director about 20,000 people have applied to exit. rafa is gaza's only border crossing that isn't controlled by israel. a quick reminder, catch up on the latest, the address is aljazeera.com. >> a massive explosion rocks thailand's capital killing dozens near a hin d hindu shrin. and parallels public health epidemic. colleges the right to form a union.

this is al jazeera america, live from new york city, i'm tony harris. thai police are clearing the seen of a explosion in bangkok. in one of the city's busiest intersections. just outside of a shrine popular with tourists all over the world. death toll stands as 19. among the dead are citizens from china and the philippines. emma harris reports. >> with the fire from the explosion still burning there was a dispris rac desperate rach survivors. as the emergency services roll in, police try to secure the area. the bomb on a motor bike had exploded minutes before. and closed circuit television shows the moment the bomb struck in bangkok with people running

story theirunningfor their live. twisted metal and debris, bodies were scattered across the street at a place popular with worshipers and tourists. several foreigners are among those who are known to have died. survivors were rushed to hospital. government officials say those behind the attack were trying to destroy thailand's economy and tourism industry but no group has yet claimed responsibility for this. emma hayward. al jazeera. a bad weather and thick are fest arforest are hampering rese efforts. plane disappeared with 54 people aboard. there was heavy rain strong wind and fog. 470,000 in government cash for

poor families. step vaessen reports from jakarta. >> reporter: a very difficult rescue operation going on in pa papua, very difficult to reach by land but also from the air with helicopters it is very difficult because the weather conditions are very bad in the area. the plain was spotted in a very mountainous area, 2500 meters high which is covered in dense jungle so systems who are going there by foot -- teams who are going there by foot have difficulty reaching the area. there is an air evacuation plan in place to build a helipad in place, 9 planes two helicopters and more than 200 people have been trying for a whole day to look for the missing plane that went off radar and lost contact on sunday afternoon carrying 54 people. but also allegedly a lot of cash, which was meant for poor

families in the district. and this just shows how remote this area is because in the area there are hardly any banks to transfer this kind of money for government projects. so tomorrow as wel as soon as tt is back there in papua the rescue operation will continue. >> step vaessen reporting from jakarta. there is anger in china's port city of tienjin. where explosions occurred at a industrial site. death toll up to 117, 70 still missing, most of them firefighters. families leaving messages about their loved ones. here in the u.s. wind and heat are fueling wildfires. in idaho an washington state. the largest along the oregon

oregon-idaho bother, and central washington the reach fire has destroyed dozens of homes. >> they have to prioritize what's near structures and that's where they want to get the fire line. more than 1600 people have been forced to evacuate. two rivers are back open, san juan and animas rivers, residents are warned to not drink the water, state officials will continue monitoring for animal and wildlife. even if a proposed nuclear deal is approved. >> translator: we block this way and we shall block it for

good. >> ayatollah ali khamenei, says iran will not fall under american political economic or cultural control. in iran a verdict is expected this week in a trial of a jailed washington post reporter. jason rezaian has been in a tehran prison for more than a year facing espionage charges. his family and washington post denies these charges. >> he's been held illegally for over a year now by a judge who is quite hard-liner who is quite radical. and he has unfortunately in the past handed down sentences that were quite long. i'm not expecting this judge to come up with a verdict that would lead to jason rezaian's release. >> the sentence can be appealed. rezaian faces up to 20 years in

prison if convicted. he has dual iranian american citizenship. the pentagon expects to step up use of drones worldwide, increasing by the number of 50% in the next years. would broaden surveillance in ukraine, iraq, syria and the south china sea. pentagon says it will also increase its use of drones for air strikes. meanwhile, reviewing the use of patriot missiles in turkey. the missiles were installed to protect turkey's southern border for any spillover of the syrian civil war. more than 100 people were killed and dozens wounded when bombs were dropped on a marketplace in the southern town of duma on sunday. duma is regularly targeted by

the syrian government. u.n. humanitarian affairs leader zeina khodr has more. >> reporter: the plain dropped the bomb in a crowded marketplace. it is an all-too-familiar scene for the people in the rebel stronghold of duma. this scene is regularly targeted by government air strikes but sunday's was the worth yet. civil rights workers and others gathered to help move the wounded when more air raids hit. more than 100 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded. doctors at the field hospital struggled to help those who survived. many of them were critically injured. according to activists on the ground the victims were civilians. women and children were among them. the syrian observatory for human rights called the attacks an official massacre that was carried out deliberately.

syrian state media did not cover the attacks but, targeted the headquarters of the rebel group the islam army. the day earlier the group had announced a new offensive against government forces and captured areas in haresta. fighting around damascus has escalated in days. duma has been out of government control for years but the military still controls the skies and civilians more often than not have been targeted. haresta like duma is out of the government power, the government will consider them responsible for the actions of the opposition. zeina khodr, al jazeera, beirut. >> egypt's president has approved new laws against terrorism but new legislation will be used to crush dissent.

any group considered to be part of a, quote, terror group, will get the death penalty. what they are saying is resonating with everyone on the campaign trail, it seldom does.

>> a group of student athletes at northwestern university will not be allowed to unionize.

, the athletes claim that the university that they are employees of the university. a point the board did not address in its decision but it did say allowing these athletes to unionize would upset the balance of competition in the ncaa. there is no way to appeal the ruling. the white house is launching a new initiative against heroin use, so they can better understand the origination of abuse. the goal is to shift from a punishment based model to a system focused on treating low level offenders. holding court with iowans, among them wisconsin governor scott walker. , h echoing front runner donald trump. earlier we spoke to joe watkins, former aide to je george h.w. b.

>> this is where i stand period, that is resonating with voters. voters are in the moo motion to elect someone who doesn't speak in these termination, speaks to the fact that there is voter dissatisfaction, voters are not buying candidates who are establishment folks who are long term politicians. they are buying people who have no political experience and who are willing to break the mold and say what they mean and mean what they say. >> watkins says trump's campaign is boosted by the iowa and new

hampshire campaign. appearing on tv bernie sanders took props from the black lives matter campaign. michael shure has more from des moines. >> just what i'm doing now, bernie sanders waded his way past the corn dog and corn vendors. it's what every candidate does in the leadup to the iowa caucus next january. while sanders has attracted ud crowds he has also tr transacted

criticism. >> until we create a criminal justice system which is a heck of lot better than the system today. it's easier to give speeches, harder to do it, i will do it. >> senator sanders record on civil rights is not enough. >> all geared towards white people. that speech the alignment was a feel-good you know, feel burn, whatever you want to categorize it. i don't feel the burn after that. it's really -- it's kind of leaving me to think whether his motives, he's asking for my vote, wanting me to vote for him but i can't -- i want to know the follow-up and i don't think there's going to be much of any -- i hope so. >> is that in a nutshell why people have protested and interrupted him? >> yep. he's giving us these pacifiers, little tidbits that are spoa sud

to pacify and hush us. >> as answer, bernie sanders has hired a 25-year-old african american woman to be his national press secretary. he has issued a paper on african american equality. >> you can see michael's report at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. as ines ferre tells us, the upgrade was supposed to give air traffic control new tools, instead it created chaos. >> reporter: long lines and thousands of passengers stranded at airports, following an autonomy problem in virginia. the faa blames the problem on a software upgrade at a certain facility.

over 2 dozen flights were delayed. >> the screens had gone blank and they weren't able to i guess track the planes coming through that area. >> reporter: ticket agents were bombarded with travelers trying rearrange their plans. >> i have never seen that. they wouldn't let me check my bags. a lot of angry people in line. >> reporter: many passengers were not sure how long they would be delayed. >> i am congress in from bangor, maine. >> makes me feel unsafe at the moment. >> just that, not the result of a hack attack. >> probably unavoidable but still frustrating. >> reporter: problem comes just five weeks after a ticketing problem at united airlines caused hour delays. ines ferre, al jazeera.

>> fraser glen cross is accused of shooting three people to death outside a jewish center in kansas city. miller is representing himself at his trial and could face the death penalty if convicted. for years, hair analysis has been used which scientists are saying is just wrong. >> what is a growing scandal and would surprise people is that hairs on your head are not the same. that there is variation in one individual's hair. >> the hairs on your head are quite different depending on where they're selected. >> reporter: dr. terry milzton is thmiltonis the founder of a h led to joseph's conviction.

>> dna is exactly the opposite. you have atcgt. and in the other sample you have atcgt. you align those up next to each other, there's no gray area. >> when scientists figured out how to extract dna from hairs in the late 1990s. the fda stopped relying on hair analysis. influencing thousands of convictions. >> fault lines airs tonight at 10:00, 7:00 pacific tonight. while not taking a break could actually be a drag on corporate profits.

beings

>> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. movers and shakers.

>> several former nfl players are filing their objections today over a billion dollar concussion settlement. players say the deem is unfair because it does not cover future diagnoses over future hits to the head. the court approved the settlement in april. two women could make history

by graduating the elite army ranger school. there is no guarantee army brass will let them serve in the famed unit. jamie mcintire has the story. >> final phase of ranger training in a florida swamp and it's nearly impossible to pick out any women. in a way that's the point. nothing is supposed to be different for female soldiers who aspire to elite ranger status. women's obstacle course, no walls that are shorter, no obstacles that are set higher, for women earning the coveted ranger tag should be just as difficult as for men. >> that's how we want to operate as we move forward.

>> the army's outgoing chief of staff ray odierno has already said the army has no objection to opening up more jobs to women, such as field artillery, but infantry units are still debated. one class of ranger recruits and one more in the fall will help settle. two women out of more than 2 dozen made it all the way through weeks of punishing training. an ordeal many male soldiers also find challenging. less than 20 years ago, this was the stuff of fiction. >> the navy is still declining to release the woman's flame. >> just as in the picture g.i. jane, the army isn't releasing the women's names until or unless they graduate. >> the elite army program said to be the most grueling

anywhere. >> unlike demi moore's fictional first female navy seel. seal. >> how incredibly prepared they are. the effort they've put forward has been significant. they've impressed all they have come in contact with. they are clearly motivated and frankly that's what we want out of our soldiers. >> reporter: the two pioneering women who persevered may be the first female rangers but likely not the last. the army plans another integrated class in november and decides whether it will open it to is women permanently. jamie mcintire, the pentagon. a study that shows americans just don't know when to take time off.

jennifer london reports. >> americans are taking off less vacation time than ever. there's a cost to all that unused vacation time and it's huge. according to a travel industry trade group, u.s. companies owe their employees the equivalent of 224 billion dollars in time off. to put it into perspective, that's nearly half the size of the current federal deficit. it's almost as much as the gross domestic product of portugal and 24 times the annual revenue of the nfl. but there's more. $52.4 billion, that's what employees like you are forfeiting each year in earned benefits. about a third of paid vacation days simply disappear, they can't be rolled over because of use it or lose it company policies, hard at work on a

beautiful warm saturday morning but looking for time off next month. >> why do americans leave so much unused vacation time on the table? >> first off they are accused of back stabbing. if i take a vacation day oh my gosh what's going to happen? they may be up for a promotion or a raise and they don't want to make it look as though they are lazy or not productive or something or other. >> reporter: but here's what's harders to calculate. the human toll. bowman said america's work centric culture has created a group of burned out worker bees. >> you goin float, you don't bet have the creative edge, the engaged edge. they don't become as we refer to in hr, engaged. in other words they're not interested. their passion is no longer there. their effectiveness drops down.

>> by comparison, european employees appear to have no qualms about taking advantage of any and all paid time off. workers in france are given 30 vacation days and report using all of them. same goes for employees in denmark germany and spain. >> in europe it's mandated, for here it's not. for the good of the employee, the good of the employee's family. the company should encourage as much as possible do take the vacation and take it all. >> and with a view like this, who could argue? jennifer london, santa monica, not often vacation. (f) take a look at these drawings, give you an idea what's planned. yainaliens will be serving.

take a look at the millennium falcon. that's all of our time. thank you for watching. >> this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello i'm lauren taylor, this is the newshour, live from london. coming up, 19 killed, dozens more injured, as a bomb goes off in bangkok. one of south sudan's two warring leaders signs a peace deal but the other says he needs more time. the u.n. humanitarian chief says more protection for civilians after one of the worst single attacks in syria.