the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news. >> i can liken it to if you catch a fish and throw it on the shore, the way the fish opens and closes its mouth. >> controversy over the drug cocktails used in executions after it takes two hours for a death row inmate to die. >> rockets still flying and fierce balling overnight in gaza. smoke plumes are rising over gaza, hamas making new demands for peace.

>> more victims in malaysia airlines flight 17 on their way back to the netherlands. >> this new video raising questions about arrests by new york city police, a second person subjected to what appears ton a choke hold days after another man's death. good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. a passenger jet believed to have more than 100 people onboard disappeared from radar over africa. >> the air algeria fight was launched over mali approaching the border with algeria. we'll continue to follow the latest developments in this breaking story. a death row execution in arizona goes horribly wrong. >> a convicted killer being put to death last night was left gas spinning for two hours after a

cock tate used before was used again. >> this should have taken 10 minutes. >> one news reporter who was a witness to the execution said she watched inmate joseph wood gasp for breath more than 600 times before the convicted murderer finally died in arizona's death chamber. >> witnesses to the execution say it began as expected, the inmate joseph woods injected with deadly drugs as he lay on the gurnee, but then something went wrong. >> to watch a man lay there for 90 minutes gulping for air, you can liken it to a fish if you slew it onshore. >> the justice ruled in favor of arizona moving forward with the execution. the 55-year-old was sentenced for the 1999 murders of his girlfriend and her father. >> what i saw him today with him being executed is nothing to the day it happened on august 7,

1989. this was nothing. i don't believe he was gasping for air. it sounded to me like he was snoring. we can put this behind us and continue and move forward. >> the lethal injection used was the same cam bow of controversial drugs used in botched execution for two killers earlier this year, in ohio in january and oklahoma in april. arizona governor jan brewer ordered a review of the execution, saying she is concerned by the length of time it took but added it is in stark comparison to the gruesome vicious suffering he inflicted on his two victims. for the family of those victims, this murderer's death no matter how it happened is a relieve. >> what is excruciating is seeing your dad and sister lying in a pool of blood. that's excruciating.

this man deserved it. i shouldn't really call him a man. he deserved everything he had coming to him. >> the prison doctor insists wood did not suffer. there is a nationwide call for a moratorium on execution to make sure those drugs actually work as intended. >> at 7:30, we'll talk to richard dieter about the execution and the effect across the country. >> overnight, a wave of air strikes hit gaza, the death toll now top be 70 third and 37 soldiers and three civilians have been killed. >> secretary of state john kerry is in cairo after trying to negotiate a ceasefire. the f.a.a. lifting its ban on american passenger planes flying into tel-aviv. >> we begin with nick schiffron in gaza. can you tell us what the seen is like where you are now?

>> as the diplomacy increases, the view lengths very much is continuing. there are two hot spots this morning in the north, that's that way, you have actual fighting between israeli troops and palestinian fighters. in central gaza, the bam boredment from the air and tanks continue. there's a neighborhood that was really targeted by israel overnight. in one case, six members of the same family was killed, including an 18-month-old infant boy. twenty people were injured in that attack, the air strikes very much continuing and of course the focus on tunnels. israel really does want to eliminate tunnels that lead from gaza into israel. they kay they are 50% to 60% through them. they have days left to get rid of all of them. >> secretary of state john kerry has been stoling between egypt and israel trying to broker a

peace treaty. >> both sides don't want to stop. hamas said it will accept the deal only if certain conditions are met and that is the lifting of the siege. israel said it will only accept a deal if it can actually finish the job. israeli officials have been speaking at if you know release of soldiers that we talked about before speaking in public, all saying the same thing. we need to finish the job, and that is to destroy those tunnels that lead from gaza into israel. that takes days. u.s. officials are talking about 24-48 hours from now, trying to get a humanitarian pause for five days. they say that by then, israel will have pretty much done all that it wants to do in terms of military and hamas -- or they are hoping hamas degrees in that time frame. >> this blockade has been in place since 2007, and that is

hamas' demand to stop firing rockets. what have the israeli officials said about that demand? >> just to give you a sense of this blockade, this was a shortage of medicine inside of gaza before this conflict began and now there's a huge shortage. that is due in part because the israeli blockade and in part egypt's blockade, closing the southern bored with gaza. supplies and equipment that used to come from egypt is no longer coming in. israel says that those tunnels used from egypt into gaza and the things that came through the borders before the blockade were used for military means, to create the tunnels and bring the rocket launchers to fight israel. those are the two competing claims. everyone here says lift the blockade, make the lives of ordinary gazes better. hamas says right now, you to have lift that blockade before

we talk about any ceasefire. >> nick schiffron reporting live from gaza, thank you. >> we turn to mike viqueira in washington. the u.s. flight ban to tel-aviv has been now lifted, but it took a little back and forth before it happened. what can you tell us about that back and forth. >> it's 11:45 in the east. eight hours ago, the f.a.a. reversed that flight plan. they extended it for 24 hours, another 24 hour extension, then lifted the ban. under tremendous political pressure to do so. first there was john kerry, who is in israel and spoke face-to-face, sitting down with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. there was the former new york city mayor michael bloomberg flying into tel-aviv with a show of solidarity asking for the ban

to be lifted. ted cruz was on the senate floor yesterday saying he was going to block all state department nominees from the administration until the f.a.a. gave him answers. the administration gave answers about how it was involved in this decision calling it a de facto chick boycott of israel. the white house has been careful, saying the f.a.a. operates independent of political pressure and interference. the f.a.a. taking into consideration the fact that a missile two days ago fired by hamas, a rocket, struck about a mile and a half in a town next to the airport. that precipitated the ban. we have to bring up the fact that it's up to the individual airlines, the american airlines and any other carrier to decide whether they'll fly in. they have other considerations. they said at the outset the safety of their employees and

marges was ju utmost, they have insurance carriers to take into consideration. >> where is the president this morning and has he been in contact with secretary of state john kerry during the ceasefire negotiations? >> this is the third day he has been away from the white house in principally a fundraising trip. five fundraisers by the time he returns tonight from los angeles, also an economic speech. he has talked to secretary of state john kerry about brokering that ceasefire in the mideast, obviously not yet bearing fruit. >> pro-russian separatists are taking credit for shooting down a pair of ukrainian fighter jets. the planes went down in eastern ukraine wednesday, but ukraine is blaming russia saying the jets were flying beyond the

range of the shoulder fired weapons. >> another day of grieving in the netherlands, bodies flown from ukraine to netherlands. there is concern that the site being tampered with. >> they have still not seen anything like a thorough professional search of the area where the plane came down. they can't be, they can't be while the site is controlled by armed men with a vested interest in the outcome of any investigation. >> david has more from the netherlands. >> the national day of mourning may be over here, but the grieving continues and it will continue until all the bodies have been identified. that forensic work is going on

at the moment on the first of the victims brought back here yesterday. it could take weeks or months according to the forensic teams to fully identify all of those who died onboard flight m.h.17. as you say, another two planes will be coming out of eastern ukraine, arriving here in about three hours time. just like yesterday, they will be accorded all military ors. here in the netherlands, there has been interesting reaction, of course you would expect that because 192 of the victims held dutch passports. there was one interesting comment from a former foreign minister here in the netherlands. he was also the secretary general of nato after 2009. he was saying it's really time that this country and others innate toe stopped cutting defense budgets. it's like saying it's time,

european leaders and military leaders and politicians woke up and smelled the coffee. times have changed, he said and people have got to react to it. i expect those sentiments will be aired across europe by the many people who have been involved in this, 17 countries will eventually be burying the bodies from m.h.17 when the identification process is completed. i think that will cause a coverage of emotion across those countries, all of them demanding justice, all of them demanding tougher european union sanctions, which is what the united states wants. i think that can only grow, that clamor, that call for justice for these victims. >> coming up, we'll talk to an activist about the cries in ukraine. >> in taiwan, authorities are investigating the crash of a passenger plane on a small island. rescuers searched through the debris of the transasia airways plane, flying from southern

taiwan to the island. not all victims have been identified. >> at present, we have confirmed that we have issued death certificates to 14 people. so far, still 30 people and four our crew members need to be confirmed as dead. that means around 34 people have yet to be identified. >> this is taiwan's first deadly air crash in 12 years. >> in iraq, nearly sitting are dead after gunman attacked a bus taking prisoners. officials say more than 50 inmates were killed, as well as eight police officers. that bus being hit by several roadside bombs and then the attackers opened fire. the islamic state group is believed to be responsible. >> fighting ramping up in syria, more than 1700 people lost their lives this past week alone. the syrian observatory said there's been a spike in the number of government forces killed. last week the regime and allies lost 800 soldiers.

>> g.m. announcing another round of recalls, 822,000 vehicles around the world, most recalled are here in the u.s. the problems include faulty seats and airbags, welding problems, defective turn signals and a loss of power steering. g.m. has recalled 29 million vehicles this year and that is a record. >> that huge wildfire in washington state contained, burning 400 square miles. firefighters got help from ramon hail wednesday, allowing them to dig new fire lines. the carlton complex fire has destroyed more than 150 homes in northwestern washington state, the largest in that state's history. >> the weather offering a much needed hand in bringing those fires under control. let's go to meteorologist nicole mitchell for more on that. >> we had the cooler weather and the hot stuff earlier in the month, drying out the vegetation, the cooler the weather, the less that dries out, so rain on top of all of

that. you can see the main system that moved through with the moisture moving through, so just a couple of showers for more of the coastline region. not as much rain, but we still have more favorable winds, more temperature relief. here's a look at that rain moving through the region. it wasn't just the one fire we were mentioning. through washington and oregon, 30 different large fires over the last few days we are dealing with, this is widespread beneficial weather changes. this area into the northwest has reduced the area that we have those different fire watches, but you see the areas in red, montana all the way into parts of nevada. ahead of that system, still some very warm air, so those areas under the fire risk. you can really see the temperature difference, a lot of 80s and 90's in the month for place like seattle. today a high of 68. that makes it much better for some of that control area. the only concern we see with the rain and i talked about this yesterday, scorched earth like

this in that fire area, you can see how hard it would be to penetrate that moisture into the ground in some areas. you want to watch out if you're in an area of heavy rain for fastball flash flooding. >> thank you. >> more dramatic testimony begins at a racially charged murder trial. >> the defendant said he was afraid when he shot and killed a 19-year-old woman on his porch. we'll look at what prosecutors that and the victims mother are saying. >> a building boom running into trouble. they can't find enough people to put the buildings up. >> a police chase ends in a dramatic arrest on a busy highway. what police say this guy did four times before they were able to cuff him. >> $288 billion is our big number of the day.

>> today's big number is $288 million. >> that's how much the social sl security administration is spending to replace outdated computer systems.

the new system is nowhere near ready and could cost the agency millions more. >> that new system was supposed to replace 54 outdated computer systems used to process disability climbs. officials say there is 380 outstanding problems and the system is two to three years from being completed. welcome to al jazeera america. >> coming up, the signs that russia is continuing to arm rebels in eastern ukraine but first we go to detroit where prosecutors are beginning their case in a racially charged trial, a white homeowner caused of killing a black teenage otherren on his front porch. opening statements painted two very different verses of what happened on that night. >> the 55-year-old shot and killed mcbride, but prosecutors say that he had other options. in the meantime, the defense described why wafer didn't call

911. we learned more about events leading to mcbride's death. >> it's the people's position that that screen came out. >> during opening statements, the prosecutor said that 55-year-old theodore wafer had a choice. he could have called 911 and waited for police to arrive before grabbing his shotgun. >> the defendant in this case had other options. he could have called 911 but he didn't. his actions that night were unnecessary, unjustified, and unreasonable. because of what he did that night, a 19-year-old girl is dead. >> both sides agreed that wafer shot mcbride early on the morning of november 2, but the defense it is wafer was terrified because he thought someone was trying to break into his home. his lawyer says wafer looked for his cell phone and when he couldn't find it, he went in

search of his gun. >> he was acting and reacting to escalating fear, escalating, breaking of the house, never had been so scared in his entire life, as as horrible and sad at this case is that a 19-year-old woman is dead, the law says he was justified for what he did. >> the jury learned that on the day before she died, mcbride spent part of the afternoon smoking marijuana and drinking vodka with her best friend. hours before she walked to wafer's doorstep, she crashed her vehicle into a parked car. it belonged to the husband of carmen beasley. on the stand, she said she tried several times to convince mcbride, who appeared hurt, to wait for medical help, but instead, she wandered away. >> can you describe her

demeanor? >> she seemed like she was scared. she just wanted to go home. >> wafer has also been charged with felony firearm and manslaughter, facing life behind bars. >> what's in store for the trial today? >> we heard from a number of people yesterday, including mcbride said mother and her best friend. testimony ended when we heard from an investigator who was the first on the scene, so his testimony's expected to pick back up this morning. >> joining us live from dearborn, michigan this morning, thank you very much. >> we'll talk to our legal expert to take a deeper look at this case. >> an indiana teen trying to fly around the world, frying with his father when the plane went

down. his father is missing. the trip was their dream. >> with a trip like this, there's always a risk. they did prepare for the arriving. they went through survival training, they took a course on how to survive an ocean landing, or an ocean crash. >> the family is holding on to hope that the father survived the crash. rescue crews are still looking for the man. they were raising money for charity. >> there is word of fighting again in eastern ukraine, government forces trying to out of the pro-russian separatists. >> two military jets were shot down by pro-russian fighters in less than a week after separatists took down malaysia airlines flight 17. >> ukrainian congress committee of america member joins us in studio. ukraine's military saying those man pads are shoulder launched missiles wouldn't have brought

down these military jets. do you still believe that russian president vladimir putin is pulling all the strings? >> he is providing the weaponry. we see the build up in the base just a couple of kilometers from the ukrainian border. we see that base having more and more military supply trucks brought into it all the time. in fact, what we're seeing is a build up of not only supplies, but arm personnel carriers and different troop formations only a couple of kilometers from the ukrainian border. >> the red cross declared the situation now in eastern ukraine a civil war. would you agree with that and how does that change anything. >> there is no civil war in ukraine, it's the beginning of the occupation. it started with crimea, now the beginning of the mainland. >> some of the separatists are ukrainian. >> none of the leadership is. all the leaders of these

different republics all have russian pals ports, come out of russia. they have all been involved in different conflicts. the prime minister and the minister defense, that's what they call themselves in eastern -- in donetsk were involved in the takeover of crimea and been involved in military conflicts in chechnya and other areas. there might be a small fraction of people who are ukrainian citizens involved, however, they also are fighting under a flag of something called new russia. >> based on that, is this a fair fight then and does it seem in your opinion that the ukrainian military has the resources that may be needed to take on not only these pro-russian rebels but also russia and is there a danger if the united states gets involved arming the ukrainian side that we might see the reverse happened where an airliner gets shot down with weapons supplied by the united states? >> i don't think so.

i don't think the united states would be willing to do something as reckless as what putin did, which is give these weapons to people who are untrained, unable -- >> should we give them to ukraine. >> what ukraine has specifically asked for is training, for green berets to help us train a new army that has to go from zero to almost 100,000 now in terms of just a matter of months. we're asking for training and supplies like boots and body armor. the united states promised these things months ago. one thing that could help is a bill like congressman bill you are lack is pushing in congress to give eye crane major non-nato ally status. >> thanks for joining us this morning. >> let's go to meteorologist nicole mitchell.

>> warm air surging northward, billings 69 degrees on the great lakes on the backside of what is moving through the east coast, much cooler temperatures behind the system, so 57 this morning in chicago. we have the cool air through the great lakes, chicago at 75 versus ahead of the next system warming up, rapid city at 97 degrees today and a lot of temperatures up and down the east coast still in the 80's. as that system moves through, overnight tonight, finally a night you might want to open the windows, 50's and 60's interior and lower humidity. briefly saying goodbye to the muggies. >> we like that. >> a botched execution raising new legal questions over the death penalty. >> it took nearly two hours for a drug cocktail to put a murder victim to death. we'll look closer. >> new york police already under fire for the death of a man

seemingly choked, now a new video shows a similar tactic used during another arrest. >> it may be a while before a man walks on mars, but nasa has plans for real estate on the red planet. it is one of the stories making headlines around the world.

>> a live look at gaza this morning, another night of fighting as the battle between israel and hamas continues. stay with aljazeera for the latest on this developing story. we have a lot of reporters on the ground. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> a building boom in one u.s. city is creating a new problem, why they're having problems filling hundreds of openings for good paying jobs. >> in our next hour, struggling in the suburbs. as the economy recovers, some americans are barely staying above the poverty line. >> first a look at top stories this morning. the flags are flying at half staff at the military airport in the netherlands where victims of

the downed malaysian airliner are expected to arrive today. it's been one week since that plane was shot down. 298 people onboard are dead. >> the f.a.a. lifted its ban on american passenger planes flying into tel-aviv. aviation officials made the decision after assessing the security situation in israel. the initial ban was extended before reversed late wednesday night. >> it took two hours or an arizona death row inmate to die. his lawyer said he struggled to breathe after he was injected with the drug cocktail. jan brewer, the governor calling for a review of the process. >> the executive director of the death penalty information center joins us from washington this morning, mr. deiter, thanks for joining us. was this procedure lawful? >> they knew that there were problems with these drugs. they had used these drugs in ohio. they had used it in oklahoma and

the execution didn't go well, so it wasn't exactly unlawful, but it was malpractice, it was not being prepared for the eventualities that happened and they should have been. instead, they did it all in secrecy. >> the common thread between there and other botched executions recently, including that of dennis mcguire in ohio was the use of a specific drug and drug combination. are these inmates being used at guinea pigs for the effects of these drugs? does the science not tell us what will happen in the scenario? >> the science is not available because these drugs are made for operating rooms. if something was two hours on an operating table and not under the anesthetic, the doctor would be thrown out. this is an experiment with unwilling human rubjects. we've never allowed that in our prisons or condoned it at least and yet that's what's happening.

different states are trying different dosages, doing it in secret, so there's not a sharing among pierce. we need to bring in the doctors, the anesthesiologists, the pharmacologies to say how this should be done. >> yet the family members of the victims of joseph wood, i don't know if you heard them earlier in our show who witnessed the execution said it looked like he was sleeping, snoring and question whether we should be focusing on a convicted murderer's suffering. why should it matter? >> it should matter because we as a people will not allow and do not want to use cruel and unusual punishments. we don't want to torture people to death no what ther what they've done. it is true the focus goes on the defendant. that's the state's fault. they weren't prepared to do this in a humane, efficient, swift manner as expected. two hours of struggling doesn't

serve the victims and see families well at all. >> thanks for your thoughts on this this morning. >> the ship wreck cast con making its final voyage, crews slowly toeing the vessel toward a scrap yard. we have the story of one of the survivors. >> tatiana will never forget the night she thought she was about a die. aboard the costa concordia as it flooded, she and her family got out. they very nearly didn't. >> it was very serious when we realized what was happening. we were told to stay in our cabin, which we did for 45 minutes. the crew was telling us everything was fine, everything was under control, but we made the decision to leave the cabin anyway. at that moment, we realized that almost all the rescue boats had already left. we managed to board the last boat available and it really was

the last one. >> 32 passengers died, as the concordia began to take in water. as passengers screamed and scrambled to get off, she tried to calm her children. she didn't want them to be traumatized, and that's part of the reason she stayed away from court when the captain went on trial. >> i suppose those people trapped in the boat much longer and who was not at lucky as we were as a family want to go to court and get some kind of settlement and i totally understand them. >> for two and a half years, the costa concordia has lay in the waters off the italian coast. only now has she been moved. the fear was this cruise liner could break up at any attempt. >> i'm sorry they decided to dismantle the ship. i'm very sorry. >> the costa concordia will now be dismantled. the sea will return to normal.

the lives of those onboard who survived probably never will. aljazeera. >> the costa concordia expected to arrive in genoa, italy, the operation costing more than $1 billion, the most expensive in history. there's a renewed pushing congress to secure safety and security on those cruise liners, passengers sharing horror stories. senator jay rockefeller pushing a passenger protect act that would give the federal government authority to investigate complaints. the cruise industry said those safety issues are isolated. >> the head doctor fighting the deadly ebola outbreak in sierra leone has caught the disease. he tried more than 100 victims and now is treated himself. more than 600 people have lost their lives to the virus this year. >> ahead of that c.d.c. lab involved in the anthrax scare has stepped down. he had been with the c.d.c.

since 2009. his lab mishandled samples of live anthrax and as a result, dozens of workers may have been exposed. there are no reports of infection. >> new allegations against the nypt, the police department facing harsh criticism over a man's death after he was put into a choke hold. now a new video emerged raising similar questions. >> we want to go live for more with john henry smith. >> this latest video was recorded at a harlem subway station on july 14. the video appears to show police punching 22-year-old ronald johns and placing him in a choke hold, a move that as we've heard often in the last week is against department policy. police say johns didn't pay his subway fare and resisted arrested. they also used pepper spray to subdue him. funeral services were held for

40 3-year-olderric garner, dying after a scuffle with police after an officer put him in a choke hold. the medical examiner that yet to rule on an official cause of death. a review of the democratic's training policy is ordered. the reverend al sharpton said he and the man's family will request a federal civil rights investigation. >> when you can in broad daylight choke one of god's children, god expects us to stand up and demand justice. >> eric garner will be laid to rest today. >> a federal judge now saying the colorado ban an same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but marriages won't resume there just yet. the judge stayed the ruling pending appeal. the state supreme court has told county clerks to stop handing out marriage licenses until the courts way in. >> caught on camera, an armed

carjacking suspect chased down in colorado. the man was arrested in the middle of the highway. he attempted to carjack four different vehicles. a news helicopter was recording as he stole an s.u.v. a second suspect was taken into custody. >> a worker shortage, despite a recent building boom, there is a lack of skilled workers to do the job. a new study finds construction companies are having trouble hiring. they only expect that problem will get worse. >> in nashville, there's a boom in construction. >> hotel projects, mixed use projects, we have the ball field going up, a river front project, so there is a lot of different projects out there now. it only seems to be increasing. >> the wave of new development has come at a time when the

industry said there's a shortage of qualified workers. regional vice president of a leading global construction firm says many subcontractors have delayed projects. >> i think there is the lack of skilled workers right now and then there's the lack of people actually getting into this workforce, into the construction industry. when they do need folks, there's just not enough skilled workers out there right now. >> a nationwide survey by the associated general contractors of america representing 30,000 companies found 74% of construction firms report having difficulty finding skilled labor and nearly half surveyed expect the problem to get worst. 2 million of 8 million u.s. construction workers in 2008 lost jobs, retired or found other careers. more than half left of age 45 and older. >> it's almost the can dell burned at both ends, older

carpenters, older trades people getting out of the industry, aging out, they're not being replaced at an equal rate with young people coming into the industry. >> the tennessee college of applied technology offers a 16 month program to certified students and carpentry in electrical fields. an instructor said interest has dropped, wages are not the issue. construction workers can make an average of $16 and hour and with more experience, $20 to $30 an hour. >> we also see at the secondary level, high school counselors, guidance counselors pushing students so hard to go into college, they are not talking about vocational education like what i teach. that's contributing to the problem, as well. >> many in the industry worry with the low number of young people entering the field now, the shortage will be a concern for years to come. >> jonathan martin, aljazeera, nashville. >> coming up, another lasting

effect of the 2008 recession, rising poverty rates in america's suburbs. we'll talk to a real estate attorney about cities struggling to bounce back. >> nasa is calling for commercial satellites for mars. the washington post says there is a need for more speed in capacity for exploring the let planet. they want to put satellites up there. the inventor of the tesla car also with a big stake. >> nasa has two already circling mars but now want them to be funded by the taxpayer. nasa has a lot of cuts each year. >> a florida pizza shop needs to pay dough to the new jersey

turnpike. the garden state parkway folks are suing this little pizza shop, saying they're using our mojo to sell pizza. >> exit 12. >> the world's largest flying aquatic insect in china's wing span is large enough to cover a human face. it is about eight inches across. i guess the annual thing missing is an equally sized bug zapper. >> oh, del. >> you said dough. >> true. >> a michigan homeowner accused of shooting a 19-year-old on his porch. >> we'll talk about the legal issues and the controversial defense. our legal expect getting ready to join us after the break. >> a may fly invasion, hitting one state in the midwest. where the pests have landed on just about everything. >> if you ever thought you were being ignored by your dog,

you're probably right. some interesting animal emotions. that's our discovery of the day.

right now... >> edge of eighteen coming september only on al jazeera america >> we have an update on the breaking news story, a passenger jet believed to have more than 100 people onboard disappearing from the radar over africa. >> the flight was headed to algiers. it vanished over mali. we'll continue to follow the latest developments in this breaking story. >> just ahead, a closer look at a racially charged case in detroit involving a white man who shot a teenager to death on

his property. >> a woman sentenced to death in sudan for converting to christianity was charged under shia law for marrying a christian man. her husband is an american. >> testimony resuming in a racially charged murder case in suburban detroit. 35-year-old theodore wafer is accused of shooting to death a black teener. prosecutors say he should have not picked up his shotgun and called police. lawyers describing two very different theories of what happened on the night that mcbride was shot. how do they differ and how might that play out in this case. >> both lawyers trying to bring you back to that moment in time where mcbride lost her life, each taking you into the mind of

this defendant and painting extremely different pictures of the night in question. the prosecutor was methodical, laying out the time line. she tried to frame her facts around the law as the judge will instruct the jury at the end of the case. the defense attorney was very emotional in her presentation and tried to create a picture of fear, very, very high stress situation as she opened her case. opening statements are not evidence, and the judge told them that. it was two very different scenarios. >> rightly or wrongly, this case compared to trayvon martin, lawyers saying he was afraid and essentially panicked. do you think she succeeded in making that argument. >> this is not like the trayvon martin case. everybody talks about it, but this is not a stand your ground case. she's not in his home, the

victim in this case -- >> how big of a case will that make? how bi big of a difference will that make. >> she never crossed the threshold, the defense said when you're your home, the castle doctrine applies. it could make a huge difference if the jury accepts his defense of self defense. the trayvon martin case, you have two men rolling around of equal strength, arguably. here you have a young woman on the other side of the door and as prosecutors say, he could have if he could have found his phone called police. >> i want to go to something that came out, mcbride's best friend testifying that they were playing a drinking game and smoking marijuana earlier in the evening. what role will it play. >> prosecutors were very smart to bring that out in their case-in-chief, what this young victim was doing the night in

question. if they hadn't brought it out, the defense would have, prosecutors want to say she was disoriented and disabled, the defense is going to say this made her aggressive, this made her a frightening prospect for this defendant. it's going to play a big role, we just don't know what role. >> should it play a role? >> well, it's part of the facts. yes, it has to play a role. people always say don't put the victim on trial. i think all the facts have to come out and the question of what role it plays is left up to the jury. >> thank you. >> oregon voters will get their say over labeling genetically modified foods. the issue is on the blat. farmers say it will cost millions to put on the labels.

>> swarms of may flies along the mississippi river. they even showed up on radar. >> we look at a fleeting farm. >> these farmers float their farm. >> about a half acre, and we're floating a million pounds. >> they moved out to sea 22 years ago. >> we knew that we wanted to live out here, and found the

cove, the water supply it has. with my desire to want to go grow all my own vegetables, we needed space. >> they picked the bones of the fish farming industry, using recycled material. >> we are standing on an old fish farm system right now. these containers here were cones that they used to work with feed for the fish. >> freedom cove was designed to protect plants from wind and coolness of the water. the system floats on blocks of styrofoam armored with p.v.c. water supply comes from the lake. >> i have pipes and i gather the water. >> right across the continent, the science barge sits on the hudson river off downtown yonkers, home to a sustainable floating farm and education

center. it sells its produce at the weekly yonkers market. >> it operates a hydropanic greenhouse, a method of farming using mineral nutrients in water without soil. >> we grow vegetables using only 25% of the water. that's a big important thing. it's recycle water used again and again. we can grow seven times the amount of investigate bells using these systems. >> jennifer is the barge's director of education. sloan admits the initial cost of urban farming can be expensive. they include setting up the systems and can run into the thousands depending on size. >> it actually gets to be a lot cheaper than a regular farm, because you don't have my labor costs and inputs are always the same. >> technology has been the great equalizer contributedding to the success of both floating farms. after 20 years without tell phones or satellite, the

internet came to the bay just last year and on both coasts, these farmers admit alternate methods of farming allow them and consumers to be self sufficient and cost efficient. >> they could be coming spoon to a city near you. companies looking on such farms. >> they are putting farms on the roof took place of new york city high rises. >> let's check in with nicole mitchell. i want to get your opinion on the may fly story. >> the car washes are going to be doing great business out there. you hate see that go on their car. remember the heavy rain in june in the upper midwest? these little guys need mud and had plenty of it. some people, if the ground is healthier, less chemicals in it and such, it's better for the may flies, so it could be a sign that at least the ground is

healthy out there. there were so many, you know how radar emits a ping and return snack they were showing up on weather radars because there were so many in the sky. the midwest clear right now. what we did have is that front going through the east coast, that continues to move off. we have another pulling out of the northwest. over the next couple days, some more chances for rain into this region. maybe that will help wash a few of them away. they're kind of gross. >> you had more knowledge of that. >> plus they're june flies write now, right instead of may flies. >> actually, july flies. >> there's a new study that finds dogs have feelings and feel jealous, as well. apparently, man's best friend doesn't like it when their owners show affection to other pets. pups showed response from nuzzling to their owner to

growling. it was once thought jealousy only existed in humans. >> it took arizona nearly two hours to execute a death row inmate, joseph wood was described as gasping for breath put to death using a controversial drug cocktail. >> the f.a.a. listed the ban on flights into israel. the move was criticized as a knee jerk reaction to a hamas rocket landing near the airport. >> bodies from malaysia airlines flight 17 are being moved to the netherlands. the plane was shot down a week ago over ukraine. >> a teen and his dad set off on a fundraising flight only to crash into the ocean. >> it may be the last place you think of when you hear poverty, but a growing number of people in american suburbs are struggling. we will look at issues the families are facing. are facing.

>> on al jazeera america presents >> we always have strikes... people should never be allowed... >> what started as a peaceful protest >> police seem to stick to the self-defense story >> became a horrific moment in south african history >> i don't think any organization in this country would ever anticipate this type of violence >> what really happened that tragic day? >> it is the time to point finger at those whose fingers pulled the trigger >> al jazeera america presents miners shot down only on al jazeera america

>> hundreds of days in detention. >> al jazeera rejects all the charges and demands immediate release. >> thousands calling for their freedom. >> it's a clear violation of their human rights. >> we have strongly urged the government to release those journalists. >> journalism is not a crime.

>> lifting the ban, the faa ends restrictions on commercial planes flying into tel-aviv. how long before flights resume? >> secretary of state john kerry landing in egypt hoping for a truce in gaza. is he an effective negotiator? >> it's so dense in here, that you can barely see the daylight. a person can be hiding five feet away from you and you wouldn't

realize. >> border patrol aljazeera gets a firsthand look at what immigration officials deal with each day in the search for migrants entering the u.s. illegally. >> a poverty in america, a new reality for middle class families in the suburbs living below the poverty line. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. tensions escalating again in gaza overnight, israel unleashed another wave of air strikes killing more than a dozen. >> three rockets fired toward israel this morning, the gas death toll tops 730. >> secretary of state john kerry is in cairo to broker a ceasefire. >> that ban on american passenger planes flying into tel-aviv is lifted, the f.a.a. saying it carefully reviewed security concerns before making that decision. we have a team of reporters tracking this story. we begin with mike sic in

washington, d.c. why did the f.a.a. decide to drop its flight ban into israel? >> it said it's consulted with government counter parts to assess the security situation and refers course. two days ago, the ban was initiated for 24s. that in the wake of rocket attacks, one landed very close to the airport in a neighboring town. before the f.a.a. instituted its ruling, there were a couple of american carriers, more than one, major carriers who said that they were going to stop flights to the airport. it comes in the context of intense political pressure. we saw that benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel sitting down face-to-face with john kerry traveling in the region. at the top of the agenda, reversing that f.a.a. ban, the israeli administration putting pressure on the american

association to do so. ted cruz took to the senate floor saying he was going to stop all state department nominees from senate confirmation, put a hold on him until the administration explained itself, saying they were instituting a de facto economic boycott against israel. the former new york mayor making a show of flying into the airport, also urging it to do so. a lot of political pressure on the f.a.a. to reverse course here. >> aside from the politics, do we know if flights have resumed this morning? >> that is an excellent question. as we say, it was many of the american airlines who say they were concerned for the passengers and crew. before the f.a.a. acted unilaterally and suspended all their flights, we have not heard from those airlines yet, but do know many european carriers have announced that they are going to

continue with their own ban on flights into israel. of course, they are not under any compulsion to follow whatever f.a.a. guidelines put out. >> let's bring in nick schiffron in gaza. with diplomatic efforts in motion, is that impacting battle on the ground? >> there is seriously intense diplomatic motions in cairo with secretary of state john kerry and u.n. secretary ban ki-moon as well as here in gaza talking to factions of palestinian fighters and israel. the violence very much has continued overnight and this morning. in northern gaza, only two or three miles that way, there's actual fighting on the ground between israeli troops and palestinian fighters. eastern and central gaza, also a barrage of ire strikes, drone strikes, artillery strikes and

tank firings into that neighborhood. there are targets you might think would be off limits. >> less than a mile into gaza, israeli soldiers discuss palestinian fighters fighting from a hospital. the israeli military said the hospital became a command center. for weeks, the military struck it with tank shells. an israeli officer called the local world health organization head and made sure patients were evacuated. soon after, a scene from an israeli zone, f16 bombs destroyed the hospital. a secondary explosion was shown, israel says proof the hospital was used to store rockets. >> the hospital is a quarter mile away through this neighborhood. this is as close as i can get. it's too dangerous to get

closer. it's impossible to confirm what the u.s. military says. the fighters who use this neighborhood as a base are largely invisible thanks to tunnels that run under the neighborhood and into israel. >> the fighting is inside residential neighborhoods. this morning, the residents perform a daily ritual, waking up and examining destruction. one of the bombs blue open a family's bedroom. israel said the target are fighters in those homes. every day, children's bodies arrive in the morgue. this body arrived after he ignored warnings. he returned to his home to pick up his children's clothes. his body arrived at the hospital, the black bag of clothes sitting on his gurnee. a mother lost her son, a sister

her brother. a father needs help to sit. he says his son's death has left him with nothing. >> we have no one. we can rely only on god. >> 200 people carry his body through the streets to a cemetery used all too often. surrounded by his family, they buried him in the hot sun. three quarters of this war's victims are civilians. the majority of the targets are surrounded by people. >> gaza has witnessed so much death over the last couple weeks and that is why there is such an intense focus on the diplomatic efforts. we are seeing reports now that palestinian officials, hamas officials are begin to go agree to some kind of ceasefire. we are checking it out now. it is clear that we are talking about there is some momentum on the diplomatic effort and what u.s. officials say is that within the next 24 hours, they

hope for at least a temporary ceasefire. the reason that that might be 24 hours is two fold. one, to convince hamas they have to accept the ceasefire and that the promises in that ceasefire, including lifting of a blockade of gaza that has been here since 2007 will actually be followed through, and on the israeli side gives the israeli military a few extra hours to destroy tunnels leading from gaza into israel, according to a u.s. official we were talking to this morning. clearly a lot of effort on the diplomatic front to stop the violence inside gaza. >> nick schiffron, thank you. >> brazil is pulling its ambassador out of israel, condemning israel's use of force in gaza. the government, prime minister netanyahu saying that creates more problems than solutions.

ecuador is taking the same steps. coming up at the bottom of the hour, a palestinian journalist, we're going to talk to him about his perspective on gaza and also the possibility of the ceasefire. >> we are still following breaking news right now, the disappearance of a passenger jet in africa. the flight was heading to algiers. airline officials say the flight was lost somewhere over mali, believed to have 100 people onboard, many french citizens. the airline set up a crisis unit. we'll continue to update you on the story as we get more information. >> two more military planes are on their way from ukraine to the netherlands. onboard are remains of passengers killed when malaysia airlines flight 17 was shot down over eastern ukraine last week. their arrival comes after a ceremony with calls for action growing louder. >> the planes landed just

outside of amsterdam, carrying 40 bodies, identities unknown. the first of the 298 victims killed when malaysia airlines flight 17 was shot out of the sky over eastern ukraine. the coffins were greeted by the dutch royal family and prime minister, who lost 193 of their citizens. the flags of 16 nations flying at half staff, representing the global loss of live in a local conflict. >> we want our children back. that's the important part of family. >> also in attendance, over 1,000 of the victims' relatives. >> not all of the remains were tragically handed over yesterday. potentially, 100 people are still missing. we don't have exact numbers. obviously it is critical that international investigators receive immediate and full access to the crash site. >> this morning, containers holding the remains of more victims were loaded aboard two

military planes headed to the netherlands where the process will play out again. tony abbot expressed concern evidence is being tampered with, saying he is ready to send police to help in the situation. >> there still has not been anything like a thorough, professional search of the area where the plane came down, and there can't be while the site is controlled by armed men with a vested somebody in the outcome of any investigation. >> investigators from europe did get more access wednesday, finding new evidence of a missile strike. >> we will report in our report tonight that some of the materials we saw and that we have photographed features significant puncture marks to the fuselage. >> u.s. intelligence said the plane was most likely shot down accidentally by pretty sure

accept. the white house again blamed moscow. >> these are the people russia is arming and training, russia bears a great deal of responsibility. >> the u.n. security council approved a resolution urging separatists to cooperate with the investigation. it was proposed by australia. it calls for all remaining bodies to be recovered. >> 10 people managed to survive a plane crash. a translation airliner from taiwan came just after a typhoon passed over the island. the relatives of the victims were flown to the crash site today. >> it has been 100 days since a ferry disaster in south korea. families of the victims gathering this morning to honor the wednesday loss. 300 people died in the accident. officials believe the ship was overloaded with cargo. >> iraq is forming a government

the parliament selecting a new president today, choosing a senior kurdish politician to run the country. parliament has been deadlocked over forming a new government since april. the next step is choosing a prime minister. >> more than 50 inmates were killed as well as eight police when a bus was hit by roadside bombs in iraq. officials believe the islam action state group is responsible. >> in arizona, an execution goes wrong. >> some people are calling this barbaric. >> what should normally have taken only 10 minutes instead lasted two hours. some witnesses to the execution say they watched joe receiver wood gasp for breath more than 600 times before dying. >> to watch a man lay there for

1:45, if you catch a fish and throw it on the shore. >> wood killed his girlfriend and her father in 1989. for the family, this killer said death is a relief. >> what's excruciating is seeing your dad lie in a pool of blood, your sister in a pool of blood. that's excruciating. >> this man conducted a horrifying murder and you guys are going oh, let's worry about the drug. why didn't we give him a bullet? give him some drain know. >> it was a controversial drug combination used in botched executions for two other killers. that's why the aclu is calling for a makes wide moratorium on

all executions to make sure those drugs work as intended. >> testifying before a house panel, mcdonald was confirmed for the permanent position wednesday by the senate veterans affairs committee. his nomination heads to the full senate for a vote. >> the weather is finally cooperating in the northwest where wildfires have been burning out of control, destroying more than a million acres and burning 150 homes. cooler temperatures and rain overnight are helping firefighters get the upper hand. they now say the worst wildfire in washington state's history is 16% contained. >> for more on the national forecast, let's turn to meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> that rain has definitely helped as we get into the northwest. the last couple of days, we had over 30 fires that were considered large.

now we're to 27. there is some improvement. we've seen a few more pop up in utah where we now have our dry weather threat. here's a look at a couple out there and of course watching it very closely, we've had the rain over the last couple of days. we don't have the fire risk into the northwest anymore, but ahead of this system, where we still have really hot temperatures is where we'll see montana watching the fire arriving. some of these areas haven't gotten the beneficial rain like in the northwest. temperatures in seattle into the 80's, even one day into the 90's dries out the vegetation. it has helped just to have the temperatures go down and then the rain we saw on top of it is leaving a lot of earth looking like this. kind of hard when you get the rains to penetrate into that baked soil. still want to watch some chance to rain today, watching the lightning threat, hopefully not

setting off anything new. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> secretary of state john kerry back in egypt this morning. >> his effort to end the fighting in gaza being criticized by some, praised by others. a look at handling this delicate balancing act and other hot spots around the world. >> opening statements in a murder trial underway in detroit. how the defense hopes to prove its case that the shooting in this incident was justified. >> a linking up in outer space, the unmanned russian spacecraft bringing supplies to crew members on the international space station.

>> you're looking live at capitol hill, kind of a gray day, but very busy lately. welcome to al jazeera america. >> shuttle diplomacy, how effective is secretary of state john kerry at bringing sworn enemies to the peace tail. >> time is running out before the august recess, the house putting fort efforts to stop unaccompanied minors from crossing the border with possible changes to the 2008 trafficking law, making it easier to send them back to central america. house republicans say they support a plan to provide

$1.5 billion in emergency immigration funding, that is less than what the white house requested. you just spent 24 hours on the border where national guard troops are going to be deployed from texas. what did you see? >> there is so much tension. there's the folks who live on the border who feel their way of life is under attack and then there are the migrants themselves in their most desperate hour, where each step takes them closer to either their dream or their capture. >> the border at midnight, quiet, dark, and full of travelers. border patrol agents arrest an average of more than 600 people a day here, along the rio grande. that's two for every mile of river. on this night, though, it's

quiet. the migrants remain hiding from our cameras. >> the light of day reveals just how porous this border is. that is the rio grande. nothing except a waist high fence stands between us and mexico. >> we're heading to the back roads up along the river. >> the border is where frank rodriguez grew up. he takes us on a tour. >> groups of 30's, i've seen 40's. >> within five minutes. >> there's a guy running. >> we spot two young men sprinting. we have the same problem as border patrol, the land is too vast, these migrants are fast. we lose them. >> the brush surrounding the river is so dense, a perfect hiding place for migrants trying to escape border patrol. it's so dense in here, you can barely see the daylight and a person could be hiding five feet away from you and you wouldn't realize. >> i understand they're trying

to safe. i would do the same thing, if i was starving out there and hungry, i would go where i could eat and someone could help me. >> not everyone is as understanding. a handful of local tea party members protested outside the guatemalan consulate. >> how do you reconcile these thoughts with america being a nation of immigrants? >> there was a right way to become an immigrant, you came through ellis island, you became a citizen. you learned the language. you got a job. these people, we are not sure they want to do that. they definitely do not want to speak english. it seems they still want to assimilate and identify with guatemala or honduras. >> every morning, 6:00 in the

morning, 8:00 in the morning, you'll have six choppers up here. >> back in the car, we see a stash house. according to locals, immigrants are kept in squalor waiting for smugglers to take them north. >> we are blessed and they're not. >> as night descends on the border, it's those wished for blessings of a new life in the united states that will lure many more to cross. >> as we look at this, a fascinating up-close look at what it is like on the front lines. what surprised you most during your team you spent in the rio grande valley? >> when you just hear bit or see it, you feel removed, but being in the middle of it, you realize you're surrounded by this constantly life or death struggle and that's not an exaggeration. the time i was there, just three days, there were two drownings and a body recovered in just

that few mile stretch. these people coming over are in the middle of perhaps the most per i willous few hours or day of their lives. when you put this into perspective that most of these people are young women or children who are completely unprepared for this challenge, it really puts things into perspective and highlights the desperation of their situation. >> on the front lines for us, thank you very much. >> secretary of state john kerry back in cairo this morning hoping to stop the fighting in gas. he says the parties made progress wednesday after high level talks in israel. he says a temporary humanitarian ceasefire is more attainable than a permanent pact. >> we will continue to push for this ceasefire. we have in the last 24 hours made some progress in moving towards that goal.

>> the israeli-palestinian conflict is one of many issues and hot spots confronting the obama administration. kerry has traveled the word dealing with conflicts in iraq, south sudan, saudi arabia, afghanistan and ukraine. the question a lot of people are asking, has the secretary of state been an effective negotiator on behalf of the u.s. >> joining us now to probe into that is the professor of campaign management at nyu. secretary kerry traveling 400,000 miles, has he been effective. >> the state department since hillary clinton has really been promoting the amount of travel that our secretary of states are doing. it begs the question of effectiveness. cyrus vans wasn't traveling that much and some say he was more effective. the amount of travel and countries visited doesn't necessarily equate to effectiveness.

john kerry deserve as lot of credit for his attempts that ultimately failed in late april to come to a middle east peace accord. he against all odds brought those two sides together, had the unity government not come about on april 23 and israel pull out of the extended deadline, then he parole would have had them back at the table. you have to say secretary of state john kerry went before the house and said we have one to two years to get this done, because things are changing, perez leaving, abass looking for an exit, that changes the game. he hasn't been successful but it is an uphill battle for anyone. >> i want to challenge you. some have said he knew that there was going to be difficulty bridging the gaps between abass and netanyahu even before the unity government was announced and by trying and failing, some say that led to the current conflict. >> i disagree with that. he did, he absolutely did know

it was going to be very difficult to bridge that gap. you are talking about a conflict that has been going on for countless decades. what kerry did and he wasn't successful brought an energy and a commitment to it. there is some saying now maybe the u.s. or kerry needs to go it alone and just offer up a peace plan from the u.s. perspective. that's an interesting proposition. he is somebody who has brought the sides together. that said, i think he deserves some criticism for not voicing what is the u.s.'s foreign policy objective. it's very unclear. he seems to be chasing conflict. he doesn't seem to be able to get ahead of it. >> one argument says the units is losing clout worldwide. the other says that these parties, if you look at the israelis and palestinians, just don't want a peace pros. how does he succeed? >> it's very difficult to sub seed. there was a piece in the wall street journal where they argued this is the most unstable the

world has been since the late 1970's. this is what president obama inherited and what john kerry inherited. they have tried and he's only bin in a little over a year now. they have tried to move forward. they inherited a very unstable situation, but there is as school of thought saying they have made it worse focusing so much on diplomacy and forgetting security. there's something to be said for that and we have to face the fact he has not yet been successful in what he is trying to do with the exception of the afghan election. >> thank you very much. >> let's look at the weather now, nicole mitchell is back. >> behind that last front, some brisk temperatures in places like the great lakes, chicago at 59 and through the course of the day, a lot of these temperatures will remain in the 70's. ahead of that system coming out of the west, the southerly flow

heating up. the east coast still in the 80's with a little humidity. as that front goes through, cooler air, these are the overnight temperatures, 60's and less humid air the next couple of days. >> were you ever israel's senior states man and peace advocates is set to retire. we look at the career and legacy of perez. >> a fundraising trip around the world ends in tragedy, a young boy and his father crash into the ocean. they had been raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity. >> a look at hour images of the day, a national day of mourning in the netherlands, the cough finance of unidentified p.j.

passengers from malaysia airlines flight 17. those bodies will be taken to a military base where forensic experts will identify the remains. remains.

>> now available, 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 survivors... >> 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 >> breaking news this morning from africa where french fighter jets joined the search for a missing algerian flight. >> it was headed to algiers when it disappeared with more than 100 passengerring onboard. many were french citizens. >> the airline set up a crisis unit at the main airport. >> today is the president of israel's last day in office.

it has been in the works for quite some time and has nothing to do with the current conflict. >> he i am greated to israel as a youth in the early 1930's and was the last surviving giant of israel's founding political generation. he held a key post in every chapter of the country's history. peres was a political strategist in the war of independence and went on to run the defense ministry. >> it was in that role he cultivated the countries military ties with france. that relationship helped develop israel's nuclear weapons capability, a powerful asset it's never admitted to possessing. after the conquest of the west bank and gaza in 1967, peres oversaw the first jewish settlements in the occupied territories, an illegal campaign that's still on going. >> all the while, peres was

holding secret conversations with arab states. he promoted a deal, which would have surrendered captured land to jordan, but israel rejected his proposal. >> the time was ripe to make peace with the palestinians and it was our mistake. >> peres continued to negotiate and became israel's figure in talks with arafat in the 1990's, seeing the signing of accords, a roadmap for an independent palestinian side by side with israel. he earned the nobel peace prize, though it was a deal that never came to fruition. 13 years later, as president peres defended israel's 2008 war on gaza. >> i won't understand why did they go against us? what for?

there was not any siege against gaza. [ applause ] >> happy birthday. >> almost a year after he celebrated his 90th birthday, he defended the latest defensive on gaza, what his government called operation protective edge. >> now the picture became clear, hamas prepared a plan to kill as many people in israel. >> the site was something he'd seen many times over his political career. so some, he will be remembered as a man who embodied peace and optimism, for others, he's a man who promised much, but delivered little. >> another wave of air strikes hitting gaza overnight, the palestinian death toll now

topping 730. this is secretary of state john kerry trying to broker a truce in that area. 32 israeli soldiers have been killed, three civilians, secretary of state is back in cairo trying to negotiate that ceasefire. the casualties continue. a palestinian american journalist joins us from washington, d.c. this morning. can you explain for the audience the palestinian resolve? hundreds have been killed, most civilians, thousands wounded and hamas maintains they won't accept a ceasefire until the blockade has been lifted. what is the breaking point for the palestinian people living in gaza? >> i spoke just this morning with a friend of mine who lives in gaza city on the 11th floor of a building that overlooks all of the bombing right now on the eastern border of gaza. he told me although he himself is hardly a practicing muslim, much less supporter of hamas, that a return to the stats can

we would mean for him and the rest of gaza's 1.8 million people, a net loss. to use his words, all the people who have died would have died in vain. when you look at the evidence, more than 730 people killed so far, 100,000 people displaced, you have to wonder, you know, how long are the israelis going to keep this up and how long is america willing to support the on going carnage in gas, given that the people there have the resolve you mentioned. >> is this a battle between israel and hamas or which israel refers to as a terrorist organization as does the united or between israel and palestinian people in gaza. >> this is very much a war by gaza -- by israel on the palestinian people of gaza. 80% of the people who live in gaza and there's 1.8 million people packed in a territory twice the size of washington, d.c. with four times the

population of washington, 80% of people are refugees from the creation of the state of israel in 1948. that original sip sin is one isl has tried to sweep under the rug. until it is dealt with and we acknowledge the fact that the refugees who are in gaza are refugees precisely because of israel, we will not achieve peace. >> the efforts of secretary of state john kerry in the region may be bearing fruit and there may be a ceasefire. if that agreement does not include an ending of the blockade, is this all for naught? >> absolutely. there are two things about kerry's most recent initiative, number one, john kerry said that there was talk now with abass, the israelis and other parties. that suggests to me that kerry

has finally awakened to the fact that you cannot negotiate a ceasefire without hamas, which was of course tried a week into the conflict. that's number one. number two, when you look at america's role in the region, what people tend to forget is all the weapons used over gaza are furnished by the u.s. whether or not kerry has the credibility to negotiate the ceasefire over the long term is an open question for me. i think what he's ail to do perhaps is negotiate a humanitarian truce that would be temporary in nature and not resolve the underlying conflict which is one that involves 80% of gaza's population being refugees and israel's on going siege of that strip of land. >> we're going to switch to a big story in u.s. in michigan, a white homeowner is accused of shooting an unarmed black girl on his porch. we are outside the courthouse in

detroit. opening statements paint two different versions of the night that ranisha mcbride was killed on that porch. >> both sides shed more light on events leading to the death of mcbride. we heard from several people who took the stand yesterday, including her mother and best friend. during opening statements, the prosecutor made it very clear that theodore wafer had options, saying he should ever called 911 and waited for police to arrive before grabbing his gun and killing mcbride. during those statements, the prosecutor said the shooting was unjustified and unnecessary. take a listen. >> the defendant in this case had other options. he could ever called 911, but he didn't. his actions that night were

unnecessary, unjustified, and unreasonable. because of what he did that night, a 19-year-old girl is dead. >> when it comes to the defense, the defense described wafer of being terrified that night, saying he thought someone was trying to break into his home. apparently, he went to look for his cell phone and couldn't find it and then went looking for his gun. when it comes to this case, the defense says that this is simply a case of defense. take a listen. >> it is horrible and it's sad as this case is, a 19-year-old woman is dead, the law said he was justified in what he did. you must, and i will ask you at the end of this case, to come back with a verdict of not guilty on all charges, because he acted in self defense.

>> we learned that hours before the shooting, mcbride spent much of the afternoon with her best friend smoking marijuana, drinking vodka. she crashed her vehicle into a parked car and somehow found herself on wafer's doorstep. wafer faces a number of charges, including second degree murder. back to you. >> reporting on the latest in that trial, thank you. >> a victory for same-sex marriage in colorado, a federal judge wednesday ruled that the state's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional but put the decision on hold until a higher court weighs in. six same sex couples sued to overturn the ban. >> in kyrgyzstan they are discussing gay rights.

>> only 19, she feels persecuted and vulnerable. >> it's very difficult to live here if you're different. >> she is living as a woman in a man's body. there that all too often results in tolerance. >> for transgender people, it's very difficult. the first problem is identification. on youri d. card you're a man but look like a woman. we can't work or find jobs. >> her family disowned her. because she's a male on official documents, no one will hire her. desperate for money, she turned to prosecution. extortion by police is part of the job, she says. still, she considers herself to be fortunate. a girl she worked with slit her wrists after attacked by officers. >> two policeman came, demanded money, she reversed. they found money in her bra. they took her to an empty field. one raped her and told her she

will always paid. after that, she disappeared. she was in the hospital after she tried to kill herself. >> it's hardly surprising that members of the gay and transgender community live on the fringes of kurdish society. on the outskirts of the capitol is a place they can get help. a safe house is where they can feel safe for a little while. the group has maintained a low profile after several anti gay demonstrations in the capitol. since the government decided to target them through legislation, there is as real fear of being attacked. still the question of gay rights, the question of human rights, nobody's rights should be violated. if they are different, if you are lbgt or not, a person shouldn't be discriminated against. >> lawmakers recognize that the

tens of thousands of men and women deserve the same rights as their fellow citizens but in the same breath insist that no one can be openly gay in this muslim country. >> we propose to make punishable the spreading of lbgt issues. it is harm because we are muslim country. it is against our society. even animals don't do that. >> just a short walk away, a place where young people come to abandon inhibitions. they are judged only for their dance moves. when the night is over, things are still the same, public opinion still against them and the law will likely be adopted. for camilla, there is no future. she will leave per took place europe, where she said she will

be accepted for who she is. >> if the laws pass, openly gay people could face up to a year in prison. >> it was supposed to be the ultimate father and son trip, an indiana teen and his dad flying around the world. >> the teen is dead, the father missing, their plane crashing in the south pacific. >> 17-year-old pilot and his father took off june 19 with the idea of becoming the youngest pilot to fly the world in 30 days in a single engine plane. they were set to return home to indiana on saturday. their journey ended 3,000 miles away as they set a course for hawaii. >> flying enthusiasts had what they first thought was a crazy idea for summer vacation, fly 26,000 miles, stop in 2005 cities and do it in just 30 days.

>> we started saying what if we actually did this for a cause. >> they chose to raise money for the citizens foundation, a non-profit that builds schools in pakistan. they knew the trip would be dangerous. >> we have to cross three oceans, five continents and go across some really rough terrain. >> wednesday that danger became all too real. >> they took off at 9:15 last night at night in i samoa. the air traffic controller saw the lights of the plane go down. >> the u.s. coast guard recovered the teen's body from the ocean off the coast of american i samoa. his dad is still missing. >> we're hoping my dad is alive and well and we're going to keep praying until w we have a definitive answer. >> her brother and her father tried prepare for the worst. >> they went to survival

training, they took a course on surviving an ocean landing. >> their family says prior to the crash, they were having the time of their lives. >> they both love to fly, they both really wanted to travel, and it was a great opportunity for both of them, and they got to see the world. >> this year raised more than a half million dollars before the tragic end of the trip. the f.a.a. has yet to rule on what caused the plane to come down. >> still the search for the father, thank you. >> democrats are standing by montana senator john walsh, accused of plagiarism, accused are copying a large part of his masters thesis. he said there may have been some mistakes, but he blames it on post traumatic stress during his time in war. >> coming up, americans living

in poverty where you had least expected it. >> nearly hidden in some of the countries financial suburbs, financial struggles a growing number of families face up next. up next. @zeera america presens

miners shot down only on al jazeera america >> we continue to follow broking news out of africa. >> a missing algerian flight has crashed. the plane disappeared from radar over mali with more than 100 passengers onboard. the airplane has set up a crisis unit. we'll continue to update you on this story as we get more information. >> another story we're following, a lot of americans got poor during the great recession. hard hit especially was the nation's suburbs. cob county displayed the

southern charm you expect outside atlanta. the stark reality is hidden years in the making, poverty. >> the greatest types of things that would surprise someone living in suburb i can't would be that if they were to drive just a few blocks over, they would see a vastly different view of the world. >> the number of suburban atlanta residents living under the federal poverty line has grown 159% over the last decade. >> more and more people coming to us for the first time, people that have never experienced poverty, who don't know what to do. >> kay cagle and chris work to help feed the poor in the suburbs of atlanta object offering food, employment services and even a summer lunch prom for people in need. there is an increasing demand

for services, unlike their counter parts in the cities who serve the urban poor. this neighborhood, which is patchy and thin at best is at a breaking point. >> our program has grown 37% per year over the last four years. from 97,000 meals to 247,000 last year. we are scratching the surface. >> nearly every metro area from the rust belt to sun belt, and even tech centers like seattle and san francisco saw major increases in their suburban poor, rising an average 65% nationwide, more than twice the pace of growth in cities. >> more than 90% of foreclosures happened in atlanta suburbs. middle wage jobs were lost and lower paying occupations growing at a faster pace. >> we're seeing our living wage here for a family of two with two children at $17 an hour. there's not a lot of jobs that pay $17 an hour. >> beth works in employment

services and says most of her clientele are older workers like ken, a former truck driver for 20 years who fell out of work when his company shut down. fortunately, for him, he got a full time job as a coca-cola plant, earning about $11 an hour. he is still living paycheck to paycheck and hope to go return to a middle class lifestyle sometime soon. >> i'm at a good place to be right now. i like the company i work for. i think i got a good chance of moving up. >> robert ray, aljazeera, atlanta. >> let's talk more about this with sherry olofsson, a real estate attorney. thanks for coming in to the studio this morning. what do you think this increase in poverty in many suburbs comes down to? >> these folks are really coming from two different places. we've got first a lot of folks who moved to the suburbs to buy knows mcmansions during the bubble, which is where there was built, because that's there was

land. they stretched too much and many times are still living in the home, but not paying the mortgage. that's one income stream. the second is folks finding they are pushed out of urban centers by gentrifiation. >> most folks, the trend is toward urban living for young folks and baby boomers. they want to live where it's convenient. more and more, they are pushing people out of the cities. it's rearing its head in terms of who is buying those mcmansions. we had a lot of investors, wall street hedge funds buying these scattered residential units and

that's where they are now in the hardest hit areas like the atlanta suburbs. we're seeing the redistribution of wealth there for folks who stretched for the american dream to buy those homes and now those homes falling into the hands of wall street. >> whose responsibility is it to do something about this issue? being poor in the suburbs is different than in urban areas where there are less services and less transportation. >> the suburbs weren't built for this population. it comes down to whether this is left up to the private industry or public. we're seeing builders going into areas like this and focusing on building more affordable homes in the 120 to 250 price range. when it comes to public assistance, are we going to build transportation hubs and provide subsidies for people. >> does it come down to just a sluggish recovery? >> let's get another look at the

weather with nicole mitchell. >> we've got two different systems we've been watching trek across the country, one brought rain to the east coast in the overnight period. behind that, you can see a cluster of thunderstorms. that would be our best chance for storms today. the coastline front moves out. we will watch for the next couple of days areas of hot weather. some temperatures in the plains will be in the 90's. >> coming up tomorrow on aljazeera america, an invasive species, the lion fish a threat to waters in the u.s. we look at the fish some consider an environmental hazard and tomorrow take a deeper look at the system. that is going to do it for us. >> coming up, the breaking news from africa, a jet with more than 100 passengers onboard has crashed. >> we will see you tomorrow

morning at 7:00 a.m. 00 a.m.

>> you're watching aljazeera live from our headquarters in doha. on to top stairs. a u.n. school has just been attacked engaza. we are getting reports of 30 people killed there. >> the diplomatic push for a ceasefire between israel and hamas, u secretary of state john kerry is in cairo. >> iraqi politicians choose a new president. >> a sea of flowers in am at her dam airport as more victims