people in that school. >> lily garcia, great to have you on "talk to al jazeera ". >> it's fabulous. thank you, ray. >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris. >> israel and gaza agree to a new deal. surveillance over syria, the u.n. begins flights in a move that could paef the way for air strikes over the islamic state group. >> investigations shows no proof that delays in care for veterans let to any deaths.

. >> celebrations in the streets of gaza city, seconds after israelis and palestinians announced a ceasefire agreement. the deal ends 50 days of violence, and which more than 2,000 palestinians were killed. most of them civilians. 69 israelis, three civilians were killed. human tarian aid, materials are expected to arrive through reopened boarder crossings. andrew simmonds has the latest. >> reporter: 50 long and deadly days of war - celebrations to usher in another ceasefire. this one, unlike the others that failed, is meant to stick, bonded by political agreement. while the talking was going on, the fighting was still intense as well. at least six palestinians were killed in israeli air strikes.

and among the palestinian mortar fire landing in israel, police said a civilian was killed, and six others were wounded. first to announce the ceasefire breakthrough was hamas. >> translation: we are here today after long, long days in this battle, considered by the occupation to be the longest and most violent in its history. we are here to declare we achieved victory over the israeli occupation, and we have been able to achieve what all other arab armies failed to do. >> reporter: later came word from the palestinian president who mounted a diplomatic offensive. >> translation: i would like to announce that the palastinian authority accepted the egyptian initiative to agree to a permanent ceasefire in gaza starting from 7:00pm local time.

we hope this will be the beginning of the ending of the suffering of our people, and allowing the much-needed aid to enter. >> reporter: after 7 weeks of fighting the easing of the blockade by israel and egypt should lesson what was the throttling of an economy. while people are happy about agreements such as fishing rights, major issues, such as demands or a seaport and air terminal are put to one side, possibly for a month. this was the most deadly and costly of three gaza wars. could it be over in no one is sure. is hamas able claim victory. not surprisingly israel rejects on assertion. >> now as the dust clears many will ask why is it that today hamas accepted the very same

egyptian framework that it rejected a month ago. ultimately so much bloodshed could have been avoided. >> hamas, in turn, says regev is wrong. some are celebrating. what do most palestinians in gaza thing now? >> rebuilding their lives and the gaza strip are both colossal challenges, even if the ceasefire proves to be a permanent one this time. secretary of state john kerry criss-crossed the region in july trying to hammer out a deal, after the ceasefire was announced. secretary of state john kerry put out a statement saying:

joining me for more on this is professor of mid east studies in u.c.l.a. tell me where i am wrong here, okay. binyamin netanyahu had had enough of this conflict this time around and decided it was time to end it. so without much formal debate on the deal, without a vote being taken, binyamin netanyahu rammed this deal through because he'd had enough of this round of hostilities. where am i wrong? >> you are absolutely right. i was afraid you were going to start off by asking me why now? that's a question i don't think we'll be able to answer for a long time. binyamin netanyahu's approval ratings, by the way, in israel is at a low. people don't like the way he's been dealing with the situation. frankly the israelis never stated a war aim. eventually they came up with the idea of the destruction of the tunnels, that was the best they could come up with. what is going on now is fact that both sides are seeing that

any more success that it could have will be minimal. what they are attempting to do is save face. both declared victory. >> wow, when you think about the dead on both sides of this, that's a heck of a statement to hear you utter there. did israel get anything out of this agreement? i'm thinking militarily, politically. there was opposition to this deal inside israel. hamas, the government presumably moves forward. the crossings will reopen in a limited way. you talked about the tunnels. our understanding during the conflict is that there were 60 cross-border tunnels to be destroyed. i don't think that happened. the fishing zone has been extended. what did israel get out of this deal? >> well, they stopped the conflict, and in part that was important for israel, which had

become an international pariah. they got a lot of tunnels. but you are right, israel really got nothing out of this. they wanted to put demilitarization of the gaza strip on the table - in other words, we'll help rebuild if and only if hamas puts down their weapons. that's been put off with major issues. there's something going on which you alluded to, which is the fact that the pa, the palastinian authority and hamas pretty much decided what their next step will be is to take their case to the united nations and to try to have the united nations resolve it as of the 1957 borders much if the united states uses their veto, they'll dissolve the palastinian authority. they'll say "it's over." if the

israelis want it, let them run the west bank at gaza strip. >> let me think about that for a second. do you think this ceasefire, as it's constructed now, has staying power? >> i think it does. i think both sides have decided that enough is enough. the only gains they could be getting now are incremental gains off of this. hamas won the propaganda battle. there's probably not a jar of prozac left in pharmacists shops in israel either. there's nothing really to gape. israel -- to gain. israel had to postpone the start of the school seeiasoners et cetera et cetera. both can pretend they had a great deal of success. neither side has, it's status quo ante. and the 2012 situation. >> what happens in a month, in a

month's time when the next round of talks are said to begin, and we can put up big issues, we prepared a graphic. what do you foresee in terms of the potential for agreements, disarming hamas, the jordan river valley. what do you see as the likelihood of any new round of talks beginic next month, extending who knows how long, ending in agreement on these key issues. >> on the big issues, of course, there won't be any agreement. hamas will not demilitarize. hamas will not lift of the block of gaza. >> no airport or seaport, forget about that, right. >> those are the issues. hopefully in a month they'll forget about it. here is the important thing, back fields in motion. the entire environment is going change. it's going to change as a result of reconciliation, it will change as a result of what the pa does in terms of going to the

united nations. at that point the israelis will have to choose once again how much they are going to press for these demand, and the united states is going to have to see how important it is to remain a player in the negotiations. >> i don't know exactly the date that upped the u.n. -- under the u.n. general assembly begins, it's a few weeks from now. thank you for your time. israeli police are searching for a new jersey student that disappeared. he was last seen when he went for a hike with friend in the jerusalem forest. he's studying at a jewish religious school in israel. police have launched a massive search. the united states may be laying the ground works for air strikes against the islamic state group in syria. president obama approved the flights to obtain more information on the groups.

is fighters seized a large amount of areas. the u.s. started air strikes to stop them moving forward. >> our strikes have helped iraqi forces push back the terrorists. we have been able to rescue thousands of men, women and children on a mountain. >> libby casey is in washington for us. is this an about-face. the white house long opposed the bashar al-assad regime saying it has to go. if the reports from the a.p. is others are accurate, will the united states in syria begin to work together? >> well, tony, u.s. officials say no, it does not plan to work with the bashar al-assad or consult with it, for that matter. a state department official asked for details, she said "we are not doing and and will not do it through a third party".

the u.s. is considering an air campaign in iraq. the islamic state is not acknowledging a border between iraq and syria. the united states is, it launched strikes near erbil, brig the title to 98. launching air strikes in syria takes the conflict to a different level. >> what does the u.s. government have to consider, even in thinking of working with the bashar al-assad regime. i would acknowledge there's a number of factors on the table. >> one of the big one assist what threat the islamic state or i.s.i.l. poses, both in the middle east and office, perhaps in the united states. president obama addressed this today. >> rooting out a cancer like i.s.i.l. will not be easy or quick. tire ants and murderers before them should -- tier ants and murderers before them should

recognise the hateful vision to no match for the strength and hopes of people who stand toot for security, and freedom, and dignity that is the birth right of every human being. >> not consulting to launch air strikes with bashar al-assad raises questions. how would bashar al-assad react. would yes be open to this? they are getting attacked by i.s.i.s. as well. or will bashar al-assad react with outrage and call up russia and iran, creating a big are problem for the united states. there is the question of working with bashar al-assad. we heard from officials saying a flat-out no. a year ago the u.s. was looking at launching air strikes against bashar al-assad's government because of use of chemical weapons on his own people. yesterday an official with the syrian government cracked open the door for international

consideration to fight the united states. unauthorised actions would be considered acts of aggression. >> you raise the questions, the idea of flying the missions would represent a violation of sovereign air spice. in iraq there was more violence in the country's capital. at least 11 were killed when a car bomb exploded in eastern baghdad, the attack coming a day after dozens were killed in bombings. the islamic state took responsibility for the attacks, one day after vice president joe biden urged leaders to come together to address the threat posed by the group. >> in northern iraq the situation is serious. islamic state fighters continue their advance. forces rescued women and children from a town that's been under siege. zeina khodr has more. the iraqi army is only able to reach this area by air. this territory is in the arms of

the islamic state and other factions, this is a besieged town. the united nations is warning of a possible massacre. there's also a humanitarian crisis in the town. the ricky defence ministry released the video, showing helicopters dropping aid supplies and evacuating people. some 12 thus shia turkmen live in the town that has been under attack by the is group for two months. the u.n. assess the situation is desperate. people have been without electricity, and are running low on food and medical supplies. turkman shi'a are among the many minority groups, who have been forced in large numbers from their homes in the north, finding their way to the camp on the outskirts of erbil. >> translation: i have six children. life is diff. we'd like to be -- difficult. we'd like to be home, that is what we want. >> reporter: the fate of

minorities is uncertainly. people are no longer feeling safe unless among their own communities. this is a transit center where externally displaced families are waiting to be repatriated. they are not going home. they are waiting to be flown to baghdad and other shia areas where they'll feel safe. life is violent. a series of car bombings killed dozens in shia areas. the attacks happen, despite the tight security in and around the city. >> translation: i saw fire erupting near a house, sending up a plume of smoke. it entered our homes. god protect us. only poor people are suffering continued violence. >> and that violence is continuing in sunni areas outside the control of the government. the government has been largely relying on air power to fight the islamic state group. more often than not civilians

are dying. there are many front lines and battles across iraq. with less tan two weeks for a constitutional deadline to form a government, there are concerns that iraq is descending into all-out sectarian violence. coming up on al jazeera america, a new investigation into the hospital at the center of the veteran affairs scandal. sarah palin takes on the ice bucket televisions. it is must-see television.

the veterans' affairs departments says investigators found no proof that delays this care led to death at the phoenix da hospital. the v.a.'s inspector general looked into allegations that 40 veterans died while waiting for care. the scandal exposed other issues. veterans' affairs secretary robert mcdonald said more work needs to be done. >> our strategic plan says it clearly. v.a. is a customer service

organisation. we serve veterans. it's about how well we serve the veterans, ultimately that decides the value of our organization. the truth of matter is we failed in a number of ways, and we need to do better. we have to do better. >> president obama promised veterans that he would take further ages to improve access to healthcare and housing. congress approved $16 million to improve the system. in politics, it's 10 weeks until the congressional midterm elections, when it comes to a g ox p takeover -- g.o.p. takeover, fears are growing. david shuster joins us with more. >> republicans need a net pick up of six seats. six to take control of the u.s. senate and derail the final two years of president obama's term. the polls show that the democratic fire walls are in trouble. in arkansas, mark prior appears

to be slipping in his re-election efforts. if tom cotton pulls out a win in arkansas, and flims the seat. the -- sflips the seat the odds point to a republican senate. like ways in iowa, bruce rayleigh is trailing joanie ernst, a g.o.p. surprise of 2014. north carolina, kay hagan is in the race of her life, dead even against republican challenger tom tilize, speaker of the north carolina house. thanks to outside groups, spemeding is on track -- spending is on track to reach $100 million. for north carolina, that will be a senate record. the latest attack ad hits incumbent hagan. >> senator kay hagan says she wants moderate solutions and fiscal solutions. she voted for trillions in wasteful spending and debt.

>> in virginia, a must-win race. mark warner is seeing his lead narrow. outside democratic groups opened fire an republican challenge ed-gillespie, a former political operative. >> he's everything that is wrong with washington. ed-gillespie - he worked in the white house are and used his connections to be a carpet lobbyist. his firm shielded corrupt companies like enron. >> if gillespie can withstand the attacks making the virginia race election, anelection is coming. a democratic candidate in upstate new york is running an ad focussed on equal pay for women. it features a kids' lemonade stand. >> here is $10. >> for the same work. here is $8 for ou. >> you don't have to be a grown

up to know that is not fair. we have to make sure women get equal pay for equal work and aren't charged more for health care. >> a political add that features a little girl screaming "what", is a winner. berpie sanders in vermont considered a run for the presidential election. he will head to iowa in mid-september. sanders will be in the early caucus state the same time as clinton. he told a yahoo news reporter that a clinton campaign is not something that will stop him running. >> the working class, the middle class of the country are facing enormous problems. we'll end up - i use these words advisedly, an oligarchic society in which a handful of billionaires control the country, and the political life

of this country. i'll do everything i can to prevent that happening. >> sarah palin on the republican side is not talking about oligarchies, but is saying she's considering a presidential run and did something that may boost the like ability factor that is important. pal palin spoke about the als challenge, signed a check and appeared to get caught by surprise after issuing her challenge. watch this. >> i also challenge senator john mccain to... [ screaming ] [ laughs ] >> two things, the screeches and getting hit by the side - i think it was piper palin throwing the water on her head, to her surprise. that has gotten over 330 clicks on youtube. >> it will get to a million plus in no time flat. it was gutteral. >> appealing to the palin fans and don't like her and want her to get hit by a bucket of water.

>> let's see it again. >> cover all the bases. >> i also challenge senator john mccain to... [ screaming ] [ laughs ] >> that was real. i think that was real. >> that felt really authentic. i can't do it. david shuster, today's politics - why would i try. thank you. americans are feeling confident about the future. more confident than they have felt since the great recession started seven years ago. "real money"'s ali velshi joins us. what is driving this? >> i don't know. i'm not quite sure. retailers tell us something is up with the consumer, they have not been performing or shopping. retailers say - that's just making on excuse. i'm hearing it that i wasn't expecting this. consumer confidence jumped to the highest level that it's been

at since october 2007. before the recession, it was about the last month when everything fired on saul cylinders, november/december felt like a recession. by january we were in a recession. we didn't know it, that's what it felt like. this is the fourth straight monthly gape, which is good for consumer spending. it's about two-thirds of the economy. we are puzzled as to why consumers feel this strong. that is the news. >> we received, and some news about home prices. i hope this is good. i have something that is underwater. tell us about that. >> home prices continue to rise. the rate at which they are rising is slowing down. we use the s&p national index of the home prices. up 6.2% in june, compared to june a year ago. >> it's not bad. if you think about the way it used to be.

we were getting 12-13% gapes. prices are going up. not as fast. if you are looking to buy a house, they are affordableful we have mortgage rates around 4%. if you put 20% down and have good credit. if you are underwater. you'd like the 6.2% to by higher. it will get there. >> what else are you working on at the top of the hour? >> i'm working on that, and the other prom i'm doing, which is a -- programme i'm doing is a 10 o'clock. antonio mora has been awol, i'm doing my show, his show at 10 o'clock. if you have another show, i'm here, i have make-up on. >> it's the fat check you're getting. ali velshi, "real money" at 7 and at 10. al jazeera america - great to see you, thank you. it is official, burger king has reached a deal to buy canadian doughnut coffee chain tim horton's. we found out all we wanted to know about tim horton's from ali

yesterday. the nearly $11 billion deal with create the third-largest company. burger king will move its headquarters to canada. that's a bone of cop tension - it will lower taxes. the middle east looks different than it did a few short years ago. next, how everything from the islamic state to the fall of muammar gaddafi is reshaping the region, and how the u.s. has

responded. the islamic state group self-declared caliphate poses a set of problems for the u.s. and its allies. the group has been able to take advantage of the embattled government, syria, iraq, ignoring borders. u.s. policy makesers are forced to reevalues positions in order

to help allies, and protect american interests. a lot there, right. joining me is a digital international editor greg myery, and co-author of "the burning land, lessons from the front lines of a transformed israel-palestinian war." >> i know you have thought about this a lot of the how might president obama gotten more out of foreign policy over the last six here, how could we have un-bushed american's foreign policy. that's a phrase from a colleague. what are your thoughts on this? >> he obviously wept in a different -- went in a different direction. >> yes. >> president bush launched two wards. president obama is seeing -- two wars. >> president obama is seen as restrapped. the u.s. policy - is that the

iss issue or the upheaval that u.s. policy may not dictate the outcome. what could the president have done differently in iraq, in leaping, let's say, on nouri al-maliki to produce a more inclusive government and capable military apparatus to thwart i.s.i.s. >> i am sure if president obama could have a do over and go back to 2011, he may want to have kept u.s. soldiers there as a protective force, to guard against something lying what we are seeing with i.s.i.s. >> wasn't there a forces agreement in place, he was not getting cooperation from nouri al-maliki in coming together on a final agreement. >> that is absolutely true. and again, my point would be that we can talk about kali operating the u.s. response here and there. i'm not sure that would have

solved the larger problems. if you look from libya to pakistan, we are talking about 7, 8, 9 countries, all of which have islamist groups in a revolt. if you had a better outcome from the u.s. in iraq, what about syria, what about afghanistan. what about libya. there's such a brode swath of territory that is going through upheaval. it's not a question of getting a policy right here or there, it's looking at a historic wave of uprisings and revolts we are seeing. >> that's interesting. it begins to sound like it wasn't much or there were limited options for this admission. here is what i'm curious to know from you. had the obama administration s misjudged the tenacity of the islamist movement. groups like i.s.i.s., i.s.i.l., and has it underestimated the dependency of reasonable allies

on america's protection. >> i think it's a good point. i would have thought justice administration - almost everybody who is watching from most people certainly have underestimated the development. president obama said several months ago that i.s.i.s. was the junior varsity. when the u.s. got involved in libya, there wasn't the inspection that the thinking was if muammar gaddafi was gone, things could be sorted out, and libya could have a prosperous stable future. we didn't expect that chaos. the way the syrian civil war has gotten worse and worse and metastasized in terms of the radical groups fighting there. all these mostly sunni-islamist insurgencies have exceeded pretty much everybody's expectations. >> we mentioned at the top that you were the co-author of "burning land, lessons from the front lines of

palestinian-israeli conflict", what did israel get out of this agreement? >> hard to see. this looks like a return to the status quo. the palestinians perhaps did not get much either. i think binyamin netanyahu is going to have a loft of explaining to do. he is presented himself as the man who wouldn't tolerate the status quo. that he would finish the job, he wouldn't allow hamas to make any gains. it's hard to see what israel required. you prol have calm, i -- probably have calm, i wouldn't expect shooting for a year or two. hamas is there, they are still in power. they have not been weakened or destroyed. >> yes, mpr's digital international editor from washington d.c.

thank you. iraqi christians that fled mosul after it was taken over by the islamic state group is staying in jordan. many of those refugees are hoping to settle permanently in the west. >> reporter: these helpless people are among the first iraqi christian refugees to arrive in jordan, all forcibly expelled from their home, receiving death threats in the islamic state group because they are christian. 72 people are living in a church in ayman. most are too afraid to be filmed. this person came here with his pregnant wife, their children and the elderly men and women in their family who were able to get out. what he wants is a basic human right. >> translation: we dream of security, stability and freedom to life like normal human beings, without ipp tolerance, without constraints. we wish to live somewhere where people can relate to each other.

>> everyone has a horrific story, most fled on food when fighters from the islamic state seized control of the city. they say the group stole their homes, cars, shops and jewellery. george stefan, which is not his real name, is afraid to show his face, because he has family members trying to leave iraq. >> we want to leave in any country that accepts us, we have been under threat in iraq since 2003. no one is protecting our rights. we are considered infidels. >> iraq's christians are one of the oldest cifian communities -- christians in the world. now people say it's hard to accept that mosul no longer has a christian presence. jordan agreed to host up to 1,000 iraqi christians they are arriving at shelters across the country set up by the catholic clutch. jordan -- catholic church. jordan is made to be a transit point for those wishing to

settle in other countries. the catholic church is providing food, health care at churches and monasteries. it says it can only do so for a year. for the fewer, yoig. the unsdr, whether it can do something to interfere and register them as refugees, you know, at least to be able for resettlement in the future. >> then there are the internally displaced in iraq. the u.n. refugees agency has been airlifting aid from jordan and neighbours to refugees in the kurdish region. the fighting is leaving hundreds of thousands in iraq homeless, desperate and shattered. the united nations launched an investigation after a helicopter crashed in south sudan, killing three people. it happened beer bin tu, in unity state. the south sudan says rebel forces shot down the chopper. the crew was conducting a

routine cargo mission. a u.n. worker survived and is refusing a medical care at a doctors without borders hop. russian and ukranian leaders met. the kremlin says vladimir putin and ukranian president petro porashenko held a bilateral meeting in belarus. the ukranian leader says a ceasefire plan will be put forward. the russian president says the two leaders discussed the need to end fighting. the meeting took flake. u.s. crepe says it captured -- ukraine says it captured 10 soldiers in an area of intense fighting. interrogated on camera. 10 men ukraine claims are russian paratroopers. the ukranian military says they were on a special commission, 20km from the russian border when captured. the men say they were from a russian city. moscow says the men were patrolling a section. border when they accidently

strayed into ukraine. kiev insists this is the strongest evidence of russia's hand in the ongoing conflict. the respect in the region, the aftermath of fierce fighting in the border town. kiev said an armoured column crossed into ukraine, sparking clashes. four border quart were reportedly killed by fire from two russian attack helicopters. >> in the last 24 hours the battlefield changed rapidly. kiev accuses moscow of helping the separatist to open up a new front in the south of the region. the fight for control of the east has taken a new turn. britain's head of counterterrorism asked for help for people that travelled to or from syria or showing signs of wanting to fight with the islamic state. the agency is asking people to

watch out for and watch for changes. like selling possessions or raising money. the call for public actions comms after the video shows the murder of james foley. there are concerns that the man that filled james foley may have been british. in afghanistan abdullah abdullah is threatening to boycott the ballot. some 8 million afghans cast their ballot in the june election. it has been under international scrutiny. both accusing the other of fraud. the audit will determine whether ashraf ghani or abdullah abdullah will replace hamid karzai. the fooupion wants to establish -- african union wants to establish an african disease, control and detention center. across the region the ebola death toll surpassed the 1400 mark. we have reports health officials fear it could be months before the virus is under complete

control. this doctor was the deputy chief medical officer at the largest hospital. he's now another victim of the virus he's hoping to stop. he was one in three african given an experimental drug, zmapp. it was unable to change him >> did he take zmapp? >> he finished a full course. . >> what else went wrong? >> he had other problems other are than just ebola. >> the liberian president has been visiting the west point neighbourhood. tens of thousands are in quarantine, reliant on food aid. >> you need protection for people. we are really getting collaboration of the community. communities have been quarantined. >> in neighbouring guinea, where

the first cases of the outbreak were detected. many are too afraid to travel. borders are closed, fear is affecting business, especially the export of palm oil. >> today there is no work. business people are not coming to buy any more palm oil, because everybody it afraid of ebola virus. before people used to come here to buy. today, nobody. >> reporter: a number of airlines have stopped flying to affected countries, hoping it will stop the spread of ebola. u.n. says the restrictions are making it difficult to treat the virus us. >> the understandable decision of some airlines to not continue to fly into free down or mon rovia or conna ci has enormous impact on our ability to bring in staff and to bring in goods. so on the one hand yes, we understand it but on the other

hand it's making the job a whole lot harder. >> the u.n. sass the ebola -- says the ebola outbreak is spreading, and to stop it all of those affected need to work together better. with growing fear of the virus and communities becoming isolated. that will be a continuing challenge. >> well, judges in chicago want to know if a ban on gay marriage helps society. roxana saberi has that story and other headlines. >> same-sex marriage bands in indiana and wisconsin are facing a challenge in a federal appeals court in chicago. judges heard arguments and asked lawyers for the states how the bans on same-sex marriage helps society. a judge bristled when an assistant attorney-general from wisconsin pointed to tradition. the judge pointed out it was one tradition to ban blacks and whites from marrying. in detroit utilities crews are on the street shutting off water

to customers who have not paid their bill. the water department launched an aggressive campaign to collect 90 million owed from 90,000 customers. it splashed outrage and protest. the det gave people a month to work out payment plans, that ended yesterday. officials say the response has been positive. >> people have come in, they have entered into payment plans, they are getting on top of their water bills. that's all that we wanted to see happen. >> 15,000 customers had water shut off between april and june. the man in charge of the water treatment planned in toledo ohio is resigning after - three weeks after toxins contaminated the water. a toxic algae blam in lake erie seeped no the water supply the the mayor said he lost confidence and asked him to step down. the cop tam nation left 400,000 in ohio and mich -- contamination left 400,000 in

ohio and michigan without clean tap water for two days. >> police are trying to find out who burglar aced the home of rosa park. the entire complex was gutted where she was living where she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white people. vandals tore out copper wiring and fixtures, but left the tournament untouched. >> in utah, a champion assumo wrestler is the heaviest man. >> okay. >> to cross the lake and back. kelly said she did the 14 mile, 15 hour swim to show anyone can accomplish great things. >> i'm a living example. look at this. you know. i'm 430 pounds. but here i am swimming and running marathons. i think i may have bit off more than i can chew this time. once you are packed into a corner, you have to fight like a

dragon. >> he's an idaho native and a 5-time assumo wrestler, and is the heaviest man to finish a marathon. the next challenge is swim across the english channel. 21 mules. >> look at that man. that's a lot of man. he's my hero if he can do it. you can accomplish big things. >> i think i cap do half a mile. >> that's more than i could. see you later in the programme. coming up on al jazeera america - an aftershock hits california as the clean-up continues from the earthquake. and how this may put a building the new bay brim in jeopardy, and now the n.s.a. keeps tabs on hundreds of billions of records. back in a moment.

a clue what goes on near the border >> al jazeera america presents labor day marathons >> this is not over...

so a powerful aftershock hit california this morning as people continued to clean up from the quake on the weekend, a magnitude 6 hitting near napa. today's hit american canon. jacob ward joins us from an island in the san francisco bay. tell us how the infrastructure is holding up in that area since sunday's quake? >> behind me here is the new san francisco - the oakland bay bridge as it's known, designed to replus this one here. this is the old okay lpd bay bridge replaced because of its vulnerability to earthquakes. i got to go on the bridge and learnt from the engineers that the greatest deer is beep on a half disassembled bridge, what it may do in an earthquake.

>> reporter: disassembling the 78-year-old oakland bay bridge is just as hard, maybe harder, than building a new one. the demolition project, due to take 3-5 years, is a sprint in engineering terms. >> westbound section collapsed... >> a section of the brim collapsed in 1989. engineers are far more worried about its safety now. no one can predict an earthquake. in a shake the old bridge would be terribly dangerous, especially to the new bridge. the old bridge uses a classic design, its central portion is a long span suspended between two towers. those two towers lean in towards one another. the engineers had to use 4- tonne jacks to pull the spans separating them, and cut the span in half.

while we were on the dg the crew -- decc the crews separated a joint, causing the structure to vibrate and sway. >> i feel terrified as i talk, because the whole thing is moving. it's a very scary thing to be obviously on an unsupported bridge like this. >> the disassembly will happen in three phases. first the western most span where it touches treasure island, and the rest of the brain, and timely the part between the mud line and the bottom of the day, requiring underwater demolition experts. until that point san francis cans will hold their breath and hope the bridge that served them for seven decades can remain just a little longer. >> it was terrifying being up there. it turns out the fear of earthquakes is the thing to be afraid of. all the engineers i spoke with respect most frightened about. >> wait a minute, how did the

old bridge not crash right into the new bridge during the quake on sunday? >> well, that was really the million dollar question. let me show you the point they were frightened about. when the engineers woke up at 3:20am. they worried about this spot. it's the closest spot where the old bridge basically grazes the new one. it's only a hands breath apart. if the vibrations had been moving in a north-south - sorry, east-west as opposed to north-south, there would have been terrible damage. we got lucky. the engineers came out, first thing on sunday after the earthquake, did a visual and site inspection on monday and determined the bridge had not moved in a way that damaged the new bridge. it was an instance of us all getting incredible oil lucky again in this quake. >> don't push the luck. time to get out of there. jacob ward for us. appreciate it, thank you. there is new evidence that

the national security agency is sharing information it collects through electronic programs. the intercept reports that it built a google-like search engine to share more than 850 million records. drug force agencies are among having access to the system. coming up, heath officials pushing to regulate e-cigarettes. that's next, and then it's "real money" with ali velshi. >> coming up, maybe vladimir putin doesn't need the west. i'll tell you what the russian president has been doing in the face of sanctions. what to do with the glut of natural gas produced by america's fracking boom. all that and more on "real money".

i think that al jazeera helps connect people in a way they haven't been connected before. it's a new approach to journalism. this is an opportunity for americans to learn something. we need to know what's going on around the world. we need to know what's going on in our back yard and i think al jazeera does just that. forgot to tell you the market for e-cigarettes is booming. there are more than 460 brands out there now. the world health organisation is

concerned and called for regulation. supporters say it helps smokers quit. roxana saberi has more. >> the world health organisation says it's not yet clear how safe or dangerous e-cigarettes are, but they say there are a lot of risks, so it wants governments to ban their use indoors and stop sales to minors. >> what i was hoping for as an e-cigarette. >> and it's catching on. the world health organisation says the use of e-cigarettes among young people doubles in four years. [ speaking foreign language ] . >> reporter:. >> reporter: so now it's calling on deposits to restrict ads, ban sales to minors, and prohibit egrets with flavour ouring. smokers can choose from 8,000 flavours, from apple to tropical. >> i like the taste. it's one of my favourite parts. >> the who's proposals are part of a report finding:

the who is also calling op governments to prohibit smoking e-cigarettes in public indoor spaces and workcompanies, and wants companies to stop claiming that it can help people quit normal cigarettes. >> there's no evidence as to whether e-cigarettes helps smokers quit smoking. >> it's time to quit. >> propon nts of e-cigarettes argue that they are safer than tobacco, because no long-damaging smoke is involved. it relies on heating liquid that contains nicotine. >> it works to try to get more smokers to switch. >> the who declared war on big tobacco. 179 counties agreed to raise

cigarette taxes, end smoking in public place and ban or limit tobacco ads. a similar agreement on e-cigarettes is probably far off, because they are so knew. the who says finding ut whether it causes -- out whether it causes diseases like cancer could take decades. the f.d.a. proposed regulating e-cigarettes and suggested a ban on people under 18. it is open to public comment. i reached out to several companies making e-cigarett e-cigarettesmee-cigarettes. philip morris criticised the report and says it can play an important role for public help. >> appreciate it. thank you. an unusual looking sheep in tasmania. he's never been shorn. he has a shacky appearance. the two farmers that found him think he's covered in 44 pounds of wool.

it's believed to be about six years old. the farmers plan to sheer him to see if they can break the record for the most wool from one anal. mann. that's all of our time. "real money" with ali velshi is next. >> vladimir putin is not backing down, though russia's economy is feeling the pain of sanctions. how the russian president is training his country to be trading independent of the west. >> and ferguson's economic divide. how migration a couple of decades ago set the stage for today's strikes. and taking you down to the louisiana bayou at the center of a natural gas revolution. i'm ali velshi, and this is "real money."