting farmers on the west coast. in the dry parts of the country where water is always in short

supply. the wreckage of the "costa concordia" will be removed from the island of gillio. it crashed in 2012 killing 36. the removal of the ocean liner

has been one of the biggest operations in history. it's cost nearly $1 billion. it was turned upright last september and will be toed to a port in genae weigh where it will be demolished. it's been two years since 1,000 countries spread over 26 states were declared natural disaster areas. the worst rout of a country was the result. the situation eased in some places, california is suffering from severe drought. melissa chan looks at the impact on farmers. >> reporter: diane friend suspect the wheat field on her 600 acre farm, passed down by her father. the worst drought in memory has her worried. >> it grabs you from down deep and - you're making me cry. when you see the soil and touch it and you know that it may not be here for your next generation of family - that is big.

>> reporter: she says she had hoped to plant pistachio tree, but without water she will postpone the plans. >> this was an orchard that was abandoned. >> friend is a director of the county farm bureau and spent many afternoons assessing the drought. >> it will be dry like this tall year. >> reporter: she stakes us to stoneland farms, leaving land pallo because there's not enough water. >> we are not spending the money on growing the crop because we don't have the water, everyone else down the line is affected. >> reporter: the farms are taking on half the number of workers it usually hires at this time of year. a smaller harvest means smaller amounts of workers, and higher unemployment. >> we need water. without water, there's no jobs. the water is going forward to keep it up. the people work in the fields. they work because there's no

water, no jobs. >> to properly understand the drought's knack, it's important to -- impact, it's important to know the central valley has had dry conditions for a few years. the drought turned a bad situation worse. we met cannes short -- dan short. he is unloading food at a food center. california is unable to feed itself. >> it's heart-breaking. i'm feeding the guys that grow the food. >> reporter: according to the forming coalition, the central valley could lose $2.2 billion. some farms will go bankrupt. >> a farmer said to me "what will i do, what will i become?" . >> reporter: people here tell us farming is not a job that ends at five, it's a lifestyle and

culture. if it disappears, you are left with nothing. the drought is actually leaving states to fight over scarce supplies of water. one example is the court battle between texas and new mexico. the area has been in drought forcing farmers to take measures just to survive. heidi zhou-castro reports. >> reporter: water in the desert. >> it's our source of living. >> reporter: and it's vanishing. the land was lush and green when efron's father started this texas farm 30 years ago. >> the flats from the river brought a lot of good soul to it. >> reporter: after four years of drought, it's a wasteland. two-thirds of the 120 acres are useless. and the dream of becoming a premiere producer of organic

lamb is crumbling, just as the soil. seeing it like this, what does that do to you? >> it hurts. it hurts. >> the farm gets 100% of its irrigation water from here, the rio grand, which in normal years would be above my head. now it's a trickle and nature is only partly to blame. the explanation can be found 100 miles uptram in new mexico. farmers here also depend on the rio grand, but they have a distinct advantage. during the drought third generation nex can farmer ken uses water pumped from the wells to irrigate his peckan trees. >> these are pumped. these get nothing but pump

water. >> reporter: but hydrogeologists say the wells are drying out the aquifer under the rio grand, causing the river bed to soak up water from the reserve voir. most of this reservoir water is intended for farmers in texas. a 2013 study by the irrigation distright found 40% -- district found 40% is reaching the line. new mexico farmers pumped out 78 billion gallons of well water last year. >> i really hope that they understand that we are here. we need that water. >> reporter: paul defends his wells. without them, he'd lose his farm too. >> we have water rights, you know. when we brought the farm we brought the water right.. >> no, you don't have the right because it's your land to dig as many wells as you want and dry up the water for the rest of the

farmers downstream. >> texas is suing new mexico before the u.s. supreme court. fighting a water sharing agreement violation - new mexico says the agreement does not cover violent very wells and holbrook agrees. >> texas as had been after our water for 30 years. as the worst drought in the region continues, the wells in new mexico is going dry. and the desert is reclaiming the texas farms. have you accepted the likelihood that you could lose the farm. >> no, definitely not. no, no. no. we are so attached. it's a way of living. >> unless more water flows from the river, or falls from the sky, the loss of a way of life is on the hzan -- horizon.

we are seeing rain move across the country but not in the areas that need it the movement. let's turn to rebecca stevenson who is joining us with a look at the forecast. >> where we are seeing the rain come down, it's coming down with excessive lightening and in a place so dry and hotter. so far above normal. these textures are putting -- temperatures are putting out different heat advisees through washington state, oregon and nevada. on the satellite there's a swath of storms coming up through orgone. a large cluster of lightening strucks into north west oregon, tracking up into western washington. why are they concerned. number one, it's not bringing a lot of rain fall. number two, this is where we have a large wild fire in the united states. the canyon fire is over 21,000

acres, and we have 800 perm assigned to it -- personnel assigned to it. they are fighting the fire, establishing lines. we have efact uses in place -- evacuations and 500 or so others ready to go. this is where we have the head flag warnings, which is an indication that weather is not favourable for wildfires to be put out. they are favourable to get them going with the lightening strikes and the heat. this is of a mills canyon fighter. not only are we looking at the fire burping up the trees, shrubs, out there in the rocky terrain, that's what the firefighters are dealing with, hot temperatures, triple digit heat and grouped. we are seeing -- ground. we are seeing homes, grassy lawns - they are watching the smoke get closer and closer as the fire approaches.

there's moderate air quality. you could see the glow of the fires in the hills there of the eastern side of the cascades. things like this fence you see alongside the road. that cost a lot of money to put up. it has saved so many lives, humans and wildlife. it's one of the things that will cost to replace once the moves through. >> we know how unpredictable and fast moving the fires are there's a fight over who should open a scopic area in the north of glpd and it may -- glmed and may end up in -- england, and may end up in court. the mountain range has been put up tore sale. the owner of the land wants it to go to a private bidder who offered more money than the community. when we come back, new hope for alzhiemer's. >> i think i have done well or six years. it slows it down.

we explain the new breakthrough, next on al jazeera.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array...

>> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. welcome back. there's a break through in the fight against alzhiemer's. scientists have developed a blood test to tell who is the most vulnerable to get the disease. it may be a game changer. >> reporter: some would say derek is one of the luckier ones. he was starting to forget things. but least he knew why. that brought him time. >> i thought oi gone the same as -- i've gone the same as mum. i've got alzhiemer's. >> derek's wife fought for drugs, and that early diagnosis was crucial, leading to vit aing treatment. >> -- vital treatment. >> i have done pretty well for six years. it slows to down. >> at times we will argue that

he is with us and can take part in a lot of things which is nice. i have seen some of them and now they are in homes. it's so sad. >> reporter: was with many illnesses there's no cure for alzhiemer's, dementia, slowing it down is as close as doctors and scientists can get. they have been struggling. symptoms can take a decade to appear, after the symptoms quick in. too late. a result, a crucial test, is giving hope. this reach has taken a decade to get to this point, concentrating on 10 proteins found in the blood. it is 87% accurate. it could be on sale within two years anywhere between $50 and $200. but that all depend on one crucial element - scientists

need more volunteers, or, in other words, more people willing to be tested and face being told they will develop an incurrable disease. >> some people would like to know and help the current drug development process, and some if there's no cure or development why would they want to know. we don't be able to do the work without the samples from people who volunteered. >> reporter: for derek and yvonne early diagnosis gave them more years. he insults her. she's thankful he still can. baseball fans got their hands on history during an auction in baltimore. for sale items from babe ruth's career. his contract signed for more than $1 million, a bat for more

than $200,000. the great bam beepo was born in baltimore and began his career a century ago. that will do it for this hour. ""america tonight" weekend starts now." . >> it's a crude reality of the boom, the rail roads shipping more dangerous goods through homes and businesses and why america is waiting for safety regulations much the internet broke down barriers, but has not increased minorities working in the tech industry. angel investors are trying to bridge the gap. we show you how. investing in your community, why businesses needing cash to grow are knocking on share neighbour's doors.