the engineering process... >> we go undercover on the factory floor... al jazeera investigates the boing 787 watch online now >> at this point in time, it's important we give the president what he's asking for. >> i would not support the request as it stands today. >> as president obama tries to win support for his plan to deal with islamic state group, members of congress are divided over his strategy, as the militants grow stronger. >> the verdict oscar pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide in the death of reeva steenkamp.

reactions to the verdict is minutes away. >> overnight, a killer back in custody after a daring escape from an ohio prison. officials are trying to determine how the school shooter escaped. >> wild summer weather, from a heavy september snow in the northern plains to record breaking rain and severe flooding in tennessee. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. this morning, the white house is trying to convince lawmakers at home and allies overseas to support the fight against the islamic state group. one key ally, germany said it will not take part in airstrikes. >> congress now considering a vote as soon as next week on the president's strategy. secretary of state john kerry gathering more support from arab nations. he is in turkey today. part of that whirlwind trip through the region. >> russia is weighing in, saying unless the syrian government signs on, u.s. airstrikes in syria would be an act of aggression. mike viqueira is in washington. it seems not everyone is on the same page as the president on

capitol hill. >> that's absolutely right. you cite that had late breaking information from europe. germany will not take part in the airstrikes. the air campaign against the islamic state group comes as the administration continues to try to build that international coalition. with questions now emerging about just who will join the coalition and the president's plan to arm the syrian opposition. >> a day after president obama vowed to destroy and dismantle the islamic state group, the dash to rally international support with secretary of state john kerry traveling in the middle east. >> arab nations play a critical role in that coalition, the leading role, really. >> and on capitol hill, where the president's plan is winning bipartisan support. >> my hope is that everybody supports it. >> it's important that we give the president what he's asking for. >> that includes $500 million to

arm and equip moderate syrian rebels fighting the militants and president bashar al assad. >> the president needs this authority as soon as possible in order to direct united states military to ramp up our assistance to the syrian opposition. >> some from mr. obama's own party are not on the ground tore sign on. >> i would not support the request as it stands today. >> a vote could come tuesday, but the president's decision to strike at i.s. target in syria is met with mixed reaction in congress. >> i think it's incredibly poor judgment by the administration not to seek aggressively and explicitly an authorization for the use of military force. >> fellow republican senator lindsey graham degrees, but delivered this message to the

president. >> there is no way in hell we're going to beat these guys without american ground component in iraq and syria. >> that is not going to happen says mr. obama as 400 military personnel join personnel in iraq, training. i.s. has doubled in size this summer alone from a prefers estimate of 10,000 fighters to between 20 and 31,000. that is faced on large recruitment after the group's huge land gains in syria and iraq and its announcement of a caliphate. >> stephanie, a series of aids including john kerry have been throughout the region. the president is talking to members of capitol hill, members of the congress, who are on the fence. >> what are the obstacles congressional leaders have to overcome to get a vote?

>> it's very important that we make this distinction. there's not going to be a vote on authorizinging the president's plan to expand military airstrikes in iraq and syria, although many believe strikes in syria are a given after the president's speech. they don't want to vote on the first piece of this but must vote on the plan to arm the syrian opposition. it is the president himself a month ago said that that same opposition simply wasn't ready to receive a significant shipment of arms. >> mike viqueira, reporting from washington, mike, thank you, del. >> let's go to nick schiffron in jerusalem now. nick, at mike mentioned, secretary of state john kerry now in the middle east trying to gather support pepsi in turkey today. what exactly are u.s. officials asking for? >> secretary of state john kerry is asking for $500 million or

pledging $500 million for the humanitarian crisis, some flee million refer gees currently living outside syria, one in three syrians are living outside their homes. kerry is focusing on the humanitarian crisis but also the border, so crucial, so many foreign flighters ever flown from the west to syria through syria. u.s. officials pushing turkey to shut off that border. publicly, turkey will not agree. they simply can't risk the fate of some 47 diplomats currently held by the is state. turkey worried if it comes out publicly, they will be killed. a senior official insists to me that privately, turkey will help, will clothes that border and be an aggressive partner begins the islamic state. >> for years, president obama has tried to pivot away from the middle east. does this increase the challenges of creating that coalition they're talking about?

>> i think it's key question and very important. an analyst said to me that these countries in the gulf of as united against the islamic state as they are united in feeling that the u.s. and president obama personally has really neglected them over the last years. what u.s. officials need to do is not only literally focus on the middle east and the islamic state, throwing assets to the region, but convince that obama is back, the u.s. is back focused on the middle east. one phrase used, american leadership. you heard that in the last four paragraphs of his speech, people here wanting that american leadership and u.s. officials trying to convince this region they are back focused on the islamic state. >> is everybody in the region onboard? >> there is an increasing consensus against the is state not because president obama gave

a speech, but because each country is threatened by the islamic state. the obviously strange bed fellow is the united and iran, the islamic state within 25 to 30 miles of the iran, iran not on the same page with many aspects of the united states specifically syria, but inside iraq, they are fighting right next to those u.s. special force it is and drones, saudi arabia is iran's traditional enemy. in syria, the government saying the u.s. needs permission to fire into syria. that's obviously not going to happen and russia saying any firing into syria would be an act of aggression. there is a growing consensus alongside the united states against the islamic state group. >> adding new meaning to the phrase the enemy of my enemy is my friend. nick, thank you very much. >> the french president is in

iraq this morning, bringing humanitarian aid with him. as we report, his visit is more a show of support for the new iraqi government. >> he's the first of the western leaders to actually come to iraq since the war of the islamic state group began. form ago government a few days ago, really does demonstrate how france is at the very point, the front, really of the european nations backing the u.s.'s role in the coalition. you might remember a few weeks ago, the french foreign minister came to iraq, and rather cuttingly said that he could see people were dying when the other foreign ministers from europe were having their holidays. after that, you saw the foreign ministers rushing back to brussels having various meetings where they were pledgeling

support to do something about it. the french president announced that weapons would be coming to arm the peshmerga here in northern iraq. he is showing that is standing firm with the iraqi government and the u.s. you may not remember, it was just a decade ago france was vehemently oppose to the u.s. invasion of iraq. >> the number of islamic state fighters is three times higher than originally estimated. >> for the first time, australia increasing its terror threat level to high, warning of the increased likelihood of a domestic attack. the prime minister tony abbot said a lot of australians have been joining the fight overseas. >> the number of australians in the middle east fighting with and supporting terrorist groups,

the numbers who have returned from the middle east having fought with terrorist groups. >> abbot saying those returning fighters have the in tent and ability to pull off an attack. coming up at 7:45, we'll talk to michael kay about the i.s. threat and why the u.s. strategy may not achieve its goals. >> in the oscar pistorius trial, a judge has convicted the olympic sprinter for the negligent killing of his girlfriend. he was cleared of meditated murder. >> the big question now is how long will his prison sentence be. it was another emotional day in court. >> it certainly is for reeve reeva steenkamp's family who did not get the justice they wanted. pistorius himself not overly emotional. he looked relieved, hugging his uncle and sister. we haven't seen him shed a tear yet. her family was shaking their heads and crying at the verdict.

they wanted him convicted of murder for shooting and killing steenkamp last year. the judge believes pistorius's story that he believed she was an intruder. plus what he did in the moments after he shot his girlfriend proves he did not intend to kill her. >> he acted promptly seeking help after the incident, shouted for help. he called a friend, he called 911, he called security. he was trying to resuscitate the deceased. he pleaded for help and he was distraught. >> in the same breath, the judge condemned pistorius' negligence, saying a reasonable person would not have fired or shot at the

bathroom door, knowing someone was on the other side and likely could be killed, that he acted hastily and used excessive force, which is why she found him guilty of culpable homicide. the sentencing happens october 13. he faces a maximum of 15 years. >> thank you very much. >> that sentencing trial could be contentious. at 8:20, we'll speak with jami floyd about what may have suede the judge. >> a reminder of the september 11 attacks shining over new york city, the two beams representing the twin towers. they could be seen 25 miles away. >> new european sanctions taking effect against russia today for its role in the crisis in ukraine. the parliament will vote next week on a new political and trade agreement with europe.

>> an agreement has been reached overnight allowing gaza to rebuild. the prime minister said the u.s. and israel allowed gaza to import construction materials. they had been banned. estimates are $7.5 billion to rebuild gas. >> an american physician with ebola is responding well to treatment. the doctor contracted the virus in liberia. he's being treated in part with the blood of a fellow american doctor who survived ebola. aljazeera's robert ray is outside emery hospital in atlanta. he is getting blood from dr. kent brantley. explain this treatment. >> good morning, stephanie. dr. kent brantley, who was treated here and released about

three weeks ago, last weekend gave blood transfusions to dr. sacra. the blood has antibodies in it that fought off the ebola infection. they think dr. sacra can benefit from it, hopefully with a good positive outcome for his health. >> do we know anything more about this unnamed fourth ebola patient at the hospital? >> it's interesting. he's been here for a few days, flew over from west africa. we reached out to officials as has many other organizations trying to find more about the doctor being treated in the isolation unit. there's very little details being given. we're told he's in stable condition, and that they're monitoring vitals, keeping him hydrated, making sure his organs

are ok. we don't know much beyond that. >> we shouldn't forget the spread of ebola doesn't seem to be slowing at all in west africa. what's the latest health officials are saying there? >> it is still surging over in west africa. the u.n. dr. margaret chen said there are no available beds for people infected in liberia. that shows you how intense this is. people are being turned away who have ebola. they're being brought up and believe it or not in wheelbarrows and taxis and brought back to their home. another big development, cuba is sending over 100 medical professionals over to west africa in early october. the u.n. says that that will help greatly, because one of the biggest issues on the ground over there is a lack of medical staff, a lack of people to treat these folks with the ebola

infection. those people with him not only be treating, but building new isolation units, as more money comes in. for example, millions of dollars from bill gates and his wife being donated, we just learned. >> $50 million to be exact. robert ray for us in atlanta, robert, thank you. >> back in custody this morning, a convicted school shooter in ohio broke out of a maximum security prison last night. authorities had to race and find him. >> it has been an intense night in ohio. >> absolutely. when word got out that t.j. lane escaped, school officials 200 miles away immediately decided to close down all district schools today. ohio state police say t.j. lane was found at 1:30 this morning, not far from the prison, about 75 miles north of dayton. he is serving three life sentences for killing three back

in 2012 in a high school near cleveland. during the sentencing, lane wore a tee shirt with the word killer sprawled across it and smiled during court appearances. officials wouldn't give details on how he escaped. it is thought that he scaled the perimeter. >> we're using our airplane and our helicopter with the infrared, and using those tools right there, that's what helped us enable to, you know, look at different heat areas and they would apprehend him and pin him down. >> while the individual is now back in custody, there has certainly been an undeniable profound and deep impact on our entire community. >> that is why schools will be open with grief counselors today. police have captured two other prisoners who broke out with lane at the same time. locals say how is it that such a

dangerous boy could be held in what amounts to a probably not minimum, but medium security facility. >> it has ban busy summer for the ohio state patrol, with the situation in ferguson and now this, busy, busy summer. >> the death toll in kashmir continues to rise with the worst floods in 50 years. 450 are dead, 6,000 people are stranded more than a week later, residents say the indian government is responding too slowly and relief efforts almost completely volunteer driven. in pakistan, the floods have killed more than 200 people. >> it is still summer, but parts of the northern country are dealing with a september snowstorm he. >> let's bring in nicole mitchell for the details on these dramatic temperature changes. good morning. >> 30 or 40 degrees in some cases. it dropped and that was cold enough to with the moisture that moved through the area bring in snow. this is casper wyoming, lower elevations got one, two,

three inches, a couple of higher elevations in wyoming, over a foot of snow. this isn't the only place impacted. that was stuck over rapid city, earliest snowfall on record. the old record was 1970. records go back to the 1800s, so pretty impress-to-set an earliest season snowfall and also a coldist high. it was so cold yesterday, you set a record. front of the and freeze warnings this morning, from the dakotas, minnesota, because those temperatures are in the 30's, farmers need to be aware of this, your plans, temperatures cold, rapid city at 32, but a lot of 30's, not much warmer today, today is our coldest morning, we start to recover. >> we didn't have computers in the 1800s when we were keeping those records. >> you had to go outside to do it. >> by your knees, right, del?

>> a new twist in the ray rice controversy. >> fans showing up wearing his number on their jersey and yes, a lot of them were women. >> raging flames tear through a factory, lighting the night sky forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes. >> scientists saying the mars rover expedition can finally begin. why they feel that way now, even though it's been on the red planet for two years. >> $31 million, that's the big number of the day. >> that's the record amount donated to a single university and the giver didn't even graduate.

>> today's big number, $31 million, a tech millionaire giving that amount to the university of married to pay for a new computer science building. >> he attended the school for a year, dropped out, he eventually founded oculus, a virtual reality head set maker bought out by facebook for $2 billion.

>> in additional, the school is going to get $4 million from oculus company founder and $3 million from his mother. >> documents show government officials threatened yahoo with a $250,000 a day fine if it did not release user data to the n.s.a. the threat was made in 2008. a secret panel ordered the company to comply. >> >> the baltimore ravens held their first game since the team reds ray rice. >> there was a surprising fan from women in the audience. john henry has more. >> women all over the country expressed outrage over what the now former nfl star was caught doing on that video released earlier this week. as we saw last night, not everyone woman feels that way. >> the baltimore ravens took the

field, but his jersey was in the fans and streets outside the stadium. >> everybody's got skeletons in their closets. only god can judge. >> it wasn't just the men sporting rice's jersey, but women were wearing it, too, for a variety of reasons. >> i love ray rice. he's done a lot for baltimore. even though i don't condone what he did, i still love ray. he's a good man, made a mistake, what can i say? >> everyone deserves a second chance and we already knew what he did. we were well aware of it back in february. he was honest about it, that he had hit his wife or now his then fiancee and now wife, why no one turned our back on him then, just because we have the video proof doesn't mean we should stop supporting him. >> i don't believe in abuse, but she struck him first and any woman who hit a man can be hit

back. sorry, that's my belief. >> it is believed that the nfl needs to enact a zero tolerance policy for domestic abuse, saying if you violently assault a woman, you shouldn't get a second chance to play in the nfl. the president of the national organization for women say goodell should lose his job for the handling of the incident. >> he has minimized, diminished, swept under the rug these incidents of domestic violence to the point where he's not the person who can credibly commit to make the kinds of changes at the nfl that we think need to be made. >> more pressure was brought to bear on goodell thursday when espn report that had ray rice informed goodell about every detail of the elevator incident. this seems to contradict what goodell earlier said saying that

the story he heard was rice was ambiguous. >> thank you very much. >> one football coach is cracking down on his player's bad behavior. superbowl champ ricky waters will join us with his perspective. >> heavy rains creating more flooding in tennessee and mississippi. >> nicole mitchell is back with more. >> this is that same front with all the cold air behind it that led to areas of snow. the other history of this, as it's moved along has been heavy rain. we have had flooding as this front has been on the move, memphis dealing with that. this will linger through the southern tier of the country through the rest of the day. atlanta, two or three inches as we get through, always those isolated spots to are more. we still have flood concerns in places like mississippi. i'll have more coming up on

problems that could be caused for florida. >> the islamic state group recruiting fighters using social media. >> many recruits are westerners, including americans. how the white house is fighting back. >> former u.k. military advisor michael kay will be here to talk about what the u.s. strategy may be missing. >> the venice of nigeria, but this is a slum, the dangers of pollution. >> a police officer video shows him hitting and kicking a prisoner. the simple thing that officer was doing that quickly escalated. >> handcuffing inmates to neighborhood playgrounds, one of our stories caught up in our global net.

>> you're looking live at the courthouse where olympian oscar pistorius was convicted of a charge that's the equal of manslaughter here in the u.s. in connection with the shooting of

his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. welcome to al jazeera america. straight ahead, what an independent scotland would mean for england and the rest of the world. >> tough love from a college football coach cracking down on players off the field. >> the new program trying to help the unemployed in new orleans get back to work. >> oscar pistorius has been convicted of culpable homicide, a judge ruling he was negligent in the shooting death of his girlfriend. he faces 15 years in prison. >> ebola death toll tops 2300. an american doctor with the virus received the blood of a doctor who survived. he is said to be responding well to the treatment. >> germany decided not to take part in airstrikes against the islamic state group as congress

considers new legislation giving president obama authority to fight i.s. ten country have supported the mission. >> i.s. has recruited fighters use be social media, not going unnoticed by the white house. we show you how the white house is now fighting back. >> slickly produced videos, on line magazines, apps and viral hash tags, the self declared islamic state group has demonstrated a mastery of tools to spread on line. >> we will redouble efforts to cut off its funding improve intelligence, strengthen defenses, counter its warped ideology. >> the on line war against extremist groups has been underway for much longer than the military campaign. leading the battle, tasked with

counter violent extremism, the center was built from the ground up. >> the center for strategic counter terrorism communications has two functions, one, to blunt that recruitment ustion traditional media, and the second to blunt it on line. it's the on line capability that has really grown over the past few years. >> so have its efforts in english. in an attempt to steer would-be western recruits away. today, the center's focus is on i.s. with a campaign called think again, turn away, on twitter, facebook and you tube. responding directly to individuals, the center's messages use graphic images and videos to warn would-be recruits that those who join often never come back. the sis grooms children for death, rapes innocents and bombs

mosques of muslims. is the message tainted because it's coming from the american government? it is said to cut both ways. >> certainly the fact that the state department is transparent about who it is have its a lot of anger from people who dislike the united states, but it also invites attention by virtue of being the u.s. government. >> can you tube videos and tweets really crack the radicalized mind, dissuading those so convinced of their ideas that they're willing to give up their lives to fight? aljazeera. >> retired lt. col. michael kay is a former advisor to the united kingdom's defense ministry and joins us with more. thanks for being with us. ten arab countries are going to support the fight. how significant is that?

>> it is a start. it's lacking in granularity, in my opinion, and it's a non-binding agreement, so actually, you cannot hold anyone's feet to the fire on this. it's always missing a couple of key players, russia, and more importantly, it's missing iran, so it doesn't encapsulate the entire problem from a foreign policy perspective. >> saying it does not address the terrorism being e ported. does tehran have a point? >> they absolutely do ever a point. i think iran's point is that what this isn't doing is addressing the root of the problem. isis is a symptom of a broader problem, which is assad, a lack of government outside damascus, allowing isis to grow in aleppo without the threat of security

forces and allowed them to get where they are today. we are not tackling assad. >> we have another guest that suggested yesterday that the u.s.'s policy of supporting the auto contracts in the sunni state and arming them is part of the problem. do you agree? >> there are over 1200 groups operating in syria, randomly with many different lefties. in terms which addressing the syria problem, we need to understand the options. one is the syrian national council, that would be an alternate i have to assad. in order to maintain that governance. in order to have systems, you've got to have an army, a police force. who would be the army and police force that would pledge allegiance to the syrian national council moving forward? that's one option. the other option is we work with assad on this, because the common enemy is isis, jihad,

al-qaeda. at the moment, we have someone in place in syria with all the domestic in substitutions that opposes that. >> shouldn't there be an attempt at a political solution at some point in syria, includion assad? >> there has to be a political solution. as we said yesterday, military activity is short term, unguided and ineffective without foreign policy. the key aspect is the united nations supreme court council. we've got to bring russia and china in on this to get a u.n. security council resolution imposed on syria, one condemns the gross widespread human rights by islamist groups or extremist groups in syria. that's not enough. when you've got saudi arabia purportedly back that go u.n. security council resolution, which is just fraught with home rights violations, 19 beheadings since august 4, non-violent

crimes, it's hypocrisy. >> some say it's wishful thinking to think they can get anything done with russia having the veto power. >> this raging fire in bridgeport connecticut overnight destroyed two industrial buildings. the mayor of bridgeport saying barrels were exploding like bombs. the heat melted siding on houses, hundreds of homes were evacuated. there were no serious injuries reported. we want to take to you a unique place in nigeria, a fishing village where water is a way of life. a lot of residents live on boats. those who live there worry the government's going to make them leave. >> with watery leans clogged by float be shops, this is

nigeria's islam on water. 2,000 live here. positivity and disease is a way of life. a fisherman lives here with his wife and 13 children. >> we are a fishing community, and like the fish, we cannot do without water. some might say we're living precariously, but we are used to it. we are very contented. >> people don't just survive, they thrive, too. >> for the people, they live along the water, they live, and shop here. you can find anything but a grave on islam on stilts. >> local officials began to take a keen interest in the slum. two years ago, they sent men with chain saws to the water ways to demolish houses, a move that left thousands homeless.

this woman sits where her house once stood. she has nine children and grandchildren. >> i was born here and so were my parents. i know nowhere else. that's why i couldn't leave. that's why i would rather die than leave. >> things are beginning to improve. the government has abandoned its plan to evict the residents. they now have a floating school. this man has campaigned for better conditions. he is encouraged by what he sees. >> it recognizes that these people have a right to remain in their community. it is functional like any other community. >> the people say they will

continue to leave the way their forefathers did, taking comfort in their communal existence, just one more thing that reinforces the feeling that their home is somehow separate from the jungle beyond it. aljazeera, nigeria. >> that entire village, entirely within the city limits. >> playing gets out of hand. this is tae kwon do from inside a jail in denver, featuring a deputy showing off to an inmate and then it goes bad. the inmate began teasing him, saying that isn't a kick. two threw half hearted punches, then the deputy a sidekick at the inmate's head. other officers rush in here. the deputy was suspended. >> scotland just days away from that vote that could change its future, deciding whether or not to declare independence from england. >> yes, it will bring an end to

a union that's lasted more than 300 years. it could mark the beginning of a very different perspective on foreign policy. >> any new country has the ability to choose its friends. the nationalist leader sammons was taking questions from journalists frock fishing rights to spain to student visas for indians. you can see a difference. i wondered whether an independent scotland would join the coalition against islamic state as the u.k. has. at the moment, it's a no. >> do you think then if scotland were independent now, a scottish air force would participate militarily in that campaign? >> we will only, the attitude of this government and scottish parliament, we'd only participate in military action which had been sanctioned by the

united nations under international law. >> more huge differences, scott land's anti nuclear doesn't want to host the u.k.'s weapons. it wants to stay in the european union, which westminster is increasingly turning against. the scottish national party wants to be innate toe, which their partners in the green party don't like at all, though they're prepared to put up with it for the time being. >> that's something positive about the nature of scottish democracy. we can arrange political views on the yes side or no side whether it comes to nato, to other aspects of foreign policy, to energy policy, social justice policy or anything else. >> it goes without saying this new prestige scotland would enjoy hangs like a fog over the political elite in london. >> opponents of the scottish nationalists say an independent scotland would disappear off the national map without the status and power of the united kingdom

behind it. maybe so, but the united kingdom's real fear is what it would look like without scotland. it was said losing scotland would be so humiliating that the united kingdom would surely be felt around the world. >> that referendum watched by separatist movements around the world. we'll look at how it's inspired an ethnic group in spain trying to break away. >> someone seems to have issued their vote. scotland's mythicalcededdure may have decided her vote already. of course tongue in cheek here, an image is shown of her making her way south of the scottish border. she's in english waters. >> this is really tongue in cheek, there is no loch ness

monster. >> there's the picture. the timing of this photo, allegedly captured on time lapse video is suspect. >> handcuffed to each other behind play ground equipment, authorities of keeping prime suspects in a public park due to overcrowding at a local detention center. the center usually holds 70 prisoners but rarely falls below 100. these prisoners there are chained to the play ground, suspected of crimes from robbery to drug trafficking. >> italian police foiled a massive scam involving counterfeit bottles of red wine. >> what type of wine was that again? [ laughter ] >> the equivalent of 220,000 bottles were seized. this has happened before, fake wine labels, it's an expensive, coveted wine and apparently they put some cheap wine to top it

off. the u.s. is actually in the past banned exports of this wine. >> there's a collector that paid $1.5 million for a rare wine collection and it was fake. >> college football coach being both praised and criticized. >> his rules have benched some of his best players, but he says a loss is worth the lesson it teaches them about being men. >> you might want to call this separation anxiety, the panda cub that can't let go of its handler. >> the dinosaur that didn't just walk the earth, today's prehistoric discovery also swam in its ocean.

>> it is time for one of our discoveries today, one of the largest dinosaurs was actually a

seamonster. >> researchers say this meet eating creature was a superb swimmer, paddled like a duck and breathing like a crocodile. it was quite clumsy on land. >> it was more than 50 feet long. scientists reconstructing the dinosaur using fossils they found in morocco. >> the sport of football has taken a hit, drug use and domestic violence charges dominating the headlines. that is not the case at the university of texas. coach charlie strong has strict rules and if players do not respond, they are kicked off the team. how is the approach playing out there? >> good morning, stephanie. u.t. this year has not been free of troubles, either. there's been two players charged with sexual assault over the

summer. charlie strong kicked them off the team. he's the first black head coach of texas and showing thus far no tolerance for players who misbehave. >> the coach entered the field as a disciplinarian. >> i tell them i've been your age, you ever not been my age, so you are to listen to me, because i can help you. >> players who reject his help lose their places on the team. he has suspended four players and dismissed eight. he has five core values, honesty, no drugs, no stealing, no guns and treating women with respect. >> it's relevant to society. we should respect women, and i think it's a good sign that charlie strong has long held that as one of his five core values. if you don't do that, you are not going to be part of his program. >> last saturday against brigham

young university, texas was missing two starters, suspended for breaking team rules. texas lost 41-7. >> you get frustrated, because you look at a talented group of players that you to have suspend that could be helping this football team. >> the loss was a humiliating defeat. >> certainly we want to play better than that. >> steve patterson heads the most well funded college program in the country with a $175 million budget. >> that's the big 12 for championships. >> here, surrounded by evidence of texas's athletic success, it's impossible to ignore the pressure to win. >> at the end of the day, what matters most? is it the ethics, is it the wins or somewhere in the middle. >> we've always been about winning with integrity. if we can't, it doesn't make sense for us. >> the on campus reception to

strong's no nonsense coaching has been positive. >> i have friends that are players. some of great guys. some have egos that can get in the way and think i can do whatever i want and that they may not have the same consequences. he's letting them know that that's not the case, so it's great. >> the university is reported receiving a record-setting $850 million in donations last year. >> i haven't been getting phone calls what is he doing, he's got to keep these players on regardless of the rules they broke, not one single phone call like that. >> he insists it will be a tougher team not long run, winning both on and off the field. >> of course, it's still early to make that assessment. there's only been two games played this season. texas so far won one.

saturday, tomorrow, they'll face or u.c.l.a. and again, those two starters suspend ford breaking team rules will not be playing. >> it does seem the university is standing behind the coach right now, but what about the players? do they like coach strong's style? >> coach strong says that 95% of his team is behind him, and those are validated by comments from players. he certainly does have some tougher standards to follow. it's not just about those rules, those core values, it's about the little things, players having to sit in the front row in all their classes, showing up early, walking from the locker room to the field, all of this is a very different feel here in texas, but the players say this will make them not only tough on the field, but off. >> thank you. >> stephanie, let's go to brian davis, covering texas longhorn football. mr. davis, my sister teaches law

at u.t. football is a religion in texas. the longhorns lost to b.y.u. how is the community acting and how much rope does strong have before they come after him. >> that is the big question, how much rope are they going to give him. you look at fallout from this past weekend, a lot of shock and awe, what's going on here. the majority of the players were on the offensive side of the ball, so the defense didn't have much of an excuse, it is fully stocked. to give up a 47-1 loss to b.y.u., a lot of questions about that. still, the emails and voice mails and all the communication that i get, a lot of people are still behind him. >> isn't it true that the last coach is gone because he didn't win? isn't it about winning at the university of texas? >> there's no doubt about that. that's absolutely what this

ultimately will come down to. mack brown was a fantastic person and coach, however, eight wins, nine wins, eight wins is not good enough at the university of texas. here comes a new coach trying to establish a very strong discipline fundamental base, right and loses 41-7. it's only the second game of his tenure and he has a five year contract, but still, people want wins. this is a school that took in $165 million last year, $80 million of that came through football. right? i always think of this as a mid cap stock, a mid cap foreign 500 company and charlie strong is the c.e.o. >> one loss, already out of bowl contention. is coach strong going to back down? >> absolutely not. i think this is a man who would rather go down losing with his priorities and fundamentals than he would winning and cutting

corners. i absolutely believe that. >> joining us from austin texas this morning, thanks mr. favorite. >> you bet. >> your flight into outer space has been delayed again. virgin galactic promised the first would take off before the end of this year. branson said that will not happen until at least next spring. they are practicing for the eventual launch day. >> let's get another check of your forecast. pack a sweater. >> that's if you head northward. we still have tropical weather in some places. more on the snow a little later. that bunty that brought all the cold air has settled through the southern tier of the country and another separate feature, we've had just to the south of the lake, a broad area of low pressure. it's over land now but bringing heavy rain to parts of southern florida as it slowly moves across.

what's interesting about this, though, is we just hit a couple of days ago the peak of the atlantic hurricane season. as that reemerges in the gulf, we'll watch if it does anything. look for areas of heavy rain, not with the south in the front but in florida with that feature, two or three inches not out of the question. >> nasa's mars rover reached its target destination. it arrived at the base of mount sharp, a three-mile high mountain where the rover will begin its main investigation of the red planet's mysteries. scientists hope the next phase will shed light on the nature of mars. >> this panda didn't want to let go, clinging to its keeper's leg, making it difficult for him to clothes the gate. the research base focuses on conservation and breeding. >> a devastating flooding continues in the kashmir region of india. >> many in india forced to flee,

accusing rescuers are showing preference over who they help. >> families relocating from the northeast to more affordable towns in the deep south. we'll be right back. >> they're vulnerable these are refugees. >> migrant kids flooding into the us. >> we're gonna go and see who's has just been deported. >> why are so many children fleeing? >> your children will be part of my group... >> fault lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> there blocking the door... >> ground breaking... >> truth seeking... >> we have to get out of here... award winning investigative documentary series... no refuge: children at the border only on al jazeera america

>> an astonishing america tonight investigative report >> why are you wearing gloves? >> ocd... taking over this woman's life... >> i don't wanna touch anything... >> now a controversial surgery can literally reprogram her mind >> we can modify emotional

circuitry >> is this a miracle cure? or an ethical nightmare? >> there's a lot of mystery right now... >> rewiring the brain an america tonight investigative report only on al jazeera america >> a guilty verdict, a south african judge convicts oscar pistorius. the evidence that led to her decision. >> saying no to the obama administration in its fight against the islamic state group. the numbers suggest the threat is growing. >> developing overnight, a convicted school shooter recaptured after a bold escape.

how he broke out of prison. >> i want to impress my children, so working is a big priority in my life now. >> tackling a huge problem, unemployment in the big easy, the new initiative to solve the cries facing black men in new orleans. >> good morning. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. >> breaking news out of south africa, oscar pistorius has been convicted in the killing of his girlfriend, the judge ruling he committed culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the u.s. >> he was cleared of premeditated murder. let's bring in erica pitzi now. the key question, will he go to prison and for how long? >> we're not going to know that for another month, sentencing scheduled for october 13. we just learned he was reds on bail within the last few minutes and free to go until then. as for today, it was another emotional day in the courtroom.

reeva steenkamp's family looked angry. pistorius not overly emotional. he looked relieved hugging his family after the verdict. no tears today, though he looked somber. steenkamp's family was shaking their heads, crying as the judge delivered the verdict. they wanted him convicted of murder for shooting and killing steenkamp on valentine's day last year. the judge believed that he thought steenkamp was an intruder when he fired his gun at the bathroom door. she said what he deed afterwards proved he did not intend to kill her. >> seeking help soon after the incident, he shouted for help. he called a friend, he called 911. he called security, although he could not speak as he was crying, he prayed to god to save the deceased's life. he was seen trying to

resuscitate the deceased and he pleaded with the doctor to help and he was distraught. >> the judge condemned him for his negligence, saying a reasonable person would not have fired four shots in the bathroom door, knowing someone was on the other side and would likely be killed. the judge said he acted hastily. it's up to the judge's discretion for his sentence. he faces 15 years in prison but could get a suspended sentence. that could actually allow him to start up his athletic career again. >> thank you. >> we want to turn to our other top story this morning, the president's push for support and his plan to fight the islamic state group. >> congress could vote as early as next week on the new strategy. secretary of state john kerry is in turkey this morning, 10 arab nations have signed on to help.

>> one key u.s. ally is not going to be joining the coalition, angela merkel's office confirming that germany is not going to be helping with the airstrikes. we have team coverage this morning. nick schiffron is watching john kerry's diplomatic mission from jerusalem. we begin with mike viqueira in washington. what can you tell us about that announcement coming out of berlin by angela merkel? >> you mentioned that john kerry is trying to drum up arab support, particularly sunni support for the coalition. angela merkel's spokeswoman saying germany will not contribute air power to the coalition as the president proposes expanding strikes into syria. germany does not usually take a lead war when it comes to air

power, in the iraq war or afghanistan. more hesitation coming from the united kingdom, as well, downfield cameron seeming to indicate the other day that the u.k. would not contribute air power. that has been walked back, pointing toward a foreign minister's meeting. the united states hopes to get everybody on the same page. >> members of congress have been getting briefings from the president's national security team. here in the u.s., what are they saying about the possible legislative support for the president's plan? >> as with usual in congress, you can't take everything they say at face value. members of congress are saying a whole host of things. this is all in the context of an election coming up on the first tuesday in november. members of congress are confident in the knowledge that leaders are not going to make them take a tough vote on authorizing military strikes themselves. they must and it's inhe is

scalable that he take a stand on the president's plan. the president said a month ago to the new york times arming them has been a fantasy. he degraded them as a group of farmers, pharmacists and doctors, now asking the congress to send them heavy arms to fight the islamic state group. john boehner, the speaker of the house was among those yesterday raising a voice of concern. >> i support the president's plan to train and equip iraqi security forces in the syrian opposition but remain concerned those measures could take years to fully implement at a time when isils momentum and territorial gains must be halted and reversed immediately. >> john boehner, who said it requires and all out effort seems to be sake the president needs to go further. >> thank you very much.

>> let's go to nick schiffron, live in jerusalem. secretary of state john kerry logging a lot of miles these days. what is he trying to achieve? >> he's trying to accurate a coalition, some members who are traditional enemies. he's got 10 arab nation to say agree perhaps militarily, but stem the flow of fighters and funding to the islamic state group and crucially to try and counter the radical religious message that the group instills throughout the middle east. it is not an easy mission for kerry and america's diplomats, but is an essential one. >> for 48 hours, across four countries, america's top diplomat has had hat in hand with dozens of leaders. >> what a pleasure it is for me to be back in the kingdom of saudi arabia. >> the u.s. could target the

islamic state alone. it doesn't want to. >> that strategy is centered in a global coalition of nations. >> even a massive campaign can't defeat the islamic state group without regional support. >> it just creates space for the kind of political compromise, political reform, improved governance, human development that will knock lately society in the middle east against this extremist rhetoric, appeal and violence. >> at the center of the coalition is saudi arabia. >> they can help combat the islamic state group's if a nat kelley lidgeous propaganda and accept persuade sunnis to fight the sunni islamic state group an.>> it will give confidence in this new iraqi government that they can expect to get a fair shake. >> now saudi arabia has agreed

to train the tip of the spear. moderate rebels will get $500 million to fight islamic state group fighters inside syria. without that help, islamic state fighters would have a safe haven the size of maryland. >> that's the only way you can deny i.s.is safe havens by empowering the free syrian army to destroy them on the ground. >> many syrian rebel fighters, who i met on the border earlier this year are difficult to vet. in the past, some switched sides and gave they are weapons to the islamic state group. the free syrian army argues the more the u.s. hems, the safer those weapons are. >> that's the guarantee that you have that those weapons don't fall into the wrong hands is giving them to the forces on the ground fighting the extremists that not only the syrian people oppose, but the international community. >> this isn't only about military and coalition building. without solving the political root problems, this strategy isn't likely to succeed.

>> they want to send a strong message to the hill and the to the the region that they don't see this as solely a military campaign and they're willing to make an investment in the work of governance and development on the ground that will make a lasting difference. >> as a sign of how difficult this coalition will be to build, turkey, the country kerry is currently in refused to sign the agreement signed by 10 countries yesterday and saudi arabia publicly declined to actually train all fighters. the difference is public versus private, privately, turkey is a very helpful and aggressive ally against the islamic state group and saudi arabia will train all of those moderate syrian fighters, but in these countries, it's very fragile to be seen supporting the u.s. against the islamic state, just another example of how difficult this coalition will be to build,

really an attack in syria and iraq that one u.s. general says will be more difficult than the wars in iraq and afghanistan. >> thank you. nick schiffron, live for us in jerusalem. >> fascinating how much is going to be said publicly, how much done privately. >> i.s. has dozens of hostages. >> and american-made weapons, as well. >> the ravens went back to the football field, surrounded by controversy. >> some fans continue to support him. some of those supporters were women and they haven't thrown away those rise jerseys. >> absolutely not, very surprising. ray rice jersey number 27 wasn't on the field, of course, when the ravens hosted the pittsburgh steelers. you didn't have to look hard to finder it near the field, both in the stands and on the streets outside the stadium. it wasn't just the men sporting the jersey, but a few women were wearing them, too, for a variety

of reasons. >> i love ray rice. easy done a lot for baltimore, even though i don't condone what he did. >> i still love rice. he's a good man, made a mistake, what can i say? >> we already knew what he did, were well aware of it in february. just because we have the video proof doesn't mean we should stop supporting him. >> i don't believe in abuse, but she struck him first and any woman who can hit a man can be hit back. sorry, that's my belief. >> it's the belief of a bipartisan group of six fee nail u.s. senators that the nfl needs a zero tolerance policy over domestic abuse, saying so to roger goodell thursday. more pressure was brought to bear where espn reported that ray rice reported to the nfl every single detail of the elevator meeting soon after the incident. this seems to contradict god he will's assertion that the story he heard from rice was

ambiguous. >> coming up at 8:50 a.m., ricky waters will weigh in on the scandal and calls for roger goodell to step down. >> there was a unique treatment for the american doctor with ebola, the latest. he received a transfusion from a fellow american who recovered from the virus. he's getting blood from kent brantley. explain the treatment. >> good morning. a blood transfusion occurred, a couple last weekend in omaha, nebraska from dr. kent brantley. his blood went into dr. sacra's blood, basically because dr. kent brantley fought off the ebola infection in the hospital behind me. they think his antibody that is flow through his body that

fought off the ebola infection could help the doctor in omaha. he seems to be getting better. yesterday, his wife came out a very happy wife. let's listen to what she had to say. >> it's really meant a lot to us that he was willing to give that donation so soon after his own recovery, and i spoke with his wife before it was arranged, and we both marveled at this, the fact that they had the same blood type. that was just, to us, that was something from the lord. >> it should be noted also these two doctors go back. they're actually very good friends, part of the same organization in north carolina, the same aid organization, so this is promising. promising treatment for people that ever come down with the ebola infection, if dr. sacra comes through with these transfusions from brantley's body. >> why hasn't the doctor at

emery named their latest ebola patient. >> well, you know, they haven't said per se why, but there is the confidential agreement between patient and hospital, hipaa laws, and we are assuming that the doctor who's been treated in the isolation unit behind us just doesn't want his information released at this point. that is our best guess right now. we hope to find out more in the coming days. >> you're right, under hipaa, they don't have to say anything. >> ohio authorities have caught a convicted school shooter who broke out of prison with two others. >> the community near the school was on edge last night. >> it really was. i don't think many people have had much sleep in parts of ohio last night, very frightening for a lot of people. police alerted school officials that t.j. lane escaped prison. that is when the district nearly

200 miles away from the prison decided to close schools down today immediately. ohio state police found t.j. lane in the end at about 1:30 this morning not far from the lima prison north of dayton. lane is serving three life sentences for killing three students in 2012 near cleveland. during the killing and at the time of his sentencing last year, lane wore a tee shirt with the word "killer" scrawled across it and smiled during court appearances. prison officials wouldn't give specific details on how he managed to escape last night, though it is thought he scaled the perimeter fence. >> we were using our airplane and also using our helicopter, with the infrared, and using those tools right there, that's what helped us enable, you know, look at different heat areas and they would apprehend him and pin him down. >> while the individual is now

back in custody, there has certainly been an undeniable pro found and deep impact on our entire community. >> so now, the plan is today for grief counselors to be on hand and all classes are canceled. police captured the two other prisoners who broke out at the same time as t.j. lane and a big stress is underway at the prison to figure out exactly what went wrong. how was this very dangerous young man captured and helped at a minimum security prison. >> and able to scale the perimeter. >> president obama issuing a major disaster declaration following last month's earthquake in california. the federal emergency funds are going to be released to the state, the white house not saying how much money is going to be set aside. it could be eligible for up to eight february $000 million. >> heavy rain again on tap in parts of the u.s. thanks to a stubborn system. >> let's turn to nicole

mitchell. how stubborn and how cold is it? >> it's cold behind the system. with the system is where we've had persistent flooding rain moving through the country, so cities like memphis yesterday, this sat over the city, gave four and a half inches of rain, a report for the city. we're running about a third above average, so far this year. with the woundy through the south, through the gulf coast, you can watch for heavy periods of rain. this isn't the only thing factoring in. atlanta two to three inches, we could see three to four for the next couple of days in florida, not a tropical storm yet, but when it reemerging in the gulf, that's something we'll to have watch. either way, heavy rain for florida. >> you have been working overtime since last winter, to tell you a lot. thanks a lot. >> nice to be appreciated. >> thanks a lot. >> oscar pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide had faced

life behind bars if found guilty of murdering his girlfriend. we'll speak with our legal expert about how he was found guilty on the lesser charge. >> the city of new orleans facing a crisis, more than half of the black men there are unemployed. we are live in new orleans with a new initiative to get them back to work. >> comparing britain to the death star? a cold reception for labor leaders.

>> taking a look at the video shot by our citizen journalists around the world, protestors gathering in phnom penh angry about being evicted bay property developer, demanding that the company be investigated which has faced similar allegations at the past. >> tony abbot met by pro

defendantors in melbourne, shouting anti abbot slogans. they are angry about cuts made to education. police officers clashed be with the group. >> pro independence protestors in scotland letting british leaders know exactly how they feel, following labor party leaders blaring the theme from star wars, protestors comparing britain's parliament to darth vader's death star. >> the plan by new orleans mayor to tackle the 52% unemployment rate among the city's black man. >> oscar pistorius convicted, found guilty of culpable homicide. the judge saying he was negligent in killing his girlfriend. he was acquitted of the murder charges, he faces 15 years in prison when sentenced next month. our legal contributor here joins us. what do you make of today's

guilty verdict are and what's the difference between culpable homicide and manslaughter? >> he was charged with first degree murder, the top charge and in fact what they have is murder in the second degree, cleared of both of those in what the judge said was a unanimous verdict. she has two assistors who work with her. she wants everyone to know that they agreed on this essentially manslaughter, as you say, del or what some might think of as third degree murder. it means he meant to fire the gun but wasn't thinking clearly enough to understand the consequences that he was in fact going to kill someone inside the toilet, that he was frontic, that he was out of control, and that he acted recklessly or negligently in firing the gun. she spent a long time talking about his behavior after discovery reeva's dead or dying body that in bathroom, trying to

resuscitate her, calling 911, calling for help, operating to god that she would survive, inconsistent, the court found with someone who intended to murder her. >> are you saying that his testimony is ultimately what swayed the judge? >> she did say that she thought he was a terrible witness, evasive, i'm not really listening to the questions, acknowledging that many of the witnesses were under a lot of stress in this case, as witnesses often are, but that part of the testimony and the testimony of others who came to the scene clearly was persuasive for her, and the facts of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the shooting made a difference in court. >> he is not out of the woods yet. one thing that struck me was what happened after the sentence was read. the pictures seem to indicate that he was smiling or happy after the verdict. of course he was cleared of the more serious charges, but might that play against him in sentencing. >> he's done some things in the course of the trial that have

been been problematic, went to a nightclub. his attorney had to address that. he was smiling, and throughout the course, he's been very emotional, a roller coaster, as we know, the vomiting, the crying, crying in court yesterday as part of the verdict came in, rather stoic as this verdict came in and smiling in the aftermath. he may have been smiling because he can go home. he's able to go home and he has not had to stay in jail. the prosecutor was very much opposed to that. >> i want to get in this question, because her family, is there a sentence that will make them feel justice was served? >> they might have been more satisfied with second degree murder, certainly not satisfied with this. he is facing a possible 15 year sentence, but that would be the maximum. he was convicted on one other charge that carries a five year sentence. >> jami floyd, our legal contributor here, thank you very

much. >> my pleasure. >> just reds documents show government officials threaten yahoo with a $250,000 fine for each day it did not release user data to the u.s.a. the threat was made in 2008 after yahoo refused to hand over the information. a secret panel ordered the company to comply. >> home land security records show $359,000 people were deported, a 20% decline from last year. >> new orleans has an unemployment issue, more than half of all black men in the city are out of work. the mayor said that's unacceptable. we are in new orleans this morning. what does the mayor plan to do about it? >> the mayor announced a pretty ambitious plan, called pathways to prosperity. 52% of black men in the city

don't have a job. the mayor's office spend six months or so going around the city, finding who these men are, where they live, why they aren't working and brought together anchor institutions in a new network like the new hospital, airport and others to provide training and jobs. >> brian carter hasn't had a job in nearly a year. he's 27 with two kids. >> i want to impress my children more than anything, so working is a big priority in my life right now. >> we set it 16 on center. >> david diaz is unemployed. he returned to new orleans after 12 years in prison for armed robbery. >> i'm a changed man and eager to learn and work. >> both men hope to start a career in carpentry, being trained for the job as part of the mayor's push to deal with a city wide epidemic, 52% of

working age black men her or jobless. >> that is not acceptal. it's unjust. it doesn't do anything but actually pull the entire economy of the city down. >> many of the men face common obstacles, lack of education, criminal history and employer discrimination. they want to get the men willing to work connected with specific jobs. >> sometime they are train forego people for jobs that don't exist. we're making sure all investments we are making make opportunities for men here already who don't have the jobs. >> eight major employers, hospitals, universities and the airport are partnering. the sewage and water board will team with a local college to offer training for the hundreds of jobs created at new orleans overhauls its system. businesses may be more likely to

hire african-americans. >> all institutions should be hiring people who live around them. they say i'd love to, but i don't know who they are. they're not trained, it allove to but, but, but. we want to get rid of all of the buts. >> for brian, what he's heard so far sunday like assurance that there will be help. >> some of us really do want stock. after six weeks of training, he hopes to work full time, no longer a part of the statistic. >> again, this is a pretty broad initiative, a pretty ambitious initiative, stephanie. the mayor knows there are several details that he still has to iron out, specifically how programs will work, how they'll work together and also long term how this will be funded. so far, the money for this up-front work has been paid for through private donations. >> that certainly leaves a lot of questions. i'm curious how the unemployment rate compares to the national average.

>> overall, you have 7%, that's the unemployment rate in new orleans. you look at the national average, it's slightly lower, aren't 6% now, based on the latest numbers. when you look at the specific population here, black men, 52% in new orleans, compared to 7% overall. the mayor says we've got to do something about this population, while new orleans touts, you can't say we're coming back if we haven't come back together. >> we have reported the obama administration working to rally support for taking on the islamic state group. we'll talk about whether the president has given the group the upper hand by revealing his strategy. >> authorities in pakistan and india face heavy criticism over to their response to devastating floods. the rescue efforts being carried out but ordinary citizens. >> allegations against the nfl commissioner roger goodell. how long did he know about that

videotape about ray rice? we weigh in on what is next. >> our images of the day, hundreds of people flooding the streets of barcelona, spain, celebrating the national day of cat lonia. >> they will vote on independence from spain. >> we will have more on the effort on why they are seeking a split, coming up.

>> a crisis on the border >> they're vulnerable these are refugees. >> migrant kids flooding into the us. >> we're gonna go and see who's has just been deported. >> why are so many children fleeing? >> your children will

be part of my group... >> fault lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> there blocking the door... >> ground breaking... >> truth seeking... >> we have to get out of here... award winning investigative documentary series... no refuge: children at the border only on al jazeera america >> welcome to al jazeera america. ahead in our next half hour, an exodus underway across marrying, middle class citizens are moving to cut their cost of living. where they're going in search of relief. >> residents in spain are looking to make a move, wanting to separate themselves from the morland. leaders are saying not so fast. >> a look at our top stories this morning, authorities in ohio are trying to determine how a school shooter broke out of prison. t.j. lane is back behind bars. he slipped out of jail last night. he is serving three life sentences.

>> olympic sprinter oscar pistorius convicted of culpable homicide, negligent in the shooting death of his girlfriend. he faces 15 years in prison when sentenced next month. >> germany is not participating in airstrikes against the islamic state group, announcing that as the u.s. is trying to accept up efforts to win over allies overseas and here at home. congress could vote next week on giving the president new authority to fight i.s. >> 10 arab nations ever pledged support. and secretary of state john kerry is trying to win over turkey. >> the government there fears getting onboard could backfire. >> >> this might still be turkish soil, but a border town looks to the middle east, place of pilgrimage, the supposed birth place of abraham. now, sometimes mingling among

the pilgrims are men with different intentions. they are close to the end of a journey that will take them into syria and iraq to join the fighters of a group calling itself the islamic state. turkey has made that final leg a lot harder. >> the plain ahead is syria. it used to be easy to get there, you just cut a hole through the lily patrolled border fence. not anymore. >> the changes started 10 months ago. turkish forces have been digging trenches along the border. they put tanks there, increased guards and use night vision goggles. they've even shot at people. now it's much hard tore get foreigners across. >> since january, aspiring fighters have tried to cross the border anywhere east of the euphrates river to be welcomed by groups linked to the islamic state.

>> behind me across the now closed border, of course turkey doesn't want the conflict over here. the isis holding more than 40 turks hostage. the government worries playing a public and i have role in a u.s. military campaign could result in the i.s. taking out brutal revenge on those turkish hostages. >> there are plenty of reminders of the human cost to the conflict. like dozens of towns and cities, it hosts hundreds if thought thousands of syrians escaping from the fighting. >> there is no life in rack da. the people are tired. the islamic state took everything and controls everything inside the city. there is no money, no work. >> u.s. officials have said they understand turkey's unique pox as the only muslim majority country innate toe, but being so close to the conflict, its discreet cooperation is viewed

at essential if the campaign against the islamic state group is to have any chance of success. bernard smith, turkey. >> meanwhile, thousands of rack keys have fled to turkey to join the group. >> joining us now is a retired navy seal. thanks for being with us. i want to get your take on. yesterday, we talked to a retired air force colonel, sedric lane, a former member of the joint chiefs of staff about the president's address. here is what he said. >> i think that we will probably see airstrikes against syrian-based targets in the next week or so would be my guess, but i think we've lost a bit of an element of surprise in this case. >> would you agree with that? do you think the president has said too much and put the mission at risk? >> no, i don't. i don't agree with it being an

epsec concern. preventing them knowing what we're doing when we're doing it, we also have to communicate to allies, otherwise you can't have the encouragement of potential supporters. we are seeing discussions with turkey. they may or may not back us or help out. we have to keep the communication flow going, as my wife said, he was distinct enough to encourage allies, but not enough to help the enemy. >> you have to say something, right? >> you to have communicate. >> you have a lot of military expertise. with the addition of these military advisors, the u.s. will have roughly 16 military personnel in iraq. we heard they will be brigade level or above. what will that mean? >> this is typically on the rank of the individuals, we also talk about where they're coming from, what units. >> does it mean they won't be on

the field, is that what it means, that they won't be combat troops. >> they will be combat troops trained, experienced combatants, they will not be in combat as an advisor, we are forbidden from exchanging in the actual fire for self protection. >> part of their mission is to train the opposition forces in iraq and preschoolably syria. from your standpoint as a special forces guy, how quickly can they do so realistically and will it be enough to turn the tide of battle against i.s.? >> to be specific on the terms, the opposition in iraq, we're looking at the actual regime, actual administration of iraq. we have to help the national soldiers prevent isis moving forward and push them back. in syria, it's pushing back with the state. it's a strange bed foal lows arrangement, because the secular opposition to the syrian government and the syrian

government are in alignment against the jihadis coming in and destroying all of syria. in iraq, i spent a lot of time with a general's liaison. he said you have to trust us. you can't get our best, speaking of the iraqi soldiers, until your men trust us, and that's a long, long road. i would argue we haven't accomplished that in our 10 years there. you have to establish communications, understand both the languages back and forth with interpreters in most case, but also cultural differences. >> strikes in syria by the u.s. may happen in the next two weeks, would you agree or disagree? >> i have no opinion on that. i suspect they're going as to start as soon as the 39 announces it, basically. we don't want to give them four weeks to prepare.

>> retired navy seal, thanks a lot. >> flood survivors ever become rescuers in kashmir, leaving hundreds dead and in nearby pakistan. >> hundreds of thousands are stranded. some say the government isn't doing enough. >> it's the only way to get down the road. this is what many parts currently look like. some are trapped, days after the rains let up. the indian army has been pulling people out. some of the rescue work is being done by locals themselves. this man lost his voice after days of shouting down streets to help his family, neighbors and strangers get out. others are locals living abroad, like this man who flew in from dubai to help.

>> i took my family all and my neighbors. i took all neighbor, every persons. >> the power is out, but safety takes a back seat, because so many others are still trapped. this is one of the most flooded areas. this street looks more like a river now and looking at the house, you can see how high the water level rose. rescue workers arrived for the past couple days, rescuing people by air and by boat, locals have also been helping out. we're actually on a homemade raft here. some survivors are frustrating, saying the army is helping their own personnel first and not allowing them to join the search for survivors. >> i came to help my brethren, but they won't allow us to save our own people. they just save their own army persons. >> some locals were initially hostile toward us, blaming media for focusing on army rescues and

ignoring local kashmiris. city hospitals were flooded and with or without electricity, they are treating 700 people a day with donated medicines. >> we don't have too much in hand, but what little we have, we are trying to give the first aid. >> rescue efforts continue around the region and are expected to go on for days or weeks. with more help coming in, as more people are rescued. >> the indian government is refusing international aid, saying it is able to handle the disaster on its own, slowing relief efforts. >> let's bring in nicole mitchell for a closer look at this flooding. >> earlier this week, we were talking about our own desert

flooding. monsoon flow goes on this time of year, and this is the area that we're looking at, kind of that india-pack pakistan, sources reporting 450 dead, possibly more. more significantly, because of all the rain recently, about 700,000 people have had to flee their homes. you can see in recent shots a little bit of a break in the flow right now. sometimes you get drier air coming in, so sunshine, a little recovery. we are not out of monsoon season. any recovery, we hope -- >> it affects people in the u.s., as well. >> a trial set for sunday for americans held by north korea. one man had torn his american passport and said he was seeking asylum. the charges against him have not been made public. >> a major figure in the volatile politics of northern ireland has died. dr. ian pacey was the former

first foreign minister of ireland and leader of its democratic unionist party. he was 88 years old. he fought against any compromise with catholic northern ireland. in his later years, he did an about face and became a peacemaker, credited with delivering a unity government in northern ireland as recently as 2007. >> scotland is not the only place in europe considering seceding. >> hundreds and thousands line the streets to form an 11-kilometer flag, the colors of catalonia in spain. they are demanding a referendum on independence. it has been part of spain for 300 years, but there are distinction differences in culture, language and the way the region's run.

>> for many recent years, spain weathered the economic storms. people in this of a community part of the country started to feel they were giving more to madrid than serving in return and perhaps was time for them to go it alone. >> the catalonia's gradual steps to an independent vote have been fiercely opposed in the spanish capitol. the government are at logger heads over independence. madrid's threatened to ban any future vote. >> quite likely, the spanish government will try to abort this referendum and would try to deny the possibility to hold it. there is a broad social majority in catalonia for the right to decide. >> here in borrows lena, there is no shortage of separatist spirit particularly amongst the

young, although many are undecided. there are real concerns about how viable independence really is. >> so many questions that does not appear about what will happen and what will be the connection that we will be able to have with the european union, what will be the currency that we will use, and what will be the reaction of the multi-nothing companies. >> the government hopes to build a new nation beginning with an independence referendum in november. the vote will not be binding or recognized beyond the region, but the symbol. >> is something the rest of spain will find hard to miss. aljazeera, barcelona. >> pro independence catalones say if scotland breaks away, it will provide more to their efforts. >> contradicting story about the nfl handling of the ray rice

scandal. >> former nfl player ricky waters joins us with whether goodell needs to step down over this scandal.

>> nasas mars recovery has reached its target destination, arriving at the base of mount sharp. that's the three-mile high mountain where it will begin its main investigation of the red planet's mysteries. nasa hopes the next site will shed light on the makeup of mars. >> where in the u.s. people are migrating. >> the ravens back on the field thursday night. some fans showing up wearing ray rice jerseys. a lot of them were women. video surfaced from february

showing rice punching his fiancee in the face, knocking her out. he was cut by the baltimore ravens and suspended by the nfl indefinitely. ricky waters joins us from san francisco this morning. mr. waters, in your opinion, did the league need to see that video before they realized that this is a fastball player, a man in great physical shape who punches a woman and was violent? >> well, i think that they did need to see the tape, but the tape puts a whole 'nother emphasis on that. for me, after i saw that tape, i was at a loss for words. i couldn't even believe what i saw, ray rice is a role model, and in society was a guy who's really well liked in the nfl word, and a guy who i loved watching play and to see him punch his then fiancee in the face like that, knocking her

unconscious and the way he handled after that in dragging her out of the elevator in the manner that he did i just think is unacceptable. >> we don't know all the facts, but if it comes out that goodell knew about that, should he resign? >> if he did indeed see that video before he said he did, he was dishonest with the public. it's not a good look for him or the nfl and i think that he should consider stepping down, because i don't see how he could rebound from that and regain the trust of the public. >> ray rice just one player under the microscope. if the league has a zero tolerance stance, should players like ray mcdonald, a member of the san francisco 49ers, your old team, rave and charged with abuse, should he be suspended right away? >> well, i didn't know that he was charged yet. i thought they were still

looking into that situation, but if he indeed put hands on her and really hurt her in the way that ray rice, i mean, that was obvious for everyone to see once you saw that footage, like i said, it was unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. i don't think anyone should be putting their hands on anyone else in a relationship, but definitely punching someone in the face is something that cannot be tom rated. >> i was struck by your comments in our preinterview. i've heard from former players and they say that this is tainting a lot of good players who live out good lives and don't act this way. is the ray rice situation tainting the entire league past and present? >> i have read that, that people are saying because we play in such a violent sport, that we can't help but let it spill over into our private lives. i disagree with that. we are taught to be aggressive

on the field and play with passion and to be tough on the field, but we weren't raised on the field, and that's not the way we were taught to be in our private lives. i know many people who are stand up guys. i know i would never pump my wife in the face like that or fiancee or anyone. >> former nfl running back ricky waters, thank you for being with us. tougher question. we thank you for watching them. >> more than half of american middle class families say they're falling behind financially. >> that is forcing them to leave their neighborhoods in search of more affordable homes. >> going miss it. going to miss it. it's been a good home. >> an emotional day for chuck and can. after living in the northeast their entire lives, they are packing up their home to move to

georgia from coat out. >> this is going to be a period of transition, getting used to the new way. >> i think the quality of life and the lower cost of living will somehow balance that out. >> can, a substitute teacher and chuck, a management in a consulting firm are part of the nation on the move. along with california, the tap eight states people proof from were in the midwest and northeast. the south and southwest saw the largest gains. this migration trend has been accelerated by a recession weary middle class in search of cheap every housing and lower taxes. >> the place we're moving to in georgia, the real estate taxes are about one third. >> i'm anxious to get down there and save some money. >> rebecca is the director at the california population

center. >> people are asking questions about what these new migrants mean for culture and politics and long term state trends. >> much of the migration is from liberal states to conservative strong holds. some believe this played a role in the last two presidential elections. a brain drain is underway. the northeast had a net loss of 124,000 people with advanced degrees, while the south saw gains of 89,000 graduate degree hold jeers there are huge economic benefits to the south for migration, because the main people who have gone here are either young and college educated, often highly employable, coming to work in industry. >> those heading south to find work maybe surprised to learn the average job in houston pace 12% lass than new york and atlanta, 22% less, karen and chuck say a lower cost of living

trumps any concern over smaller salaries. >> i have looked into the substitute teaching pay there and it's about $15 to $20 less per day. >> it doesn't matter where my office is. all i have to do is make sure i can get to the airport. we made a list of pros and cons and i think we made the right decision. >> i do, too. >> aljazeera. >> as a result of this middle class migration, america's fastest growing cities are no longer in coastal areas. >> coming up in just two minutes, the latest on the u.s. efforts to win over turkey building a coalition against the islamic state group. >> we'll see you back here tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. 7:30 a.m.

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ good to have your company for this al jazeera news hour. i'm david foster and this is some of what we have coming up in the next 60 minutes. the cia reveals the islamic state group has three times as many fighters than was originally thought. >> mr. pistorius please stand up. >> the olympic athlete found guilty of manslaughter. european union hits russia with newan