iraq. >> always a pleasure to talk to you. steven cook is with the council on foreign relations. that is our show for today, i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us. countdown to freedom. israeli spy pollard is being released not giving up... >> we feel like we have tried and it feels like it's never enough, because he's not home a young american imprisoned in iran - his family launching a campaign to press for his release breakthrough surgery. >> when i get the hand i will be

proud of what hands i get a medical miracle. an 8-year-old boy is the first child to get a double hand transplant and most wanted - an american dentist the target of international outrage after a hunt for big game ends in the killing of a lion known as a legend in the wild. good evening, i'm antonio mora this is al jazeera america. the united states and israel will soon close the book on an infamous and contentious spy scandal that has been a thorn in relations. it was announced pollard will be paroled later this year. he spent more than 30 years in prison after being caught spying in israel. >> patty culhane looks apt the story and how it affects politics today. >> it was a case rocking israeli relationships. a navy analyst sentenced to live

in prison since 1987 since selling israel thousands of documents. >> it was a serious effort by the israeli government to penetrate our intelligence community, and it was successful, and i don't like it. >> that former vice president dick cheney telling u.s. spies to keep an eye on co-worker because of poller. the issue hardly faded with time. for three decades there has been protests in both countries. songs of support, and every u.s. president to visit israel was greeted with sign, like this, that met president obama. now as pollard completes 30 years of his sentence the parole board decided to free him next november. the u.s. government didn't object, which could have kept him in prison. officials are denying a link between his impending release and an attempt to apiece israel over the iran team.

>> it's the far thinking of people 30 years ago to sentence mr pollard, and set a mandatory release date to coincide with the iran deal, and if they were able to pull that off, i would be impressed. >> it's unlikely his release will do anything to stop the fierce lobbying to congress. past presidents considered using his release as a bargaining chip. the president still has leverage. it's this - as part of his release, pollard will have to stay in the u.s. for five years. backers are calling on the president to release him and let him fly to israel - the place he considers home. former c.i.a. director jims woolsey told al jazeera tonight that he peels jonathan pollard's release is overdue. >> people that spy for friendly countries such as south korea, philippines and greece historically in united states have been sentenced to not stay in prison for more than six or

seven or eight years. they stayed that long. i had that position since late '90s that i thought it was time to release him because he was serving the same time as other spies from friendly countries. the people that stay for life are people like ames and hanson who had americans killed and traitors backing enemies of the united states such as the soviet union woolsey said it's unclear why pollard was incarcerated for so long but doesn't think it was an attempt to apiece israel over the iranian nuclear deal president obama's top cabinet secretaries were on capital hill defending the deal facing the panel in the house. many lawmakers argued the deal would not prevent iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. as libby casey reports, secretary of state john kerry fought back arguing scrapping

it would not make it better. >> reporter: round two on capitol hill for the chief negotiators and pitch men for a deal not sitting well with republicans or top democrats. >> as i condition to review the deal, there's a number of issues i find troublesome. >> secretary of state john kerry flanked by the treasury secretary, trying to convince skeptics that this agreement is the best way to prevent iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. >> when it comes to verification and monitoring, there's no sunset in this agreement. no sunset ever. >> secretary of state john kerry says pulling out of the agreement now will give iran a free pass to double the pass of iranian enrichment and could isolate the united states. >> if we walk away, we walk away we walk away alone. our partners are not going to be with us. >> the clock has started ticking. the republican controlled congress has until

september 17th to review the deal and vote to approve or disapprove. by the tone, the administration has a tough time ahead. >> if this agreement goes through, iran gets a cash bonanza, a boost to international standing and a lighted path towards nuclear weapons. >> reporter: at times secretary of state john kerry couldn't hide his frustration. >> do you care more about the deal or the u.n. approval or american sovereignty through their duly elected constituents. >> congressman, i don't need lessons from you about who i represent. i represented and fought for our country since i was out of college. . >> god bless you for your service, sir. don't give me any lessons about that. let me make it crystal clear. this is america's interests. america is the principle gornt of security in the region, particularly with respect to some of our closest friends. >> and they pushed back on the notion that there's a better

alternative. >> we hear the complaints. we hear that the agreement doesn't stop. this agreement will do this. what this is supposed to do is stop them having a nuclear weapon. i want to hear someone telling me how he's going to do that. >> reporter: republicans were unrelenting and unconvinced. >> america got played like a 5-string quartet. and you don't have the power to surrender our greatness. the white house hosted congressional democrats in a bid to win support, before the house leads washington for a 6-month recess. one of three americans, a former u.s. marine has been held in iran since 2011. he turned 32. his family hopes the nuclear deal can help to bring about his release, and as bisi onile-ere

reports, family members redoubled efforts to free him. >> it's a nightmare. every day we wake up every morning and ask is it a bad dream. >> reporter: this is the reality sore sara and her family for nearly four years. in 2011 her young brother amir an iranian-american visited relatives in iran and he has never returned. >> we are not used to the fact he's not returning. >> initially charged with espionage, the former marine was sentenced to death, but nout serving a 10-year prison sentence. >> he's done no crime in iran. his only crime was to visit his grandmother, and have a career in the marr ins. >> trent is one of three american held by iran. the obama administration has been criticized for not guaranteeing their release as part of the nuclear deal with

iran. he is said to support the decision. >> amir denied interest in a trade, didn't want to set a precedent for americans taken and used like he was. >> do you think that because you have all the sides coming together iran working with the u.s. essentially, that it may help in the long run? >> we are cautiously optimistic. we can appreciate diplomacy moving forward, and how that will open the doors for more communication, and more engagement. >> i have come to feel like even though i have never met him. i dom feel like i know amir. >> in june they introduced a resolution that was overwhelmingly approved calling on iran to release the three. >> i hope that they would understand that the world is watching them.

and the world would judge them in terms of legitimacy not just to what they agree to at the negotiating take but other behaviours. i hope that they realise it's an important step into the community by releasing the prisoners. the family says he endured two hunger strikes and suffered abuse behind bars. >> anything we could thing of that would bring us one step closer we feel like we tried and it's never enough because he's not home. >> to make matters worse, his father has terminal brain cancer. >> for us, every day is a tragedy. every day. for us we can't wait any longer. >> reporter: they refuse to give up. in june they attended a nuclear summit in vienna calling for amir's release, and raised awareness about his plight through social media. as congress begins to debate and

dissect the iran nuclear deal the family hopes it leads to his release. sara says that the family is in touch with amir on the daily basis. in the meantime dan issued a statement saying that congress will be watching iran's behaviour over the next couple of weeks. turkey reached out to fellow n.a.t.o. members saying it needs help in the fight against i.s.i.l. at a rare meeting in brussels n.a.t.o. leaders said they support a decision to step up strikes against i.s.i.l. in syria and iraq. they are concerned about attacks on the p.k.k. kurdish separatist. kurds are key american allies and kurds in syria are fighting the group. the kurdish p.k.k. fought an insurrection against turkey. >> president obama is coming

back from africa. today, president obama became the first sitting president to address a meeting of the african union, and said african nations would be better served by leaders who pass on political power, instead of clinging to it. >> sometimes you'll hear a leader say i'm the only person that can hold this nation together. if that's true that leader failed to truly build their nation. the president added he thinks he would win a third term if he could run again, but it looking forward to life after the white house a new gun control measure in the city of los angeles, the council voting to ban high capacity mackay zones. the ordnance making it a misdemeanour to possess the magazines. high capacity magazines used in the sandy hook elementary school massacre and movie theatre shootings in colorado new video of sandra bland in

her gaol cell before she died. why texas officials released the image now. an american stepped forward admitting that he killed an iconic lion in a national park in africa

in texas, authorities released video of sandra bland who died three days after her arrest for a traffic stop. bland was questioned by police sitting in her cell and talking on the phone. a judge says the new video was distributed in response to resume ours suggesting bland's death was suspicious. prosecutors say a grand jury will investigate the case. >> a new york prison worker pleaded guilty to helping two convicted killers escape. joyce mitchell told a judge she provided richard matt and david with tools. the inmates used the equipment to cut through cell walls.

sweat was captured days later. authorities in zimbabwe say an american was the key suspect in the death of a lion. the 13-year-old big cat cecil was found dead in a national park in zimbabwe. investigators say an american big game hunter paid tens of thousands to track and kill the anbam. jonathan betz has nor. >> reporter: the 13-year-old lion was supposed to be out of hunter's reach, he was tagged with a g.p.s. device, and so popular and beloved, he was named cecil. when his remains were found, his body was skinned, head cut off. tuesday, authorities in zimbabwe revealed the name of the hunter, walter james palmer, a dentist from minnesota. officials released his home address and passport for good measure. >> he is the guy that came into the country around the beginning

of this month of july, and was enticed we are not sure yet, to have it. >> palmer admitted to the kill, blaming guides, saying i had no idea that the lion i took was a known favourite. i relied on expertise of local guides to ensure a legal hunt. palmer was on hunt when he or his team lured cecil out of the park, shot him, tracked the lion for 40 hours before killing him. a hunt that he paid handsomely for. >> information so far received shows money was exchanged to the dune of around 55,000 u.s. >> palmer has a passion for hunting big game. seen on the website, trophy hunt america, showing off the kills. the revelation of the identity set off a fire storm, with a facebook called a boycott. his dental practice. and the hashtag.

cecil going viral. on his page, people called him a violent sadistic human. >> "do you want a sick sob like this in your mouth." he is american psycho incarnate. cecil leaves behind six females he mated with and two dozen cubs. a major loss for a species already in danger jeff corwin joins us via scout from massachusetts, a well-known wildlife biologists and host of a.b.c.'s "ocean mysteries", you have seen the statement from the zimbabwe conservation task force saying that the dentist, his guides, hunted the lion at night, lured him out of the protective park with a dead animal. do you believe protestations of innocence, that they had no idea they were doing something illegal? >> i found it hard to believe the gentleman involved, the

guides per se, wouldn't know the story of this animal. first of all, if they did what the record says, according to the organization, that they lured it out of an national park, that goes against protocols, and i find it hard to believe a regional guide would not know the story of the cecil, the iconic emblem, a celebrity. is this not only unethical and illegal in all likelihood but the way they hunted the lion wounding it with a crossbow tracking it before killing it seems brutal. do you think there'll be consequences. these guys, if they broke the law, they'll be considered poachers and they face up to 15 years in prison. when it comes to the act of what the hunters did, it's really

incredibly unforgiving. >> this tragedy will be compounded with what happened to cecil's pride. >> lions live in a complex society. the dominance lion is the male. if he's deposed or killed in battle or pushed out by a mail. the first thing they do when they take over the pride. it's into him. it will literally wipe out his history. >> a tweet says the shooting of the magnificent animal for kicks is disgusting and populations of lions in africa is believed cut in half. how endangered had they. >> lions are in trouble. disagree for a flm of reasons. the -- number of reasons. the biggest is conflicts between

human being and lions when it came to livestock and agriculture. every day a little bit of lion hab tate disappears. >> u.s. sportsmen and women kill the most lions, elfants and ryanons on the kav -- rhinos on the african continent, but sport hunting is not the greatest threat. should trophy hunting be banned. >> hunting, where people follow the laws and go through the proper conduits to access an animal to kill it probably does not account or contribute to dramatic ecological catastrophe. but the biggest challenge is illegal hunting or poaching. habitat loss, climate change and human conflict that is contributing to the demise of lions, rhinos and elephants. all the great futures. a game changing surgery for a young patients. >> when i get this hand i will be proud of what hands i get. >> how doctors gave a little boy a new pair of hands and a new outlook on life

making history in pro football. the first woman to coach in the n.f.l. will teach the men how to hit.

doctors in philadelphia have performed the first ever paediatric double hand transplant. the 8-year-old zion harvey under went nearly 11 hours of surgery. his hands and feet were amputated when he was two years

old. today he unveiled his new hands to the world. john terrett joins us with more on the groundbreaking procedure. >> it's a great story. >> it's remarkable in all sorts of way, the story of a brave young man and brave ped tirns who i think survived themselves by pulling off an provision that only a few years ago would have been considered impossible on the tiny risks of a child. >> i wasn't always like this. when i was two i had to get my hands cut off because i was sick. >> reporter: 8-year-old zion harvey had both hands and feet amputated when he was a toddler, a result of septis. a year and a half going surgeons at the children's hospital was introduced. he was taking immunism drugs to stop his body rejecting a kidney. he was a perfect example.

he became the youngest double hand transplant recipient. >> i will be proud of what hands i get. and if it gets mess the up. >> i don't care. i have my family. >> a 10 hour procedure. simultaneously attaching hands to the foreamps. hundreds of veins, tendons, muscles and blood vessels, tagged and connected before the skin was grafted together. >> you can see the hand here pinking up. you see the refill. >> at this point the hands are attached so the bones are back together. >> tuesday, the world of medicine erupted into applause. they took a bow. >> thank you.

>> double hand transplant has been performed in the past. children have smaller bone structures despite pulling off what may have been impossible. doctors say they were surprised by a stroke of luck. >> finding a match for zion was what we thought would be impossible. there's only 15-20 children in a year that are candidates to be a donor, and within a few months of lifting zion harvey we found a donor for him. >> yes. up up up. nice. >> reporter: zion has years of rehabilitation and will likely be on medication for the rest of his life. he's on the road to recovery and has big plans for his listen. >> me and zoe want a pubry. >> reporter: where is it going to live? >> my room. >> reporter: oh. >> where else? [ laughs ] there's so much to say about

the story. xian can hold a small pizza slice with a little hep of someone pushing his fingers together. he instinctively scratched his nose. what he wants more than anything we are told is to three a football. his mum is not pleased. >> he wants to go on monkey bars. >> everything. >> we wish him the best. >> the hand will grow with him. extraordinary. >> we wish him the best. >> tom braidy will have to serve his sentence for his role in deflate-gate. the n.f.l. upholding a 4-game suspension. the league said part of the decision was due to brady destroying a cellphone containing evidence. n.f.l. investigators found brady knew patriot staff members illegally deflated footballs. brady's agent said he'd fry to appeal the cardinals made history adding a woman to her coaching staff. jen welter was the first running

back to suit up for a men's team. her new gig comes with a new set of challenges. >> the arizona cardinals make n.f.l. history, naming jen welter to the coaching staff. >> i could not have dreamed big enough to imagine that this game would come. i started playing football 15 years ago, and i fell in love. as a coaching intern during the pre-season welter will be working with the team's linebackers, a positioned played for 14 seasons. trail blazing is not new to the 5-foot 20, 30 pound athlete who holds a ph.d. in psychology. last year she was the first woman to play at running back for a professional men's team in the indoor football league. >> everyone wanted to see oh my gosh what will happen when she's hit for the first time.

>> i got hit, popped up lined up and did it again. that's football. >> after a game she moved to the sidelines of the team's assistant coach. another first - she caught the eye of the gharde nal's head coach. >> players want to the taught how to be better. they don't care who teaches it to them. she has the background and experience we are looking for as a player and coach. >> reporter: welter joins a handful of women making inroads in men's sport. >> i played 13 years of women's football, being one of the best in the world's two gold medals and no one knew i was - i existed until i took big hits by men. >> this year sara thoom as became the n.f.l.'s full-time referee. >> got the first one under my belt and becky made history

when the san antonio spurs hired her. >> i'm antonio mora thank you for joining us for the latest news head to aljazeera.com. ray suarez is up next with respect "inside story". have a great evening i.s.i.l. continues to take losses, but has a foothold in iraq and syria. the u.s. and allies including a long list of neighbouring countries have been pounding away at i.s.i.l. and with each passing week they are acting more like a country than an insurgency. with regional giant turkey joining the fight, the path top