we'll get to confirm more of that when july's numbers come out tomorrow. that's another clue in this critically important issue. that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. ♪ >> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. ceasefire - diplomats reach a deal to temporarily stop the fighting in gaza. race against time - congress working to pass an immigration bill before the august break. american bomber, the journey of a florida man who gave his life for the rebels in syria ebola outbreak, travel warnings for americans planning to go to west africa and what the countries are doing to try to stop the disease. black market - marijuana is

legal in washington state. why are underground sales still thriving. we begin with a promise of another pause in the fighting in gaza. the u.n. says israel and hamas agree to a 3-day humanitarian truth to begin five hours from now. under the agreement israeli forces will remain on the ground. ceasefire or not israel's prime minister says he will destroy hamas tunnels. half a million people, a quarter of gaza's population are homeless according to the united nations. in about half -- about half an hour ago secretary of state john kerry laid out the terms of the ceasefire. >> neither side will advance beyond its current locations. they will stay where they are in place.

israel will be able to continue its defensive operations for those tunnels that are behind its lines. and the palestinians will be able to receive food, medicine and additional humanitarian assistance as well as to tend to the wounded, bury the dead, in safe areas travel to their homes. >> hamas says it will obey the ceasefire, the group was quick to warn if israel attacks, hamas will retaliate. >> if they do not act against the palestinians, the ceasefire will be respected. if they acted, if they did anything violating the ceasefire, there'll be a rehabilitation from the palestinian resistance. >> nick schifrin is on the ground in gaza. what exactly does a ceasefire mean? >> john, good evening.

as we heard, israeli troops will remain inside of gaza and continue some of their fighting specifically targetting the tunnels that lead from gaza to israel. for the gazans it will be a relief, a humanitarian relief, releasing the power. that will be replenished. the water that is short, they'll begin to get that. the sewage treatment plants will continue to go online. what will not change is the continuation and the threat to the gazans from the israeli air strikes and the fighters within their own neighbourhoods. >> reporter: the only part of this gaza city mosque that is left is the dome. an israeli airstrike left the building gutted. above ground a young boy rides past the damage that the community used. below ground the israeli army discovered mosques. israel released video showing a

separate mosques full of weapons and rockets. just a few feet away, a 45 deep tonne 'em the military -- tunnel the military says leads into is ral. without footage like this, the palestinian -- into israel. >> without footage like this, it is dangerous. it's too dangerous for reporters to film this themselves. the israeli militants say there has been a cache inside the mosque, in residential neighbourhoods, and in this case it is across the street from children's playgrounds. the visible sign of palestinian fighters are the missiles launched over gazan neighbourhoods. we have seen and heard them. the israeli military's drones watch them launch near complexes much the fighters are rarely

film. this week hamas released its own video cam of fighters attacking an israeli base. inside of gaza they operate where they want, even near u.n. schools. >> this is a u.n. school that is a shelter for so many families. you can see where the israelis enter the room. what israel says is that it was attacked from the area across the street from the school in this residential neighbourhood. if you ask the people, did you see the fighters, any of the attacks on israel, they say no. when i ask one person, even if they dam wouldn't -- even if they see someone, they wouldn't tell you. gazans are scared to admit fighters hide in their neighbourhoods. some hit openly outside of hospitals, helping the staff

overwhelmed by the wounded. other than low-level officials, there's no evidence of what israel says, which is a shifa hospital has become a command and control centre for hamas. we have seen when a foreign journalist was summoned to speak to officials from hamas and the secret services to criticise his recording, he was summoned here to shifa. the israeli military, hammers gaza with force. f-16 bombs weigh hundreds of pounds and destroy neighbourhoods. the israelis who drop them are invisible too. regardless of the targets, three-quarters of the palestinians who have been killed are civilians. >> the u.n. says 440,000 people are displaced. that is one in four of all of gaza. tomorrow morning they'll begin to go back to their homs. it's not clear -- homes, it's

not clear if they'll feel secure enough to stay. every ceasefire before this has been violated. >> what do civilians in gaza need the most right now? >> there's a long list, but it start with power. and the reason it starts with power, that effects every part of the humanitarian crisis much the power plant was cut off two days ago by an israeli strike. all of gaza city, including what is behind me is gaza city usually lit up. together is in darkness. that power again - that will mean they'll get water. there has been a huge shortage of water, 30-40% of gaza has full access to water because of pumps. they need electricity to get the water into their apartments, that will come back, and sewerage, there's a large problem with sewage, the treatment plants have been offline, it will begin to go online. the notion is that the crisis will alleviate a little bit.

it will take months to alleviate it. it's only three days of ceasefire, it's not clear whether people will be confident enough to complete their lives. >> israel's army will destroy hamas tunnels through the ceasefire. what does that mean, do we know? >> well, what is important is what john kerry, the secretary of state said from new delhi is that he said defensive positions. the israelis are inside of gaza. and that becomes the front line, not the border itself. so now that the israelis are inside of gaza, they are allowed, according to the ceasefire, to stay where they are. they are already half a mile or a mile in in certain pleases. the tunnel access points that gazans use to get into israel are behind the soldiers. they make sure to get in front of the tunnels. now the israeli soldiers can

turn their backs to gaza, look to israel and see the tup else and destroy them, even though they were in gaza. what we heard is a foreshadowing. israeli troops operating inside of gaza despite the ceasefire. >> nick schifrin in gaza. thank you. tonight's diplomatic breakthrough follows tougher talk from the white house. civilian casualties are too high. >> we have continued to urge israeli military officials to live up to their high standards that they have set for the protection of innocent civilians. there's more that can and should be done to ensure the safety of innocent civilians. >> the u.s. senator for the israeli newspaper - welcome.

good to have you on the programme. >> hi. >> is this ceasefire got a chance of working because other ceasefires haven't. first of all, i'm assuming and it's true to say that both sides have an interest on maintaining the ceasefire. i think binyamin netanyahu does not want to get more involved inside gaza, or even though they are cabinet americanses that think that he should. i think hamas is on the ropes in forms of infrastructure, and both are looking for a respite. both sides have an interest. there are a lot of pit falls and the mutual suspicion is such that any small thing can break the accuracy fire apart as it has until now. >> and you heard the u.s. government say that the civilian casualties are too high. how is it impacting u.s.-israeli relations. >> they have been under going a rough patch, even by the not

completely friendly relations they have had. i think what you heard was the ratcheting up of pressure by the u.s. administration. civilian casualties are becoming too high to sustain, so that may be by the way a reason why binyamin netanyahu, and defence minister decided to get the ceasefire, among other things, so the american administration does not get increasingly cross with it. >> as a result of the these comments, do you see an israeli change in strategy now, or not? >> well, i think what you are going to see now is israel - i don't know if it's going to blow up the tunnels, on the assumption that the cae fire would hold. it le preparing to -- it will be preparing to detonate them when the ceasefire is over or there's a withdrawal of israeli forces. we'll be moving to a different arena, and a diplomatic arena,

and the whole issue of is israel talking to a unified palestinian association, is it negotiating with hamas - which it hasn't done until now. the focus will move to a diplomatic drama that will play out in cairo, which is better than people talking at each other. >> you can't april the question whether -- answer the question whether israel, during the ceasefire will blow up tunnels. >> the words used was deal with. the words deal with. deal with, of course, can be interpreted in many ways. i do not know. i do not know if there'll be explosions that might bring other ceasefires as well. i can assure you the troops, wherever they are will be preparing to detonate the tunnels at the first opportunity. >> in your piece in her et cetera, you talk about a series of mistakes made by secretary of

state john kerry. what is the biggest mistake in your opinion? >> there was a lack of communications, i think, between john kerry, perhaps, and the israeli government. the israeli government was not completely aware of what he was doing, and mistrust built, centered around the role that qatar in turkey were to play. i think israeli felt that kerry was moving away from the centrality of egypt, giving egypt and turkey too great a role. i must note that today when the ceasefire was announced the u.n. gave a lot of credit to qatar and turkey, and they gave them credit for bringing along hamas to the ceasefire table. >> good to have you on the programme. thank you very much. >> joining us for a special report tomorrow night gaza - witness to war. watch it friday 11 eastern, 8 pacific time. >> new reports on the ebola network. an american infected is being

flown back to the united states. a hospital in atlanta is preparing to treat the patient pt the centers for disease control warned americans to stay out of guinea, sierra leone and liberia. hundreds of peace corp workers have been called out. sierra leone called a state of emergency. >> reporter: instructing to cope with an epidemic that killed at least 720 people so far. health workers treating ebola patients in hospitals in sierra leone. it is a race against time as health workers fear the outbreak is getting out of control. >> translation: ebola exists. where we go. if we don't listening to instruction it stay with us. >> reporter: alarm is spreading in other countries.

the u.s. pass corp is evacuating volunteers from guinea, sierra leone and liberia. here in nigeria, where a liberia man has died of the disease they are scrambling to deal with the situation. major international airports are screening cases. >> we'll scrutinise airlines from the point of departure to ensure passengers boarding the flights are ebola free, and as soon as those passengers are ready to take off. we have a list of the manifest which we'll look at and we have professionals on the ground who look at the passengers, especially from areas that ebola infected. >> an outbreak in nigeria would have a huge impact not just in the country, but across the reegeon. >> the authority yes hope such

measures -- authorities hope such measures will stop the virus spreading. many fire an outbreak may find its way in through the borders. ebola is spread through close contact with those infected, especially through bodily fluids. dietary habits are also helping to spread the disease fear some. fear that treatment involves isolation is adding to the problem. >> they are concerned with what kind of opportunities they have to stay in contact with their families. they know they'll be isolated and they understand why. but they - they are, of course, concerned about dying alone. >> that is complicating the effort to stop the disease. the outbreak raffaging west africa is the worst the region has soon, and government and medical experts are bracing themselves for more bad news.

in eastern ukraine today a team of international investigators about to spend about an hour examining the crash site of malaysia airlines 17. plane debris spread over a combat zone where government forces are battling the separatists. nisreen el-shamayleh has this story from eastern ukraine. >> reporter: for the first time in a week a convoy of international experts reaches the records of mh17. it's not sure when they'll return, there's heavy fighting in the region. the ukrainian army is seeing a town near don everybody. for the first time in days people are venturing out. there's only one generator and everyone wants to charge their phones. after days of fighting people don't trust the intentions. they are using the same tactics to surround the city. they are not letting food supplies in. switching off electricity and

cutting off the water. >> ukraine's flag flies over the town hall. council workers locked themselves inside. there are signs everywhere of what was a fierce battle for the strategic location. control here makes it easier for ukrainians to take the separatist stronghold. you can see the separatists probably left the check point in a hurry. there's still food and bedding here. pro-russian forces may have lost control of the town, but the ukrainians have not won the hearts and minds of people here. they blame kiev for bombing their homes. the ukrainians blame separatists for the damage. the united nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed in this region since mid-april, and no one is taking responsibility. the fighting is also changing people's lives. families that used to be well off are cueing up for drinking

water. there's sympathy with the aims of the separatists, many want the armed groups to leave. >> let the fighters hand their weapons in, and they'll be allowed to go home. their leaders, let them go to russia. they'll be accepted there. >> reporter: that is what the ukrainians want. kiev's parliament authorised money for soldiers wages and weapons, and are prepared to fight into the winter, if that's what it takes to reclaim this lost territory. still ahead - working for an 11th hour deal. a day before a month-long black, congress is working to pass an immigration bill. argentina's debt causes problems worldwide.

. >> argentina faces an uncertain economic future a day after failifai failing to reach an agreement with major creditors. for the second time, argentina is in default an its jet.

more from business journalist from buenos aires. >> reporter: a day like any other, even though it was the day after argentina's second default in 13 years. people are not sure what has happened. and many questions were left unanswered. >> we are still not in default. it will defend on the banks if they will pay the creditors or not. >> if we default, it will affect us. >> it's nothing like the 2001 crisis when argentina said it could and would not pay its $100 million debt. since then argentina reach an agreement with 93% of bond holders who accepted a reduce payment and have been paid on time. until last month when an american judge froze money in new york jl argentina complies with its sentence. the judge ruled in favour of the so-called vul tur fund investors

who represent 1% of the bond holders, they successfully sued argentina to demand a full pay out of the $1.3 billion on the bonds held much the deadline to reach an agreement passed with argentina saying its offers were rejected. no one is sure what that will mean. it's the first time that a country has the money, is willing to pay. deposited the money for the payment chain to commence, and, yet, the bondholders have not received their money. so it's the first, if you will, court induced default in history, i think. >> still rumours that a group of private banks from argentina is negotiating with the bond holders to buy them out. >> how does the insurgency affect the average argentine

citizen. >> after years of economic growth. argentina faces recession with a 2% drop in the gross domestic product. a decrease in the central bank reserves and a 2% monthly rate. the economy minister says the country is still open to negotiations with creditors. but when or how that will happen nobody knows. the head of the c.i.a. apologised for spying on the senate intelligence committee. >> c.i.a. employees had accessed committee's computers, during the probe of c.i.a. enterter gags techniques. >> congress is holding a last-minute meeting to reach a consensus on an immigration spending bill. john terrett is live in washington with more on that.

>> chaos on the floor of the house. would there be a vote on legislation to address the issue of border security or not. they wanted to know. they had planes to catch, to get away for the long summer recess we were told there would be no vote, but at 3 o'clock the republican caucus revealed a closed door meeting, and it was said they'd stay there until be got to a point of a vote. members were brought back from the airport, including a bus load that was going to the border region. the measure on the table today was only $659. less that the $3.7 billion called for, and the $2.7 billion on the table in the senate. speaker of the house john boehner say they'll burp the midnight oil in washington as they rewrite the measure. >> what is the plan, please? >> working with the members.

>> into the night. >> oh, yes. >> "oh, yes," says the speaker of the house. and ted crews, the junior texas senator healed a beer and pizza party calling for members not to vote for measures on the table and he tabled his open mashes, presumably that -- measures, presumably that will turn up tomorrow. >> what will happen tomorrow. is there a chance they'll postpone the recess. >> the rules committee met. it allowed them to meet up until saturday night, if they wished. what we think will happen is the leadership will meet at 9 o'clock. the house will convene at 10am. there'll we a vote tomorrow on what, right now, we don't know. that's the bottom line, we'll have to wait and see. republicans in the senate rejecting the $2.7 billion on the payable. that was moray bund without the

house and republicans in the house said they wouldn't vote for it. >> straight ahead, a breakthrough in the middle east. details of a ceasefire between israel and hamas. an american suicide bomber's trip home before giving his life for rebels in syria.

wroo welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. coming up, a new ceasefire between hamas and israel. details to end the violence. he trained in syria and came home to america. how the intelligence committee missed this u.s. citizen. it's legal in washington state, but the black market for pot is still thriving. both the u.s. and the united nations say all sides in the conflict in gaza agreed to an unconconditional ceasefire. during the break there'll be talks on a lasting truce.

the united nations says the 72 hour ceasefire will allow relief to get to civilians caught in the crossfire. >> the ceasefire is critical to giving civilians a needed reprieve from violence. during the period civilians will receive urgently needed relief and the opportunity to bury the dead, taking care of the injured and restocking food supplies. overdue repairs on water and infrastructure can continue during the period. >> patty culhane is in washington. what is expected to have once the ceasefire takes hole. >> good evening, if the ceasefire holds, it's a big if, after what we saw in the last through days, it should be quite. basically the plan is the two sides should stay on the respective lines. they will not cross and will continue to fight each other.

israelis will continue to search and destroy and find the tunnels. what the people of gaza get is humanitarian relief. the people whose homes have been shelled, they will not be able to go back and see what is left of their homes. and see what is in the dangerous areas. they'll be able to go back and see what is left. the humanitarian aid - the united states pledged 47 million. >> and then if the ceasefire begins and holds, john kerry describes the next step. >> egypt will issue invitations to the party. in order to engage in syria and focus negotiations with egypt, to address the under lying causes of this conflict. we hope and expect both sides to

raise all the topics of concern. the parties obviously need to address israel's security concerns, and to ensure that the people of gaza can live in safety and dignity. >> there's one big question that remains right now, is who is going to be at the negotiating table. we know that the secretary of state john kerry talk about the israelis representatives of the palestinians, and also the egyptians. israel has been keen to keep hamas out of the bargaining, and the backers qatar and turkey. the secretary of state didn't thank those foreign ministers at all. he has been on the phone with them. it's unclear how the negotiations take place. >> if the ceasefire holds, then the question is how optimistic are the diplomats that they can

reach a long-term solution, because the temporary ceasefires haven't worked. >> i have to say it was striking to watch the body language, listen to the words of the secretary of state john kerry. he didn't convey an assistance of optimism, but called it a lull of opportunity. he pointed out how difficult the negotiations are going to be. israel's main goal is to get hamas to demill tarrize. hamas said it will not happen unless israel does first. what hamas wants is the lifting of the siege of gaza. keep in mind this is a strip of land under blockade since hamas won the democratic elections in 2007. so this has been going on a long time. the conflict itself has been going on for decades. it took secretary of state john kerry 12 days to get to this point. the sides agree just a ceasefire, humanitarian ceasefire for 72 hours - looks like he'll have 72 hours to get them to solve the problems that

have been going on for decades. >> thank you very much. >> there was a pro-israel rally in paris, where thousands marched in front of the israeli embassiment they were there to show -- embassy. they were there to show support for the israeli army in gaza. perhaps has the largest jewish and muslim populations. a rabbi was named as an influential rabbi in america, leading the sinai temple in los angeles and joins us. welcome. >> thank you. >> there was a pew research poll out showing that 18 to 29-year-olds in this country place more blame on israel than hamas for the count conflict as those people get older they blame hamas for the conflict. what do you make of the poll? >> well to the extent it's a divide, it means as people get older they pay more attention to

the history behind the news and not only to the images that they see, and if you actually know a little about the history of conflict and where things started, you are more inclined to understand that israel is responding to a continuing ongoing and dangerous threat. >> rabbi, is there a split in the united states between those who support israel, but - those that support israel but are concerned about the civilian casualties in gaza. >> no, there's no split. i don't know of anyone who is not concerned about civilian casualties, whose heart is not broken by the death of children who don't understand that a mother's grief is a mother's grief on any size of the border. there is fair yunan imenty that if -- yunan imenty that if people are building tunnels under you filled with implements of torture in order to kidnap and kill.

if you don't get rid of them, you'll suffer a tremendous catastrophe. as far as i know, no one as gain saved that. >> get rid of them meaning what - who are you taking about? >> i'm talking about the american jewish community, and i hope many other americans who understand that when you have a regime that spends millions on concrete not to build roads and bridges, but to build tunnels and arms them, and fills with all these various weapons and implements, and you are right next door, it's very frightening. i remember being in the city of saday rot when there were bombings. they would come at 8 o'clock each morning, they told us, because that's when the kids went to school. that's a deliberate targetting that is both frightening, and i think the world rightly condemns. >> you think the israeli response is appropriate. >> i think that the israeli -

what is considered appropriate is to be able to deal with a threat that is focused on your citizens. the problem of car is you can't put clear limits and boundaries around it. there are agonising and painful images, no question about that, but the question i haven't heard answered is what do you do if you have a regime who is calling for your destruction, sending as many rockets as they can, whose people spend - military spends their time building tunnels, and let me say. the blockade was imposed after arms came. >> how do you april the question. >> what do you do. >> which question. >> how do you do. you posed the question what do you do? how do you april it. >> by any - by as much humanitarian - by as humane means as possible you try to

destroy them. >> i don't know of any other army in the world that sends messages that we'll attack before we do. what you do is you try to destroy them, understanding that there'll be almost inevitable and greatly tragic civilian casualties, as there have been. >> rabbi, good to have you on the programme. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> just a few minutes ago a strike in gaza came close to nick schifrin, take a look at this. >> shit. [ beeping ] . >> nick is live in gaza. tell us what happened. >> john, it was loud, close - just the building behind me, just a few minutes after you and i spoke at the top of the hour

much it is similar that experience to what so many people in gaza have had to experience over the past few weeks. the strikes from israel are extremely loud. they come very quickly, these are big bombs. in terms of the target - we have seen rocket launchers there, we have seen rockets launched from that field next to the building you saw hit. that has been the target. it's been targeted about three or four times. it will give you a sense of how close the rocket launchers are to residential neighbourhoods or civilian neighbourhoods to the edge of this hotel, to the field, is about 40 feet, 50 feet and from where we are, to that target, is about 300-400 feet or so. that will give you a sense of how close everything is, and what the people of gaza have been experiencing. >> can you give us an idea of what it will look like when the rocket comes in. you turn and look, and something

catches your eye. what do you see? >> you see a fireball coming through the sky. it's very dark outside. it's pretty much pitch-black, other than the hotel lights which are lit by a generator. and so the sea is 300-400 that way, the mediterranean, so it comes from boats. you see it fly. it's light enough to catch my eye and light up the area around it. it's a fast-moving fireball. it is slept before it hits. actually, it's silent after it hits. the delay between the hit and the sound that reaches your ear and my ear is half a second, three-quarter of a second. you see it in your eye first, turp and look. and saw it come in. it hit and then you hear the actual sound of the explosion. you can't tell right now. it caused a bit of a fire in the

building behind me. that was again, 15 minutes ago. it's frightening to see the pictures. >> do you have any idea what is in the building. we don't know what is in the building. again, the target has been the field, you can't see it, it is too dark. one corner of the field, probably about 50, 100 feet long. 50 to 100 feet wide. from the field a few days ago we saw rockets launched towards israel, that's what we have seen a lot. the rockets are launched, embedded within civilian neighbourhoods, within residential neighbourhoods, and every single one was targeted by an air strike. we saw five, six or seven rocket launches, before four or five days later, they were hit with a huge barrage, bigger than what you saw, a huge barrage of

residents. israeli intelligence gathers. and eventually whether it's immediate or takes them days, for whatever reason, there's an air strike on that spot. >> nick, we are glad you are safe. thank you for the report. >> tomorrow night, a special report. join us for gaza, witness to war. >> gruesome images of syria's civil war on display at capitol hill in a hearing today. a syrian army photographer's he smuggled thousands of photographs out of the country, showing images of people starved tortured and killed. the photographer goes by the code name caesar and wore a blue raincoat in disguise. lawmakers were outraged by the photographs and called for the u.s. to do more to stop it. >> there's an alarming report out about the travels of an american suicide bomber who

carried out an attack in syria, paul beban is here with that story. >> the "new york times" is reporting that after travelling to sir wra for training -- syria for training, that man came back to the yits for several -- united states for several months before return to syria. before carrying out a suicide mission in may, he left behind a chilling message. >> it's the story of the american muhaja telling a tale of fiery rage and bloody revenge. the video released begins with him ripping up his american passport and chewing pieces of it, before setting it on mire. >> i am abu, from america. 22 years old. my background is my father is palestinian, and my mother is italian-american.

>> reporter: after explaining who he is he launches into a 30 minute rant. >> you are the ones that lost the throne. you are under the sun threading to your angles, knees, drowning in your own sweat. it's your fault, not ours. we gave you the message. >> he has a message for america. >> we are coming for you. >> later he is emotional, crying about his mother. mum, i love you mum. stay strong. >> reporter: in another video released this week, he is seen praying. another video shows men loading a truck with explosives and it is fest onned with rebel flags and armoured, protected in front by a bulldozer-like steel plate. the tyres are covered to prevent them being shot out on its way to its target. >> after shouting a few last words, the farewell video begins

its final sequence, showing the truck driving off through a shattered landscape. it cuts to a cluster of buildings in the distance and ends with a massive explosion. juxtaposed with a picture of him cradling a quat. >> one other note, he entered syria through turkey. the fbi is reportedly trying to peace toot the movements a -- together the movements abroad and in the u.s. it shows how tough it is for intelligence officials to peace together this thing when someone is travelling in and out of the u.s., but doing it under the radar. >> creepy video. >> the parents of gaoled journalist peter greste spoke to journalists in nairobi today. >> we passionately and absolutely know that a grave and very serious injustice has taken place in peter's case. and we won't shy away from

professing that position as long as we can. >> their son, peter greste, as well as mohamed fadel fahmy, received seven year sentences, another journalist baher mohamed received a 10 years sentence. all are falsely accused of helping the muslim brotherhood in egypt. al jazeera denies of the charges, condemns the verdict and continue to demand their release. >> edward snowden's asylum in russia is set to expire at midnight tonight the former n.s.a. contractor has been in the country since june. he fled the u.s. after leaking national security documents. he tried to make his way from hong kong to cuba when stranded in moscow. russia granted him temporary asylum. edward snowden has been there a year and his asylum expires. he's a sore point. russian authorities are deciding whether to extend his stay. >> reporter: a year after snoeld

spilled -- edward snowden spilled some of america's biggest secrets and fled to moscow. as recently as may, edward snowden made clear where he'd prefer to be. >> i don't think there's a question i'd like to go home. sf from day one i said i'm doing this to serve my country. he considers him a patriot. edward snowden is a coward. >> amnesty international is out of question. his leaks were explosive, revealing a cope of eavesdropping. the scandal shocked politicians and terrified tech companies. >> there are people who refuse american products because they are not sure of privacy. >> reporter: polls say two-thirds of americans say it's wrong for the government to monitor their communications. congress is considering releasing data communications. >> we have to make important

decisions about how to protect ourselves and sustain our leadership in the world while upholding the civil liberties and privacy applications that ideals require. >> edward snowden considers the mission accomplished. >> my priority is not about myself. it's about making sure that these programs are reformed. >> he says he handed over all the secrets to journalists and is focussed on the future, wherever that might be. >> russian law requires a temporary asylum to be renewed. he'll be allowed to stay until a decision is made. there's little indication that it will not be renewed. >> a series of gas explosions killed 15 in south taiwan. five of them firefighters, more than 200 injured. witnesses said the flames were as high as 30 feet, coming from beneath the streets. the cause of the leaks is not

clear. some blame ruptured pipe lines. power was cut off in the area, macking it tough for firefighters to search for victims who might be buried in the russia. in western india rescue areas spent the day trying to dig out survivors, a village was claimed. 41 were killed, hundreds of missing. chances of survival for anyone trapped are decrease, the the lapped slide came after heavy rain. next the picture of the day. plus, it's illegal to buy and sell. why the marijuana black market is thriving. a ticket to mars - the next generation of rovers that n.a.s.a. plans to send to the red planet.

good evening i'm meteorologi meteorologist kevin corriveau.

the drought monitor has come up with a report. this is from july 27th, look at the dark areas, in california, the drought, the highest level looked at as of july 22nd. 36% of the state of california was under exceptional drought. in under a week it has increased by 20%. as you can see all the way up to the north. this is the worst situation that it has ever been reporting on in the last over 25 years across that area. >> one of the reasons we are seeing a big difference in a week is because of a lock in weather pattern. a ridge of high pressure has been dominating. that has been going on for over a week now. that's why we are seeing a bad increase there. a little towards the east. we are seeing rain for many states out here towards the

mountains. over the next couple of days it will be flooding ride.

>> i have been renting cars to get my delivers made. >> reporter: tonight you have a limo. >> tonight i happen to have a limo. >> reporter: you're not worried about drawing attention or a crowd. he's not worried. he knows... >> selling it in the black market is not legal. >> reporter: we watch as he sells pot on the street corners. >> a couple of minutes. >> reporter: door to door in residential neighbourhoods. >> the climate i visited bought a substantial amount of the gummies, the edible thc. >> reporter: in the university district parking lots. >> the rubble berry. >> reporter: you don't think your business will go away because of legalized pot. >> no, it's not going to change. if anything, it will increase a little. >> if he is the little guys,

this is the corporate giant of marijuana. winter life, with 60 employees working a busy production line and dispatchers taking up to 600 calls a day. a dozen plus drivers. probably as many as 16 or so. >> they drive their own cars like the pizza guys. >> yes. >> where do you go in the city, do you stay in one area? >> always shifting. >> reporter: employeees take animal names. in is jack rabbit. customers have to prove they are 21 and say they get medical benefits from pot. >> it's a variant of a.t.f. >> reporter: buyers tell us there's no medical card required. their advertisement says there is not. >> i like the hybrid. >> reporter: do you get in trouble from the seattle police? >> no, we had no trouble. >> reporter: spd makes it clear selling pot outside the law is a

penalty, but make it just as clear they will not investigate the businesses unless there are complaints. >> i'm not a scholar or a law-maker. >> reporter: but you are what we used to call a drug dealer. >> i suppose. >> reporter: you can browse the weekly delivery. ben is on facebook with a daily menu. >> i sold $400 worth of product. >> reporter: for the small seers and the big business is good. seven figures good. >> we are definitely a profit company. >> reporter: did you sit is the any point and write out a business plan for the business? >> i've been meaning to do that. >> now i have to go and buy pot from a grower. well, n.a.s.a. announced a new mission to mars, a trip, it

says, could put the agency landing a human on the red planet. a rover named "mars 2020" will join one in space "curiosity" landed in 2012. the new rover will carry sophisticated hardware to verify signs of life, and rock samples that will be brought to earth. >> the mars 2020 rover will build on the science from all the activity on mars. it's amazing to thing that "curiosity" determined that mars had an inhabitable violence. the "curiosity" completed a russian year, 687 earth days. there'll be three other spacecraft spent to orbit mars before the 2020 land rover

lands. coming up is the 11 eastern, we look at the growth of suburban poverty across america after decades of urban centers decaying - what the trend has traversed. the biggest concerns home owners have. america's obsession with food. calories, fat. the restaurants putting the most pressure on your waistline. tonight's freeze name from dmz south korea and north koreans released balloons carrying chocolate pies and chocolate filled cake, into the north.

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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 on "america tonight", news of a ceasefire brings hope to gaza amid growing desperation as the people search for any safe haven. also - on borrowed time. new york city's water facing the risk of catastrophic failure. >> the tunnel, if it's under pressure from to collapse, it'd have to be shut. >> reporter: what would happen? >> 50% of the water supply would cease to exist. >> in our series crumbling