>> on the stream, >> tuition assistance was a big incentive for high school grads to enter the military, but now that much of it's gone away, can the military compete? >> the stream, on al jazeera america >> those who make the mistake of harming americans will learn that we will not forget and that our reach is long and that justice will be served. >> president obama promising action after another american journalist, steven to the loveys killed by the islamic state group. the new steps the u.s. is now taking to top the i.s. threats. >> a possible piece deal in ukraine. nato meets to make its own

protection plan. >> hacking the home depot. the home improvement giant looking into a possible data breach that could affect millions of customers. >> three casinos shut their doors and thousands lose their jobs. why atlantic city is losing its shirt. the president insisting that the u.s. will not be intimidated following the beheading of steven sotloff at the hands of the islamic state group. >> the president is sending additional troops to protect americans and the u.s. embassy in iraq. two top cabinet members will troy to drum up international support for action against the i.s. >> the president making very strong comments overnight about the next steps against the islamic state group. >> the president said that americans are repulsed by the barbarism of the islamic state group.

he said americans will not be intimidated. overnight, the national security council did authenticate the video of the killing of steven sotloff. aljazeera is not showing any of the footage from that video. the president made his remarks this morning, while on a visit to estonia. >> today, the prayers of the american people are with the family of a devoted and courageous journalist, steven sotloff. >> president obama reacting to the death of another american journalist, the islamic state released a video showing the beheadle of steven sotloff. sotloff said he is paying the price for u.s. aggression. his captor blames president obama and u.s. air strikes. just last week, his mother pleaded with the captors to spare her son. >> i ask you to please release my child.

as a mother, i ask for justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over. >> the murder comes two weeks after fellow journalist james foley was killed by the islamic state. filmmaker matthew van dyke knew both men. >> i had dinner with steven a few weeks before he went to syria. we talked about security. steven took the risk seriously. he took precautions. he wasn't reckless at all. even when you do everything right, sometimes in syria, things go wrong. >> president obama sent a stern warning to the islamic state group. >> whatever these murderers think they'll achieve by killing innocent americans like steven, they have already failed. they failed because like people around the world, americans are repulsed by their barbarism. we will not be intimidated. their horrific acts only unit us. >> the is state threatened to

kill sotloff if american airstrikes did not end but american war planes continued to pound the region and the white house announced it is sending an additional 350 troops to protect the u.s. embassy and americans in baghdad. >> our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy isil so it's not a threat to iraq, the region and the united states. >> the u.s. obviously not backing down from that objective. we should mention that those who killed the two american journalists have now threatened to kill another hostage, a british citizen. >> secretaries kerry and hagel on the way to the middle east. what is the overarching u.s. strategy there? >> first they head toe wails for the nate sow summit and there they're meeting with nato ally to say try to drum up a broader

coalition, increase support for the fight against the islamic state group. they are heading to the middle east. they'll be talking to the countries most directly impacted by the islamic state. the goal is to build as broad an international coalition as possible to fight the islamic state. >> live in washington, d.c. this morning, lisa, thank you very much. >> coming up, we'll talk to austin long, a former military advisor about the i.s. threat. >> still not clear if the leader offal is that bonn was killed. al shabab insists he was not killed. >> there is a new ceasefire agreement in ukraine. it is said a mutual understanding was reached, but the kremlin says not so, since

they say russian troops around in ukraine. >> phil ittner is live in london. president obama is just 500 miles from moscow right now. what kind of message is he sending to vladimir putin? >> he's sending a lot of different messages, not just to vladimir putin, but also to nato allies in the eastern part of europe who are very concerned about what they see as the esurgence of an aggressive russia. what is the message he is sending to vladimir putin? that he will stand with allies, adhere to the agreement that the north atlantic treat organization has, that an attack on one is an attack on all. that kind of message is received by the kremlin negatively. they are saying they will create

their own military doctrine in response to what they are doing. >> as the president gets ready for the upcoming summit, the e.u. are working on new sanctions against russia in ukraine. what can we expect from the e.u.? >> well, the e.u. wants to put together new sanctions that they say they will release by smith. they want to look at things like military spending or trade with russia's joint military trade. there is talk about some banning of sports agreements and that is particularly disturbing to russia, because they are set to hold the world's cup in a few years, something that the entire world will be looking at russia for, so they are very serious about ratcheting up their sanctions against russia no matter the cost to the european union itself. >> phil ittner live in london,

thank you, phil. >> harry fossett has more on how the news of the ceasefire is playing out there. >> we came into the president's office. there have been talks between poroshenko and putin in the past. we did see changes in the ukrainian positions pulling back from some of the heaviest fighting inside donetsk. it was a surprise when this initial statement said that he had reached an agreement on a ceasefire with vladimir putin, his russian opposite number. the kremlin repute 80ed that, saying the russians were not part of this conflict, not a party to this conflict and therefore could not negotiate a ceasefire, merely they had discussed possible ways out of the current fighting. now in the last few minute, we've had something of a retraction, a rephrasing of the ukrainian president's statement, now talking about an agreement about a ceasefire regime, about

steps towards piece, so already, the position of poroshenko has been revised. so much ukrainian territory it appears would be seeded if the president were to agree that a ceasefire stands at the moment. >> we'll talk more about the nato summit and german chancellor's role there. a former member of the national security council will join us. >> the ebola outbreak is said to be spiraling out of control. it was called an epidemic. another american health care worker has been sickened by ebola. he had been treating women at a facility in liberia. the group doctors without borders said health care workers in africa are overwhelmed.

dr. kent brantley is sharing his story of surviving ebola, saying he believed he was going to die. >> i don't think they ever said kent, i think you're about to die. but i felt like i was about to die, and i said to the nurse who was taking care of me, i'm sick. i have no reserve, and i don't know how long i can keep this up. >> brantley and colleague nancy writebol recovered after being treated in atlanta. we'll have a live report from the c.d.c. coming up at 8:00. >> a new study finding removing both breasts for breast cancer doesn't help the chance of surviving. they found women who only had tumors removed and underwent radiation were just as likely to be in remission. >> the family of comedian joan

rivers said she is on life support. she stopped breathing following a throat procedure at a local clinic. doctors have been bringing the 81-year-old out of a medically induced coma. her daughter is saying the family is thankful for all of the prayers. >> the home depot maybe the latest victim of hackers and are looking into a data breach. >> we understand this could involve millions of customers. >> that's exactly white, dell. this came to light when a cyber security website reported a new botch of stolen debit and credit cards being sold on line. the same group of russian and ukrainian hackers expect would in the target data breach maybe responsible for home depot's products now. the home improvement giant is working with law enforcement to look into the "unusual activity." it says they are aggressively gathering facts to protect customers and will notify them once it knows the truth. >> home depot is just the latest big name retailer to be hacked.

target had information for more than 70 million customers stolen. j.p. morgan, p.f. change's and dairy queen were recently compromised, renewing pressure for chip technology in debit and credit cards. widely used in europe, they are nearly impossible to copy. u.s. merchants have until october, 2015 to upgrade their systems. >> thank you. >> the city of detroit is now making its case to a federal judge, looking to restructure billions of dollars in debt. lawyers have been arguing that billions should be cut from the books. it is the largest bankruptcy case in u.s. history. bisi onile-ere is live for us in detroit. good morning. >> good morning to you, del. the city will continue on with opening statements this morning. yesterday they tried to mike it clear to the judge that it is the only way out of bankruptcy

for the city. they said without it, detroit won't survive. >> with the start of this trial, the city's restructuring machine is in for intense scrutiny. much of it has been worked out in mediation and deals, including the so-called grand bargain, a deal that included pension cuts in the spin off of the detroit institute of art, in exchange for state and private funds. not everyone thinks this deal is so grand. outside the federal courthouse, protests from retirees. many could still lose 5% or more from monthly pension checks. >> the retirees should never have been included in this. the michigan constitution guarantees our pension. >> there's a number of things i could have recommended, or a lot of other people could have recommended that could improve city services to increase the cash flow. the city has a cash flow

problem. >> detroit emergency manager kevin orr's plan would slash what the city will pay other creditors, a major bond insurer stands to loose hundreds of millions of dollars. >> they may be taking an approach that we have nothing to lose so we're going to fight to the end and not agree to anything short of what we want. >> the judge is expected to hear from about 80 witnesses with a stream of evidence that could take more than a month to present. his job will be to make sure the plan is legal and fair, and if he doesn't approve, it will be back to the drawing board for all parties. at this point, detroit is on the fast track through this bankruptcy process. other cities in similar situations usually don't get to this .2, three years out.

i am told that detroit's financial officer could be the first person to take the stand. back to you. >> bisi onile-ere live in detroit. thank you very much. >> widespread wind damage could do more harm today. >> let's they can to find out who's going to be affected. >> these pictures out of georgia show wind damage. these are straight line wind damage and lightning strikes that caused power lines to go down, trees to go down, so a lot of reports of damage. all these storms pushed off the coast. there was 105 wind damage reports from the southeast all the way up through new england. the fronts pushing saw the, maybe a few storms across the

southeast, a break with areas that had rain yesterday. look at this next storm. that's a cold front approaching from the north, very cold air is coming down with that. we could start to see snow in the higher elevations from montana there. that's just today. the warmer weather will try to pull up from that storm. again, we'll look for a little change in color. that radar could see snow. >> my father said he's never seen storms this severe. he's 86. >> it's been a pretty active summer. >> president obama talking tough about the islamic state group. >> he's vowing consequences for the killing of two american journalists. we'll talk to a former military advisor about more u.s. troops on the ground and have a live report from baghdad. >> tragic details about the accidental shooting death of a gun range instructor. what the family of the little girl thought when the gun first went off. >> things don't always go as planned. that's the life lesson for

thieves caught on camera trying to steal this a.t.m. >> 1,400,000,000 is today's big number. >> one utility being told to pay up for a deadly gas explosion. sweater, extra sweater oh and this is the xfinity tv go app.

he can watch live tv from over 50 channels and xfinity on demand movies and shows wherever he wants. have fun, make some friends. alright? did i mention his neck pillow? (blowing) ♪ sweater, extra sweater oh and this is the xfinity tv go app. he can watch live tv from over 50 channels and xfinity on demand movies and shows wherever he wants. have fun, make some friends. alright? did i mention his neck pillow? (blowing) ♪

>> today's big number $1,400,000,000. >> that's a fine leveed against california's large effort utility stemming from a deadly explosion four years ago. >> an eruption leveled more than 30 homes, eight people died, dozens more were injured. the utility didn't properly maintain a pipeline. >> $950 million goes to the state of california. $400 million will go towards pipeline improvement. $50 million will go to pipeline safety. p.g.e. may appeal. >> halliburton is asked to pay more than a billion dollars to settle claims from the deep water horizon oil spill. that will go to the local governments and businesses affected by the spill. they were responsible for cementing that oil well that blew out in 2010.

>> president obama is promising new action against the islamic state after steven sotloff was murdered. the new government in baghdad plans to retake tikrit and mosul using a ground and air campaign. what's the situation right now in tikrit and mosul and are there reports that i.r.s. fighters are retreating from the cities? >> they're really just at the beginning here. iraqi troops, backed by those u.s. airstrikes advanced from a town called amerli heading towards tikrit. the iraqi government has tried to take back tikrit twice before. it's extremely important, because it's a strong hold of the islamic state fighters, it's

sadaam who sane's hometown and the site of one of the worse atrocities so far. many young men were executed at short range by the islamic state fighters three months ago when they took over tikrit, so it's a very important fight but hasn't quite begun yet. >> why has there been this shift in momentum for the iraqi government? they've had a collapse in the north of the country and now had bit of a victory. they managed to take amerli. what comes next is tougher, because they're venturing into sunni territory. they have help, the united states, other countries and they're not in this alone

anymore. >> has there been any reaction in baghdad to the killing of american journalist steven sotloff? >> those images are so horrific, you think there would have been, but there was surprisingly little. i think a lot of it has to do with the fact that things are so grim that beheadings here in iraq are not that uncommon. just down the street, we've got families of young men who were shot dead and then buried in a mass grave. they're just trying to find those bodies still. it's really hard to over emphasize exactly how much misery, how much despair there is in this country, so there has not been a lot of reaction to that. having said that, most iraqis believe that the islamic state group doesn't represent them at all. in fact, a lot of them would say they're a bunch of psycho paths. the problem is how to wean away the group from the tribal support and other support that

they have in some of these communities, which feel they've been very badly treated by the iraqi government. >> jane, thank you. >> let's go to austin long, a professor at columbia's university school of international public affairs. he spent time in iraq advising the military. the islamic state group, a second american journalist has been beheaded by the group. there are the traditional cries for a military reaction. is there a military solution? >> unfortunately, there's not. you can look back to the period when the u.s. had 100,000 troops -- >> that's going to surprise people who say let's just drop a bomb and take care of these guys. is that tough talk or dumb talk? >> it's dumb talk unfortunately. military action can achieve certain effects, you saw that outside of kurdish territory, but it's not going to be solved purely by military action. >> were you surprised by the beheading of steven sotloff,

they warned it would happen and made good on their threat? >> i'm not surprised at all. this is the 10th anniversary of the first beheading by al-qaeda in iraq, the predecessor of the islamic state. >> you heard jane say dali and i use that adjective liberally, sadly, bea headings are common in iraq. did the warning against president obama misinterpret the feeling of the united states public when it comes to these actions and will it backfire, because if anything, there is more ve solve than there was two weeks ago. >> there is more resolve. it may backfire. it's been a standard part of they are repertoire and will help them in intimidation and recruiting. >> let's switch gears and talk about al shabab. another targeted drone strike. is this proof that the u.s. is taking this seriously and perhaps on the ground infiltrating al shabab.

>> the u.s. has taken it seriously for sometime and gathered intelligence and we've even that taken ground action with an attempted raid by u.s. navy seals that was repulsed in a major gunfight. this isn't new, but is a development. >> you were on the ground in iraq. when we talk about infiltrating groups like al shabab and targeted airstrikes. there's someone like you standing with a laser pointer telling where to drop the bombs, correct? >> in some cases. probably in the most recent attack in somalia, it was probably drones only. there's a risk of putting u.s. personnel in. >> thanks for being with us this morning. >> thanks for having me. >> in arizona, switching gears, there are new police reports that describe the moments after that 9-year-old accidentally shot and killed a range instructor. the girl said the gun was too powerful, hurt her shoulder. her family first thought she was the one injured when the gun recoiled. the nine with unone call showing the moments just after it

happened. >> 911, what is your emergency? >> we need a helicopter. an ambulance ain't going to work. we need a helicopter. >> we have one on the way, ok? >> the family is still in shock for the accident. prosecutors won't file charges. >> forget going to cvs if you're looking for cigarettes. the chain will stop selling toe whack dough today. that's a few weeks earlier than its original deadline of october 1. it is tweaking its name to c.v.s. health. >> if you're headed to the door one might not want to get your umbrella. >> we still have rain in the forecast and a little snow in parts of the northwest. right now, the temperatures, well they're still fairly warm across the southeast, but getting cooler. a front approach to move through will drop the temperatures a bit. it triggered thunderstorms yesterday but is pushed off the

coast now. things are quiet around the great lakes, one or two showers in the northern plains. this area could see more weather today. a front will bring in cooler air. these are the actual temperatures right now, mid to low 50's and 60's. by this afternoon and evening, higher elevations could see snow as that storm approaches to the northwest. it's bringing in the heat or returning the heat to the northern plains. as for the mountains there, a little snow is certainly not out of the question. >> i can't believe we're hearing the "s" word. >> as we have been reporting, sadly, two journalists murdered at the hands of the islamic state group. >> yet many continue to work in the region. we'll speak to one woman about the risks. >> atlantic city heading for hard times again. live on the boardwalk with a look at how the new jersey shore hopes to reinvent itself as more and more casinos fold.

>> a courtroom erupts in cheers as two brothers are set free from prison 30 years after convicted of a crime they did not commit. >> not everyone is sympathetic to celebrities who had intimate photos stolen from their computers. the on line reaction that are making headlines around the globe.

>> you're looking live at the capitol building in washington, d.c. this morning. wednesday morning, september 3, congress still away for another week but are being briefed on the islamic state threat. good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. ahead in this half hour, the lasting impact of two months of violence in gaza, an orphanage packed with children bearing the emotional scars of war. >> a manhunt underway for teens who escaped from a juvenile detention facility in nashville. >> the leader of the nation's largest churches accused of abuse of power. >> conflicting reports in the

status of a possible ceasefire in eastern ukraine. the office of ukraine's president said it reached a deal with russia, but the kremlin insists it's not party to any agreement, since it says it is not taking part in the fighting in eastern ukraine. >> home depot may be the latest victim of hacking. working with law enforcement to investigate illegal activity. it is believed this could be larger than the security breach that hit target last year. >> president obama is promising the u.s. will not back down after the islamic state group murdered another american journalist. steven sotloff is the second to die by beheading at the hands of the group. it threatens to kill a british national if u.s. airstrikes don't stop. >> we'll talk to a journalist, we are keeping her last name secret for security reasons. she is on skype from lebanon.

do the i.s. really believe the u.s. is going to back down now that they have beheaded another american journalist. >> most do not believe that. it is hard to read into the mind of abu bakr al-baghdadi, the self professed leader. they are interested in making huge statements. they're interested in shock and awe. this is their moment. if you notice, the executioner of the journalist addresses president obama in person. he says obama, i'm back. this is their moment in the lime light. they know this is not going to stop airstrikes on them. in fact, i think a lot of them hope that this will draw the u.s. more into iraq and syria, because they thrive on chaos. >> let me ask the question this way. what do they fear? what are they afraid of? >> it's difficult to say.

it seems they're quite fearless. that plays into one of the main reasons that they've been so successful is that a lot of the fighters on the ground in syria anyway are simply not as fierce as they are, not as fearless, and, you know, when you speak to the former rebels who have fought isis and had to capitulate to them recently and live under isis rule in fear for their lives, you ask them what do you think, what will help, what can the u and the west do to help? they say the only way is sure airstrikes will be helpful but they have to be constant and continuous and ongoing day and night and they have to happen in iraq and syria taillight, but more importantly, there needs to be support for rebels or anyone on the ground who will fight isis. that's really key, because, you know, more and more, you talk to rebels, and no one wants to fight isis anymore. they're just so vicious, and so

cruel, and last month alone, they deemed an entire clan basically wanting to kill them, 150,000 strong clan that they decided deserved death just for fighting them. >> help us understand this particular group, even though some may not want to. in the u.s., we see these groups as extreme, so what are we missing? why are people joining the ranks of a group like the islamic state? we see the executions, the genocide, what is it that the united states is missing? >> well, you know, it's a difficult question, but i mean, this is a group that thrives on chaos, videos like the beheading of journalists gets worldwide attention and gets the united nations talking. i mean, this is great recruitment material for 19-year-old men who may or may not be born muslim.

some of them are converts. some were secular. some of them, i'm sure you've heard about the isis fighters that joined after buying islam for idiots books from amazon.com. this is not so much about religion, but more about testosterone gone awry, about someone's moment in the sun. it's just the same way that gangs recruit members. it just thrives on chaos and violence. >> russia, thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you. >> we cannot underestimate the danger that she faces when she comes on the air, which is one of the reasons why we go through the procedures we go through to make sure her identity is not known. >> such a unique in sight for us. it's been one week since israel and hamas agreed to a permanent ceasefire. during the two month conflict, nearly 500 children died in

gaza. in an orphanage, many suffer from the psychological trauma. >> this is a place where it might seem bright and cheerful, but the underlying mood can be dark. each of these children is bereeved, having lost at least one parent. not all of the deaths have been in the war, but the staff are now coping with some of the most distressing cases they've ever seen. like this 7-year-old. her father died in a road crash two years ago. in the war, she witnessed the death of her mother, two sisters and two brothers in an israeli attack. >> i want to hug my mother. i miss her, she tells her teacher. >> our children feel safe here. we give them psychological and social support, which takes their minds away from the war and the damage that it's done. >> next door, her brother visits his psychologist.

he talks of seeing the deaths at the school which was supposed to be a shelter. >> when i remember it, i cry, he says. don't worry about crying, he's told. his psychologist said he has severe post traumatic stress disorder. he moves on to other cases, trying to keep his patients active. >> we as duties are struggling to cope with what we have seen. imagine what it's like for the children. they have many problems, like social and psychological issues, and education problems. >> this center is small, accommodating 90 children, but it's preparing to take on more. u.n. children's agency unicef is increasing support with more mobile teams. >> there's a massive demand for trauma therapy across gaza. one of the problems is a lack of recognition of that need among palestinian families. >> because of close extended

families and the commitment to look after children sometimes in the most difficult conditions, psychological support can be overlooked. the people here want to do more to offer child support for those who can't cope. andrew simmons, aljazeera, gaza. >> israeli war ships opened fire on palestinian fisherman. they say they were warning shots after the fisherman defer 80ed from the designated fishing zone. >> tensions are high in iran. >> there is a new poll out that show support for scottish independence at a high level. 40% support breaking away from england. scots are going to vote on their independence.

>> the parents accused of taking their cancer stricken son from a british hospital could soon be reunited with their child. they spent two days in a spanish jail. they wanted to take their son for alternative treatment. prosecutors have dropped all charges. >> cheers in a north carolina courtroom after two half brothers were freed from prison. they serve add three decade injustice. they spent 30 years in jail for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. a judge ruled that there was a lack of evidence to convict henry mccullum and leon brown in the early 1980's. >> i'm glad they're coming home. it took 30 years. we waited, we was patient. we've been through a lot. we just want them to be home and happy again. >> nothing was found to connect the brothers to the crime. another man is already in prison for a similar crime.

>> prosecutors want no less than 15 years for a man who shot an unarmed woman on his doorstep. >> 18 teens escaped from a detention center. thirty broke through a weakened fence. most were located or returned on their own. >> you make it better by having our staff do good work. you make it better making sure the kids are properly classified. make sure the kids get the services that they need. there's no single fix for this. >> the fence has been fixed and the detention center back under control. >> while potential miss americas gather today in atlantic city, another gathering is nearby. casino workers will file for

unemployment after doors were shut. we are live from the boardwalk. >> good morning. yesterday was one of the hottest days of the year and today is set there to be an absolutely scorcher, as well. although it's going to be a lovely day for people on holiday still at the late end of the season, for those 6,000 workers laid off in just a handful of weeks, it's going to be a pretty grim day. a personal tragedy for them as these casinos, four this year closed their doors. it's a personal tragedy for the 20% of workers employed in the industry here, it's a tragedy for the city. as far as we can see, atlantic city's been here before and seems determined not to roll over and play dead. transformation time on the bored walk empire.

>> atlantic city was built for a good time. >> the good times seem distant here now. more than 6,000 people thrown out of work in a matter of weeks, as three major gambling cathedrals go belly up. show boat closed sunday. next door, rebel, that opened less than two years ago cashed out tuesday. trump plaza is going bust in two weeks. a fourth casino closed in january, bringing the total of jobs lost to 8,000. the gambling revenues reached their peak in 2006, but since then, more and more casinos opened in surrounding states and atlantic city lost its monopoly. >> 100% of the revenue, 100% of the casinos. turn the clock forward, 2014, 10 casinos here, 25 in the region. >> a city by the sea that survives and thrives on other people's money searching for a life raft for a quarter of its

workers out of a job. >> what you are going to do now, ma'am? >> i don't know. hope that go it will be open soon, you know. >> atlantic city is accused of failing to branch out beyond gambling as las vegas has done. something city managers say they're on to. >> we still have 25 million visitors a year. they're coming to enjoy the beach, boardwalk, convention, dining and shows. >> other issues have dogged a.c. limited transportation areas and high crime areas just a few blacks away. it's still the number one east coast beach destination outside miami. >> for a lot of people here in new jersey, it's close and convenient. i think that it's just tough right now money-wise. >> i came when i was a child. that has a lot to do with it, memories, and i've seen it in the 1970's when it was really

bad, and it's built up really nice. it's a shame. it really is. >> you think they can do it again? >> i'm sure they can. >> for 30 years, a.c. had a captive audience. locals say all good things come to an end, and that is one of life's big gambles. it's worth pointing out they do still have eight casinos now that the two have closed in the last couple of days. it's this biggest concentration of casinos in one area of the country, as well. the miss america pageant begins today. it is in two weeks' time. that's one day atlantic city is trying to broaden away from gaming. >> 6,000 laid off casino workers are bog to be at a job fair in atlantic city, but how will that work? >> this is going to be at the convention center on the other side of town away from the bored

walk. this can be a sad occasion. we expect 5,000 to 6,000 laid off workers to come for a mass signing on to unemployment. there will be unions and other people there to help and advice them for the future. it's only 1200 jobs from atlantic city that is going. the other 7,000 loved come from around the city. this is a city, county and statewide problem. one of the issues these people face is whether or not to move away in order to find meaningful work in the future. >> thank you, john. >> sports fans are going to be crying, peyton manning is going to be without his favorite target for the first four games of the season, wes welker suspended after testing positive for amphetamine. he is the second player to be suspended this season. kicker matt prater is going to miss the first four games for repeated drinking problems. >> michael sam could soon be making a move to dallas. he is the first openly gay

player in the nfl. he's in talks with joining the cowboys. he was cut last week by the st. louis rams. he played for them in the preseason. if he passes a physical, he could sign with his home state team today. >> lets look at headlines around the world. there is a video game glitch in madden nfl 15, no small matter. it shrinks cleveland brown's linebacker into a foot high micro player. he has become known as the tiny titan glitch. he's in a tennessee titans uniform. he's really 6'2" and 235 pounds. he says no matter how small you are, you can always. [ laughter ] >> you can always stream big. >> i think we're going to have to get you a copy of this game. he can scoot through the crowds that way. >> an australian man woke up from a coma. he spoke english when he went into the coma, when he woke up,

he spoke flew you didn't mandarin and couldn't remember his native language. it took him on a new journey. he's actually moved at this point to china. he has participated in a chinese t.v. show and he's made a lot of new friends. he has regained his english at this point. researchers don't quite know what happened in his brain, but this is a phenomenon that has happened. >> i wake up sometimes in the morning and can't speak english. >> can you speak chinese? >> can't speak either. >> the daily mail said users are posting embarrassing pictures using the hash tag if my phone got hacked. images including a dog posing that she got a bad haircut. a man kissing a horse. chewbacca and a dog riding a turtle. if my phone got hacked. these are the photos that they would find on my phone. >> people are saying people's lives are a lot less exciting

than celebrities. >> angela merkel and her role in international affairs expanding, we'll talk to a former senior director of the national security council. >> the best laid plans don't always come to pass. failed efforts caught on camera. >> smarter than your average monkey is our discovery of the day. >> on the stream, >> tuition assistance was a big incentive for high school grads to enter the military, but now that much of it's gone away, can the military compete? >> the stream, on al jazeera america

>> in just a few hours, president obama heads to wales for a nato summit amid conflicts reports over a ceasefire between ukraine and russia. >> he plans to call on international leaders for more money for defense.

the u.s. pace most of nato's bills as it stands now. >> fighting in ukraine, dividing russia and europe, a crisis turning all eyes to this week's nato summit in wales. monday, u.n. secretary general parades the alliances proactive side, unveiling sides for a new rapid reaction force to responds to russian aggression and other security challenges. >> a very high readiness force able to deploy at very short notice. >> a sense of urgency at odds with the financial contributions of the majority of nato members. >> nato is an alliance of 28 countries, for the security and defense of its member populations. >> members agreed to spend 2% of their g.d.p. on their own domestic defense spend to go help secure the alliance and its interest. last year, only four members

fulfilled that commitment, estonia, greece, the united kingdom and the united states, who's contribution represent the lion's share of the overall military spendle. germany, the second large evident economy innate toe spends only 1.3% of its g.d.p. on defense. >> aljazeera. >> many eyes at the nato summit will be on germany's leader, angela merkel. she calls on her parliament to take a stronger role and could define nato's future. president obama's senior director for european affairs on the national security council and now the president of the german marshall fund of the united states joins us from london. thank you for being here. angela merkel is someone seen to have a unique relationship with president vladimir putin of russia, someone that president obama has even tried to funnel information and ideas through.

can you describe their relationship? >> angela merkel and vladimir putin know each other very well. i think when the two of them speak, there's a level of honesty in that conversation that allows them to get to the fact of the matter quickly. putin sees her as key to e.u. policy on further sanctions. he takes those conversations seriously. >> they speak each other's languages. germany's also positioned physically in a significant place and has a real economic incentive to be a big player innate toe as well as give them leverage with russia. tell us about that. >> well, germany represents the strongest economy in the e.u. it has a very deep economic relationship with russia, and so that plays a key role in these conversations about further sanctions on russia. in the nato context, the fact that germany is not at the point

of spending 2% of its g.d.p. on defense has been a sore spot in the alliance, but germany's been very clear that it has no intentions of increasing its defense spending at this time. >> we heard president putin make this claim, that he could take kiev in two weeks. how does angela merkel respond to that? >> angela merkel has been very clear that she sees no military solution to the crisis in ukraine, so her focus has been on diplomacy and sanctions. she has been clear that she thinks that is the right policy mix for trying to resolve the crisis in and over ukraine. >> so as these leaders head into the nato summit, how important is merkel's voice and what will you expect her to bring to the table? >> clearly ukraine will be one

of the key topics discussed at the nato summit in south wails. i think the emphasis there will be on reassuring those central and east european members of nato of the alliances unwaiving commitment to that you are security and an article five guarantee. we're likely to hear about a decision on a rapid reaction force to ensure the security of those countries and other reassurance measures. >> president of the german marshall fund of the united states, thank you for joining us. >> sometimes you have to walk away from the word stage to look at something that is just really, really dumb. this next video gives new meaning to the term smash and grab. it shows three thieves in edwardsville kansas slamming into a gas station trying to steal the a.t.m. they rapidly the building again. they did it five times. they got away, but they didn't get any money, not a nickel. >> more than three years after a

powerful tornado devastated joplin, missouri, there are signs that things are finally getting back to normal. on tuesday, joplin high school reopened. the original school was destroyed by it twister back in 2011. the senior class hasn't had a permanent school since they were freshmen. >> it opened eyes to how severe the weather has been. let's get another check of our forecast now with dave warren. these storms are growing more and more intense. >> pretty intense, yeah, more widespread. i do remember watching that storm closely, seeing it develop. yesterday was different, but severe. this is a line of severe storms, a front that approached and moved through the southeast. wind damage reports, no real reports of tornadoes. this was all wind damage as this front moved through. things of changed a bit today, the front's off the coast, so the report of wind damage yesterday, likely we'll see a few, but not as widespread a severe outbreak at yesterday.

>> time for our discovery of the day. monkey's brains work differently based on where they sit in the social ladder. a study found that prime mate brains can be specialized for either end of the hierarchy. >> certain parts of the brain were bigger and dominant monkeys, including regions that control social and emotional information. lower ranked areas had more area for making choices. >> on the london famed thames river is a giant floating hippopotamus. >> that is the creation of a dutch artist who's responsible for making the world's largest duck. he is commissioned for an annual festival celebrating the river. >> the duck was deflated. coming up, the latest on the ebola outbreak, including a warning from the head of the centers for disease control. >> we'll hear from dr. kent brantley about surviving the deadly virus. >> it is sentencing day for theodore waiver, convicted of killing an unarmed team on his

front porch. we'll be live in detroit as the judge hands down punishment. >> we are back in two minutes with more. with more. al jazeera america presents, edge of eighteen >> my heart is racing so fast >> standing at a crossroads... >> my parents have their plan. i'm gonna do what god asks me to do before what they ask me to do... >> can a family come together? >> do you think that you can try and accept me for me? >> life changing moments... >> my future is in my hands right now... >> from oscar winning director alex gibney, a ground breaking look at the real issues facing american teens on, the edge of eighteen only on aljazeera america

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>> a ceasefire deal appears to be on the tail for moss sow and kiev. >> a data breach in home depot could affect millions of customers. >> how dare you! who in the hell do you think you are? abusing a woman, neglecting a woman? >> this pastor known for his controversial sermons finds himself under fire amid accusations of bullying and abuse of power that could spell the demise of his megachurch. welcome to al jazeera america. >> president obama is promising to take decisive action against the islamic state group, calling the beheading of a second american journalist horrific and pledging that this will not go unanswered. >> those who make the mistake of harming americans will learn we do not forget and that our reach is long and justice will be served. >> we have more on this latest attack on an american judgist by the islamic state group.

>> in a video, his killer blames u.s. president barack obama for the beheading after the president ordered limited strikes on the islamic state group in iraq. the man speaking english with a british accent tell little the u.s. this is their second warning and says david haynes from england will be next. >> we are sickened by this brutal act, taking the life of another american citizen. hour hearts go offer to the sotloff family. >> when james foley was killed, president obama said he would not stop striking islamic state fighters in iraq. word leaked that special forces had tried and failed to rescue american hostages inside syria over the summer. u.s. intelligence agencies continued the search while sotloff's mother asked for mercy. >> steven is a a journalist who traveled to the middle east to cover the suffering of muslims at the hand of try rants. steven is a loyal and generous

son, brother and grandson. he's an honorable man and has always tried to help the weak. >> the journalist had been held captive for over a year. he disappeared near aleppo. the u.s. believes the islamic state group is holding other americans hostage. it's unlikely this latest murder will change foreign policy as the president weighs more strikes against the islamic state group. aljazeera, washington. >> let's go to lisa stark in washington. we heard from the president from estonia. how much pressure is this putting on him to ratchet up the pressure on the islamic state group? >> certainly a horrific killing such as this, the second killing of an american journalist does pressure the white house on the president to go after the islamic state group, but president obama says it strengthens his resolve. he said the murders gust and unit us and that the u.s. will

not be in dim dated. the islamic state group has threatened to kill another hostage, this time a british citizen approximate f. the campaign against the group does not end. the white house has no plans to stop the bombing campaign against the islamic state fighters. here is the president speaking this morning in estonia. >> our objective is clear, a understand that is to degrade and destroy isil so little no longer a threat to iraq, the region and to the united states. in order for us to accomplish that, the first phase has been to make sure we've got an iraqi government in place and that we are blunting the momentum that isil was carrying on and the airstrikes have done that. >> the u.s. objective is also to build as broad a coalition as possible. to that end, secretary of state john kerry, secretary hagel are

heading to the nato summit to meet with u.s. allies on the side of the main meeting to gather support for the fight against the islamic state and then they will head to the middle east to talk to the countries most directly affected by this group again to try to build a broad international coalition for this fight against the islamic state group. >> what do we know about other americans in the region and is there a plan, does the president have a plan to protect them? >> we know obviously there are americans workingen iraq in baghdad and kurdish area of iraq. the u.s. has been sending additional troops to protect them and the pentagon announcing 350 additional troops will go to baghdad to offer embass security. it brings to 800 the number of u.s. troops in that country protecting our diplomatic missions there. the white house continues to reevaluate that security

situation all the time and will send additional troops if necessary. >> lisa, thank you very much. >> lisa mentioned president obama is in estonia, just 500 miles away from moscow, where the kremlin insists there is no ceasefire deal with ukraine. that's despite ukraine's leader claiming it reached an agreement. phil ittner is in london with more on this for us today. phil, president obama getting ready to attend the nato summit iin wales. what message is he sending to moscow this morning? >> well clearly the president's sending a two-fold message today, personally a warning to the kremlin and to vladimir putin, but also a message of reassurance to those eastern european allies that the u.s. will stand by its nato obligations. arriving in estonia this morning, president obama stood

shoulder to shoulder with his counter part, a symbolic gesture backed by hard assurances, that the u.s. will stand with its baltic allies against an attack by any foe, including russia. >> as nato allies, we have article five duties to our collective defense. that is a commitment that is unbreakable. it is unwaiverring, it is eternal and estonia will never stand alone. >> that commitment to the soviet state and others say russia is helping fight ukraine's army, a charge moscow continues to deny. >> no settlement can be achieved if effectively russia says we are going to continue to send tanks and troops and arms and advisors under the guise of separatists who are not home-grown. >> nato is giving assurances,

proposing what they call a spearhead rapid response force. it is capable of reacting to any crisis or threat within hours. the u.s. will support the move when nato brings up the measure at its summit in wales thursday. >> what we've seen is aggression and appeals to nationalist sentiments that have historically been very dangerous in europe and are rightly a cause of concern. >> russia ratcheted up the rhetoric saying it was the u.s. who needed to restrain the party of war in kiev. the e.u. is talking sanctions against russia, using tough talk of their own, suggesting partnerships with moscow are fading fast. >> i said a strategic partnership is over, clearly is over, for that was a choice of moscow first of all. >> now, libby, we've also heard

today from authorities in kiev and from the supreme headquarters allied powers in europe that there is a plan that will go ahead later this month for an operation called rapid tri dent. troops will be in ukraine for joint military exercises there and that certainly is something that the kremlin will look at with very strong suspicion. >> phil ittner live in london, thank you. >> let's go live to harry fossett in eastern ukraine. there are conflicting reports at this hour as to whether or not that ceasefire has been agreed to. what are kiev and moscow saying? >> >> the office of the president

poroshenko put out a statement saying there was an agreement to a permanent and lasting ceasefire in east he were ukraine, as well as that mutual steps towards peace in the region. the kremlin came back to that, saying that as not a participant in this conflict, something it maintains, it could not possibly have agreed to a ceasefire, merely the two men shared overlapping agreements about the way forward and out of this conflict. after that, there was a backtracking here in ukraine. the president's office saying that there was a ceasefire regime in the offing as opposed to a hard ceasefire being agreed. >> three years ago, nobody talking about ukraine, so why is there region so important to both sides? >> >> as far as ukraine is concerned, this region is the richest in the country, the main coal mining area. it is the reason that this conflict continues is because it is, it has always been a russian

speaking region. we have these russian nationalist forces and others that are fighting so hard to prevent what they see as a ukrainian departure from the embrace of russia toward europe, lock the policy of those currently in charge in kiev. >> as you talk, we see all of these images of burned out buildings and bombings. there are reports of fighting on the ground today, so is there optimism that there can be a long term ceasefire? >> well, certainly another aljazeera team in the capitol of this new separatist republic, the donetsk people's republic as they call it. there is still fighting, commanders saying there is fighting, so there cannot be a ceasefire, saying if there was a deal implemented, it would take between two and four days before

any real fighting totally waned. on the ukrainian side, for president poroshenko to tell the very loose alignment of forces fighting on his behalf that the current situation is being stand is where the fighting will end, having lost so much blood in the run up to this. it will be very difficult for him to keep them on side to maintain any ceasefire going forward. >> harry fossett live in mariupol in eastern ukraine, thank you very much. >> the dyer warning from the head of the c.d.c., saying the outbroke of ebola is out of control, calling it an epidemic. his warning comes at another american health care worker is sickened by ebola. we are in atlanta with more. robert. >> good morning, libby. indeed, dr. thomas friden

calling the ebola outbreak and epidemic, the first time we have heard those words. the american aid workers were reds from here, where another aid worker, american doctor has come down with ebola. this doctor was not treating ebola patients. he is being quarantined in west africa right now for the next 21 days. he's said to be in good spirits, and recovering, they hope. in the meantime, over 1500 people have already died in west africa. >> i don't think they ever said kent, i think you're about to die. i felt like i was about to die. >> dr. kent brantley telling nbc how close to came to death. brantley was sickened by ebola in liberia and recovered only after being brought to emery

hospital for treatment using the experimental drug z map. he has spoken to the family of the latest health care worker sickened in africa. >> doctors without borders has criticized the international response, calling it inad wet. c.d.c. director acknowledging the outbreak is spiraling out of control. >> there is a window of opportunity to tamp this down, but that window is closing. we need action now.

>> the world health organization estimates there could be 20,000 cases before it is brought under control. >> the whole world is responsible, and accountable to bring the ebola threat under control. let's do it. action, action and action. >> unsafe burials and carrying for the infected without proper protection and isolation is worsening the spread of the virus. even with experimental trials of a vaccine beginning this week in the u.s., the international health community said we cannot count on that. there is no time to wait. >> you hear the word action, action, action, you also heard the cdc director yesterday say they've got to ramp up the amount of people going over there, but the thing is that there's not really a plan in place from any of these organizations. that's the confusion here. when asked, when reporters asked them, you know, what are you

going to do, it's the same rhetoric over the past three weeks. we know what to do, we have a plan, but what exactly is the plan. we're hope to go here more concrete details in the days to come, because this is out of control, as we've been reporting. the c.d.c. reporting that this is now an epidemic. what's the plan to stop this? we're waiting for the world health officials to tell us specifics. >> robert ray in atlanta this morning, thank you. >> home depot is the latest major retailer waking up with a hacking headache. authorities are trying to determine if it has fallen victim to a data preach. it is said a batch of dealt and credit card information is stolen and now being sold on line. >> apple says its eye cloud was not the source of a celebrity nude photo leaks, saying individual accounts were deliberately hacked. the company says it was not a breach of the whole system. the f.b.i. is also investigating

what happened and who's behind it. >> it has been a rough week for atlantic city, two casinos shutting thor doors, a third set to close september 16. these chosings leaving thousands without jobs, many workers gathering today because they need to file or unemployment. we are live on the boardwalk in atlantic city. when trump plaza closes, four of the city's 12 casinos out of business. why is this happening? >> people aren't coming to atlantic city to gamble as they once did. nearby states allowed the building of casinos of their own. within the three hour driving aidous of the city are 25 casinos so people don't need to come to a.c. to gamble. that's why the casinos are closing. they still have eight, the biggest concentration of casinos

in the country. the city fathers are trying to diversify away from gambling. one thing they are doing, starting today, the introduction of the contestants, the miss america pageant is back in town for the second year since it left the city and came back. >> one of the casino that is shut down, the show boat was turning a profit. its owner shut it down after 27 years in business. why? the owner owned other casinos here and had to consolidate because fewer people are coming to gamble. they chose the show boat to close. it was very sad when that happened. it was a new orleans themed casino and when people came out, they were wearing the beads they have on bourbon street in new orleans. it was a sad decision. >> coming up, we're going to

hear from a gaming industry lobbyist about what is next for the casino business. >> in parents of the country, they are dealing with stormy weather that's turned severe in some cases. >> for more details, we turn to dave warren. good morning. >> it will not be as severe as yesterday, things are calming a built, but this is a widespread area of wind damage from yesterday as this front moved through and it was pretty much all across the southeast. you saw these storms developing, the line holding together, moving through parts of the mid atlantic, even up to the northern plains, had severe weather with mainly wind damage, a lot of trees blown down across a widespread area. now, we had 105 wind damage reports. this is what it looked like. you get these gusts of wind blowing down trees, taking down power lines. a lot of wind damage reports and a few hail reports, over 100 at least from the line of storms yesterday. the front pushed to the south, so maybe a few more strong

storms across the southeast, but a large area of quiet cooler weather across the great lakes and northeast. another storm approaching brings the heat back to the northern plains, and snow in the higher elevations of montana. >> you didn't say that, did you? >> i did. >> we didn't hear it. >> it's too soon. the struggle to protect the border, one family handles the strain. >> a man convicted of fatally shooting an unarmed teen on his porch in the detroit area learns his fate this morning. a final message to the girl's parents before he's sentenced. >> going free after 30 years behind bars, the emotional story of two brothers wrongly convicted, now exonerated. >> a military jet bursts into flames. that video and others captured by our citizen journalists around the world. @j

>> time now for a look at the videos captured by our citizen

journalists around the world. two are dead after this military jet crashed. the jet was flying low and hit a block of apartment buildings before crashing to the ground. >> 40 hurt when a probable tornado ripped through russia. this is new video showing 200 plus homes damaged during the storm that hit the central part that have country. >> wilder beasts aren't known for their smarts, the animals traveling through the park. the group saw the herd walking around the same bush over and over again which raises the question why. >> why did the wilder beast circle the bush? so get to the other side. >> d.n.a. evidence exonerated two brothers. that murder case was three decades old. >> in arizona, police reports described the moments after a

9-year-old accidentally killed a shooting range instructor. her family first thought she was injured by the gun's recoil. she said the gun was too powerful and hurt her shoulder. only then did they realize the instructor had been shot in the head. officials released frantic 911 calls made just after the shooting. >> 911. >> with he need an ambulance immediately. we've got somebody that got shot. >> somebody got shot at the last stop. >> yes, please send an ambulance asap. >> the family is devastated and still in shock from this accident. prosecutors are not filing charges. >> theodore waver learns today how long we will spend in prison but may apologize first for shooting anissha mcbride on his porch. he wants to talk to the girl's parents. what else can we expect this morning?

>> this is bound to be a very emotional morning in court. one of mcbride's sister will make a statement before sentencing. she along with the rest of the family strongly believe that is theodore wafer should spend the rest of his life behind bars. last year, mcbride got into an accident, a car accident and wandered on to his front porch around 4:30 in the morning. unaware of who was on his porch, he grabbed a shotgun and shot her in the face through a locked front door. wafer's defense attorney cheryl carpenter stated that wafer wants to tell the mcbride family that he is sorry for taking their loved one's life. he wishes he could have taken it all back and not opened that door. he beats himself up for opening that door. meantime, her family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against

wafer. his attorney plans to appeal the conviction. >> what about the sentence? prosecutors want a minimum of 15. he could get 25 years in jail, but what is the defense talking about? the defense at the minimum believe that is he will be sentenced to six years in prison. among many factors, his age as well as cooperating with police. >> bisi onile-ere live in detroit, thank you very much. >> in north carolina, yet another example of the wrongly convicted being set free when modern science is applied to old evidence. >> it's two mentally challenged brothers going home after spending most of their lives behind bars for the rape and murder of a young girl. we have the details on that. >> since 1989, according to the national registry of exonerations and the in sense project, d.n.a. evidence has sent 381 wrongly imprisoned

people free. a family never gave up hope. >> friends and family cheer after a judge cleared to half brothers of raping and murdering a young girl over 30 years ago. >> it just wasn't in them. we wasn't raise that had way. i'm glad they're coming home. it took 30 years. we waited, we was patient. we've been through a lot. >> until last week, henry was on death row, his brother leon had seen his sentence reduced to life after a retrial in the mid 1990's. the pair were 19 and 15 when they were arrested for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old back in 1983. their attorneys argued both men had fourth grade level i.q.'s and police took advantage of that when they allegedly coerced confessions, confessions the boys soon recanted. >> at the age of 15, mentally

challenged with no legal representation and no parents there and they're going to tell me they asked to you sign something. >> after reexamining evidence, the innocence inquiry commission demonstrated there was no d.n.a. evidence linking the men to the scene of the crime. in the proceedings, the evidence pointed to 74-year-old inmate roscoe artess a man who admitted that they were innocent. he's in prison for a similar north carolina rape and murder just a month after sabrina died. her family was not celebrating after tuesday's ruling. >> i'm hurt for that family. you heard the little young girl in there crying for her sister. she families the family has been done wrong. >> they are free now, but the legal system might not yet be done with them. police are currently testing a box of evidence that had been lost or had been thought to have been lost until last month.

the district attorney has yet to side whether there is cause to take the brothers back to trial again. >> a stern warning from president obama to the islamic state group. the u.s. is looking to top its reign of terror. we'll talk with refired army major mike lyons. >> the house of blues, one of the nation's biggest megachurchs and accusations against the spiritual leader of the church. >> a rare find in a treasure trove of highly south after baseball cards. why the century old collection witty cob and cy young could be a home run on the auction block. >> images of the day, villagers in china burning giant towers celebrating the autumn festival. >> families get together to give offerings to the full moon by floating sky lanterns and eating

moon cakes.

>> you're looking at a live shot of washington, d.c. where the talk of the town is putting an end to the violence overseas. >> ahead in our next half hour, atlantic city has another casino going belly up. whether the failure of gambling houses were always in the cards is what we will discuss. >> a county in texas struggling to stay afloat with migrants crossing the border. >> there is confusion in ukraine about a possible ceasefire. the office of ukraine's president saying that it has struck a deal with russia, the kremlin saying it is not part of any agreement since it is not taking part in the fighting. vladimir putin is asking the separatists to stop fighting. >> the head of the c.d.c. issuing a dire warning over ebola, saying the outbreak is out of control. the doctor's comments come amid the diagnosis of another

american health care worker with the virus. >> president obama promising action against the islamic state group after another journalist's beheading. they now threaten to behead a british national if airstrikes don't stop. >> an offensive to take back two major cities from i.s. fighters. the islamic state group killed thousands of soldiers in tikrit. the battle was witnessed from the front lines. >> this is the village a 10 minute drive mom amerli. the islamic state yesterday was holding this village. they got there in june. there were airstrikes last night, now peshmerga has taken the village. this village has been so recently taken, they haven't taken down the islamic state flags yet.

you can see the black flags. >> the peshmerga gaining momentum against the islamic state but say that that momentum, which is so important on the ground is at risk, as washington stalls on the decision of whether to send more support for the fight here. >> on the front line, we realize we are not alone. they're fighting in a coalition that would have been unimaginable only a few months ago. setting aside checkered histories, the peshmerga fighting alongside the army and militias from the league of the righteous, a hard core group of iranian backed fighters who formed during the years of u.s. occupation here. >> on the way back from the battlefield, we came across this

convoy where troops amass alongside the road. these are shia fighters. their the army which the u.s. army is very familiar with when they fought in iraq. this is the head of the army. >> they declined to speak on camera but weren't shy about letting us film. strange bed fellows for the u.s. military in this all hands on deck effort to push back the islamic state. >> just last hour, pope francis had words of encouragement for christians in iraq, calling them the heart of the church that says the church is proud of them for standing up against the islamic state group. >> mike lyons joins us, a retired army major. welcome. now the islamic state warned that if airstrikes continued, u.s. airstrikes in iraq that they would continue these beheadings, releasing the video of american citizens. mike, have their actions on the

ground also gotten more aggressive or is this just the propaganda? >> a little bit of both. they have gotten more aggressive, more forward, but the airstrikes have at least stopped some of their advances. i think we'll continue to see these beheadings as long as they have hostages. it's designed to incite fear with the world and make them more of a global international community. >> what position does that put president obama in. is there a change in tone now that a second journalist has been killed? >> he mentioned iraq specifically. we can get more specific with the strategy in iraq. it's ok to say let's eject isis at this point. they have been keeping isis from moving forward, protecting infrastructure and americans. we can now go after isis. they kick up a lot of dust, let's go on the offense and

increase airstrikes. >> the president saying he wants to degrade and destroy the islamic state, can going in through iraq be enough or does syria as many of his advisors have said have to be part of the equation? >> syria is part of the equation. they've got to sort through what military on the ground goes inside syria. if you think about the end game, syria is likely going to get destroyed. the government will likely be collapsed, millions of people displaced. they've got to bring a coalition together of other people in the area, turkey, saudi arabia, there's going to be a tremendous problem not in the short term, but in the area. >> this coalition, what does the u.s. have to wait and see about? does it put us in a position of weakness, not being able to take action alone? >> i think so, especially since most of the problems in iraq were caused by u.s. intervention going back to 2003. we want to at least see some better coalition within sunni

and shia within the government and let them work together first. we saw it finally over the weekend with the shia militias, but again, it still has to be under control so it doesn't look like we are going in to take sides. >> mike lyons, thank you. >> this week, we take a closer look at the immigration crisis and migrant surge on border towns. 600 people or more walk through the harsh desert every day. the sheriff's office is bankrupt and the county struggling to cope. >> once rich with oil fields, now nearly bankrupt with fields of bodies, since 2009, the sheriff's office has picked up more than 400 sets of human remains, migrants who cross the border only to die of dehydration in the 100-degree desert. >> looking at this number, this is like a bowing jet going down in your brush every three years.

that's how many people are dying. is that number real to you? >> yes, it's real. >> the immigration crisis is costly, in terms of human lives and dollars. last year, brooks county spent $156,000 to process bodies. coupled with a decline in tax revenue, county employees took a 3% pay cut. the sheriff, a 38 year veteran gave up 10%. he now works a second job in private security. >> you're the number one law man in this county, and you have to work a second job just to make ends meet. >> yeah, well, i mean $30,000 ain't going to make it. >> those who couldn't stick it out have quit. >> this was my staff when i started, you know. >> how many are left? >> four. >> four deputies, who patrol an area nearly the size of rhode island. they, along with a meager staff of dispatchers are the lifeline

for 911 calls from the desert. too often, the caller is dead by the time they're found. why so many bodies here, 80 miles north of the border? well the u.s. border control check point down the highway is key. the sheriff says smugglers will drive immigrants no further than this point and here is where they would take off on foot through the rough terrain. the nearest town is 15 miles away. >> when i get all the -- you know, everything that comes through. >> because the county doesn't actually touch the border, it does not qualify for federal funding to deal with immigration. the sheriff's department resorts to selling its impounded vehicles to meet the budget. >> we're walking through your sheriff's office car dealer. >> yes yes, this is my dealership. >> most of these were seized from smugglers. forty go up for auction next

month. >> this one will probably bring $3,000. >> the money keeps the department alive, but even this place speaks more of death. a family of five migrants from el salvador died when their smuggling crashed this truck during a police chase. >> there was a girl back in there, way back in there. >> on the floorboard. >> yeah, on the bottom. >> she died there? >> yep. there was another guy who was thrown right here in front. >> what does it say about the desperation of people and the smugglers? >> well, i mean, the guy got out. he lived. >> the smuggler got away. >> the driver got away. >> the migrants already paid him $2,000 a person, so as the smugglers get richer, the county gets poorer while more migrants pay with their lives. brooks county, texas. >> tonight, aljazeera america

talks to a homeowner in the county trying to save the lives of the migrants who cross that desert. you can watch it tonight. >> halliburton will pay out more than $1 billion to settle claims from the deep water horizon explosion and oil spill. the money will go to residents, local governments and businesses fated. halliburton was responsible for cementing the oil well that blew out in 2010. in a statement, the company said the agreement is not an admission of liability. >> cvs is saying no to cigarettes. the nation's second largest drug store chain will stop selling tobacco products today. it said it would do so october 1. it is tweaking it's corporate name to c.v.s. health. >> one of the west's biggest churches is reeling over the loss of its pastor, on leave after accused of bully be, plagiarism and abuse of power.

we are live in seattle this morning. good early morning to you. what triggered this dramatic fall from grace? >> well, a lot of things triggered it, this is a church that started 16, 18 years ago, as a small neighborhood congregation in seattle. it's since grown to 15 churches across five western states. it has a huge international on line following, as well. a lot of that great and popularity due to the brash street talking style of lead pastor mark driscoll. that's a style that has led to widespread resold now within the church. >> in the pulpit of the church, the pastor used tougher take and mail centric division to build an empire. >> you're a nag. being married to you is like a life sentence. the guy's just scratching on his wall every day, one more day, one more day.

>> i think we're seeing the slow demise of a very talented individual. >> dr. james wellman studies megachurchs and calls the pastor a major figure in the movement, a flawed but brilliant preacher who appealed to a generation, looking for moral guidelines. >> said if you're on your computer doing porn, if you're doing games on line, stop it, study the bible, repent, pray, become with jesus christ, find a woman and then marry her. >> thousands of members report a dark side to driscoll. members of five years ran an aids ministry in africa. the two broke with the church over leadership changes and disciplining of two elders. >> he said he would destroy me, destroy my ministry, make sure i could never minister again.

over the next three months, effectively did what he could to do that. >> smith calls driscoll brilliant, but also a bully and monster. >> people wonder why i call him a monster. the reality is that he preaches well on a sunday and he devastates families from monday through saturday. >> anti driscoll websites and facebook pages have blossomed and now at least 30 former and current pastors have leveled charges against him of plagiarism, misuse of church funds, verbal abuse, making himself more important than the church. >> at that point, driscoll became the brand and all the resources went into improving that brand in the name of reaching more people for christ. >> i think mark driscoll fell in love with himself. >> late this summer, he told his congregation he's taking a six week leave but never addressed the charges leveed against him.

>> i am deeply, genuinely sorry for the times i have not done my part to live peaceably with all men. >> smith and others doubt the sincerity of that repentance and say they'll need to see much more. >> when he starts loving individuals, he will eemerge a changed man. i look forward to that day. >> we've asked several times to speak with pastor driscoll. he declined and church leaders say he won't do interviews at this time, that his sermon, posted will stand as his statement in this case. >> is the church hope to go rebuild with the pastor out, where do they go? >> great question. there has been a lot of damage done. former members say whole families at times werioned by the congregation, that is ordered not to have any contact

with people who are still members of the church, business contact, social contact, anything, they were cut off. a lot of people say they have been severely injured by the actions have pastor driscoll and the leadership. it remains to be seen just exactly what they can do. there is a lot of rebuilding to do. we'll wait and find out whether that can take place. >> live in seattle, thank you. >> as we have been talking about this morning, atlantic city's $2 billion bet on a new casino proving to be a bat bet. >> we break down why the city's luck is taking a hit as another casino closes its doors. >> getting up close and personal with a bear. they had a bold mission in mind.

>> you're looking live at an auditorium in estonia where president obama is set to speak he to students and young professionals shortly, one of the stops to reassure u.s. baltic allies that western nations will stand up to russia. >> we're going to talk about something a little lighter, a bold rescue mission to get a bear's head out of a bucket. >> first, in atlantic city, thousands of workers are expected to file for unemployment, laid off by the closures of two major resort hotels. >> another is set to close. the city is making plans for a future that's less dependent on casino gambling. >> this is the biggest gambling loss in atlantic city's history, a glimmering $2.4 billion luxurious tower on the bored bok

closed. it is the latest to fold. workers at trump plaza fear their jobs are next and their protests are not changing management plans. in july, the famed resort shocked everyone here by announcing it would close at the end of the summer. sales are down 26% from a year ago. it is put in last place among the city's 12 casinos. don england has been a cocktail waitress here for 30 years. since the announcement, she's been a regular at these rallies, leading the fight to save more than 1,000 jobs. >> it's not just about closing the building. it's about everything inside of it, a building is nothing until you put people in there. it's about everything inside of it and everything around it. >> the plaza will be atlantic city's fourth casino to close

this year. competition from neighboring states is swallowing up famous boardwalk properties. >> it used to be a hot spot. in 1983, it was the highest grossing casino here. big names sang here, frank sinatra and dean martin, but then at the beginning of this year, it abruptly closed its doors. >> there's a proliferation of casinos all over the united states especially on the east coast. with so many in our town, an entire economy wrapped around casinos, we knew when the bottom hit. we just didn't know how bad. >> the mayor is looking back to the future. he says it's time to return to the old atlantic city, before casinos came in and took over. >> the days of casinos are over and they are going to be closing, not opening up. we are a tourism destination.

we were america's play ground. we need to go back to it again. >> hoping the city bounces back. aljazeera, atlantic city. >> let's go to a gaming industry lobbyist, a partner with the princeton public affairs group here with us in studio. too many casinos, too few gamblers and yet states are lining up for more casinos. is this good money going after bad? >> there probably is. there's a contraction in the industry. it's going to shuffle itself out. atlantic city had a mo nothing ply on east coast gaming, it was either vegas or atlantic city. now you have casinos up the coast to maine. that is being caused by political in eptness to a degree in not allowing new jersey to seek casinos in northern new

jersey. there was a ballot referendum to build four casinos up the river-- >> you mention four new casinos planned in new york, another across the river in washington, d.c. should these jurisdictions reconsider and say maybe not? >> no, the fact of the matter is if you take gaming as just a single traction, that doesn't work, but when you overlay it with attractions, atlantic city worked for many years, because they had a monopoly on it. now that he will have to be more competitive. it will have a rebirth. it will be fine. i share the pain of 6,000 workers on the street today. had we thought years ago about reinvesting in atlantic city, instead of being a vacuum and sending the main west to las vegas, we should have put it back into the infrastructure. that ship has sailed.

now it's time to have a comprehensive approach, not only gambling, but to attract people to new jersey and to these resorts that have multiple -- >> this is going to sound like we're from the gaming industry and here to help and people say i heard that before, why should they trust the gaming industry? >> no, i'll tell you something, the gaming industry that to reinvent itself. it has not been create have and invigorating. it has not been creating new concepts. remember, i gaming is new to america. two states have it, nevada -- well actually delaware, if you consider delaware a state, it's the size of most county's in new york state. they have i gaming and that will have a ripple effect. >> thanks for being with us. >> you're looking at what could be a rare set of baseball cards. we'll look at that in a moment.

these rare so-called tobacco cards are up for auction in maine. three brothers inherited the 1400 cards from their grandfather who had a smoking habit. every time he bought cigarettes, he a little card. they date all the way back to the early 1900s. they are in near perfect condition. the auction is slated for january. >> then there is this, a bear stuck with its head in a bucket for two months, finally freed. a group spotted the cub wandering around pennsylvania, put up a big fight, but they were able to tie it down and cut the bucket loose. wildlife officials wouldn't have stepped in because the cub wasn't hurting anyone. >> unbelievable. they took charge of the situation. i think the bear was quite relieved. can't even imagine. let's get another check of the weather from dave warren. >> the heat taking a little break. out the storms moved out and things are pretty quiet on the radar right now, could see

weather in the northern plains. could put snow into the higher elevations. seventy's here, so cooler start to the day, maybe not quite as humid and a little break from the storms across the southeast. two storms, tropical storms there, nor better and dolly over mexico, one in the atlantic, one pacific not causing too much problem except rough surf and heavy rain over mexico. that's the situation now and we'll continue to update throughout the day. >> thank you. >> tomorrow morning, president obama heading to the nato summit in wales, but will that tough talk against the islamic state group be enough to rally international support to take on the fight? that is tomorrow on aljazeera america at 7:00 a.m. >> that's it for us here in new york. >> coming up in two minutes from doha, the latest on that possible ceasefire in ukraine. >> have a good morning. we'll see you back here tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. >> we will see you then.

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello and welcome to the news hour live from our headquarters in doha. the president of ukraine and russia pick up the phone to discuss ending the bloodshed. iraq's army is in control of tikrit and mosul. washington has coned