holders. if they are too high, use their influence to call for change. if companies like burger king don't do that, good riddance. you won't see me in line any time soon. >> hi, everyone, this is aljazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler in new york. celebration in gaza. an open-ended ceasefire underway. looking at the human toll of the war on both sides. an american dies in syria fighting for the islamic state group. railway danger crashes involving highly flammable crude oil. do new safety regulations go far enough? and plus, why the presidential election in afghanistan is in serious jeopardy. we talked to a reporter

expelled from the country while he was covering the election. we begin tonight with reaction to the ceasefire in gaza. celebrations on the streets of gaza city. israel and hamas announced an open ended truce. it ends seven weeks of fighting, at least for now. in those 50 days, 220 people were killed, the majority of them, palestinians, and israel will releas ease up on gaza, ant leaves many of the larger issues unresolved. andrew simmons has more from gaz. >> reporter: 50 long, deadly days of war, and now this. celebration to usher in another ceasefire, but this one, unlike the others that failed, is

meant to stick indefinitely, 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 airstrikes. and among the palestinian fight in israel, a civilian was killed, and six others wounded. first to announce the ceasefire break through was hamas. >> interpreter: we are here today, after long, long days in this battle, considered by the occupation to be the longest and most violent battle in its history. we are here today to declare that we achieved victory over the israeli occupation, and we have been able to achieve what all other arab armies failed to do. >> the word came from the

palestinian president, who had mounted a diplomatic offensive. >> i would like to announce that the palestinian authority accepted the egyptian initiative to agree to a permanent ceasefire in gaza, starting at 7 p.m. local time. and we hope this will be the beginning of the ending of the suffering of our people and allowing the much-needed aid to enter. >> after seven weeks of fighting, the easing of the blockade for palestinians in gaza. while people are happy about the agreement such as extended fishing rights for gazans, many of the issues, such as a seaport, are being put to one side, possibly for a month. this was the most deadly and costly of three gaza wars. could it already be over? no one can be sure. and is hamas really able to claim victory?

not surprisingly, israel rejects such an assertion. >> now as the dust will begin to clear, many people will be asking, 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. >> he says that he's wrong. though some are celebrating, what do most palestinians in gaza think now? rebuilding their lives, and rebuilding the gaza strip are both colossal challenges, even if the ceasefire is a permanent one this time. andrew simmons, aljazeera, gaza city. >> top u.s. officials are praising the ceasefire agreement. and libby casey joins us from washington with more. >> john, secretary of state, john kerry, praised this, and says that he ex stresses hope

that the ceasefire will be sustainable as well as durable, but he says there are challenges ahead. the u.s. officials say that it's part of the calm that's expected to ensue with the ceasefire, we should see the delivery of humanitarian aid to gaza, and part of the construction and dealing with the rubble that has been left in the last week. officials say that while they do consider hamas to be a terrorist group, the state department officials hope to work with the palestinian people to rebuild, john. >> and libby, they call this an open-ended agreement. but what does the obama administration say about the prospects for long-term peace? >> they say that there's still time within the obama presidency to see progress made. jen saki said that there's still hope for a lasting peace. >> the only sustainable path forward for the people of

israel and the palestinian people is a two-state people, and that would require a process, and are we doing that no? no, we're not, it would require steps made by the israeli and felony people. but we're not closing the door to that in the future, given the achievement to have peace in the region. >> she said that secretary kerry has been involved in recent weeks, having daily conversations with major players, but he was not present in egypt as the deal was announced, and in fact, he has been on vacation in recent days, so a you see there, the secretary of state sidelined for what has been going on recently, john. >> all right, libby casey in washington, and libby t. thank you. the police stepping up their search for an american student who disappeared on friday. he was seen going for a hike with a friend in the jerusalem

forest. he has been studying in israel. and the police have launched a massive search there. tonight, we're learning about a california man who died fighting for the islamic state group in syria. and jennifer london has more on that. >> john, we have confirmed that a 33-year-old american, douglas arthur mccain, was killed in a firefight. and we don't know why he left his life here in california to fight in syria's ongoing civil war. at one point, douglas mccain left to go to syria, and they said that he died this. if this is to be believed, the one time student liked rap music and was a chicago bulls fan, but mccain, 33, became radicalized after converting to islam.

this showed flag of the state brown group. and on twitter, the retweet, pray for isis, the acronym for islamic state group. he's not the first american killed fighting in syria. they confirmed the death of an american who joined the front. mohammed carried out an attack, and he was from florida. not just the united states government, but many western governments are concerned about these foreign fighters leaving their shores, going over there, gueck radicalized training and coming back. >> concerns that are growing. >> living in the west, [ unintelligible ]. >> for now, most fighters from the islamic state group come from iraq and syria, but some analysts say that videos showing violent acts, including the recent beheading of an

american journalist, may win more recruits. later this afternoon, the state department released a statement saying that the government uses every tool to disrupt and dissuade every individual for violent gee hide. and the obama administration said that it's working on tracking those who do return. >> all right, jennifer london, and thank you, and at the half hour, the american prisoner who the islamic state group set free, who is she and why is the islamic state group so interested in her? is the u.s. considering possible airstrikes in syria? there are reports that the pentagon is laying groundwork for that attack. and the aircraft could be set to collect data on islamic state group operations there, and so far, american strikes have only targeted the group in iraq. the fighters have taken over large areas in both countries this year, and the

assets include major cities, and airplane fields. and president obama issued another strong message today to the islamic state group. >> our message to anyone who harms our people is simple. america does not forget, our reach is long, we are patient, justice will be done, we have proved time and time again, we will do what is necessary to capture those who harm americans, to go after those who harm americans, and we will continue to take direct action where needed to protect our people. and to defend our homeland. >> the senior associate editor at the washington post. she's here to talk about iraq and the efforts to form a new government there. welcome, and you just interviewed the former minister of iraq, and is there hope of an inclusive government in that

country? >> well, certainly the government that they're forming is far more hopeful than maliki's government was. >> why? >> well, the day after the u.s. troops left in 2009, maliki, for example, put out a death warrant against his own vice president. he alienated the sunnis, which is one of the biggest problems we have in iraq now. the fact that the sunnis in a way are attracted to isis, the islamic state. and so wanted hope is that this new prime minister will be able to attract the kurds, the sunnis and the shiites and form a real government. >> so what role do you think that the kurds could may in this new government? >> the kurds right now are playing a very important role, fighting off isis, and last week, they actually liberated the dam at mosul, with the help of the iraqi special forces >> so that means they're working together. >> yes, which is a very good sign.

and they have been talking about the kurds withdrawing from iraq and becoming an independent state. and he said we're going to put that on mold. >> what do you think the risk is, the islamic state. what's the risk for the united states with the islamic state? >> i think it's an enormous risk, because you can't have a group rampaging around the middle east, that cuts off people's heads, like jim foley, the journalist. and he said women were cutting off their arms so that children could drink the blood. i mean its just horrific. >> as he said in the article, the u.s. and other countries need to help night the islamic state, and what does that mean. >> i think what it means, he said to me that they're not asking for troops on the ground. they believe that they can fight if they get armed, but today, the leader of the kurds said that iran has given some arms to the kurds today. >> i know you spend a lot of your life trying to analyze the

middle east. i mean, how is the islamic state and this move. different from others that you have watched there? >> i think that's a good question, but i think it's really amazing. when you have a group that is actually denounced by al qaeda, you know that you've gone a long way. i was having lunch with the ambassador today, the u.n. ambassador, and he said i've never seen anything like it. people are so horrified, what they have done, the fact that they have driven the group up into the mountains where they died, the women and the children, and the united states helped to free them and the kurds helped to free them. >> but what has created this group, in your opinion? why has this group become so powerful? >> i don't think that they have become so powerful but they were driven into sirria, and they became powerful in syria,

which is a free-for-all, since we didn't arm the syrian opposition, as many people believed we should have. and them they went back into iraq, and it was a huge surprise when they started taking towns in northern iraq. >> i think that the fear in the west is not just the possible attack by the islamic state, but also, that it's drawing recruits from people in california or briton, and what is the attraction? >> well, i really can't imagine. i think it's a horrifying group, and i think one of the great -- fears is that they could destabilize a country like jordan. >> if you cut them off from iraq, they naturally head towards jordan and what you think could happen. >> they have declared that they want to destabilize the

countries around them. and i think for instance jordan is very important to the region. and there's a youtube video of them wandering around at the jordanian exit and saying, this is ours and so forth, and i think it's a great danger. >> does the foreign minister have any ideas of how to stop isis? >> yes, i mean his ideas as he expressed that they believe that the peshmerga, the kurdish fighters, and maybe the iraqi forces can fight. they're not asking for troops at this point, but asking to be armed and asking for the airstrikes that the americans have conducted. and then of course you know that the president has been talking about expanding those airstrikes into syria. which is a necessary idea. how can you have isis up in syria, but you're only bombing them in iraq and then they're running to syria. >> it's a good question. and great to have you. >> thank you, john.

>> coming up next, the probe somebody widening into whether va hospitals manipulated records with long delays for veterans, and highly flammable crude oil on extra long trains. what the government is proposing to keep communities safe.

>> more now on the agreement between israel and gaza. the peace envoy, tony blair, congratulated egypt's government on the negotiations, and ban ki-moon also offered congratulations, but his congratulations came with advice and a warning. >> any peace effort that does not tackle the root causes of the crisis will do little more than set the stage for the next

cycle of violence. gaza must be brought back under one legitimate palestinian government. and the plo commitments, and the blockade of gaza must end. and israel's legitimate security concerns must be addressed. the united nations stands ready to address the structural factors of conflict between israel and gaza, and we hope that the ceasefire will act as a prelude to political process as the only way of achieving a peace, and the two states is the only viable option. >> the assistant editor of foreign policy magazine, and el is, welcome, who wins and who loses here? >> i don't think there's a winner of this now seven-week conflict. hamas has not gotten any of its core objectives in the agreement that we see today.

we see limited lifting of the blockade and the travel restrictions and the entry of goods into the gaza strip. but this agreement resembles the 2012 agreement in broad strokes, and not much has really changed here. israel hasn't really -- >> i was just going to ask you, is the same agreement that israel contends that hamas turned down just a short time ago? >> it is very similar, yes, absolutely. and i think it will be easier on both sides now, the incredible war with this conflict, and the destruction that we have seen is really unprecedented compared to recent rounds of fighting in the gaza strip. and the agreement today is similar to the 2012 agreement. and broadly speaking, to earlier proposals, so really what we're seeing here is the backing away from the fighting as both sides. i think finally now, they would

like to deescalate this. >> there was a suggestion recently in a number of stories that indicated that israel went after in recent days, hamas offices, in neighborhoods of a higher class, higher economic socioeconomic level, and that this drove hamas to make a decision, and the question was raised, why it didn't do it sooner, and the others, who lived in different parts of gaza, weren't able to survive this. what do you think about that? >> well, we have certainly seen a shift in the israeli tactics. israel has been going after as you mentioned the large apartment buildings in the gaza strip, and has in fact leveled one of them. in previous attacks on similar

buildings, the israel forces have been using pinpoint strikes, but now instead they're using much much larger munitions, and some of the buildings that they have attacked have collapsed. we don't know because of the nature of the internal hamas politics, the degree to which this new tactic affected the hamas decision to sign a ceasefire agreement. but we have certainly seen israel increase the pressure, by employing attacks, and attacking the middle class in gaza, which has relatively speaking been able to avoid the violence in the past few weeks. >> what does this mean to the habas? the palestinian authority. >> habas has been sidelines, and he has seen his popularity waned. and frankly, he has not been calling the shots, and he has been mostly marginalized. but hamas has not been able to

state their goals in the conflict. and habas has been able to deliver announce. how he is going to move forward in the coming days. the expectation is that he's going to pursue a peace process and broker a peace process, and that's not something that israel would not like to see and has not welcomed, and if habas is able to deliver some results, even if they're minor, he might be able to reinsert himself in the center of policy. >> has he won the pr warp here? >> . >> that's a difficult question. they are certainly claiming loudly that they won this war. and in many ways, we saw the international community react to destruction in gaza in a way that they perhaps haven't in the past.

we saw incredibly outrage at the scenes of introduction in gaza, that contradicted i think perhaps to israel's decision to not launch a wider war in gaza. but they haven't been able to secure their stated objectives, at the end of the day, i think it's a difficult argument for them to be making. >> elias, thank you very much. the investigation into the crimes at the veteran's hospitals has grown. the fbi will be looking at obstruction of justice at several va hospitals, including falsifying records to delays in care. it comes after they said they found no link between delayed care and any deaths at the phoenix va hospital.

president obama talking to veterans laid out plans for veterans services, including medical, medical health, and accessibility in transitioning back to civilian life, and economic assistance. >> the bond between the armed forces and aurescens has to be a sacred trust. and for me, my administration, and upholding our trust is a moral obligation. >> the president has used faxes to overhaul the va. transporting oil by rail, the federal government has tackled that after growing safety concerns. the number of freight trains carrying highly flammable crude oil has risen recently. >> fred is a man on a mission. a rail safety consult at as he and others have been sounding the alarm about freight trains carrying crude oil.

they can stretch to 100 cars long, and when there's a problem, this can happen. >> is there an acceptable level? >> there has been a huge spike in oil exploration in the u.s., mainly from back not crude in north carolina. this type of crude is more flammable than other types of crude, and while the shipments are skyrocketed, and so have the accidented. this happened in november, 2,000 people fled. and a month earlier, it happened in alabama. and there was a near disaster in philadelphia. and then in lynchburg. and most tragically, in canada last summer, 47 people died when a runaway crude oil train derailed in a tiny town in quebec. there's widespread agreement that safety standards have not

kept pace. so the government is drawing up what it calls comprehensive new safety rules. among the proposals, stronger tank cars, better braking systems, and slower speeds for trains with older model cars, and safer routeing and better notifications to states on shipment. and safety advocates say that this does not go far enough, it would take two years. >> i call them pepsi cans on wheels. they are so thin skinned, and the national transportation safety board has been issuing alarms about them for 20 years. >> there's no notification to local fire and police as the trains roll through. the secrecy is necessary for safety. and safety groups disagree. >> there's not one citizen in the country that has been doled

the routing. >> he points out that all shipments arrive safely, but even when a mishap can turn disastrous, they are all wrangling over new standards, and how safe issive enough? lisa star, aljazeera, washington. >> and coming up next, the political battle over who will be the next president of afghanistan. we talked to a reporter who was kicked out of that country for reporting about it. and ukraine accuses russia of sending it's paratroopers over the border.

>> hi, everyone. this is aljazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york, and coming up, the so-called islamic state demands the u.s. release this woman. who is she and why america says she's so dangerous. plus, the new york times reporter, kicked out of afghanistan over an article he wrote. he'll talk to us about it, and ukraine says it has captured ten russian soldiers, the video

raising tensions tonight. the islamic state group still holding at least three americans hostage in syria. one of them is a 26-year-old american woman. she was kidnapped last year, doing relief work in syria. the fighters are demanding $6.6 million for her release, and they're also asking for the release of another woman, being held in the united states, and jonathan betz is here with that story. >> reporter: that woman a well-known prisoner, and various groups in the taliban have long demanded her freedom. she's a mother and a scientist and a terrorist. in exchange for captured americans, islamic state group fighters have been demanding this woman be released.

a pakistani neuroscientist, now in prison in texas, convicted of trying to kill american soldiers in afghanistan. xii years, protesters and her family have demanded her freedom. now her loved ones are reportedly devastated here name has been connected to a ransom request by the islamic state group. >> they are traumatized by the fact that someone else could be harmed in the name of afia and they expressed their adamant opposition to it all. >> she's a mother of three, studied at mit and spent years in the united states. videos online posted by her supporters show her speaking about her faith when she was in the u.s. >> islam is the best savior and protecter for women. >> she became friendly with al qaeda, married an operative,

and planned attacks on new york city landmarks. she was arrested in afghanistan in 2008, but whiling questioned, prosecutors say she grabbed a rifle from the floor and opened fire on american soldiers. she was shot in the stomach. no one else was seriously hurt, but it led to her conviction, and an 86 year prison sentence. since supporters have demanded her release, which now includes one of the world's most feared groups. and her connection to the islamic state group has been unclear. she has been in jail since 2008. >> jonathan betz, thank you, and now to afghanistan, where the presidential election is teetering on the brink of collapse. presidential candidate, abdullah abdullah said that the united nations has until tomorrow to give the results on the recount, or he'll pull out of the election. >> this is another wrinkle in the already complicated process to decide who will be afghanistan's next president.

whether it be ash raff or abdullah abdullah. he alleged widespread fraud. and u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, has been here twice in the last weeks, trying to broker the dispute. they have agreed to recount all 8 million votes, but after only a fraction of the vote, abdullah is calling foul, calling it a joke. they have made a few technical demands and if they're not met, they will pull out of the process, and it's a critical time here. for more than a month, hundreds of international observers and representatives of both parties have been on the outskirts of kabul, looking at almost every single vote cast. as afghanistan waits to a see whewho will be the next preside.

the whole process has paralyzed the afghan economy, and they would like to see the process finished very soon. they would like the president, karzai, the out going president, would like to see his successor gnawing rated on september 2nd, but the complications by dr. dulles' team makes it very unlikely. >> u.s. correspondent, rosenberg, was expelled from afghanistan after an article that he wrote about the electoral contrary to the security of the country. matt rosenberg, welcome from washington d.c. good to have you on the program. >> thank you for having mimi. >> did you see this coming? >> not that dramatically. we have had a lot of run-ins with president karzai's

administration, especially in if the last months, but the reaction is so visceral and so quick, and we didn't see it coming that quick. >> what do you think made his mad. >> the story was about people so close to him for years, looking into the future, and if they can't work it out, they need a third option, and that basically is a couple by any other means. no people discussing it would use that word. that's what it would be if it were to happen. and i think that president karzai, it's much easier to go after the guy on the outside of it than the people in your own administration. >> what was it like reporting in afghanistan? i suppose in a country like that, you really do have to develop a good relationship with the government. >> you know, i've always really

enjoyed it. and one of the things there, the government has respected the president tremendously in the last 12 or 13 years. they have a huge press corp of their own, and foreign correspondents are free to do what you want to do. and the biggest problem was the taliban, not the government. and the government was so full of diverse characters and agendas and people, and you could see the government ministers coming to apologize when i was thrown out of the country. >> there have been reports on all of the corruption problems in afghanistan and how serious are they? >> they are serious. the state is hypocrisy would be the word. political scientists would use for it. at every level of the government, there's deep corruption, and deep connections to waste making. the way to get wealth and power there is to be part of the government, or have your family

be part of the government. in a system where the president is all powerful, so you have a tremendous amount of money at stake from the supporters of each sides of the election, and they're pushing the candidates away from the idea of compromising and away from making the necessary arrangements to push things forward. >> what's karzai going to do when this is over? >> he says he wants to travel the world and he'll be around to give advice. it's really unclear. the conspiracy theories in kabul say that he wants to be behind the scenes, pulling the strings, and they have a presidential palace next to the palace that's supposedly going to be his new home. >> and both candidates say that they will let you back in the country if they win, and will you be back? >> yeah, we'll go back. i certainly want to continue to work there. >> how dependent do you think that this country will continue to be on the united states? >> you know, it's hard to see

that it's not dependent on the united states, and the other members. the costs alone, the economy can't bear that. i think right now, the security forces and government, 8-$10 billion, and revenue topped out a few years ago just under $2 billion. and they're somewhere between 1.5 billion dollars right now, and that's a deficit that you can't make up without huge amounts of cash from the outside, and it's hard to see that their economy grows anywhere near what they need for that kind of government. >> what is it that people in the united states don't understand about afghanistan? >> . >> you know, the place can be incredibly tolerant sometimes, and i think that you see that a lot with the press, they have been allowed to be free. there's a tremendous amount of descent there, and it's not a place for a lot of crazy, for

lack of a better term, and the afghans can be reasonable. there's an expression i learned, it means another how are you. and after you have sat and talked for hours, you have a blank in the conversation, you say norsie. and they're good at it, and we don't as get that. >> if you want to, i hope you get back in, and it's a fascinating discussion. thank you for talking with us. >> thank you for having me on. >> now to ukraine, the members and the leaders of ukraine tried to work out their issues. the video shows russian soldiers that the government captured in the east. and the russians say that they accidentally crossed the border. >> interrogated on camera, ten men that the ukraine claims are

russian paratroopers, saying that they are on a special mission, 20 kilometers from the russian border when they were captured. moscow says that the men were patrolling a section of the border when they accidentally strayed into ukraine. kiev insists that this is the strongest evidence yet of russia's hand in the ongoing conflict. elsewhere in the region, the aftermath of fierce fighting in the border town. kiev said an armored column had crossed into ukraine, causing clashes, four border guards are attacking. in the last 24 hours, kiev accuses moscow of opening front, and a new front in the region. the fight for control of the east has taken a new turn. aljazeera, ukraine, donetsk region.

>> and we have more on that meeting between the russian and ukrainian leaders. the president, poroshenko, has discussed it with his counterpart, vladimir putin, and it was thank you and complex. >> these men have little common ground with the talks alone. poroshenko brought his 15-point peace plan to minsk. and he's not ready for russia to accept it. >> i sincerely hope that the results of today's meeting will be peace. the bible says blessed are the peacemakers, so if we're colleagues, we can make an agreement for ukrainian land, i think it would be a pivotal

event. >> on top of the war, valid vad is angry that kiev has spurned his you're ace customs unit in favor of the eu. in this situation, russia continue remain enactive it, and i will stress this, we will video to stake retaliatory measures to protect our markets, in a free trade zone and wta rules. >> that means that russia is likely to scrap the preferences that remain for ukraine. the european union, trying to keep more pain from the couldn't fent. >> we hope for a ceasefire, linked to the proper management of borders, ensuring that the port reach people from an international model. >> in the short-term,

petroishenko has made big gains against the rebels but haven't beaten them yet. and the more the fighting goods on, the more the balance of hour is likely to swing back in russia's favor. that's because russia has shut off ukraine's gas supply, and moscow's leverage will increase as winter approaches. if peace is to be achieved, these two presidents will have to find a middle ground that's acceptable to their citizens back home. it will probably take one more round of talks. aljazeera, minsk. a warning tonight against outside interference in libya. american officials say egypt and the units arab emeritus, carried out airstrikes yesterday, something that egypt denied. libya has been plagued by

violence in a wait a minute for power. and their government is in disarray. the new envoy said that they need political support, and not airstrikes. >> what is important for libyans, [ unintelligible ] normal convert -- no more confrontation, and no more work, because it will create a more -- execution, for neighboring countries. >> libya is experiencing it's worst violence with rebels, moammar gadhafi since 2012. 2012 sheila is telling us what's coming up on america tonight at the top of the area. >> tonight on the program, chicago is well-known for its

gun violence. each year, thousands of shoots and hundreds of deaths. but the ones often forgotten are the ones who survive. their trauma is with a bullet. injuries that can last a lifetime and a financial burden that can be just as damaging. >> if you had to add it all up, what would you say at the end of the day is the total bill, start to now? >> i'm looking at almost $10 million. >> $1 million? >> seriously, i had -- it was senseless. >> america tonight, sarah hoye has what has with the bullet. >> she'll a. thank you, and tonight, we're learning more about the final moments of a detroit joggish' jogger's life e was mauled to death by two dogs. the freedom of information act

outlines what happens. >> screaming and begging for help, this newly released police report shows that's how 40 years craig spent the last minute of his life. he was jogging down this road when two massive dogs of the italian korso breed attacked him. they dragged him into a ditch and bit him at least eight times. residents ran to save sitsma, but by the time she reached the father of three, he was dying, and a short time later, he was dead. dogs have a history of digging themselves out of this kennel and running loose before sitsma was mauled to death, the dogs viciously attacked two other people. with sitsma lying in a pool of blood, neighbors tried to give

first aid. and bleeding but the dogs fought them away. one of the neighbors grabbed a gun and shot at the dogs, and at least one was hit. >> i don't know how this happened. all of these people who have had incidents with them and bit by them, how it just continued on. >> kim more so mer lives just down the road from where the last attack took place. the dogs were a well-known threat in the community. >> i have heard that a few of the neighbors that the dogs were loose on the streets. and i put a fence so that my dog won't be mistaken for a stray. >> 45-year-old sebastian from italy and his 45-year-old wife from albania own the dogs, and if convicted they will be behind bars. they are described as good people, except the fact that they're charged with an intentional killing, it seems

illogical. in an earlier report, the department said they were aware of attacks, but leveed nothing more than fines against the couple. the attorney, glen salzmann, said that the animal control could have done more. >> but i think that the writing is on the wall. but where there was nothing done after the first incident. and minor tickets after the soaked incident, that tells you that the system is broken. >> right now, animal control's policies are under review. aljazeera, metamora township, michigan. >> coming up next, how aftershocks in san francisco are making a tricky bridge project even more dangerous.

>> good evening, i'm meteorologist, kevin corriveau. what you're looking at hurricane marie, off the coast of mexico and off the coast of baja, but we're still having major issues with this storm along the coastline. look at the video that has come in across coastal mexico. we're looking at very high surfs and high waves, anywhere between 10 and 15 feet. that's expected to make its way up along the coastal regions. not making a landfall, but the waves are going to be significant, even as we get

toward southern california. so that's something that we'll be watching over the next couple of days. and also, we're watching hurricane cristobal. and this is in the open atlantic. in the turks and caicos, down here toward puerto rico. and over the next day, the system is expected to make a track between bermuda and the united states. but we're still going to see quite a bit of activity with this storm for bermuda and the united states in the next few days. look at the threat that we expect to see here, on the eastern seaboard, strong right t riptides, all the way up. and in a storm watch, the cruise ships are departing early as the storm does approach. we're going to be watching this one here, not named yet. but it's tracking it's way

toward the eastern caribbean. that's the national weather. and the news is next.

>> another powerful aftershock rocked northern california today. in all, more than 65 aftershocks have rattled the area. a magnitude 6 earthquake on sunday. safety officials with telling people to be careful around damaged buildings, and of course the quake was felt as far as san francisco and beyond. we are joined by jake ward beneath the san francisco and oakland bridge, and jake, what was the concern about that bridge? >> let's be clear, john, the discern i -- concern is not abot the bridge you see here, the new bridge, but we're concerned about is the original bay bridge. i had the opportunity to go up on this bridge before the earthquake, and the big concern here, there's almost nothing more dangerous than a half

disassembled bridge in an earthquake. >> disassembling the san francisco bay bridge is just as hard, if not harder than building a new one. the demolition project, scheduled to take 3-5 years, is a sprint in engineering terms. >> a section of the bridge collapsed in the loma earthquake in 1989, but engineers are far more worried about its safety now. though no one can predict when an earthquake might strike, it's certain that in a big shake, the old bridge would be terribly dangerous, especially to the new bridge. the old bridge uses a classic design, it's central portion is a long span, suspended between two towers. those two towers lean in toward one another. so the engineers had to use enormous jacks to pull back to

on each side of the span separating them. and then they cut the span in half. while we were on the deck, the crew separated one of the 32-ton joints, causing the whole structure to sway. >> i'm feeling terrified because the whole thing is moving, and it's a very scary thing to be in an obviously unsupported bridge like this. >> the disassembly will happen in three phases, first the western most span on the bay, and then the mud line and the underpart of the bay, which will require demolition experts, but until that point, san franciscans will continue to hold their breath and hope that the bridge that served them for seven decades can remain standing and serve them a little bit longer. john, it was terrifying to me up on that bridge, and i felt silly worrying about earthquakes, but that was a very appropriate worry.

>> so here's the question, how did the bridge do in the end? >> well, that's the $1 billion question here. let me show you the point that everyone was the most worried about. at 3:28 on sunday when the engineers were shaken awake like the rest of us, they were worried about this point where the old and the new bridge are a hand's breadth apart and graze one another. and if it had shaken into the new bridge, it would have damaged or even toppled it. and the engineers came out in the morning and determined that the bridge had moved in this direction rather than the other direction, and it didn't make an impact on the new bridge, and it's an incredibly lucky break for california in a string of lucky breaks when it comes to this earthquake in napa. >> thank you, jake, great

story, thanks, jake, and now to our freeze frame that comes from texas. and that's where farmers discovered a 63,000-year-old mam october skeleton in a pit. it's believed that the ice age mammoth died after falling on its side. it's skeleton will be donated to the museum in dallas. we'll be back at 8:00 pacific, and "america tonight" with sheila macvicar is coming up next.

... >> "al jazeera america."

on amerisey, an in-depth lo gun violence and the staggering cost of a single gunshot wound. >> if you were to add it up, what would you say was the total bill from start to now? >> almost like 10 million dollar. >> 10 million dollar? >> $10 million. >> the toll it takes on family and caregivers. >> 20 people have been shot, probably 200, 300 people have been affected. >> who is picking up the bill for america's gun violence epidemic? the u.s. puts the