of thiefs so workers closed this tower in protest as talks were held on increasing police patrols. and just a reminder you can fine much more on most of our stories over at our website. the usually address is aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com for all of your international news. debating the patriot act, the senate debates over changing the law just days before it expires. hundreds of emails released from hillary clinton's time as secretary of state. what do they say about the attack on benghazi? the pentagon admits u.s. air strikes accidentally killed children instead of members of isil. ♪

this is -- al jazeera america. the senate is down to the wire deciding what to do with the patriot act. it is a controversial act, and expires ten days from now while the senate is on recess. the senate is in session today debating on whether this law should remain. harry reid spoke about it a sport time ago. >> we have a piece of legislation where there are bipartisan efforts made and it worked. they passed this bill. and we should do the same before we leave here. >> as libby casey reports many are questioning whether the law should remain in effect.

>> reporter: lawmakers and americans are still grappling with how far the government should go. >> i think the deintat whether the act has made america safer at the almost trillion dollars it has cost to implement it. >> reporter: he argues it has not made the country safer and the cost goes beyond money to civil liberties. >> when it was put together and rushed through congress a lot of democrats and republicans joined because they were told oh it's okay. in five years we'll revisit these. and here we are 14 years later still talking about it. >> reporter: he has firsthand experience with government surveillance he was awarded money by the courts because the government wiretapped his calls without a warrant.

now congress is debating letting the government continue collecting americans phone data not what you say, but all of the details about who you call and when. opponents want congress to let the act expire and he says the extent of government surveillance was only revealed by whistleblowers. >> the disclosures by edward snowden enabled a global conversation that remains ongoing in the face of a policy conversation that has yet to start. >> reporter: jim hen san agrees that snowden was a game changer. >> reporter: edward snowden, bless his little heart did a big favor for our enemies by portraying our collection programs as much more sinister than they actually are. >> reporter: he maintains that the patriot act has made the country safer. >> reporter: it is certainly dangerous to roll back the go

go -- government's abilities to roll back this surveillance. >> reporter: the civil rights attorney says the government has a hard time proving that its surveillance techniques have stopped attacks. >> did we catch any terrorists with this? did we have any cases that were brought by these programs that edward snowden exposed? and the conversation now is why are we spending all of this money on these programs. >> reporter: he is encouraged by efforts in the u.s. house to curb phone data collection. he hopes it's part of a national conversation about civil rights and national security. libby casey, al jazeera, washington. the senate has a couple of options today. renew it as it extend it or consider the usa freedom act. it curtails the nsa's mass collection of phone data. >> i don't think the privacy

community would say it's entirely satisfied with that. but we're talking about one provision, section 215, which is the provision that was used to gather every american's telephone records over a period of seven years with no evidence that it has been used to build any cases. so that's the main thing that people are arguing about today. but that's only a very small piece of the intelligence community's activities and a lot of people are concerned, including people like senator paul and widen, that actually usa freedom doesn't go far enough. >> the fbi has dramatically increased its use of the patriot act to collect information. the agency has been using its authority to sweep up data on people who are not part of any active investigation. the expansion is due in part to more electronic information now being vail. the report also faulted the fbi

for taking seven years to create privacy protections. the state department is out with hundreds of private emails from hillary clinton. they deal with the attack on benghazi back in 2012. david shuster with more. are >> these are emails that hillary clinton turned over last fall from her private server. the state department in turn provided the emails to a house panel investigating hillary clinton and benghazi in libya, and some of those houses from the house have now leaked to the "new york times," so the state department is saying okay then we're going to start releasing them. this first batch represents about a third of the emails that hillary clinton turned over. a lot of them are stamped with sbu, which is the government identification for sensitive, but unclassified, and that's because some of these emails hillary clinton lists the location of state department staff in libya at the time

things were starting to get rough. so again, these are things that are on her private server that were sensitive and that will fuel some of the criticism. the emails also paint interesting picture of hillary clinton after the benghazi attack that killed four americans, in that you have clinton circulating information within the state department and also within the obama administration that contradicted the narrative that was being provided by the white house. now more emails are going to be released in the coming days and the house committee is going through all of these and trying to figure out what they can do. but again, part of what is going on here is the house committee, trying to make hillary clinton look bad selectively leaking some emails such as the ones that are enbare asking to her, and the state department is saying okay then we're going to start releasing emails as well. a suicide bombing in saudi

arabia has killed at least 20 people. a baum exploded inside a shia moss income the eastern region during friday prayers. isil said it was behind the attack. and a similar attack on a mosque in yemen today. the pentagon admits that a u.s.-lead air strike in syria likely killed two children. for the last two months they have denied that any civilians were killed. kimberly halkett has more now from washington. >> reporter: this is the first time we have the pentagon acknowledging civilian deaths since the start of this campaign about eight months ago. you are right, this is the result of a four-month investigation. the pentagon saying the deaths of children likely occurred on november 5th and 6th. out was an effort to target an al-qaeda cell. but the numbers contrast.

some very respected numbers we get from sir sir, they report 2500 killed since the start of the campaign 131 of those civilians. the pentagon is saying they are still looking into two other reports of civilian casualties two deaths in iraq and one in syria. there's a lot of revisiting if you will of strategy taking place in washington in recent days. the president defending the strategy acknowledging this is just a tactical -- setback, but the state department and the pentagon saying they will be sending additional 2,000 shoulder-fired weapons to support the iraqi forces. president obama saying there is a need to ramp up support and equipment, but still acknowledging that this has been a major tactical setback. coalition sar air strikes have not just targeted isil

fighters and military equipment. they have also taken aim at their finances. patricia sabga is with us now. are these air strikes having any impact on isil's financial health? >> they have definitely targeted and hammers a major source of the group's revenue, but it has others to fall back on. coalition air strikes damaging isil oil facilities. depressed oil prices. the one-two punch that has brought the armed group's biggest money spinner to its knees. >> isil previously got most of its funding from oil. last summer it was reportedly making 1 to $3 million a day. and now they reportedly only make about 1 to 2 billion a week. >> reporter: extorting attackses, protection money, and check point tolls is the group's steadiest source of income. and when its territory expands

as it did with the recent capture of ramada so does its pool of people it can shake down. >> it is able to find creative and frankly very effective tools to -- to suck the money out of the economy. >> reporter: like getting around baghdad's ban on transferring cash salaries to government employees in isil-held territory. isil waits for government workers to collect their salaries elsewhere, and then taxes them up to 50% when they return to isil-held turf. sales of stolen antiques further buoy their coffers. and the group is set for a bah nan sa with the capture of palmar palmar palmar mall mara. >> they are also relying on outside donations or even key

personnel to get the job done. looting antiques has become i its second largest source of income, and this formula seems to enable the group to meet its biggest experience and that's paying its fighters. >> it's all about overhead isn't it? and salaries and income -- and overhead. as patty mentioned isil makes a lot of money from looting antiques. archeologist michael dante said there are different purposes behind their actions. >> the majority of their attacks, over90% are directed at islamic heritage a small percentage are directed at the preislamic period. nay are acting as a capacity builder for the looting of sites, libraries, universities, and that material is flowing out

of iraq and syria into transnational crime networks. reportedly they do have that kind of reach where they can deal fairly directly with potential buyers but most of the sources that we have talked about, have told us that isil has a number of ways of drawing revenue from illicit property. they license the sites and condone looting. they then attacks the trafficking, and then they also get a cut of the sales of the illicit cultural property that includes art and antiques. >> dante says looting is just one part of a greater humanitarian crisis throughout syria. president obama is marking jewish american heritage month, and he spoke a short time ago >> anti-semitism is and always

will be a threat to broader human values to which we all must aspire. and when we allow anti-semitism to take root then our souls are destroyed. >> reporter: u.s. officials across the country and europe are also visiting synagogues as what the white house calls an ann going commitment towards combatting anti-semitism. >> reporter: ireland is voting on whether to legalize same-sex marriages. if approved ireland will become the first country to legalize gay marriage by popular vote. coming up the latest talks come to an end over restoring diplomatic relations between the united states and cuba. and we revisit gaza nearly

a year after much of the area was destroyed by war.

34 year old daryle wint was taken into custody overnight suspected in the killing of a family and their housekeeper. he once worked at a business owned by the owner of the home. a second day of negotiations between the u.s. and cuba wrapped up a short time ago in washington. discussions have been focused on reopening embassies in washington and havana. thing the negotiations have opened the door towards more

u.s. tourists heading towards cuba. now americans are flocking to see a country that has been officially off limits for 50 years. ♪ >> reporter: for cubans and u.s. citizens alike, there is little doubt tourism would benefit from normalized relations between the two countries. >> it's fantastic. the history here is unbelievable. absolutely unbelievable. >> reporter: cuba has long been a destination for travelers from europe and canada and international tourism here is big business a select few u.s. tour companies are licensed to operate here. >> cuba is an enigma. for us in the industry it's a phenomenal destination. it's like answer to prayer for the real traveler the person who longs to discover places in the world that are different and unique. >> reporter: michael and his

friend have been giving tours in this classic 1948 chrysler car for the last year. >> i think it's going to be good. we are only 90 miles from the united states. and we can receive quickly a lot of tourism people here. and i think it's going to be a success. >> reporter: 100,000 non-cuban americans visited the island last year. in that indicates a 20% increase in the first three months of this year. the challenge say american tour operators will be cuba's ability to accommodate an influx of discerning american tourists with its decades of decay. >> there are problems. one of the biggest problems with cuba with its existing infrastructure, to cope with that kind of on slot of tourists, it can't.

>> reporter: goldman says the airports can't handle large commercial planes, hotel rooms are scarce and there is practically no internet. french contractors are building a luxury hotel, and in the last few months air b&b have listed over a thousand properties in cuba. buildings here typically house multiple families but the new owner of this home has converted it into a rental property, mostly for western tourists who can access it using sites like air b&b. >> translator: this house has a higher comfort level than some of thor private homes. >> reporter: while there is a sense of cautious optimism here

some fear what will happen to the island. >> it is just going to change. i think it will be a completely different experience in five to ten year's time. >> reporter: but with diplomatic efforts to reestablish relations still in their imfasy it could be some time before a stronger american presence is felt here. palestinian president says israel is presenting piece by expanding jewish settlements. he said he supported a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 border. many palestinians say the lack of political solutions is particularly frustrating, especially in gaza where reconstruction after last summer's war has slowed down. in that is leading many of

giving up hope of returning to their homes. >> reporter: for weeks mohammed has been clearing rubble from what is left of his home. it was destroyed last year. since the war ended, he and seven members of his family have been renting a small apartment in gaza city for around $300 a month, but with little work available, they can no longer afford it. >> translator: we have lost hope. no one is helping us to rebuild. we are clearing the rubble here so we can set up a tent to live in. see how we suffer in >> reporter: the united nations middle east envoy has warned the people of gaza are so desperate and angry, that it could lead to an implosion. and both the israeli and palestinian leaders need to do more to prevent that from happening. across gaza there are signs people have given up hope of

receiving help. this heavy machinery was paid for by the residents out of their own pocket. many are angry at the ongoing political infighting between palestinian factions. real money's real money's -- israel's tightening of the blockade and egypt east tightening of the border crossing. there is a bite spot some housing units were reconstructed, providing homes for around a thousand families. >> the longer it takes for people to get their lives together again, the more dangerous it is that the situation again will move towards a more negative

scenario, because the people feel that they have nothing to lose, people will act accordingly. >> reporter: for mohammed all he want is a proper home for his family. something he is willing to fight for if left with little other choice. coming up on al jazeera america, art and activism from lynching and racial pro2350i8ing, a collection of photos that is stirring up strong emotions. ♪

♪ well bad weather is slowing thef forts to clean the ocean and beaches near santa barbara, california. that's where a pipeline leaked more than 100,000 gallons of oil this week. oil-skim ships are now on the scene, and beaches will remain closed. a federal agency order an independent inspection on the pipeline before it is allowed to carry oil again. a series of provacative and racially charged photos have now gone viral. they turn the traditional victim

into the aggressor. we spoke with fwrafer tyler shields for today's first person report. ♪ >> my name is tyler shields i'm a photographer. so this is a series called historical fiction. which is a series that takes place between 1950 and 1970. so when i was a kid i grew up in florida, and in the south the kkk was very prevalent. but one of the things that i always noticed is when you ask anyone about the kkk, the first image that pops into their head is a klansman hanging a backman, i just always thought it would be so interesting to see what would it be like if the klansman was the one in the tree? the response i have got friend this photo is this is the most powerful photo i have ever

scene. i have been thanked for this picture more than any other picture i have ever taken. what was interesting about the photos of the men holding down the police officer is i did it before the i can't breathe and before, you know, a lot of these things have recently just been happening, and as they started happening, i was like oh man, this photo just keep getting more and more powerful. if someone did that to a police officer, as you see in my photograph i mean the uproar that that would cause would be cataclysmic. the martin luther king image is four women in a hair salon, and as they read this story they realize their lives are about to change. and the women in the photograph had a real visceral experience unlike anything i have ever seen shooting anyone. each one of the girls broke down

individually. as you grow up -- he was dead long before any of them were born. people want substance, and this is the first time that i have really tackled an issue like this. if anyone one of these photos can cause any type of change, then my job is done. a feast for the eyes overnight in sydney australia. the famous opera house was painted with lights. it is the world's largest festival of lights and sounds but this year it will leave a smaller carbon footprint, using lights powered berenewable energy. how about that. thanks all of our tone. i'm tony harris in new york city. the news continues live next from london. ♪

♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello there, this is the news hour live from london. coming up, in the next 60 minutes, i.s.i.l. said it was behind an attack on a shia mosque in saudi arabia which killed around 20 people. iraq asked for more help as i.s.i.l. moves closer to baghdad. u.n. says it's seeing up to 400 new cholera cases a day in