>> this this is "al jazeera america." i am richelle carey. u.s. air strikes target islamic state fighters in iraq. president obama said there will be no quick fix in that country. >> there is going to have to be an iraqi solution that america and other countries and allies support. >> israeli airstrikes on gaza push the death toll near 2,000

as palestinian negotiators threaten to leave talks in cairo. keeping the oil flowing despite turmoil in parts of the middle east. we look at why prices at the pump seem to be staying steady at least for now. ukrainian separatists in the other th eastern city of donetsk say they are surrounded and they are ready for a ceasefire. ♪ today, pompom warned americans that the latest u.s. intervention in iraq could be a long term operation. the u.s. military will continue to carry out airstrikes against the islamic state group in northern iraq. the president said it's clear iraqi and kurdish forces need help defending civilians but mr. obama remains adamant about not sending american soldiers back to iraq. >> i have been very clear we are not going to have u.s. combat troops in iraq again, and we are

going to maintain that because we should have learned a let'son from our long and immensely costly incursion in iraq. >> the u.s. military is continuing its humanitarian efforts there as well. more food and water was dropped from the air to thousands of refugees trapped on the mountain last night. let's bring in al jazeera's lisa stark. lisa, is the president reaching out to other world leaders for help in iraq so the u.s. isn't going it alone? >> reporter: he is reaching out to other world leaders, richelle but let me tell you first of all, the president, before i talk about that, the president had a message for americans today really when he made those remarks on the south lawn as he was heading out for his vacation. he said he is not going to put a timetable on this action but he warned the public, it was not just going to be weeks that this could be a long haul. he said the u.s. has already

made success airstrikes and successful humanitarian drops and those further his two goals. one is to protect u.s. personnel and also to protect u.s. facilities. and then his other goal, of course, is to deal with that humanitarian crisis, thousands of people trapped on that mountain in iraq and northern iraq with the islamic state fighters surrounding them at the base of that mountain. and the president today also repeated something that he has said before, that the real solution to this problem is the new inclusive iraqi government. >> the most important timetable that i am focused on right now is the iraqi government getting formed and finalized because in the absence of an iraqi government, it is very hard to get a unified effort by iraqis against isil. we can conduct airstrikes but ultimately, there is not going to be an american military solution to this problem.

>> along with that, the president again reiterating no combat troops on the ground. now to your question about reaching out to allies. the president does want to make this an international effort as you can imagine today from the oval office, before he left for vacation, he did place phone calls boat to the british prime minister and also to the french president. he said he got commitments from both of those world leaders that they will help in the humanitarian aid the humanitarian drops to those folks stuck on the mountain. >> that's good news. the u.s. will get some help with that. it appears, richelle, u.s. on the military side will be doing these strikes by its self, alone, of course both the kurdish forces and iraqi forces are also battling the islamic state on the ground. >> the president is on vacation. how engaged is the president going to try to be while he is on vacation? >> reporter: the president is

in martha's vineyard, his august family vacation, and he wasted no time today, i should say ongoing on have vacation. the president loves to golf. he went out on his golf outing very soon after he arrived on the vineyard. the folks at the whitehouse say, look. the president is going to stay very much engaged with him in martha's vineyard is the national security visor and the deputy national security advisor, no doubt the president will be getting daily if not more often briefings and the president is coming back to washington next sunday for two days of meetings. now, this was planned before the moved in to iraq by u.s. military forces, but no doubt, that will also now be on the agenda when the president comes back to washington. so, we can assure you that he will be engaged while he is on vacation. >> basically, let'sa, the white house is wherever the president is? >> exactly. >> okay. >> it's a very -- it can be very mobile. >> yes. lisa stark, thank you so much. fighters with the islamic state

group crossed into lebanon today. the group exchanged fire with lebanese villagers before crossing back across the border between is government and security forces on the other side of the border earlier. it is unclear if anyone was killed in this fighting. a woman in syria was stoned to death by is fighters. she was put in a hole in the ground. residents gathered and were told by is fighters to stone the woman, convicted of a cleric by adultery. when they refused, is pelted the woman to death before dragging her body away. according to the opposition activists, the stoning occurred in the city of rafa, a stronghold for the islamic state group in syria. join us as we look at how the islamic state group is changing the situation in iraq and the surrounding areas. >> that's tonight at 8 eastern. the other major story developing right now, the clash between israel and hamas is talks between the two collapse.

israeli airstrikes causing post of the damage today. one target, a mosque in the refugee camp in gaza. palestinian authorities say a senior hamas official was killed in the attack. in all, seven people died during israeli airstrikes into gaza today pushing the death toll close to 2000 palestinians. the scene is different innitsis. beaches are crowded and life appears almost no, ma'amal despite the fact that palestinan fighters fired about 30 roblts into israel today. many of them intercepted by the iron dome. for more let's go to jerusalem. jane, the palestinians say that the talks were underway that israel does not resume the negotiations about gaza. any response from israel? >> reporter: no response, richelle, today from the israeli side. essentially what's going to be most important is what happens

tomorrow on sunday. how will the israelis respond to those demands by initially by hamas? that was taken on as an official policy by the palestinian delegation today saying if they don't return tomorrow to the negotiations that they would basically collapse, that would be the very end of these negotiations. they left on friday whenever the israelis left on friday whenever the cease-fire officially ended on friday morning at 8:00 a.m. local time. shortly after that, rocket fire resumed from gaza in to israel and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said they will not negotiate while they are under attack. now, that is the official position. it's not clear yet what could be being done behind closed doors. let's not forget that these are indirect talks, that the egyptians are essentially shuttling between the two sides. but what will be important is whether or not the israelis come back tomorrow. now, on sunday morning, there

will be, as usual, a cabinet meeting for the israeli government and this will be top of the agenda then. so it's likely after that meeting, we will find out if they are going to return to these negotiations. and if they don't, then it looks like these negotiations are over. >> jane, hamas has said that they represent the people and that the palestinian people want them to keep fighting. have you heard anything about that? >> well, hamas have had a bit after boost because of this war. >> doesn't necessarily mean that hamas are particularly policy lar. it's difficult to gauge exactly how hamas would do if there was an election tomorrow in gaza because support for hamas into the for what many would see as resistance to israel doesn't necessarily translate into political support for hamas,

synthesis. so, it's very difficult to really verify any of these claims being made by hamas, how people would support them politically. as it stands right now, gazans are united behind what they see as resistance to israel and behind the rocket attacks quite often be into israel. but, of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are all basically decided and united politically. so while hamas might say these thing things, it's not necessarily clear on the ground in gaza. now, it is clear that the israelis, themselves, have tried very hard to separate the palestinian people, the gazans from hamas. they have worked hard at trying to detact support. leaflet drops not only in gaza but also, there have also been incidents of propagandaa leaflets being dropped in the west bank as well, trying to persuade palestinians that hamas are harming them, that hamas are not the kind of leadership that can bring them peace or bring them any kind of political

settlement. so, it's within the israeli's interest to see that political support for hamas has been reduced. but whether or not that's a reality is not clear yet. >> jane ferguson, live in jerusalem. thank you so much. we talked earlier with hamas's deputy foreign minister, gaza hamad who said negotiations should continue. >> i think they should also solve the bigger problem in gaza, that gaza is under siege and 59 one point, 8 million palestinian people are living in miserable situations, no work, no electricity. this moons people are killing in this war more than 1,800 people, most of them are civilians i think they should stop this and solve the roots of the prop in the situation and occupation. we have to solve the problem.

>> hamad said the problem is israel refuses to budge on the occupation issue. ukrainian separatists in donetsk have said they are ready for a cease-fire. meanwhile, the and germany have rul warned against it. th it claims troops were trying to invade by escorting a humanitarian envoy. mof moscow has denied tsituation. emma hayward has more on the situation. >> reporter: early in the last few hours, the newly appointed leader, only appointed yesterday of the donetsk people's republic said he is willing to offer a cell phoasefire to prevent any f humanitarian disaster unfolding in donetsk which has been shelled now for several days. we have spoken to the craukrain authorities, the anti-tear operation here and they said

they are not taking that offer seriously. but clearly, the ukrainians are gaining ground here in the taking because ukrainian forces have not confirmed that is of importance to the ukrainian forces because it is strategically very important. it's on one of the two main roads betweenlonlon and luhansk. it would seem the ukrainian forces are really trying to dig in their heelses but grind down the separatist fighters here all week, the russians have been conducting military exercises along the border and the ukrainians have come out and said a large convoy of military vehicles, military personnel were making their way to the border. they say they were coming under the pretext of carrying out their humanitarian mission here now, if that indeed was the case, that would set alarm bells ringing around the international community who have warned russia against becoming involved here in the conflict here in eastern ukraine, although russia has

been accused of backing the separatist fighters. russia has come out and said those are a fairy tale. >> joining me with more from the latest of ukraine and the malaysian's flight mh 17, a spokesman for the organization known as osce, so thank you so much. there is at to get to. we appreciate you coming. how big is the humanitarian crisis in ukraine? >> very big and as far as the u.n. estimates there are over 100,000 displaced. >> over over 100ingly,000?

it's a huge problem for ukraine which, don't forget, is going through its own crisis, economic crisis, crisis of, you know, lack of stability. it's a big, big problem. >> okay. we will get to the crash site again. we will dig into that in just a moment. but today, the osce -- osce rather announced the organization is willing to support and facilitate humanitarian efforts in ukraine. what does that mean? >> what that means is so our mandate is to one, we establish facts and report and then the other one is facilitating dialogue and access. so we facilitate the two sides getting together, the ukrainian

government side and the rebel side and talks about deesc lace, about the cease-fire and then we also monitor things. we are out there in the field so if there is anything from roadblocks to occupation of buildings to shelling in civilian areas which by the way, there has been a fair bit in eastern ukraine. we write about it. then it goes out to our 57 participating states including the u.s., by the way, and also to the general public and the media. >> okay. let's talk about the crash site. so the recovery part of what needs to happen in that crash site, that part is effectively over? >> yeah. on wednesday, it got suspended because of shelling in the area, twice in the past few days, we've had a big group of experts out there, basically, they were collecting human remains as well as personal belongings of the passengers, and we were there to help facilitate that to give them access. and, yeah, there was shelling

earlier in the week, and then just more recently, there was shooting that ended up, you know, very close to where the experts were working. >> is there anyone in charge to secure this area because of what -- how important this is? >> well, at that time, and it still is, it's in a rebel-controlled area, the rebels that hold sway over that area. so, there was meant to be a cease-fire. it was agreed upon by the ukrainian side and the rebel side, very cable and negotiated. someone violated that ceasefire. we don't know which side. they know who they are and it effectively put an end, for now at least, the humanitarian effort of that recovery of the crash site. the dush prime minister, the netherlands is leading that effort. >> uh-huh? >> he is the one that announced that. he said basically there was no choice because of the safety factors. >> what does it mean for the families who want answers who want to be able to bury their loved ones? what does it mean for them? >> we can't imagine their pain

and sense of loss and that's one thing we think about a lot, that powers us throughout this whole crisis. >> sure. >> and, you know, first, you had those bodies lying out there for two to three days, exposed to the elements, uncollected. and then they were finally, collected and basically what you have remaining now are human remains, which are very, very difficult to spot in that kind of varied terrain that you find in that part of ukraine. anywhere dogs were deployed. we had about 160 experts, and we, ourselves, were also involved in the effort. you know, we spent long, long days. >> one of the most difficult things you've ever been involved in? >> absolutely. absolutely. we arrived there 24 hours, exactly 24 hours after the plane went down. it was a horrific, horrific scene. bodies still there, personal belongings. it was still smoldering when we arrived. >> michael, thank you for the talk. we appreciate it, and i am sure we will be calling on you again? >> my pleasure. >> thank you very much. it's promising to be a landmark election.

coming up on "al jazeera america," presidential candidates in turkey making their final pitches today by voters who will make history when they head to the polls tomorrow. governments in west africa are closing borders as the death toll from ebola continues to rise. plus, a moment of pride for uganda.

>> john kerry is in myanmar trying to solve mayor time rights. he presented a proposal calling for a freeze until a resolution asking reached. china has been planning to build an oil rig in vietnamese waters. the three nations are part of several south asian. chuck hague is trying to strengthen military ties with india. says the two countries must broaden their partnership by producing military weapons the during his last stay in new delhi he met with the leaders pressing for the dual creation of a new anti-tank missile.

government's in west africa are closing borders in an effort to top the spread of ebola. nearly a thousand people have died from the virus in four countries. >> again e shut off border crossings with liberia and sierra leone today after the world health organization called the outbreak an emergency of international concern. in liberia, riot police had to a couple of demonstrations over the government handling of diseased ebola victims. protesters say the bodies have been lying in the streets for days. he bowl a spreads through direct contact with ebola fluids. liberian officials have ordered the remains to be cremators. protesters say there has been no government action. going on the offense against boka haram fighters. the army attacked boka harral fighters. they hold key roads.

the fighters took those towns earlier this week. ugandan activists held their first gay pride rally since the courts over turned a tough anti-homosexuality ruling last week. the law called for penalty at this for up to life in prison. the constitutional court through it out on a technicality. some wore masks to hide identity. activists warn the fight is not over. uganda's parlorpal plans to reintroduce the bill. it's election day eve. wrapping up where the president will be decided by popular vote. more from jamal with the frontrunner in konya. >> the old faces of turkey are about to witness something new. for the first time, people will be able to directly choose their own president. there are three candidates

running. kurdish lawyer, a young and charismatic politician who is promising to represent the minority communities. polls suggest he stands little chance of winning but his candidacy is some as a brake through for the testament to the peace process that has increased their presence in mainstream politics. and the former head of the corporation of islamic corporati corporation. >> what is at stake is turkey is to belong one more for human rights of democracy this is what is at stake and where people next sunday will vote for. >> he is backed by over a dozen political parties, diverse in nature but united in their opposition to the governing justice and development or ak party and its leader erdowan.

the opposition accuses the third presidential candidate of becoming more and more authoritarian over the years he spent as prime primary. they point to the temporary bans last year of social media sites and the accusations of corruption against top government ministers. but while the main opposition parties have succeeded in uniting behind one candidate, their critics say they fail to convince the public of a united vision for turkey or an alternative to erdowan's ruling party. >> that's what erdowan's campaign team has emphasized while speaking to voters while reminding them of the successes achieved under his premiership. >> is true to the sound of his supporters' jubilation. in the past 12 years, the economy has grown and unemployment reduced, education is now free and several new airports have been built. all of this suggests polls makes him the frontrunner.

>> come sunday, these crowds are hoping there will be just as joyous as they are now. however, the challenge for erdowan if he is indeed to win these elections isn't sure more turks or as many turks are just as happy under his presidency. jamal, elshayl, kony turkey. >> banks have been hit with billions if fines but have they changed their bad behavior? that story just ahead. nearly 60,000 children have been smuggled into the u.s. this year by law. they are entitled to an education. how local schools are cope next. >> my father is in prison right now. i would probably have the same fate. >> he was one of 16 students from cuba who came to miami for college. now, he's one of three who is refusing to go home. ays sits down with the young cuban defector now bidding for

asylum.

welcome back to "al jazeera america." here is a look at your top stories: president obama says the latest u.s. military operation in iraq is just getting started. the president said it's clear iraqi and kurdish forces need help defending civilians from the group known as the islamic state. mr. obama remains adamant about not sending american soles back to iraq. the fragile cease-fire between israel and hamas is over and the two sides wasted little time resuming attacks. itsisi airstrikes caused most of the damage today including the destruction of a morning and the gazan refugee camp. palestinians, authorities say a senior hamas official was killed in the attack. there was less damage in israel. the government of ukraine says it stopped a convoy of russian troops trying to cross the border. rebel leaders say their strong

hold of donetsk has been cut off from the russian border. more on our top show now, u.s. air strikes are targeting islamic state fightners iraq even though president obama says there will be no quick fix in iraq. iraq directingor for the national security council joined us earlier from washington, d.c. >> rejecting the islamic state from iraq is an iraqi problem. only they can really effectively do it. >> said, the islamic state is bigger than iraq and we may have an interest in pursuing them elsewhere in syria and lebanon and jordan. but i think he is absolutely right. in iraq, online the iraqis can fix this. everyone is watching what's going on in the north and the bombings are interesting and necessary and they are the right policy, but the real action still is in baghdad in the government formation. >> oll i have a n. it says iraqis have taken some steps in compliance with the iraqi constitution toward stabilizing the government. now, he says we have to wait and

see. in gaza, there are fears unexploded missiles and shells could cause a risk to civilians. charles stratford spent a day with the bomb squad trying to get them off of the streets. >> the israeli military has hit the gaza strip hard. homes, businesses, infrastructure flattened, things destroyed. the killing could continue after this conflict ends. unexploded bombs, missiles, tank and artillery shells litter vast areas of gaza. h ward walks over a bomb he heads the bomb sdpoemz team. >> we received calls from civilians saying there is a s suspected unexploded device.

this is a small amount of what is hidden out there. he shows us an unexploded artillery shell. he says this, 139 kilo missile was fired from an f-16 jet. we are finding a lot of these, he says. there were 65 ms. members of his team. now there are sixty. two have been killed, two seriously injured doing their job. >> translator: of course, my job is very dangerous, but i am doing my duty for my people. we estimate around 18 to 20,000 tongs of explosives have been used on gaza coming from artillery, tanks, naval bombardments and airstrikes. >> he and his colleagues have no protective clothing. the last time he and his team had any training was by a group of international ordinance experts more than seven years ago. we head to the power station.

workers called hasam saying they had found at least one unexploded tank shell. >> this is one of two that was found in the power station that was hit here last week in israeli airstrikes and tank shelling. hasam says there are more than a thousandtons of unex mroet pleading ordnance they have collected alone. >> workers removed the two shells and left them by the side of the road. >> this one is not dangerous, he says. the other one is live and could explode at any time if not handled with extreme care. charles stratford, al jazeera, gaza. >> the escalation of violence in the middle east action you might expect the price of oil to spike. >> has not happened. in fact, global supplies have actually increased. our mary snow reports. >> as insurgents advanced in the northern kurdish region and the u.s. launched airstrikes, a

cloud of uncertainty hangs over opec's second largest oil producer. some i am production has been afshld. the main fields in the south produce roughly 3 million barrels of oil a day. globally there was more oil on the market last month with an increase of 170,000 barrels per day, the highest level in five months. saudi arabia and libya are the main reasons. some oil fields and ports were re-opened after fighting and strikes shut them down last rikes shut them down last

year. >> russia is another wild card. the latest round of sanctions will put pressure on its oil industry. but it's not clear to what degree it will be affected. russia says it will begin drilling in the arctic with exxon. with so many countries in turmoil at one time can analysts say any sudden cut-off to supply could trigger a sharp reaction in the oil markets. mary snow, al jazeera. bank of america is finalizing a settlement with the u.s. justice department for its role in the

2008 financial crisis. the projected $17 billion deal would be the largest of its kind. patricia sabga has more. >> reporter: another milestone in the justice department's i was to punish wall street for excesses that led to the 2008 financial meltdown. bank of america is reportedly close to paying $17,000,000,000 to settle government charges relating to toxic mortgage-backed securities sold before the housing market collapsed. in july, city group agreed to pay $7,000,000,000 for its role in the sale of risky mortgage-back securities. last year, j.p. morgan chase set the standing record: agree to go shell out $13,000,000,000 to settle state and federal investigations into its mortgage practices. a fine susan ox said was unlikely to curb wall street's winner take all culture. >> there is a culture and a mindset in a lot of places throughout the industry that needs to continue to change and

until we get people thinking different about how they conduct this business, we are still probably not really safe. >> the settlement deals include a mix of fines and consumer relief for struggling homeowners such as writing down mortgage princip principal to reduce monthly payments. while the settlement sums are hefty, not one senior bank excuse me has been hut with a criminal indictment over toxic mortgages. patricia sabga, al jazeera. >> the deal is not final but we are told bank of america will pay about $9,000,000,000 in penalties, the rest would be for a consumer relief. >> means money to reduce mortgage payments and other ways to help struggling homeowners. under current tax law, the estimated 7 billion would be tax deductible for the bank. joining me is hillary kramer, the editor of game changers stock.com. she is nodding her head. thank you so much for coming in. hillary, we appreciate it. $17,000,000,000 seems like a lot of money. when we are talking about these

banks, obviously it's not. how damaging really are these fines? >> well, for bank of america, the second largest bank in the united states, it is still a lot of money because it represents all of the earnings that bank of america has made since 2011. okay. but, how damaging is it? as you have already referred, $9,000,000,000 in the cash settlement will be completely tax deduceductible, another $8,000,000,000 for a consumer relief will go toward allowing homeowners to refinance, reduce principal amount on their mortgage, to change loan terms, but here is the question: how does the bank get that money to the right place? and it's always the middleman when it comes to any business, any kind of settlement, any kind of business at all that end up, you know you know, making them the money rather than the homeowner who is struggling. now, also, bank of america,

which now is also includes countrywide, which bank of america absorbed and merrill lynch, there was $1 trillion of mortgage-backed executes that were issued. those are mortgages that bank of america took and sold out to others and the prices, itself, was so damaging to our country, we lost $14 trillion just evaporated of paper we think around the world, $34 trillion evaporated, the 2000 to 2008 to 2009 period, all because of the crisis and the actions of the banks providing loans to people who really couldn't afford the amount of money they were borrowing. >> it seems the sequences don't somehow really match what the damage really, really was. is it because it's difficult to really track? >> yes. well also, think about $66,000,000,000 has been paid by bank of america in total legal fees to fight all of these

lawsuits. >> so the lawyers are making money off of this? >> first thing i thought when i heard about this settlement, the lawyers have to find a new gig. right? you think about it, they are just so strong and so tough up against, you know, it's like goliath. so, it's very, very difficult t. bank of america had to settle because the next step was going to be criminal and so, the bank of america didn't want to have to be subject to state going in and filing criminal lawsuits. >> but if there is the will to make that happen, if there is the will for criminal charges, couldn't there have been criminal charges if there was the will? >> yes, but this civil, this civil case had to be taken care of first. >> uh-huh? >> in many ways, this was also negotiation. brian monahan, the ceo of bank of america had a phone conversation with holder, the attorney general. >> yes. >> that produced this

settlement. he said, no. it can't be 10 billion. it can't be 12 billion, the 13 billion that j.p. morgan paid. $17,000,000,000 or else. new jersey was going to file those criminal charges. >> okay. real quick before i let you go: have these banks changed any of these practices that did so much damage to the country? >> yes. the practices have changed but now, no one can get mortgages anymore. as a matter of fact, when you hear about the housing market improving, much of the people buying are private equity investors who have come in to buy these homes and rent them out. so what we need is we need a happy medium. right now, we have the potential -- the pendulum has swung the other way. >> seems like they always figure out a way. hilary camee thank you for helping us understand this. we appreciate it. when kids start heading back to school, something will be different about the american classroom. for the first time, according to the "new york times," u.s. public schools are expected to have more minority students than white students. white students are still projected to make up the largest

single racial group at just under 50%, but the national center for education statistics says the total number of non-white students will outnumber white students for the first time this school year. this year, many districts around the country are anticipating a possible surge of undocumented children. as courtney keely explains, preparing for the new students has become a waiting game. >> nearly 60,000 children have been smuggled into the u.s. in 2014 and more arrive each day. >> the violence over there doesn't allow us to go to school. >> that's why we are coming over here. >> whether they will be allowed to stay remains to be seen. but one thing is certain: according to federal law, all children in the u.s. are entitled today an education even undo you think children. >> that's creating new chal inc.'s. many of these children are here alone. finding them housing is a top concern. texas, for example, in carnes city about 100 miles south of austin, a detention center is

being informed into a residence that will include a school. there are also more than 30,000 children who are released to family and sponsors across the country. states that have received the most children are texas, new york, florida, california, virginia and maryland. those children will be required to enroll in public schools. classes are starting within the next three weeks. it's unclear if schools will be ready. >> at this point, we have received very little information from the federal government stments. >> one-of the biggest questions: how many undo you think students will enroll in each school? >> i am not sure any superintendent could tell you whether they are talking about 10 new students, 100, a thousand or more than that. >> knowing that number is key because that determines how much additional funding the school gets from the state. it also determines faculty and staff levels. schools may be able to get reimbursed for the extra costs but that's also complicated because federal law also makes it difficult to track the

students' immigration status. >> until we get a firmer game plan from the if he hfederal got in terms of how this is going to happen, we as a state have to prepare for every scenario. >> it's a lot of new adjustments for the school districts and their new students who still face deportation. courtney keely, al jazeera. >> a follow-up to a story we told you about earlier this year, for the first time in five years, a group of cubeban students were granted visas to study. our. >> two months ago, san >> two months ago, san miguel stayed? >> the main reason i stayed was my life is in danger. >> the 20-year-old cubaan student has been living in a small roof after refusing to return home. >> my father is in prison right now. i would patrol have the same

fate. >> last year, molina says he was thrown out of medical school because of his opposition to the castro regime. this past january, he was one of 17 students who were selected to participate at miami dade college. the students were hand picked to attend the 6-month program. when it was time to return to the island, he told a member of the foundation, he was defecting because of the political persecution he faced back home. he said the foundation's reaction surprised him. >> i didn't expect them to take away the keys to my apartment. they took away my cell phone. they cut off communication. it was all very quick. >> the organization basically told him he was on his own. the complexity of his immigration status also pretty wells him from obtaining a work permit for at least another six months. >> how have you been able to make ends meet over the last two months? >> one day, someone told me that they would help me out with rent if ipated their house. another day, a woman brought me

food. >> molina says he feels abandoned by the organization, the human rights foundation in cuba. >> i was disappointed. i believed in the foundation. in cuba, it was a great institution. the opposition always knew they would back us up. >> miami dade college confirmed three students defected to the u.s. the foundation for human rights in cuba told al jazeera that all participants made a pledge to return to cuba at the end of their courses. these students also entered an agreement that if this pledge was broken, they would be responsible to reimburse all funds spent on their studies. >> i don't have anyone in this country. no family. all i have is the desire to get ahead, study medicine, which is what i wanted to do in cuba. >> and he says he plans on paying back every penny. christina puigue, al jazeera, miami. >> one down, one to go. still ahead on "al jazeera america," hawaii dodges a budget with tropical storm iselle.

but will they be as lucky with hurricane julio? a little girl swept out into the indian ocean, a little girl is reunited with her mother.

america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now the back to back hurricanes that could have slapped into hawaii have turned out to be far less menacing than expected. iselle was a topical storm by landfall and julio could miss the islands all together. iselle did leave more than 30,000 without power. there was also flash flooding, uprooting of trees and property damage. iselle was the first tropical storm to hit hawaii in 22 years. rebecca is here with more on the weather prove that hawaii is really a paradise. >> it is gorgeous.

they get rain quite a bit and wind but these are packing a punch as we see what's left over from iselle, now tracking quite a bit of rainfall over the island of kuaui diminishing. the wider view of satellite shows after one round of rainfall, kuaui has reported its highest totals of anywhere from six to eight inches of rainfall in 24 hours. and there were not that high of totals in the other islands at this point. now, as we watch julio, it looks like it's barreling towards the islands but it's going north. it has weaken -- it will weaken through a category 1. it will continue its track out into the pacific and we are going to expect the biggest impact to be the waves, not necessarily a bad thing. a lot of folks like to surf here in hawaii. but what the problem will be is just it's going to be such a

rough surf. at times, unpredictable with different currents happening around each individual island. there is a high surf advisory in effect for the islands there tonight and tomorrow. also, quite a few quite a bit coming into the carolinas. we have quite a bit of flooding, flash flood watches in effect especially for southern and northern carolina tonight and tomorrow. birmingham is reporting an inch. these have been showers and thunderstorms driven by the day time heating so it's difficult to say exactly where we are going to have the very heavy rain. it may not necessarily fall right over the gauges that we use to measure rainfall. >> can throw a wrench into things. so while some folks may be having one of the wettest summers in a long time,sories just not reporting their gauge. but look at this, columbia and columbia south carolina, 3.16 inches of rainfall in 24 hours, and we are going to get some very heavy rain amounts as though storms continue overnight into tomorrow. >> we will have to keep an eye

on them for sure. rebecca, thank you very much. it's been 10 years since the indian ocean tsunami a day after christmas, a massive earthquake triggered a tsunami that would kill 230 ,000 people. 10 years later, a discovery led to an emotional reunion in indonesia. >> just four years old when she was swept away by a massive wave, an earthquake followed by a tsunami hit the island flooding her family's home and pulling her and her brother out to sea. her parents searched for months hoping to find their children but without success. both believed dead. but a fisherman found her, nicknamed winnie drifting in the indian ocean, more than sixty miles south of her home. >> the only thing i can remember is we were chatting as we rested on a board. after awhile, people came to help and the next thing i, i was on land but my brother was still

on the board. >> the fishermen rescued the judge girl and brought her to his mother who has raised her. her uncle spotted a young girl who looked like his niece and found out she had been rescued after tsunami. >> led to a family e union unlike any other. winnie reunited with her parents 10 years after she was lost. >> it's a mother's instinct and when i saw winnie, i knew she was the one. we also saw her photos from childhood when we picked her up. >> that's her. >> it was an emotional moment filled with hugs and tears. thanks and praise for the woman who has raised their child for all of these years. >> the foster family has allowed us to take her back but we also want to take her foster grandmother to live with us. as a mother, i know how that feels. they have been living together for 10 years, and i can't just separate them.

i need to care about how they feel. so we cannot split them immediately. >> winnie's parents still believe that there their son is alive and out there, too. the hope that may not be too far-fetched. >> a story you won't soon forget. up in connection on "al jazeera america," the strictest curfew law in the country goes into effect. baltimore residents, what they think about that. an ambitious effort by new york city's new mayor to make the streets safer.

baltimore is enforcing the strictest curfew law in the country. this curfew requires children 13 and under to be indoors by 9:00 p.m. older teens can stay up until 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on weeks during the summer. a curfew law has been on the books for 20 years but under this new law, parents and guardians of repeat offenders will be fined instead of jailed. >> the goal is to get those

young people and their families connected with the help that they need so they are not out unsupervised after curfew. >> some residents are complaining the law goes too far. the city plans to expand centers for curfew violators will be tak taken. there is a new initiative designed to reduce accidents involving pedestrians. a look at the vision zero plan. >> right here. this is where seth was hit. >> this was where he died? >> he died right here. yeah. >> i'm sorry. >> the corner 9th avenue and 53rd street brings a flood of emotion for deborah and harold khan. their son was run over by a city bus that was going too fast in 2009. they helped form the group families for safe streets seth was my only child. you know, he was my whole life. we decided that we wanted to help other people and create a city where this wouldn't happen

to other people and we could do something about it. >> the their group is behind the efforts of the mayor who recently signed legislation aiming to eliminate all pedestrian deaths. last year, 286 people were killed in traffic accidents in the city. >> the city as big and complicated as this, it's notedes. we did not come here, any of us, to do easy things. we came here to do things that would actually help people. >> among the package of new laws is a crackdown on bad taxi drivers and reducing the city's default speed limit to 40 kilometers an hour. >> speed limits are a big part of improving road safety. it makes sense, the faster a car goes, the more damage it's likely to cause. one study found by reducing speed limits about 15 kilometers an hour would substantially reduce the number of deaths. >> the new laws have the support of city cyclists who know the hazards of interacting with traffic all too well.

cyclists and blogger do you go gordon says raising public awareness of the new laws will be a big part of improving safety. >> we have seen real improvement since 2007, 2008 in the number of cyclists getting injured. partially because of better bike lanes we have all over the place, separated infrastructure, partially because there are more people out. driver are more used to seeing lots of cyclists and are more careful around them. >> sometimes, a pedest tree will wave me on. it's their right to cross first. >> motorists will see more police officers giving traffic tickets to enforce new laws. the khans say it's a small price to pay for safer streets kristin saloomey, al jazeera, new york. >> thank you for joining us. ism richelle carey in new york. my, thomas drayton will be back with another hour of news at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 p.m. pacific. stay tuned. "fault lines," the fight for narrative families starts right now. check out our website,

aljazeera.com for news at any time. thank you so much for your time. do keep it here. ♪ ♪ >> she's known as baby veronica, and she was at the center of a high-profile custody battle. her adoptive parents are white; her father is native american and has been fighting for her alongside his tribe. the case was tried in the united states supreme court. at the heart of the case is the indian child welfare act, or icwa, which mandates that every effort be made to keep native children with their relatives or tribe. congress passed icwa in 1978 in response to an alarmingly high number of native children being removed from their homes and