questions >> i hope so too. i leave it to your viewers to determine. >> permanent ambassador for saudi arabia in the united nations. >> that's our show, i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us. holding back the flood. 11 dams failed in south carolina, and emergency crews are frantically trying to prevent more being overwhelmed desperate search... >> hoping for the best. we have not given up. >> time is running out as the search offense for any possible survivors of the cargo ship elpharaoh which disappeared in the fury of hun cane joachim.

>> a smoking revelation. >> a hospital was mistakenly attacked. >> new revelations and a conversation with the u.s. executive director will he or won't he - the talk of a presidential campaign swirling around vice president joe biden good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. we begin in the storm-soaked south-eastern united states. in the carolinas, the death toll stands at 17. the rain has stopped. in parts of south carolina, the rivers have not crested. the water rises. the tragedy has been compounded by the failure of 11 dams. floodwaters are threatening to overrun dozens more. paul beban is in south carolina, and the worst may not be over in some areas: . >> that's right, and the answer depend on where you are in south

carolina. so here in columbia, the state capital, it was the first sunny day, blue skies in almost two weeks, and that, of course was a welcome change from the unending rain. the crest of the flooding passed here. the big wall of water is moving east to the coast now. now the waters have receded here, in fact, where i'm standing 48 hours ago the water would have been overmy head. the worst may be yet to come for the eastern part of the state, where the rains stopped and water receded. they are beginning to pick up pieces and see how extensive the damage is. >> where is the picture of mum with her hand on her hip? >> presbyterian minister larry baits spent the day sorting through a house. of soggy debris, on the lawn a lift of family treasures and photographs spread out to dry. >> i'm not really sure, but it

was probably about there. >> the reverend had about a foot of water. it water rose down the rooftops. >> the damage is simply staggering. >> in this part of columbia, this is the neighbourhood people call the epicentre. it's burwell lame. it became a torrent. we'll see what it has wraught. people are spreading their lives on the lawn. all of the parked cars have an army of volunteers. >> i'm about to cry, i'm not crying because i'm sad. i'm crying because i'm so happy, that so many people have come out and loved me today. >> god smiled on south carolina, because the sun is out. governor nicky hayley summed up

a sense of relief. finally the rain stopped. she warned that the danger has not past, not yet. >> we are strong, resilient and still under the fact that the next 46-48 hours will be vulnerable. we'll tell you don't let the sun shine fool you, but be prepared. >> across the state businesses have been submerged ruined or washed away. the

walk down the middle of the street with wheelbarrows, handing it out, to the contractors that come from all over the city, different parts of the state to help people start to dig out, to try out their homes, so a long way to go here, and that is yet to come further east, where the

floodwaters moved towards the coast. >> amazing how much water, damage water can bring. >> paul beban. thank you tomorrow, n.t.s.b. investigators will spend a stay in the region, where a cargo ship el faro with people on board disappeared. they'll look into why the ship headed from florida to puerto rico despite the bad weather. >> antonio mora is there. >> evening, thursday last was the last time the signals were received from the ship. the coast guard reported finding debris, and human remains over the weekend. what really matters now to the relatives of the men lost at sea is the search for survivors does go on it's a race against time to find anyone that might have survived the sinking of elfaro in hurricane joachim. family members pray the coast guard can find a sign of their

loved ones. >> we want them to know the whole community is coming together, we love them, and hoping for the best. we have not given up. >> i'm not giving up hope. >> it is different. >> tuesday marks five days since the ship vanished and that's how long the coast guard says someone can live in a survival suit, designed to keep the crew members afloat and warm. for research planning efforts. we assume the vessel set. we believe it sank in the last known position that we recorded on thursday. the last known location. crooked island, bahamas, where the water is 15,000 feet deep. el faro departed from jacksonville, headed to puerto rico on a regular cargo run. during that time joachim grew to a category 4 hurricane. >> we hope because the men are trained to survive, hopefully they did what was needed.

>> the main focus is finding the people, not the ship. tuesday a separate investigation was launched to find out what happened >> the team will be on scene from 7-10 days. the mission is to understand not just what happened, but why. >> the n.t.s.b. investigators said they had a news conference in florida, but will be looking at anything and everything to decipher what went wrong, and are hopeful that the ship will be found and with it the foyage data recorder. >> category storm, when they hit. >> chances were never good when they lost power. >> thank you. >> the top u.s. commander in afghanistan was on capitol hill testifying about the air strike that killed 22 people at a doctors without borders host. the result was a stunning administration. >> and an are reversal of an earlier account of the bombing. mike viqueira reports. >> good evening, after four days of shifting explanation, the top

military commander in afghanistan put it plainly, the u.s. military is at fault for the attack on? an if doctors without borders hospital, and the general is making headlines by openly promoting before congress a change in the president's plan to remove all u.s. troops by the end of next year. >> a hospital was struck. it was a stark commission by a top coalition commander who left no doubt about who gave the green light for the attack on a hospital that killed 22. to be clear, the decision to provide aerial fire was a u.s. decision made within the u.s. chain of command. >> in accepting blame before is panel. general john campbell says a pentagon investigation is going board, with preliminary findings expected in 30 days. that was cold comfort for doctors without borders. the group that operated the hospital. >> in the latest in a series of scathing statements the

president wrote: the hospital attack game during a battle for control of kunduz, and the taliban advance raises troubling questions. in 2014, president obama vowed to complete the draw down of u.s. traps by the end of next year. >> we have to recognise afghanistan will not be a perfect place. and it is not america's responsibility to make it one. >> but tuesday, campbell told congress the afghan army can't secure the country without u.s. help, and openly called for u.s. troops to stay behind the president's deadline. >> i believe we have to have a counterterrorism capability and you need a certain amount of forces. >> the top afghan leader wants the military to remain, african forces are reversing taliban

games. at the same time the need for maintaining support, sustaining support for afghan forces is more evident. >> the president is weighing his options, says his spokesman and the attack on the hospital will be a part of that calculation. of course, incidents on the ground and high profile incidents, and what they say about the relative strength and weaknesses will have an impact on the president's decision. >> the white house is considering a change in policy, president obama will talk to general john campbell, who submitted his recommendation, and will talk to intelligence agencies and diplomats before making a final decision on troop deployments in afghanistan beyond next year. >> jason cone is the executive director for doctors without borders in the united states. good to have you with us. >> good to be here tonight. >> your people do heroic work all over the world, in the world's most dangerous places and this saddened people all

across the world. what kind of explanation have you received directly. >> we've not received any explanation directly, most has been through statements, changing stories, all the more underscore, an independent inquiry, leading to what happened to the death of 22 of my colleagues and patients. >> why do you think you need an independent inquiry. n.a.t.o. is conducting one, afghan nations and the united states. >> all three are parties to afghanistan, and we think it's incumbent on the parties to see that there needs to be acceptance. there has been reports of it being collateral damage, a strike called by afghan forces to the u.s. government taking responsibility for ordering the strikes. so it - we need answers, this is key to our ability to work around the world. it's not just about what

happened in afghanistan. it's also about the respect for the geneva conventions international humanitarian law. >> what was your reaction to general campbell's testimony. >> it's with my colleagues, those in kabul, just a lot of shock. we hear different reasons for what happened. and we think everyone is deserving a real independent inquiry to get down to the real answers about this. >> as i mentioned, doctors without borders called this a war crime. senator mccain called it ridiculous saying war crimes required intent. does he have a point. do you think this could have been done on purpose. >> well, we know from our staff that were on the ground, the same structure in our compound, which has been known to the u.s. government and afghan forces. we shared g.p.s. coordinates. the same building was struck repeatedly over the course of an

hour almost. even though we had given many warnings that this was where we were operating and treating patient the the whole week we treated close to 400 wounded from the fighting in kunduz. intent needs to be looked at. it's a responsibility for investigators do do that. we'll presume, until told otherwise, that this, in fact, was a targetted attack and a war crime. and a grave breach of international humanitarian law. >> i know that doctors without borders said that no taliban fighters are present at that compound. it is a fairly large compound and today some afghan officials told al jazeera and afghanistan that in some corner of that compound there was firing coming from the taliban. is it possible? >> none of our staff were $, and we introduced many of them, said that they heard any firing in advance of the attack on the hospital. this is what an inquiry is supposed to look at, this is why

we think it needs to be done independently, for that reason, to examine those things. as far as the staff can tell, there was no firing inside the compound. keep in mind, there was a group of individuals working under fire for the last week. they know what the sounds of gunfire are, they are not immune to that, they have been working in a war zone. we think the inquiry is needed to answer the questions for certain. >> you have to pull out of kunduz as a result of all this. other aid agencies have had to. what are the consequences for what is one of afghanistan's largest cities? >> well, it is, in a sense, they have lost all access to emergency medical care. we were the only surgical trauma center in the region, in the week, treating nearly 400 wounded. for years we've been treating more than that. so now that is lost. you heard from your own reports that other agencies had to leave, and so at the time when

there's greatest need, no one is on the ground to help the afghan population. >> has the u.s. or n.a.t.o. helped in the aftermath, helped doctors without borders. >> i'm not sure about that. basically what we are doing is trying to cooperate with investigators that are already in afghanistan. but for the most part, the population is without access to health care. that is the larger cost of the strike beyond the loss of life of my colleagues and i, our patients. >> you have brave colleagues, condolences to you, executive director of doctors without borders here in the united states. we appreciate you cooing in and talking to us. n.a.t.o. says russian war planes valted turkey's air space twice. n.a.t.o.'s secretary-general warned moscow not to let it happen again. the kremlin claims the incursions were accidental and the jets were conducting air strikes against i.s.i.l.

western leaders say the large majority of the strikes targeted other syrian opposition groups, not i.s.i.l. >> the biggest unanswered question in american politics may be will vice president joe biden run for president. a possible clue next. also, the federal government is shifting away from mandatory minimum sentences. how new policies are about to spring thousands of inmates from prison.

reports out indicate that justice department is close to carrying out the largest release of federal prisoners history, more than 500 federal inmates serving time for nonviolent drug offenses are set to be freed. officials estimate some 40,000 prisoners could be released. in a separate initiative president obama granted clemency to some drug offenders, leading to the early release of 89 in mates. >> the baltimore police

department is in the spotlight as it prepares to settle two lawsuits for misconduct. in one, a woman alleges after her arrest, police subjected her to a reckless ride in the back of a police van. she said she was violently thrown around the wagon, and is expected to settle for $95,000 tomorrow. it comes as the city prepares to prosecute six officers for the death of a man that died in the back of a police van a meeting at the white house already - the question whether joe biden will announce a bit to join the race before the candidates take to the stage in las vegas. david shuster has more. >> reporter: sources close to joe biden say he is has not made a decision about the 2016 nomination. the vice president had his regular tuesday lunch, and oh, to be a fly on the wall of that

discussion. members of the joe biden's team are indicating to anyone that is listening is that joe biden does not fear losing a presidential campaign. he ran for the democratic nomination twice before and lost, and the conventional wisdom has been since the death this summer the vice president would probably decide against the run, the theory being that it would be a crushing blow. sources are going out of their way pointing out the president knows the impact of a failed race and believers he'll be energized and lifted by the handshags and everything the campaign requires, regardless of whether it was ultimately successful. the vice president is aware if he gets in, highly face organizational and financial deficit. however, biden is convinced that

client would be vulnerable in a general election thanks to email controversies and lingering perceptions about honesty. the democratic race reaches a crucial new phase in los angeles next tuesday, the night of the democratic debate. he will not make a decision before then, and will therefore not participate. they feel no pressure to get in the race. they expect a decision for the second half of october before the deadline approaches for the iowa caucuses and the new hampshire primary volkswagen's new c.e.o. told employees to brace for cutbacks. mattias muller said the company's investments are at risk at an as a result of the vw emissions treating scandal and would accelerate cost-cutting measures, analysts say fines,

lawsuits and recalls could cost vw tens of billion. volkswagen's top american executive will testify before congress this week. >> a worker in a multibillion industry is accused of using insider information. it's not a wall street scandal. it's fantastic si sports. the new court ruling that could mean trouble for facebook, google and other internet giants.

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to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. i just had a horrible nightmare. my company's entire network went down, and i was home in bed, unaware. but that would never happen. comcast business monitors my company's network 24 hours a day and calls and e-mails me if something, like this scary storm, takes it offline. so i can rest easy. what. you don't have a desk bed? don't be left in the dark. get proactive alerts 24/7. comcast business. built for business. europe's highest court ruled

a 15-year-old data sharing deal with the u.s. is illegal. the judges said the safe harbour pact that allows companies to transfer data does not protect internet privacy. the court found it exposes citizens to n.s.a. surveillance, and cited the leaks as evidence that the u.s. intelligence agencies had unlimited access to personal data. the ruling affects 4,000 companies, including apple. google. microsoft and facebook a former president of the u.n. secretary general assembly is charged with a kick back scheme. federal prosecutors accuse john ash of accepting more than a million in bribes from a chinese businessman. the crimes were allegedly committed when he served as the say sem bli president. he was one of six custody. prosecutors said more arrests are likely. >> new york's attorney-general

opened an investigation. >> online fantasy sports betting, after a drafts kings employee won $350,000 on fan dual. as al jazeera's gabriel elizonda shows us. the scandal is raising questions about the multibillion industry. >> it's a wild lie popular online sports line betting company called drafts king. television commercials tempt sports fans with a clans to win big money in american football. >> everyone knows draft kings makes more millionaires than anyone else. >> fans pay an onlee fee anywhere from $1 to $1,000. fans pick players, assemble a hypothetical, and win or lose, based on how well the players perform each week. lots of money is involved. it's a $2.5 billion, and

expected to grow to 4.2 million. fantasy sports leagues face a scandal after accusations won hundreds of thousands betting on american football with a rival company, allegedly based on information not available to the public. it's called a case akin to insider trading or cheating. >> when you play poker, you figure no one else has access to your cars. that's what we question. what data and what information could people have information to and what tests are on that. >> draft kings, the other country, issued a joint statement denying that employees had insider information, and said: both put a ban on employees participating in online sports contests while investigations

continue. >> in america, unlike casino gambling or online poker. the fantasy league is not regulated by law basically they are trusting draft kings and vandal to run the games themselves. there's no third party, no government oversight. that's where the question comes in and why people want answers about what is going on. sports fans expecting to be betting on a level playing field, now wondering if that wasn't fantasy in itself. a pair of scientists, experts on particles left over from the big bang have been awarded the nobel prize in fittics. a congratulatory phone call was received after the announcement. and schars the prize with canadian arthur mcdonald's.

their findings could prove trucial for understanding how the universe works. i'm antonio mora, thank you for joining us. for the news any time head to aljazeera.com. ray suarez is up next with "inside story". have a great night. the millennium development goals have run their course. the plan to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. now the nations of the world are embarking on an ambitious new sort of targets hoping to make the world healthier and wealthier in a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable way. get rich, not dirty. it's the inside story.