i'm ali velshi thank you for joining us. >> hi everyone. this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. target gaza. taking out hamas weapons. anger from the u.s. and the u.n. new warnings about the human suffering. russia reacts to a new round of stepped up economic sanctions. will economic pressure change any minds in the kremlin? profiting from death. the billion dollar business of arms trafficking. how arms get to the world's

hottest spots. detroit searches for a way to keep the waters running for people who can't pay the bills. it's been one of the most violent days yet in the conflict between israel and gaza. and israeli air strike hit near a market crowded with shoppers. 17 people were killed. 200 were wounded in the attack. hours earlier, united nations school serving as a shelter for thousands of gazans was shelled. israeli military said hamas fighters near the school had fired at its soldiers. 19 were killed. this is the sixth time a u.n. shelter has been hit and at least three israeli soldiers were killed while trying to destroy tunnels used by hamas.

nicole johnston has more. >> thursday's deaths and injuries, then more people came. rushing from a nearby market to help. as they arrived a second air strike and then a third. they hit an area full of warehouses and work shows for car mechanics. by the time it was over there were bodies everywhere. the strikes happened during what israel said was a pause in its attacks in certain designated areas of gaza. the problem is: there was never any real break in the fighting. it was just as dangerous as ever. >> translator: all the people who were targeted were hit in the head. with the aim of killing them. we are talking about at least 100 wounded and we're talking about an indescribable massacre. and this during the four hour truce they announced. >> reporter: hamas is calling

it a massacre. israel hasn't commented. earlier in the day, a united nations school where 3300 people were taking shelter was also hit. 19 people were killed, mostly women and children. >> translator: all of a sudden tank shells fell all rarnd us. we were all around us. it was terrifying. >> reporter: the u.n. set the school was hit by israeli artillery fire even though they were given the precise location of the school 17 times. violation of international law. >> we are going to contribute to this investigation but this has to happen because this is a very, very serious violation of international law. >> reporter: all over gaza people were killed in air strikes and shelling and in hospitals many died from

injuries they received over the last three weeks of war. nicole johnston, al jazeera, gaza. >> nick schifrin continues to cover this, he is in gaza city, what have you seen over the night? >> constant shelling as we have seen the last two nights. slightly more calm, but in eastern gaza, you saw nicole's piece just a couple of miles from here, continues to get hit. also what keeps happening is a back and forth, israel saying it was fired upon by fighters right next othat school but the u.n. simply is not taking any kind of excuse. they've been very strong about what's happened. they put out a statement saying that kids were killed overnight as they slept and that is an affront to all of us.

that is a universal shame, and the world stands disgraced. one of the strongest statements we've seen from the u.n. john, even though as nicole pointed out six different schools have been attacked before today. >> nick, any indication or account that a permanent ceasefire and how would that take hold? >> yeah, the only sliver of good news in what has been basically two sides completely rejecting ceasefires is an israeli official saying the last couple of hours they might be only two days or three days away from completing their tunnel mission. of course that is not about diplomacy but that is the main israeli military objective here, to eliminate, to destroy those tunnels that go from gaza into israel. so much time has been spent on that and so many have died because of those tunnels. u.s. officials tell me that yes, that would likely mean that the

israeli officials who have rejected attempts to get to a ceasefire at least resisted a ceasefire, you will see the israeli side much more willing to accept negotiations led by u.s. secretary of state john kerry, the question will be whether hamas and its intermediaries will accept assurances from the u.n. that the borders will remain open and the israeli siege will be lifted. we're still away from that. that one little hint from israeli officials might give a hint that israel is more willing to go for a ceasefire, more than it has been. >> we'll hear more from nick later in the broadcast. >> the white house has condemned the shelling of the u.n. school but they want more evidence before they blame either side. >> there is a lot more different pieces happening on the ground and we don't know the facts. we don't know whether or not

there were rockets near the school, we don't know for certain who shelled the school so we need to get all the facts. >> the united nations said it has completed the preliminary investigation and has israeli artillery shells from the site. the u.n, had the school set up by a nonprofit organization. harsh words for israel and an agency spokesman told james bays that the group has to stop the violence. >> that is why we have could be demed this in the strongest possible terms as a violation of internal law. >> are you sure which side was responsible? >> we have looked at the shrapnel, we've looked at the damage. we are according to our assessments saying that this is

israeli artillery. and we have no doubt about that. >> is it possible this could have been an accident, they didn't know where the school was? >> well, as far as intentionality is concerned, you have to ask the israeli army. we have seen the school hit directly. children have been killed. it is an affront to humanity in all of us. the world should hang its head in shame. >> did you tell them the location? >> 17 times we called them to give them the coordinates of the school. 3300 people were taking shelter there. that is not an excuse that could be given. >> this is a large loss of life. how should the international community respond? >> we've made it quite clear there should be accountability. it's up to them. it's got to stop. we have reached breaking point. we've moved away from the realm of humanitarian action.

the israelis are telling more people to leave so there will soon be tens much thousands of people stranded in the streets of gaza. no food no shelter no mattresses no blankets. >> you were a senior u.n. official, before that you were a journalist, a professional journalist. you're used to seeing these things. how does it affect you when you see what's happened on the ground in gaza? >> it's beyond blea belief thatn and women and children are subjected to this. the right to life, that includes children, it is an abomination, it is barbaric and it needs to end. >> cut off from the world, nearly everyone relies on humanitarian aid to survive. jonathan betz is here.

jonathan. >> unprecedented. it is running out of supplies. its staff are concerned, not only aid workers are spared from this violence. in gaza even the peace keepers face war. wednesday's strikes on the united nations school is at least the sixth time that its schools have been hit in this conflict. they are near a breaking point. >> this is a moment when you really have to say enough is enough. >> reporter: the u.n. itself has suffered heavy losses. seven of its workers so far have been killed. ainstallations damaged. 80% of the 2 million people depend on the u.n. for food and medicine. sheltering more than 200,000 people. four times more than expected. but the schools don't have

showers. and nearly all of gaza is without power and water. >> how can you run a hospital without clean water? how can you keep food if you can't freeze -- have refrigerators? all these, everything we take for granted is gone. >> reporter: in almost every other wawr civilians can run to neighboring countries but not here. israel and egypt have sealed gaza's borders. trapping hundreds of thousands. >> they are told to flee areas, get out of areas but to where? where should they go? and again we don't have the answer for them on that. >> reporter: many in goofs -- in gaza used to rely on hamas, that ran soup cisms and schools. -- kitchens and schools. but services are strained.

donkey carts now collect garbage and doctors at gaza's largest hospital hasn't been paid since march. protesters ransacked a u.n. aid office. >> for both to ask us to go to coordinate with israeli authorities it takes time and it's very frustrating for us. >> reporter: and now aid workers are very worried gaza is on the brink of a public health disaster. no clean running water. the u.n. worries that this will soon be faced with health outbreaks. >> security cabinet meeting today, to discuss what happens next. and kim vanel has more from west jerusalem. >> well, what we are hearing from official sources right now, there was no official statement after that security cabinet

meeting. but what we are hearing as far as israel is concerned a permanent ceasefire is not imminent. we're also hearing that the military has been told to -- for it to continue its bombardment of gaza and to continue targeting these tunnels which the israeli military call terror tunnels. the tunnels they've been focus being on so far are the ones that go from gaza into israel and increasingly they're targeting tunnels that are a network within israel as well. the question that everybody is asking is when will israel look for an exit? when will israel feel that it's done enough, that it's destroyed enough of this tunnel infrastructure to be able to leave the gaza strip? and say to the israeli public that it's claimed victory. because remember, domestic politics are also always at play here, as well. and benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister, had been criticized for not acting soon

enough when these tunnels were discovered. so no doubt that will be another factor at play, as well. but so far the incredible civilian casualty toll, fatalities and an increasing sense of international condemnation, more and more voices, seems to be doing little to deter the israeli military so far. >> kim vanel reporting. coming up. putting pressure on vladimir putin. how tougher sanctions will affect russia and russian milk opinion. plus -- public opinion. plus, where fighters around the world get their deadly weapons.

>> several members of congress are calling on the white house to arm the ukraine with lethal force. john terret is live at the white house with that. john. >> good evening, john. from the white house, pressure growing on the administration

here to send munitions to ukraine to support the ukrainian military. this after president obama said within the last news cycle that he thought the ukrainian military was doing just fine. this is coming not only from republicans but also from democrats who say the time has come to send more than emergency rations to kyiv. at the time senate armed services committee meeting we heard from bill nelson of florida and kyle levitt of michigan. >> what the president said yesterday was not satisfactory to me. ukraine has requested assistance, ukraine understands we're not going to send in troops and it seems to me they, providing we can send in nonprovocative lethal defensive kind of capability, that is a sovereign nation that we should provide that to them. >> reporter: we didn't hear much on the subject from the president today or the administration. the president was traveling.

we're expecting a briefing tomorrow but we do know the position of the white house remains the same, to find a diplomatic solution to what's happening in ukraine. john. >> what are you hearing from republicans john? >> the issue of sanctions is coming up. ever since president putin sought to annex crimea, president obama tried to sanction him on our own. 50% of trade exists between the european union and russia. now within the last news cycle fresh sanctions have been imposed with the backing of european union f. oligarchs and croneies, energy and banking. now according to the white house

this latest round of sanctions is the sectorial sanctions that they have been talking about. however on capitol hill not everyone was happy about it. some think the sanctions don't go far enough. here is lindsay graham republican south carolina. >> we should accelerate the sanctions, we should hit them again including gas, we have go against putin as an individual and come up with a plan to equip ukrainians at a pace they can sustain. >> what do the russians say? limited comment coming out of moscow, but one of the banks, state bank vtb says the sanctions are politically motivated and unfair. white house says there is a road out for president putin if he wishes to stop supporting the separatists in eastern ukraine and make nice with the

government in kyiv. john. >> john terret, than thank you. president putin still seems to have strong support from the russian people. rory challenge reports from moscow. >> reporter: how dearly those in the west want to read this man's mind. unpredictable, a ruthless tactician, a reckless gambler. he's also as some in russia believe in a tight spot. >> it puts him in a a very big pressure and no way out as far as strategy is concerned. >> russia's annexation of crimea, the fallout from the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17, have finally galvanized a reluctant europe. russia will finally be hit with some sanctions.

surrender ukraine to the west but unless he perform a humiliating retreat, the united states and europe would likely give sanctions another turn of the screw. for moment, russian public opinion is on the president's side. a poll this week suggests 61% of the population isn't worried about sanctions. 58% isn't bothered about russia's international isolation. according to the pollster that's because the kremlin is adept at controlling information. >> translator: the fact is that a system of propaganda and political manipulation of public opinion is very efficient. it helped break the trend of diminishing trust in the legitimacy of the regime and with its actions in ukraine the government has generated mass support. >> reporter: add to that years of perceived conned sense and

disrespect -- conned sessio con. . >> so in disrespect, putin should mix flexibility and toughness. >> reporter: that unfortunately means the possibility that this conflict will escalate further. can't be dismissed rory challenge, al jazeera, moscow. >> professor of studies at new york university. welcome back stephen. >> thanks john. >> are you surprised at the response of russia? >> what's the response. >> almost nothing. >> i can tell the you in one sentence. because in the kremlin and in the circle around it they have concluded this is not a battle for ukraine. this is a battle for russia.

that we are coming at russia. and so sanction he, this is exinls in theiexistential in th. >> you think the united states is actually risking war to issue these sanctions. >> not sanctions. i'm thinking the white house is considering giving ukraine more sensitive intelligence information. but look at what lindsay graham just said on your broadcast. he doesn't want just sanctions, he wants to arm ukraine. does he think that if we turn eastern ukraine into an american citadel of weapons on russia averages border, russia is just sitting and watching? he's calling for war.

>> aren't ukrainian citizens committing war with russian weapons? >> i don't call it war. amnesty international have reapproached the ukrainian government for accepting these into residential areas. in war war crimes are committed. it's something you do and you're know you're going to kill civilians and that's very specific. plus the fact this is my government. i care what my government does. >> speaking of civilians being killed this airliner being shot down, the malaysian airline, you suggest that the u.n. should call for a ceasefire to start the investigation and get the bodies out. but who would say that the pro-russian separatists would agree to that?

>> john, we have the information. i mean the white house and the tainstate department is puttingt false information negotiated with the rebels safe escort to the crash site. they got within 15 kilometers and the ukrainian government, our government started bombarding and so they withdrew. the escort, the guarantee was from the people we call the rebels. >> you call ukrainian's government as our government as the u.s. government. why? >> because this government in kyiv whether we like it or not doesn't have the money the political support or the military equipment to wage this war. it's bankrupt. john, they are drafting men 60 years old to fight.

stop and think. you're not anywhere near 60. but a 60-year-old in that part of the world is a grandfather. >> right. >> think about it. is that normal? >> so you think the united states shouldn't be supporting the ukrainian government. >> i think president obama could end this crisis tomorrow morning. he calls the president of the ukraine and says, i want a ceasefire right now. we are going to test the russians and the rebels and see if they honor it. >> hasn't the united states tested this, every time there's some sort of conflict the russians get closer to that border. >> you're eastern ukraine. i'm coming to you with tanks. you are with lesser weapons shooting at me. who is going to call the ceasefire. those who are coming with the weapons and the tanks have to

call a ceasefire. >> this is the beginning of the end -- >> i will quote a famous statement, it is even more simple. the war is being waged by kyiv against the rebel provinces. kyiv says there's a ceasefire for enough time to negotiate. why not test before kill? i don't get it. what is the american goal to provoke putin to actually come into ukraine? does somebody in washington wants a war? is this the okay corral? is this a reckoning with putin once and for all? what's the end game here. >> interesting question. >> if you destroy eastern ukraine, who's going to rebuild it, those are russian speaking people, why don't you rebuild it. >> stephen cohen, always interesting having you on. possibly attacks in nigeria against their will.

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my conversation with an arms expert about the trafficking of illegal weapons in unstable parts of the world. plus water donations pouring into detroit after that city cut off service to people late on their bills. >> and the flare, and historic meaning of sikh beards. why two photographers are celebrating. in gaza, another day of violence as israel and hamas both refuse to back down. at least three israeli soldiers killed trying to take out hamas tunnels. 17 gazanss were killed when an israeli school was hit by a market. u.n. school hit, it was

sheltering thousands when it was hit this morning. nick schifrin is here. nick. >> john, good morning. this is defined by the dead and the displaced. w.h.o. those two combine in one location, shifa hospital. in this gaza hospital this is actually a quiet moment. checks on a woman with shrapnel in her shoulder. he mobilizes his staff even though in this war her wounds are considered minor. >> the pressure of masking of civilians. >> reporter: for the last six years through three wars, this doctor has administered shifa hospital. only a few dozen beds, intensive care unit. >> it is impossible not only for us but for any hospital to deal with 60 or 100 casualties at the same minute.

>> it's very difficult. >> but we have to. >> reporter: but this afternoon he didn't manage. in a busy market, this war answer horror exploded. a local tv crew filmed shells landing in the middle of the shopping area. they were out with their families, what they thought was a ceasefire. israel never promised to hold fire, multiple rounds fired into the crowd. and almost 200 descended on the hospital at once. at one point the hospital put out an urgent request, blood was needed, they had run out. the doctor asked, if a ceasefire doesn't provide safety, what else does? >> we cannot be safe at any time, at anyplace. >> reporter: this was supposed to be a safe haven, the blue and white of a u.n. school. it was a shelter for thousands that fled.

pooh boy holds up a thin pad that a family was sleeping on, covered with blood. the shell exploded in the middle of the room and you can see the remnants of the family that was here, the food they were eating, some of the clothes they were wearing. and accrue to remember that this was -- and you have to remember that this was a school. the blackboard still has a lesson on it. launching mortars right nearby. for the 3,000 that live here now, they want to leave but have no home to go to. >> they told us to leave. when we returned home, it was like an earthquake had hit our area. >> and even residents don't know what to say. >> when they ask you where should i go, what do you tell them? >> they ran from their homes, they thought the u.n. school was the safes place. now where will they go?

>> reporter: when the markets, the shelters are not safe. some people think the only safe place is shifa hospital. they have nowhere to cook. no bathrooms. but for them, and more than 40 relatives, this is safer than anywhere else. >> reporter: so you came here 24 days ago. why here to the hospital and not for example a u.n. school? >> translator: better to live on the street, and the classroom collapse on our heads. >> reporter: today, the classroom collapsed. the market was bombed. and so a hospital overwhelmed with injury is now overwhelmed by the homeless. according to the u.n. some 200,000 people now are homeless who have fled their homes. but that is only the number of people who actually registered and showed up inside of u.n. schools, so the number of displaced is actually much higher than 200,000. and john tonight the u.n. says that about 45 to 44% of all of

gaza strip has been declared a no-go area simply too dangerous according to the israeli military for residents to go in. but if you ask them they actually say they feel like all of gaza is too dangerous to be. >> nick schifrin, thank you. as we said, u.n. shelters are shown to be at capacity. first person he talks about the challenges he is facing. >> more than on average more than 2500 people in each of the 85 schools that are housing displaced. so there's just huge pressure on the infrastructure. these are schools designed for between 500 and 1000 children not for 2500 to be living there. supplies are stretched. for example, we are buying up most of the bread in gaza which

is leaching public markets short and we still don't have enough for displaced that we and the partnership for world food program are trying to provide for. water is a huge challenge. these shelters, these are schools, not designed to be shelters. they have no shower facilities, they have inadequate washing facilities. this displacement is going on too long and we have very serious concerns about public health in the schools. we are able to get enough potable water into the schools so people have enough drinking water. we are having trouble keeping up with nonpotable water for personal hygiene we are bringing in lice shampoo and other incidence of scai scabes. some of these people have been in shelters for weeks. based on historical patterns, there was no reason to believe we would be displaced this long.

when the powerpoint was attacked yesterday, it is going to be out of commission for perhaps a year. most of gaza is now without any power which means they're without any water, because most of the water is pumped. large scale humanitarian issue. >> robert turner with the united nations relief and works agency. we have seen plenty of video showing air strikes and rockets but israel's ground operations were a large part of this war too. israeli video of sniper rifles and grenades. israel says hamas gets weapons like this through its network of tunnels and it's those tunnels that israel is trying to destroy. arms like though get into conflict zones all over the world. the question is how. kathy lynn austin is the executive director of the

conflict project. she has spent 20 years tracking the arms trade. kathy, welcome, thank you. >> thank you. >> let me just start with gaza and hamas. how does gaza, how does hamas get these weapons? >> well, there are three main appliance that are -- pipelines that are going into hamas into gaza. you basically have weapons that are being provided by iran. these are the heavier rockets that hamas has stockpiled over a period of time. they are often going through the sinai desert and into the tunnels and then to hamas. you also have a pipeline -- >> let me stop you there. how difficult is that? >> how difficult is what part of the illicit trade? you have egyptian border security guards but you have smugglers on the ground who know just how to get around those border guards.

and who also know how to avoid checkpoints. and basically, skirt the authorities that are -- have a watchful eye. so sometimes these different smugglers are caught. but as we can see, hamas is getting weapons into its hands. >> who are the middle men, or the smugglers that are trafficking arms? >> well, there are smugglers and weapons traffickers that are providing weapons to a number of different conflict zones. if you are talking about hamas you have smugglers that are in the imloi employ of iran, sudand private individuals from libya taking weapons across the border. there are independent mom and pop shops but major transnational criminal organizations that are responsible for this trade.

>> so there are networks for these arms dealers. and do they use cash? >> they are often using cash. but you have to remember, there's three different ways or three different sort of backers behind some of the illicit arms trade. you have quofts who are supporting -- governments who are supporting proxy forces, you have iran, sudan, the black marketeers militias, private parties make money off the trade, they are operating on a whole different scale making money and then you have the gray market trade where governments rely on privateers and pay them to smug these weapons into areas where their proxy forces are at work. >> you've tracked weapons all over the world. so how has trafficking changed over the last 15 years? >> well, my last investigation in africa, one of the things that starte startled me is ofteu

would see these large transnational criminal organizations, a lot of them russian-speaking. using russian cargo planes. now they are seeking western aircraft, smaller passenger planes that are less suspicious. they are not basing themselves any longer out of seedy places. they are basing themselves out of areas where they think they can have some legitimacy. you are beginning to see a whole dynamic where transnational criminal organizations are taking licensed pilots, they are trying to license u.s. planes for example. and they are corrupting the u.s. system in that sense, trying to acquire these aircraft, so that suspicion is off them. >> interesting information. obviously very complicated. kathy, thank you very much.

>> thank you. >> in nigeria, there appears to be a change of tactics by boko haram. several recent suicide bombings have been carried out by women. at least three people died today when a woman blew herself up at the kano college a city in northern nigeria. robert iraga reports. >> having just another busy workday when a loud explosion happened across the street. when he looked out there was a cloud of dust. people covered in blood, running. a boy missing a leg, screaming. police say it was the work of a woman suicide bomber. >> translator: i had never heard of a woman doing something like this before. it is scary, we really have to watch out. >> reporter: woman suicide bombers said to be under 20. the female bomber came to the

gate of the complex. security guard said she looked suspicious. he asked her to lift her veil and that was the time she detonated the bomb killing six people. >> the attacker blew herself up in the line of people buying kerosene. the new trend seems to be tactical. >> it involves such ghastly acts. i think it's part of the terrorist strategy. a kind of situation that we have to fight from all angles. >> president god luck jonathan says the use of women as suicide bombers is a new low in the campaign of these terrorists. a wicked coalitio comploitatione

girl-child. response for the government targeting suspects' family members. the group's first reported use of suicide bomber was in june of this year outside an army barracks outside the city of gombay. these three women were arrested for allegedly spying for boko haram, as well as recruiting women to join the woman faction of the group. >> there may be some element of force. what i believe is there is some sort of brainwashing involved. >> reporter: and with the notoriously propaganda heavy trend, being al jazeera, northern nigeria. >> now to libya, vive rival mil,

april being hit by a rocket more than 100 firefighters have been killed in that conflict. last saturday the state department evacuated american staffers to neighboring tunisia. we have new information tonight on the funding of al qaeda. according to the new york times the group is raising money from ransoms. in european countries they're paying the most. roxana saberi reports. >> images like these of hostages held at gunpoint are potent weapons. now generating at least $125 million in ransom money since 2008, much of it came from countries in europe. france paid $58 million. switzerland nearly 12.5 million and spain and austria together, nearly $13 million. kidnappers received up to

$200,000 per hostage and now get up to $10 million. governments shouldn't be paying ransoms. >> that paying for citizens to be released may result in citizens of other countries being killed. >> european governments deny paying ransoms but they often send the money through third parties. al qaeda, in arabian peninsula and yemen. >> they launch attacks and kill other civilians. of course i can understand completely the disaster save a life on the one hand, it does result in loss of more lives down the road. >> my name is bowe bergdahl. >> recent trade of taliban prisoners for sergeant bowe bergdahl. but america and britain have

resisted paying ransom. >> if we can't get all countries to agree not to pay ran soms we'll go on and on. >> we did not get an answer from the state department. john. >> roxana saberi, roxana. thanks. let's head for washington, d.c. >> hi john. >> back to school year, it's time to look at the state of our education system. in part 2 of our series, school's out, we'll tackle teacher tenure or job guarantees for teachers. they have always been controversial but now a california court has actually ruled them unconstitutional. this is a ruling that could have a ripple effect on public schools all across the nation. >> what is wrong with california's schools? >> in a nutshell: they don't put the children as their number

one priority. my premise is, it's never acceptable to knowingly put an ineffective teacher in front of a child. the education system is about one thing, it's about educating our children. >> "america tonight"'s michael okwu brings us this game changing story. at the top of the hour. >> adam thank you. lawsuit against president obama. republicans accused the president of overstepping his authority. they claimed he needed authority before being. the white house says the president was just using his executive authority and called the lawsuit a waste of taxpayer money. water donations coming into detroit. outside areas are trying ohelp after the i city's crack down on people unable to pay their water

bills. bisi onile-ere reports. >> outside this detroit church. ♪ >> over a thousand gallons of donated water passed through hands of a group of volunteers. they're here in support of residents who have lost their water service. >> they had thousands of people in detroit that don't have water. >> still? >> still. it is just unspeakable what's going on here. >> reporter: out roughly $90 million in unpaid bills, in may the city of detroit massed a shutoff initiative. it sparked outrage with the united nations, calling the aggressive plan inhumane. more than a week ago, the city issued a 15 day moratorium on the shutoffs. still, donations are pouring in. this delivery comes all the way from west virginia. a state that, earlier this year, faced a water crisis of its own

after a chemical spill. >> i mean there's a difference here. somebody made the decision we're going to cut off tens of thousands of people in the middle of the summer from access to water. >> bill dopallo is with this organization, loaded a 27 foot box truck with water for an effort they called, thirsty for justice. >> we can get a thousand gallons of water up there, it's a drop in the bucket maybe for today, it inspires somebody else to go get another thousand and somebody after that to get another thousand. well then maybe it had an impact. >> the bankrupt city's emergency manager el recently handed mike douduggan authority over the is. gaining attention for all the wrong reasons. >> i still don't think people have a clear idea of where to go

for help. we're going to make the communication and the outreach far more effective. >> reporter: until then long time detroit activist maureen taylor is thankful for outpouring of support. >> to come from west virginia and to drive a truck with tons of water in it and to come up here to help folks is a pure act of solidarity and an act of love, is what america is. this is what we are. >> and according to the mayor the 15-day suspension on water shutoffs may be on indefinitely hold. bisi onile-ere, al jazeera, droit. >> coming up our picture of the day plus the message behind the beards. the two photographers focusing on the contemporary culture of the sikhs. >> coverage of the middle east conflict continues al jazeera america

>> good evening, i'm meteorologist kevin corriveau. we are watching the wildfires that are encroaching into parts of california, yosemite national park. on google you can see just to the north of fresno we have those two little areas right there, actually not real lil, one of them is 3500 acres of burning wildfire, the el portal wildfire. only 35% contained. we have temperatures in this region reaching into the 90s. we only see the high normally reaching for yosemite at about 75°. the french is burning right now and that one right there is zero contained at this moment. fresno relative humidity, 20%. showers pushing through but we're really not getting any rain out of them.

fresno, 106. just to the north it's going to be a little bit cooler. but when we talk about cooler, this is what we're talking about here, temperatures in yosemite reaching 90. we're not going to get a break for a while. your national news is next.

>> people from the sikh culture have been wearing beards for centuries. they are considered a symbol of spirituality and discipline. two men are celebrating that culture through photography. we see that in tonight's first person report. >> cam from it sudden appearance of the beard being a fashion statement in british culture. so we noticed that lots of young guys were growing really long, sizable beards. so for us we found that really intriguing being two sikh guys, british photographers, obviously having a beard has been part of the sikh tradition for hundreds of years. so we thought, why not do a project about the beard and the

turban, of sikh men, and show people that you know, fair enough right now the beard is a fashion statement. for us it's been part of our identity for hundreds of years. i don't think the sikh look called on, why i think it is is people's desire to look different. so see a guy in hiss early 20s wearing a beard that comes down to his chest is not a normal thing. it's not the normal thing. all to do with identity, embrace me for who i am. first it has to do with identity. to stand out in a crowd. to stan show people you are dift and you look different. the second thing is to show that you don't want to change yourself from the way god has made you, right? so if god has made you in a certain way you want to keep yourself unaltered. and we generally found that once

we shot the first few people for project the word started getting out there and more and more people were up for being voferred in the project and -- involved in the project and it just grew from there. temple volunteers to lawyers to doctors to mechanics. million different styles of the beard and the turban as well. >> photographs from the sikh project will be on display in london later on this year. at 11:0 11:00 eastern, how a cot decision mite allow there union workers. and america's next generation. heavy metal band went from playing in parks to a million dollar record deal. 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific.

a message of peace is tonight's freeze frame. the south korean student displays the words, "no war." see you at 11:00.

you on? borderland, sunday at 9 eastern, only on al jazeera america. >> on "america tonight": another deadly day in gaza. a u.n. school targeted again. more innocent families killed in the cross fire. as the violence escalates, a palestinian teenager documents her fears and hopes. also, just ahead, schools out, but we continue our in depth look at american education, tackling teacher tenure. >> they don't put the student as their number one