even so, some people still use a version of that pc. it has come to define so many aspects of daily life. that's our show today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. /. >> hi, everyone. this is aljazeera, i'm john seigenthaler in new york. america is sending military advisers to iraq, and how long will they last? rallying, tense in missouri. violence and protesters with no demands after a shooter of an unarmed teen. and why ukraine is saying no, thanks to hundreds of russian trucks, said to be carrying desperately needed food and supplies. underwater, flooding hits

major cities in detroit. why the crumbling infrastructure could be making things worse. plus. >> i went to wine country to keep my options open. >> a look at robyn williams' demons. >> we begin with the growing u.s. military presence in iraq. the pentagon has sent another team of military advisers into that country, but not for combat. mike viqueira has more on that. >> four days into the bombing campaign in kurdistan and trying to repel the islamic state is group, they want to see what kind of effect this has had on the rebel fighters, and the capable of the peshmerga, the armed winning of the kurdistan

republic in iraq. secretary chuck hagel, saying that there would be 70 advisers in addition to the advisers already there. chuck hagel landing at camp pendelton after going to australia, made the announcement to a group of marines there. >> the president has authorized me to send up to 130 new members up to northern iraq, in the erbil area to take a closer look, and give a more in-depth assessment of where we can continue to help the iraqis with what they're doing. and the threats that they are now dealing with. >> .

>> there's an obligation for every administration official when they're talking about a military presence in iraq to say they will not be in a combat role. chuck hagel repeated it several types. first the airstrikes, and then the advisers, and what next? >> well, the pentagon has maintained all along, as how the white house, that these are tactical strikes, not intended to turn the tide of war, and turn back the substantial gains that the islamic state grup has made in iraq, and now what they're trying to do is preserve what space they have afforded the kurds. and the question, john, the question has been all along. if these rebel groups make advances on baghdad, and as of a month ago and continuing on, they have been pressing from the north and west, the question is what would the administration do to try to save baghdad given all

of the turmoil right now? and i think its clear now. if they're willing to take the step to protect erbil, they would certainly be willing to do it when it comes to baghdad. >> mike, thanks, in baghdad, iraq's embattled prime minister's claim to power, and saudi arabia, offered support for his rival and many iraqis just want the political crisis to end. jane has that story. >> reporter: it was a clear message from nurial maliki. he's still commander in chief, and he still directs security forces. >> interpreter: i'm scared al qaeda and the islamic state group might try to -- we must check with the armed men if they are law enforcement or not. there are those who would take advantage and say that the country is in crisis, and it would be their chance to loot and steal.

please be aware of those trying to do bad things. >> while maliki and the supporters maintain that it's his job to keep, most iraqi political leaders have moved o . a chance to put the country back together. >> as you know, kurds, in kurdistan, the talibani, all of us, we did whatever we could to build that new iraq, based on the inclusiveness and power sharing, and we do hope that they will be able to do that. if not, it will be the last chance for iraq. >> the exiled governor of nineveh, his home city of mosul taken over by the islamic state group, says that this is a new page for sunnis.

>> with isis, because of the problems to manage. >> what kind of problems if. >> putting the people in the prison, corruption in the army and the military. don't give any authorities to the progresses. >> in the streets of baghdad, most iraqis were relieved that the political crisis might be over. >> we heard that the new prime minister will provide us with security and stability. and all humanitarian necessities. >> reporter: not a lot to ask, but after a decade of crisis for most iraqis, those things are a dream. with maliki still hanging on, the political deadlock isn't over yesterday. but iraqi politicians say that the nomination of the new prime minister is the best hope in months for iraqi leaders to put their differences aside and make

a common front to prevent this country from falling into deeper crisis. >> one of the iraqi military copters crashed today. the newspaper said that the helicopter had been delivering aid to azidis trapped on mount sinjar. it crashed after refugees tried to climb aboard that chopper. for women international, she joins us in our studio, and this is personal for you, because you're from iraq. give me the reaction of the united states getting involved again. >> on the one hand, it's very personal, and it's very sad to see iraq being deconstructed like this, actually. between the maliki government. and isis controlling one-third of the country. i think that a lot of the united states has done this too little too late in a way.

isis intervention is a crisis not only for iraq, but for the region. if iraq falls apart, the whole region falls apart with it. so it has to intervene to keep the country united. >> wha what do you say to the pe who say, iraq is the iraqi's responsibility. and the sunnis and the shia and the kurds simply haven't been able to get together. why is it america's responsibility? >> i agree that iraq is iraq's responsibility. indeed. the only solution for iraq is if the iraqis are united in the national unity of the country. having said that, a lot of what we're facing right now is not isolated from the u.s. and as a matter of fact, i would argue that it's a product of the u.s. invasion 10 years ago, and the sequences of a lot of u.s. policies that led iraq to what it is today. >> how is the united states responsible? >> to start, it dismantled the

united army, and it resurfaced the creation of ethnic identities. >> they didn't get along before that, right. >> it's an issue that is hundreds of years of issues that have been suppressed at times, and highlighted at times. when i was growing up in iraq for example, it's something that we talked about at our kitchen table, but never ever in our schools or meeting rooms. when america came, they made it a formal issue and part of affirmative action iraqi style. asking people, are you sunni, are you shia, are you occurred, are you christian? and that resurfaced an identity that has been indeed suppressed and indeed sometimes prosecuted but resurfaced in a new way. >> how can those groups get back together? >> ultimately, iraqis have to get together. and this isis expansion is a

wake-up call, and we're seeing the government turn over or change as part of the product of that. but it's by no means a solution. the new prime minister is not necessarily a leader, he's just an alternative to maliki, who has created a lot of marginalization. >> too little, too late. didn't the iraq he's just want the united states out? >> not necessarily. among the iraqis, to help us. though the united states washed it's hands and said i'm leaving, and thank you very much, good-bye. a lot of iraqis opinion has not changed. america will save us, and iraqis need to get into the thought of we can save ourselves, but we need to keep iraq united for the sake of responsibility. >> the united states spent billions of dollars trying to save iraq, and how much more blood, sweat and tears and money

should the united states spend to save that money? >> well, the united states decided not to help iraq, and they made a lot of decisions and they were helping america. i would spend the money differently to indeed help iraq rebuild itself. and create a stabilized country. but you can't isolate from the u.s. taking responsibility in the crisis of iraq at the moment. >> i've been anxious to talk to you since the crisis broke out. but the issue that i want to talk to you is women in iraq and their vulnerability. and not just in irab, but syria as well. how can women and children and the united states and the international community help these people? >> we need to look at women as bellwether for the society. what hans to them impacts the whole society. if you look at isis, one of the first things we did. they have forced marriage among women. and forced virginities, and

circumcision of women, and what they're doing to azidi women, they're taking them as slaves and burying some of them alive, and in particular in the last few months. we have to protect women, because what happens to them, happens to the whole country, they're the first line, and we have to increase women's role in politics. they make it more practical, with the humanitarian crisis, and how we need to get food and schools, and water and electricity back, and they are more likely to make it much more practical than a political game. >> it's good to have you on the program. and we'll talk again. thank you. now, to the tense situation tonight in missouri after two nights of racially charged unrest. thousands in protests over the killing of an unarmed teen. thousands joined al sharpton to call for peace and the name of

the officer in the shooting. tonight, the mayor and the police chief will address the public. usher is in missouri with the latest. usher, what's the latest? >> good evening, john. we're just outside where the meeting got underway. and i popped in for a few moments. the mayor and the police chief are talking to the residents. and there are hundreds that came out to the church to talk about an action plan to talk about a resolution. as you mentioned, over the last few nights, there have been riots and looting in the ferguson area, and some of the businesses have been boarded up and closed for the last few days, and we spoke to a couple of people. and there's very much a lot of anger boiling over. ferguson, in case you don't know, has a very large african community. 2/3 of the population here, 21,000 residents, but the police force is prominently white as

well. we haven't gotten any information about the officer who is involved in the shooting, and that's something that the residents are mad about. they're looking for transparency and investigation into the incident that happened last weekend. and al sharpton talked about it today. >> the local authorities have put themselves in a position, hiding names and not being transparent where people will not trust anything but an objective investigation. it is in the interest of everybody. it is in the interest of bringing the city together that you have a fair and objective investigation. >> and john, the police chief of ferguson today said that he will not release the name of that police officer that was involved in the shooting, as you mentioned. there was some speculation that possibly that name would be released today. and that was not the fact after the police said that they were getting threats against the officers, they decided to withhold the name. and that's something that

reverend sharpton reversed today and what the residents the as soon as possible. >> so i understand clearly that the police say that they won't release the name for how long? >> they said that until a judge compels them to or until charges are filed against that officer in the shooting that the lethal norris was not justified, they don't do so until they have to. >> we heard the st. louis police department, the faa issued flight restriction kilograms over the area. is that because of the press? >> the police department said that that was something that happened on sunday. when the rioting and looting were at the worse. some of their police helicopters have shot multiple times over the ground. and they don't wanted anybody

other than relief planes and aircraft to be flying below 3,000 feet until the situation is calmed down. >> all right, reporting from missouri tonight, thank you very much, ashish. today president obama offered his condolences to michael brown's family. in a statement, he said the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as events unfold, i urge people in ferguson, missouri and across the country: according to one community leader, the anger in the streets has been simmering for quite some time. >> this unfortunately is the result of people not being scene and not being cared for or valued over a long period of time. so when the rage comes to the surface, it roars. and it is kind of out of control here right now.

what you have to realize, john, is that the people who you see out here rioting are not just rioting for michael brown. they're rioting for themselves as well. they feeling that it could have been them that was shot down in the street. and it's only because it was not them that they have this opportunity to manifest their anger in this way, so that they can be heard. so they can be seen. i'm not justifying it, it's a horrible thing. but this is the result of major oppression of a people. >> that's reverend traci blackmon. michael's death is an example of outrage, and it's held across the country. jonathan. >> reporter: john, how often police use lethal force, it's

felt in many places that the police are supposed to protect. >> reporter: from suburban st. louis to new york city, to albuquerque, police accused of using excessive force, often with fatal consequences. >> people are frustrated because they're saying, not again. one of our children executed because he even becomes a man. >> reporter: analysts say that the case in ferguson, missouri, has a fear of many across the country that officers unfairly target blacks. new york city has promised to stop a professional stop and frisk policy that singles out minorities, and in seattle, they have federal monitors watching their police department. >> there are many circumstances where police officers see young men of color and unfortunately treat them in a way that's highly disrespectful.

>> reporter: that resentment sparked riots in ferguson. it's a small city where 2/3 of the population is black, but the police there overwhelmingly pull over black drivers 786% of the time. officers are twice as likely to stop and arrest blacks as they are whites. and yet white people are more likely to have contraband found on them. >> what's playing out here is years and years of deputy's mistreatment by the police department to the residents of ferguson. >> police officers deny charges of racism and ask for patience. >> this is a very complicated investigation as it should be. a man lost his life. and there's a police officer involved in this, and we need to make sure that this investigation is done right. >> it's an investigation that could take months. much of ferguson's police force is white. and the decision not to release the name of the officer who killed michael brown, that's only deepening the mistrust.

>> a russian convoy is heading to ukraine, humanitarian aid or a trojan horse? and plus, robyn williams' addiction, why it's so hard to stop.

>> controversy tonight over a convoy of russian trucks headed to ukraine. russia says they're carrying badly needed humanitarian aid. ukrainians worry that the trucks could be used in a military invasion. the nearly 300 trucks are expected to reach the border tomorrow. ukraine says that it will take the aid but won't let the trucks into the country. they worry that it's a trojan horse, a way to get the military into the country. >> ukraine seems to be getting cold feet regarding this convoy, they feel it's a trojan horse,

and they have serious doubts of whether they will let it across the border into the ukrainian territory. the russians insist that it's humanitarian aid, 2,000 tons of it, including grain, sugar, first aid supplies, power generators, and sleeping bags and that sort of thing. but nato has been saying for some days now that the chances of a russian military invasion of eastern ukraine are getting higher and higher, and nato has been saying that russia may use a humanitarian pretext, some sort of a peace keeping mission to justify that military incursion. so many people in the west, in ukraine, in the eu, very uneasy about this convoy and exactly what it contains. >> that's rory chalands in moscow. in the west, russia is trying to strengthen ties with others, including egypt. meeting with sisi today, he said

that egypt is planning to step up shipments to russia. moscow banned most food in response to sanctions over ukraine. >> egypt is facing protests over its military. human rights watch calls it the worst in history. >> reporter: human rights watch says that what happened last summer was a crime against humanity. they said that it was to protesters, but it was set out to disburse and kill them. on august 1st, egypt fired on protesters. 800 people died in cairo that day, and many others, including

mohammed, were seriously wounded. >> i was shot in the face more than once with bird shot. it hurt but i could handle it. and after that, i was hit by live rounds, bullets, they entered my arm and two in my chest and one in the arm. >> human rights watch called the attack a massacre. >> clearly, the security forces were willing to use considerable force, and even the participants in the dispersal effort were told in advance that the level of force was likely to escalate very quickly. >> the advocacy groups at the local hospitals, they overflowed. >> armed security arrived at the hospital. and began to fire directly into the hospital. >> the protesters were calling for the return of mohamed morsi, and they were holding sit-ins across the country.

>> they were supported by snipers that fired atop nearby government builds. >> the government wants to defend. they said that they were responding to fire by protesters. supporters say that they were trying to destabilize the country. and it's unfair. >> it's a very negative report. biased? not at all. we spoke to 200 witnesses, not simply participants, but people who lived in the neighborhood and saw what happened. >> a team from human rights watch went there on sunday. >> up next, a major weather story, detroit, baltimore and other cities on the east coast, dealing with serious flooding tonight. and it is the closest scientists have ever come to mimicking

human brain functions in the lab. why the discovery could be a game changer. @

>> i'm john seigenthaler in

new york, and coming up, why robyn williams struggled with addiction, and how some struggle with abuse again and again. the latest ceasefire in gaza. where the diplomats disagree over what's needed for a lasting peace. and it's an unexpected site in the waters off of new york city. why the people there should get used to spotting whales. tonight, several major cities dealing with dangerous flooding. storms dump 8 inches of water in the baltimore area, and that prompted the national weather service to declare a flash flood emergency. in some places, water receded almost as fast as it flooded, in i-95, the harbor tunnel had to be closed. parts of the parking lot at dwi airport are underwater, and it's

stale raining tonight in detroit. parts of that city have seen half a foot of rain over the past few days, and there's a concern that detroit's aging infrastructure is making the flooding even worse. >> from the city to the suburbs, when the rain started coming down, it came fast and hard. parts of every major freeway in metro detroit, underwater. >> it's frustrating >> reporter: there was 14 feet of water on some freeways. thousands of drivers were stranded. >> i could be here for a couple of days. you can try going up here if you want, but i would suggest to not drive through six feet of water, it's not going to happen. >> he was lucky, he managed to back out. hundreds of other drivers in the area had to abandon their cars. as much as 6 inches of rain drenched the area, making it the second halviest rainfall in michigan history. straining the resources of a region in need of $30 billion in

sewer upgrades and a bankrupt city, so strapped for cash, this year tried cutting off water service to thousands of residents behind in their bills. the water was so high that the police sent divers to look for submerged vehicles. the flooding has claimed at least one life. one woman died of an apparent cardiac arrest after her vehicle was stranded in 3 feet of water. backed up traffic for miles, and there's still a long road ahead for people like tow truck driver, john medicalville. >> it has been a long day and night. and i'll be glad when this is all over. i'm sure that everyone else will be too. >> after the storms, there are signs that the water is beginning to recede. but the forecasters predict that more rain is on the way, and that's the problem. one local water official was quoted as saying, storms like

this are becoming more common. not only is the area's sur sewer system deteriorate but it's not equipped to handle the kind of year ago. >> we'll have a storm update from meteorologist, kevin corriveau ahead. >> more in the latest truce between israel and gaza. they are negotiating a ceasefire in cairo. >> the two sides are negotiating in cairo, and the officials from the palestinian and the israeli side say that both sides are dug in, and both sides want to make an agreement. and that will lead them not only to stay in cairo, but extend the 72-hour ceasefire. the border crossing, the lifeline for gaza until it was closed about a year and a half ago. and a real focus by hamas on

reopening that border cross being, and the others are also on the table. hamas pushing things like construction materials and rebuilding, because some of the construction material in the past has been used to build tunnels from gaza into israel. and also, expanding the cane ability for gaza fishermen from 3 miles off of the coast to 6 miles off of the coast. and four, exchanging prisoners, kidnapped in the last six weeks, with the remains of an israeli soldier killed in gaza at the beginning of the conflict. as that's going in cairo and gaza, people are trying to have life again, whatever normalcy they can. and we saw them filling the marketplaces today. and people returning to their damaged homes. 100,000 people have either lost

their homes or have extremely damaged homes. and the reconstruction process has not begun. also, the humanitarian crisis, the w.h.o. delivered assistance to nearly one of two of all gazans. as diplomacy continues, as they try to get to a ceasefire, very much the needs of the people of gaza remain very high. >> that's nick schiffrin reporting, and christopher dickey is here, a reporter for the daily beast in washington, and welcome. >> always a pleasure. >> let's talk about the tubeses. the talks have been challenging so far, and how do both sides gent beyond a three-day truce? >> well, i think it's going to be very tough. what you were going to see is the succession of brief truces, and then a new interruption of hamas and bombing by israelis,

and it's going to go on and on. the status quo will be one of kind of low level violence, rather than anything resell ling real peace, and what that's going to mean, the kind of reconstruction that nick was talking about now is going to be slow in coming if it comes at all. and the whole 3-kilometer strip around the israeli border with gaza that was completely leveled in the fighting is going to stay leveled for a long time. it's really going to be hell to live in gaza for anytime in the near future. >> they say that if people had chosen hamas, they wouldn't be in this situation. is there any sign that the palestinians are beginning to loss faith in hamas? >> well, we were writing about it in the daily beast a few days ago.

what we see is the palestinians in hamas don't like hamas as a political administrator. and the way it governs, and they don't like what it does. but they do, in some respects, like the idea of fighting against israel. if you live in a prison, and if you're treated as a prisoner, eventually, the only thing that is important in your life is resistance to the people keeping you in prison. and that's what hamas plays on. that's the emotion that it tries to heighten in the people, and then of course with the israeli surrounding force heightens, and then when you've got the kind of bombing and the shelling that has gone on in the past few weeks, the kind of introduction that has happened. and the enormous displacement we have been citing, the people say we're never going to give up and give in, and that's what hamas exploits, and that's what israel has not been able to break, even

after all of these wars in gaza. >> as you know, the uk has threatened to suspend arms sales to israel if the fighting continues, and could that affect the talks? >> no, i don't think so. these measures will have the same effect as in gaza. when the israelis feel they're under international pressure, and the issues they're talking about are security issues, meaning that the israelis can sleep comfortably at night without having to worry that one the rockets will finally get through from gaza and land on somebody's house, they're not going to respond to the international pressure that britain is talking about, or america has talked about. or the european nations talk about. they're going to say, we're going to do whatever we need to do in order to stay safe. that's the impasse we're at.

the israelis are doing what they need to do to stay safe. and it the gazans are doing what they need to do to not submit. and at the end of the day, there's not much room. >> and also, latin america remained their people from israel. and are we seeing some international support withdrawal from israel? >> there's a question about israel across the board, including the united states, northern there used to be. for a long time, israel was the powerful underdog, if you will. it went up against all of the arab armies in 1967 and defeated them in six days, and it seemed like the most remarkable thing in the world. and now you see israel using enormous force against a quasi militia in a non-state, a strip of land with a couple of

kilometers wide with 1.8 people crammed in there and those people are still fighting back and they're the underdogs in popular opinion. so what israel does has changed inner world opinion over the years, and that's hard for israel to simulate. >> christopher dickey, maybe you'll get up to new york sometime. thank you very much. let's head to washington d.c., and joie chen is it standing by to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour. >> reporter: good evening, john, tonight on the program, linking mind to muscle in what may be a modern mel merkel. he was paralyzed after an accident at the beach. but this young man volunteered for an experimental effort that has him now reaching for the opportunity to help himself, and other paralyzed patients move again. it bypasses a centerpiece, the

human spine, to move directly from the brain to the fingertips. >> i can't really feel my hand extending or grasping, but for me to see my hand open up and close after four years, was just a great feeling and gave me a lot of hope for the future. >> an undepth look over this experimental technology that puts mind over muscle. that's at the top of the hour, and we hope that you'll join us now. >> tributes keep pouring if for robyn williams. his publicist said that the actor has been battling severe depression, and today, sad details about his suicide. jennifer london reports from los angeles. >> reporter: new details into robyn williams' death are emerging and while some may provide some answers as to how the actor and comedian died, here are things that we know.

during a press conference today, the march incounty sheriff said that findings show that he hung himself in his home. and his body was found by a personal assistant. did he leave behind a note? he won't say, were there drugs and alcohol in his system? this is an ongoing investigation, and because of that, they're withholding certain information. there seems to be an enormous out pouring of love for williams. a makeshift memorial continues to grow on his hollywood star on the wake of fame. and the lights will be dimmed tonight to owner the fallen store. and premiers of his movies, good morning, vietnam and mrs. doubt

fire. the dimming of the light, the ultimate hollywood send off. >> robin williams' addiction was no secret. >> it's the voice that goes, just one. someone who has no tolerance for 2. that's not a possibility. >> jay singe, the kilt from global research. joins us tonight. and welcome. >> thank you so much for having me. >> we see this over and over again. people who have gone through treatment, who have gotten clean and sober. sober, end up wrestling with their demons sometimes for the rest of their lives. why? >> it's certainly something, that when we're dealing with something like mood disorders,

and here we're talking about common diagnostic labels such as depression, or bipolar disorders, these are issues that unless one seeks out help or mel intervention, but when it comes to the issue of bipolar or suicide, the individual's diagnoses are twice as likely to commit suicide. and according to the national institute of mental health, only 30 perfection of individuals with that diagnoses are actually receiving even the bare minimum of care that they need to overcome the tragic consequences of this illness. >> how many people, or what percentage of people who are diagnosed end up having substance abuse problems? >> right now, these numbers, we need to do more epidemiological studies to be able to explore

this. but at the end of the day, we know harm toward oneself, or harm to another, so personal violence, but a sinner jiv effect, and what this means, bipolar disorder alone or a substance abuse issue alone, significantly increases the chance of suicide, but when we see them together, it increases the likelihood that we'll see these outcomes. >> how should the mental health community respond to that? >> absolutely. right now in the united states, we refer to a mental health crisis. $2 trillion is being spent every year on healthcare, but a very small minority of it is spent on mental healthcare, or drug addition, or alcohol related. one of the good things about the affordable care act, it's

scheduled to provide 32 million americans who previously did not have access to healthcare for those services, but we still have a major issue when it comes to the derth of the facilities that treat these individuals. >> there's not a scientific question, and there's probably no research on it, blue is there a relationship with people in the entertainment industry, or comedians or actors with bipolar, depression or substance abuse. >> this is a common question, and a lot of people have been asking about and really wondering today. it's something that, the way i always put it, imagine that you and i showed a specific face to the world. maybe this was a specific character that we played, or in the case of mr. williams, a number of different characters, that so many generations have

enjoyed, from the genie in aladdin to mrs. doubt fire, and to be loved by those characters, no one gets to know the self. and to be the celebrity, it has the potential to cause issues when it comes to true acceptance of the self when it's a facade rather than the true person. >> is the true self a mental illness? >> i would say that the true self is simply an individual, without the flaws placed on the pedestal, certainly true in other cultures in the world, celebrities are really placed on a high pedestal. and this is something in mr. williams' case, it humanizes the mood disorders. >> does it make them more vulnerable? >> i think that it does, but at the same time, at the end of the day, this is something to keep

in mind, when we're dealing with something like depression or bipolar disorder, these used to be mental conditions and we thought they were solely psychological, but now we know that there are brain abnormalities here. just as we would say to someone diagnosed with cancer or heart disease, we wouldn't say snap out of it, or you need to stop feeling the way you're feeling. and we can't expect the same also from individuals who have been diagnosed with some of these severe and pervasive mental illnesses. >> dr. james, thank you for helping us understand all of this. >> thank you for your time. >> coming up, like robin williams, wayne brady is considered a master of improvisation. what robin williams meant to him and other young comedians. the most amazing fake brain ever. and whales, why so many

humpbacks are being spotted off of new york city.

>> good evening, i'm meteorologist, kevin corriveau. we showed you the area of detroit with the flooding and all due to this low pressure that has been spinning over the area. leaving these rounds of rain over the region to today. and the rain across detroit has been historic. i want to show you the amounts that we have seen. 4 and a half inches of rain fell yesterday. and the previous record was just a little over 2 inches, and that was in 1964. now, the rains are going across the area and they will begin to start drying out.

but not here across parts of delaware, maryland, and over here towards virginia. what we have seen today has also been quite drastic better these bands of rain have pushed through. specifically in baltimore, we have seen just to the south of baltimore, a little over 7 inches of rain falling. and at bwi airport, 2 inches of rain across that area. so the warnings are out across the area. the flash flood warning are the ones in red. and these over the peninsula as well as into southern new jersey. now, the threat of flooding is going to continue all the way through this evening, as well as into tomorrow. and we're also watching what's happening here in parts of most of new england, all the way through maine. we're looking at flash flooding, and heavy rain is going to be falling. it could be extensive. and we could see totals anywhere

from 6 to 8 inches of rain across the area. and the airports are really suffering. we're looking at there's a in some of the airports up to 2 hours. that's your national weather and news in a minute.

>> science and technology, jake ward is in san francisco with this breakthrough. so how significant, jake. >> this is an amazing thing. what these scientists have done, put a silk and a collagen gel. and they have made this tiny kind of doughnut. and it's amazing. they have delayed a neuron and allowed them to grow there for a couple of months, and they have wound up with studying the brain in miniature.

they continue study things like say the effect of an ied explosion on a soldier, or the effects of concussive hits in a football game without actually having the dead brain to dissect and take out of the head. in this case, they can study it in front of them because of the lab-grown thing, and the researchers were able to hit it with weights, forgiven, and it reacts just the way that animal brains do with a traumatic injury like this. so it's opening up a whole new world of experimentation on the brain. >> if scientists could develop a whole model of the brain this way, what would they do with it. >> that's a great question. until now, there have only been efforts to simulate the brain in software. there's the blue brain, trying to model the brain in software, but to watch the brain physically react live in front of you, it's impossible to do

right now, so if scientists could build a full working model of this kind of thing, they could put a prosthetic implant in there and see how the brain responds, and head off the dangers of that ahead of time. they could put drugs into the brain and see how they move in chemical pact ways. all of this is impossible to do right now, so this is a way of studying the human brain without having to open a human head. >> jake ward in san francisco, and coming up tonight all new on the newscast at 11:00 eastern, our conversation with an american author of palestinian descent. her struggle to fit in a while conflicted about her cultural background and identity. and plus, billions of dollars in retirement accounts going unclaimed. why are so many people forgetting about their 401ks and how you can reclaim your money? those stories tonight at 11:00

eastern. from the waters off of new york city, you can see the statue of liberty, ellis island and increasingly, whales. paul, with the group, gotham whale. he said that whales are beginning to feel at home near the big city. >> one of the things that we would like people to be aware of is that whales are in fact in the area of new york city. this has kind of been the best kept secret until just recently, when it has kind of dawned on folks, i think mainly through a very iconic photograph, that one of our team took of the humpback whale with the empire state building in the background. and that really connected the city to the whales. whales are coming back to new york, primarily because the fish are coming back. we think that the waters of this area are much much cleaner than they were in the past. and that has brought in a

particular fish called menhayden, that the whales are preying on. the whales that we generally see are humpback whales. we have on occasion seen a fin back whale. but that was at the very end of last year, but primarily humpbacks are the ones that rerecord off of the waters of new york city. these whales can be hit by ships, and the entrance of new york harbor is a very busy place. in fact, some of the whales that we have been able to identify have been identified precisely because they do have prop marks on the back of their bodies. whales that we have seen have been in and around boats and seem very much aware of their presence and how to avoid them. so rather than thinking of whale watching only taking place in the northern waters of maine and

massachusetts, or alaska, people now have the opportunity to see these animals in our own backyard here in new york. >> at least 49 whales have been spotted swimming around new york city just this summer. sad news to report tonight. the associated press has reported that legendary actress, lauren bacal has died. she was known for her smoky voice and the look. she starred opposite in humphrey bogart in to have and have not. bogart fell for her on the set. they were married after the film, and they were together until bogart died in 1957. lauren bacal's career spanned seven decades. she won two tonys. lauren bacal was 89 and we'll have much more. thanks for watching, and

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>> on "america tonight", a mission to help, and the desperation that led to disaster. iraq's stranded refugees. a reminder of how difficult it is to bring aid to the needy, and more of a challenge to bring stability to iraq. also tonight - investigation abandoned. weeks after a passenger jet is shot out of the sky over ukraine, what happened to mh17. >> the earth where the wings and engine went down was