corals to refairly themselves. the rate of climate change that we are seeing, it may not be enough time to naturally protection themselves and to adapt to these event na were happening. >> and there's more on the website aljazeera.com. >> a strike averted, a midnight agreement keeps 40,000 auto workers on the job at fiat chrysler, but will the deal get rank and file approval? >> the head of volkswagen u.s.a. admits he knew about an emission problem for a year before it went public. michael horn goes before congress this morning. >> nato holds and emergency meeting on rush's intervention in syria, damascus saying the airstrikes are helping it get the upper hand against groups

trying to out of the bashar al assad. >> this is aljazeera america, good morning, live from new york city, i'm randall pinkston. we begin this morning with two developing stories from the automotive industry, new details about just how much and for how long volkswagen executives knew about an emission problem with diesel cars. first, fiat chrysler and auto workers averted a strike with a tentative deal in detroit addressing concerns about jobs and the future of 40,000 auto workers. bisi onile-ere joins us live. workers rejected a deal last week. any idea what is new in this

tenantative agreement? >> both sides have yet to disclose details of this agreement. i can tell you that the two tier wage scale, health care, as well as outsourcing were major issues. shortly after that deal was reached last night, a union official said we have won significant gains. the next step right now will be for union leaders to meet friday to discuss, look over this tenantative deal and vote on it. if approved, it will go before thousands of workers up for a vote. >> how did fiat chrysler prepare for a possible strike and what happens now? >> i can tell you talking to workers, you can see behind me, they started seeing notices, leaflets posted throughout plants across the country in forming them that there could be a strike. had there been a strike and there's still a possibility down

the line that there could be, starting today, this undoubtedly would have had a huge impact on thousands of workers. it would have really impacted the automakers's bottom line. we had an opportunity to speak with an employee. >> i don't know exactly what the company is going to do. i'm hoping that we don't strike. who can afford a strike? it's a win-win -- i mean it's a lose-lose if we go on strike. we are looking for them to come forward and honor some of the promises they had made to us. >> i'm told we could learn more about the agreement after union leaders meet. the talks between u.a.w. and

f.c.a. could impact negotiations between the u.a.w., ford and general motors. back to you. >> bisi onile-ere in detroit, thank you. >> the head of volkswagen america admits 11 million of its diesel cars contained software with a so-called defeat device that lowered emissions during testing. now we're finding out just when v.w. executives first learned about it. john henry smith is here with more. >> it was only last month that volkswagen's old u.s. regulators about the admission itself, but top brass knew about it far longer. a company spokesman previously said c.e.a. michael horn did not know about the problem until a few weeks ago, but in prepared testimony, horn admits he was actually told about it more than a year ago. "in the spring of 2014, i was told that there was a possible

emissions non-compliance that could be remedied. later in 2014, i was informed that the technical teams had a specific plan for remedies to bring the vehicles into compliance and that they were engaged with the agencies about the process, but it wasn't until last month that v.w. admitted to federal regulators that the cars had that defeat device that let them cheat on emission tests. in his testimony, horn says volkswagen of america has withdrawn its application for e.p.a. certification for new model cars with diesel engines until they comply with emissions standards. that means vehicles already sent to the u.s. cannot be sold. volkswagen said it will begin recalls in january, but thus far, it does not have a fix. technical teams are working to come up with a remedy. the company has set aside more than $7 billion to pay for those

rare costs. >> thanks, john henry. >> the syrian government says a major ground offensive is underway this morning a day after russia stepped up air attacks. leaders from both countries say the coordinated operation is targeting isil fighters, but the u.s. and nato are skeptical. an emergency nato meeting is underway right now to discuss russia's actions in syria. nato secretary general called the latest developments troubling. >> we will assess the latest developments and the implications for the security of the alliance. this is particularly relevant in the view of the recent violations of nato's air space by russian aircraft. >> defense secretary ash carter says the u.s. has ruled out any coordination with russia on targeting isil in syria. we have more from brussels.

>> nato's most certainly well aware of the fact that tensions between the alliance and russia continue to worsen, ever since russia began airstrikes on syria more than a week ago now. the concern here amongst the alliance is that russia is targeting much, much more than simply isil and al-qaeda related groups operating within syria, but also other opposition groups potentially backed by the united states may find themselves on a list have legitimate russian targets. the message here from the nato alliance is that russia's plans, whatever the long term plans are, are tragically flawed and do in the long run potentially run the risk of making the conflict last even longer. the relationship between nato and russia has been massively affected by concerns also about

turkey, reports from the turkish military of two apparent incursions by russian planes into turkish air space earlier on in the week. the first russia say was an accident, the second nato isn't too sure about. there is concern about the possibility of troops operating on the ground, not russian troops, that's what the russians are saying, at least, but some concerns about volunteers operating within syria to support the assad government. there is, two a certain extent, a bit of catch up going on here in nato. the russians have acted very fast indeed and what nato will try and do now is come up with a concerted, joint response on what to do next. >> william courtney is the former special assistant for russia to former president bill clinton. he said assad needs russia's

help and russia could be in it for the long run. >> clearly the russians with some help from iran and hezbollah are doing more to bolster the regime, carrying out some offensives, the kind of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters are mostly oriented toward ground support, so they clearly want to support the syrian army. whether that will work or not is unclear. the russians are telling their own people that their forces will be out in a couple of months, but that's probably not realistic if bashar al assad's regime was losing so much ground before. if russians pull out, bashar al assad's regime may be in trouble. >> the u.n. based observatory for human rights say seven civilians were killed in the latest attacks. >> germany's defense minister says nato troops may need to

stay on longer in afghanistan and that any decision on that front should be based on the situation on the ground. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan has said that he thinks more troops should stay in afghanistan longer than originally planned to battle the taliban. >> it is unusual for the white house toish public be apologies, but doctors without borders is not impressed, insist be the u.s. should allow an independent investigation into an air strike on a hospital in northern afghanistan. there are currently three investigations underway. the aid agency insists that's not enough. >> five days after an attack from a u.s. war plane left at least 22 dead at an afghan hospital, president obama called dr. joanne lu to apologize. >> when a mistake occurs, the united states owns up to it, and we vow to get to the bottom of what exactly happened, if it is necessary to hold individuals accountable, that will be done.

>> in a statement after the call, doctor lu insists on an independent investigation, writing: >> earlier wednesday before she spoke to mr. obama, dr. liu calmed it an attack not just on the hospital, but on international law. >> today, we say enough. wean war hair rules. >> experts on international law agree, and say an apology isn't enough. >> it doesn't address the issue which how this happened, it doesn't address the legal issue of what is the nature of responsibility on the part of the u.s. military or specific

commanders. >> retired army general has been in the chain of command for past strikes. >> i would speculate that the breakdown happened not on the ground, not in the air, but in the coordination center, but that's what's going to be investigated. >> doctors without borders say patients in kunduz burned in their beds and regardless of how it happened, the group isn't satisfied with a simple apology from the president. >> we are call on president obama to consent to the fact finding commission. doing so will send powerful signal of the u.s. government's commitment to and respect for international human law and the rules of war. >> mike viqueira, al jazeera, washington. >> residents return to homes in south carolina, but the danger has not yet passed. now the state is facing tough questions about not being prepared for the storm.

>> kevin mccarthy said bid to become house speaker hits a road block. the new candidates from the right challenging him for that top job.

>> every saturday night.

>> it could be the weekend before flooding eases in south carolina. waters from the historic rains continue to cause trouble and evacuation, the death toll now up to 17. one south carolina senator is warning that cleanup could cost

a billion dollars. our reporter is live. 13 of those 62 dams monitored have failed. what about the others? >> well, officials say they don't expect to breathe easier until about this weekend. the integrity of these dams has been one of their biggest concerns. about those 62 dams being monitored, they are shoring those up with sandbags and rocks. as far as the others are concerned, the state sent notices to the private owners of those dams asking them to please watch those closely. >> residents have started returning home and they are finding some very, very difficult circumstances. tell us about what you found. >> they just can't believe the devastation when they go into those homes. let me just show you. i'm in somerville and behind me is ash borough, this neighborhood here. you can see the water levels in

the distance and you can see that you captain even get into these homes unless you have boats. the water level receded a little bit, but still, these homeowners can't even go into their homes yet. >> i'm going to get my kids to school. my cars are underwater. i'm glad it's stuff and not my family, so... >> all the homeowners that we've spoken to say they've seen storms before, but never anything like this before. >> there are reports that the state has only spent a quarter million dollars on dam inspections and maintenance compared to the amount of money spent in neighboring north carolina in the range of $2 million. what is governor nikki haley saying about that? >> the governor took a lot of questions yesterday about this issue but really didn't want to go there. she said right now what they

want to focus on is making sure the threat of the floods has passed. >> when you have floods of this magnitude, it is really amazing that we have not had more issues than we've had. having said that, let us get through this. let us continue to work. we can always modernize more. >> of the 13 dams that have failed, the 62 that they are monitoring, the governor says these are only a small fraction of about 2,000 dams that the state regulates. >> of course, you've heard senator lindsey graham saying he believes it will cost a billion dollars to rebuild. two people died yesterday. they were among folks who drove around the barriers and got caught in floodwaters. are people heeding the warnings to stay off the roads? >> they're asking people to, but some aren't. yesterday, we saw one motorist getting arrested, because he was

trying to go through one of those barriers. we spoke to the national guard. they've told us you can't tell, but in some places, these roads have collapsed. the asphalt has come down because of the weight of all this water, so much water, some of it is stagnant. when you put a war through that, some of this -- part of the pavement just collapses to the ground. randall. >> we'll check in with you later, thank you. >> the coast guard has called off a search for 33 missing crew members from a cargo ship that sank last week. rescuers found a body believed to be a crew member of the el faro. a damaged life boat, containers and debris were also recovered. president obama says the families of the crew deserve answers and he has promised a full investigation. >> battle lines drawn between congress and president obama, lawmakers having passed a defense bill that the president promises to veto. the senate overwhelmingly approved the $612 billion defense bill yesterday.

president obama threatened to veto over a $38 billion war fighting account. the house passed the bill last week but would need 20 more votes to override a veto. >> republicans in the house today begin voting on a nominee for speaker. house majority leader kevin mccarthy's candidacy could hit a road block with daniel webster being backed. they are expected to have enough votes to prevent mccarthy from getting a majority. >> wired for the future. one city wants to expand high speed internet, but it is facing strong opposition from an unlikely source.

>> a new york city police review board recommends two officers be chard for tackling and arresting former tennis pro james blake. the board found excessive force was used outside a new york hotel last month tackling him to the ground. police mistakenly identified him as a suspect in a cell phone scam. >> jerry brown signed a measure committing the state to using renewable energy for half electricity by 2013 and requires existing buildings to double energy efficiency by that date. brown tried for an even more aggressive bill. he wanted to cut the amount of petroleum california uses in half. >> a new age version of david versus goliath is playing out in tennessee. one city is working on building the fastest internet connection

in america, but the effort faces stiff opposition from internet providers. al jazeera's jacob ward explains. >> today, chattanooga, tennessee is known as the gig city. in 2008, then mayor ron littlefield helped make it one of the first american cities to offer super high speed internet through its own power utility. to do it, he had to battle with telecommunications giants. >> when you're dealing with those giants, with the comcast, and at&t's, they are reluctant to give up the market that they have. >> littlefield and city officials worked with their power utility, electric power board, or e.p.b. needless to say, the existing providers were not happy. >> representatives of at&t and comcast paraded into my office to tell me why they didn't think cat puga should get into this business of compete, private enterprise. >> e.p.b. paid for the

$320 million price tag with bonds, a line of credit and a $111 million government stimulus grant, but not before littlefield said he offered to let local telecoms build out the infrastructure themselves. >> they both said no, we can't afford to do that. i said well, we really can't afford not to do that. >> e.p.b. began installing 9,000 miles of fiber. meanwhile, comcast sued the utility to prevent it from building out its network, arguing that cities have an unfair advantage over for profit companies. >> most cities charge broad band providers a fee and if the city uses taxpayer dollars, doesn't have to make a profit, uses subsidies, it is unfair. >> today it has 70,000 subscribers. the competition has gotten more fierce. in may, comcast offered its own

two gig bit service, unupping the deal. >> using gig bit, considering the average internet speed that takes a half hour or more to down lloyd a high-def movie, but only takes seconds to pull off the same thing. it is said cities could be investing too much money for why more than the average consumer needs. >> a lot of cities have made a big mistake putting money into networks that are way ahead of consumer demand. consumers aren't asking for these networks. >> if we build it, will they come? that's the question. >> the c.i.o. or lexington kentucky, the city is weighing the costs and risks of investinging a finer infrastructure, looking at building a network through a

partnership with a private company. it's one of many options being weighed and there are many risks. >> people don't come right away, so if a company has to make money, and they've partnered with the city or the county, will they come fast enough for them to repay the loan, to repay the lease payments. >> none of our cities really want to do this work. it's hard, it's scary, it's risky. if they're doing it, it's because they have no alternative. >> jacob ward, al jazeera, chattanooga, tennessee. >> while you were sleeping, there was a spectacular show in the skies last night. this is time laps video of the northern borealis lights looked like. it was visible in the u.s. and london, too. stephanie sy back in two minutes with more aljazeera america. >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world.

getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et

>> russia flexing its military might to support the syrian government ground attack against rebel groups. how the air power maybe tipping the balance toward the assad government. >> volkswagen's top official is preparing to testify he knew more than a year ago about the device that is cheat emissions tests. >> offensive i can't tell chrysler workers on the job

after a tenantative contract deal. will this one get the ok from employees who rejected an earlier agreement? >> 33 lives lost at satisfactory. the ghost guard ends the search for the crew of a missing container ship. >> the syrian government said a major ground offensive is underway aimed at stopping rebel groups and they're getting big help from russia's latest air attacks. good morning, this is aljazeera america, live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy. leaders from both countries say the coordinated operation targets isil fighters but the u.s. and nato are skeptical. an emergency nato meeting is underway to discuss russia's actions in syria. speaking just a short time ago, nato's secretary general called the latest developments troubling. >> we will assess the latest

developments and the implications for the security of the alliance. this is particularly relevant in the view of the recent violations of nato's air space by russian aircraft. >> they are talking about the air space of turkey, which is a nato member. meanwhile, u.s. defense secretary ash carter is at that emergency conference today. we have more from outside the meeting in brussels. >> nato's most certainly well aware of the fact that tension the between the alliance and russia continue to worsen ever since russia began airstrikes on syria more than a week ago now. the concern here amongst the alliance is that russia is targeting much, much more than simply isil and al-qaeda related groups operating within syria, but also, other opposition groups potentially backed by the united states may find themselves on a list of

legitimate russian targets. the meme here from the nato alliance is that russia's plans, whatever the long term plans are, are tragically flowed and do in the long run potentially run the risk of making the conflict last even longer. the relationship between nato and russia has been affected by concerns also from turkey. reports from the turkish military of two apparent incursions by russian planes into at your issue air space earlier on in the week. the first the russians say was an accident, the second, nato isn't too sure about. there are concerns here also about the possibility of troops operating on the ground, not russian troops, that's what the russians are saying, at least, but some concerns about volunteers operating within syria to support the assad

government. there is to a certain extent a bit of catch up going on here in nato. the russians have acted very fast indeed and what nato will try and do now is come up with a concerted joint response on what to do next. >> reporting from brussels. >> former president bill clinton is urging a different approach from the obama administration for ending the war in syria. >> as long as he has a different world view of how russia can restore its greatness, we're going to have these conflicts. nonetheless, he surely does not want isis to succeed, because it won't be long before that in effects the rest of the muslim populations on his southern belly, underbelly. i still believe we need to see if we can straighten this out, because if we work together for the purpose of blocking the

gains of isis and understood that we would have differences of opinion about how to handle syria if we can get this under control, that's what's best for the syrians, that's what's best for the region and i think that's what's best in the long run for russia. >> clinton advocated cooperation between arab states and iran. >> doctors without borders is standing firm that the u.s. allow an independent investigation into an air strike that hit one of its hospitals in afghanistan. president obama called the group to apologize. 22 were left dead, including doctors and patients. the u.s. commander said it was a mistake and promised the pentagon will conduct its own investigation. doctors without borders is calling for an international fact finding commission under the geneva convention, which the u.s. is not a signatory to.

>> a new round of saudi-led coalition airstrikes in yemen have reportedly hit a wedding party. the strikes targeted the home of a tribal leader close to the capital, sanna. at least 15 people were killed and 25 injured. hours before, the u.n. noblessed that the houthis accepted a security council plan to end the fighting. >> international criticism this morning for president obama's troop withdrawal time line in afghanistan. yemeni's defense minister said nato troops may need to stay on longer than planned. afghan troops are holding their ground after recapturing the city of kunduz from the taliban. the german officials say they can't do the job alone without nato help. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan said this week he thinks more troops should stay in afghanistan. >> the u.s. head of volkswagen goes before a congressional committee in two hours to talk about his company's emissions scandal. he plans to admit the company knew it was selling cars with

software that skirted e.p.a. rules. john henry smith is here with more. the question is who knew what when. >> exactly. there's still no evidence that top v.w. management in germany knew their diesel cars were equipped with software to cheat on emission tests. michael horn said he was told about the problem with the emissions as far back as 2014. >> the admission is just a few lines into michael horn's statement. he says in the spring of 2014, i was told that there was a possible emissions non-compliance that could be remedied. later in 2014, i was informed that the technical teams had a specific plan for remedies to bring the vehicles into compliance and that they were engaged with the agencies about the process, but it wasn't until last month that v.w. admitted to federal regulators that the cars

had that defeat device that let them cheat on emission tests. in his testimony, horn says volkswagen of america has withdrawn its application for e.p.a. certification for new model cars with diesel engines until they comply with emissions standards. horn offered this confession shortly after the scandal broke. >> let's be clear, our company was dishonest with the e.p.a. and the california airy sources board and with all of you and in my german words, we have totally. >>ed up. >> horn said volkswagen of america has withdrawn its application for e.p.a. certification for a new model cars with diesel engines until they comply with emission standards. that means vehicles already sent to the u.s. cannot be sold. v.w. plans to start the emission repairs in january, but angry volkswagen owners say that's not enough. >> overall, i love the brand. they need to make changes up top as far as who is making those kind of decisions. >> kelly blue book said the value of models has dropped 13%

since september, when the scandal broke. the justice department and 45 state attorneys general are now looking into what happened. >> v.w. has already set aside nearly $8 billion for a cost associated with the scandal. some in congress say the company ought to be fined hundreds of millions of dollars. last month, g.m. settled claims over faulty ignition switches for $900 billion. >> this litigation against v.w. is global. >> absolutely. >> at this point. john henry smith, thank you. >> this morning, 40,000 workers at fiat chrysler avoided a picket line at least for now. theory reached a tentative deal with the company overnight. the u.a.w. said the concerns about jobs and their futures are addressed. we are joined by boyce at the plant. workers rejected a previous deal last week. what do we know about this agreement on the table and whether it will hold? >> good morning.

so far, both sides have yet to release details on this tenantative, this new tenantative agreement, houston, i can tell you that the two tier pay wage, health care, outsourcing, as well as a number of other issues were really big factors in negotiations this time around. i can tell you that shortly after this deal was reached, there was a union official who came out saying that we have made really great gains with this current agreement that we have here, so the next step is for union leaders to meet, we're told they are meeting tomorrow morning. they are going to look over this agreement and then vote on it. if approved, it will then go before thousands of u.a.w. members. >> as you stand before that plant, we're expecting the workers to arrive this morning, chrysler of course went bankrupt in 2009, saying they could not afford high labor costs. how is a a deal increasing workers pay affecting the

company today? >> well, fiat chrysler is a much different company than it was back in 2009. it did restructuring, laid off quite a few people, bought a lot of people out of their contracts. where it stands right now, a lot of auto workers feel that the company is in a position to pay higher wages, because auto sales have been so strong over the past couple of years, we have the opportunity to speak with one worker who talked about the significance of this tenantative agreement and reaching an accord. >> i don't know exactly what the company is going to do. i'm hoping that we don't strike. who can afford a strike? it's a win-win, i mean it's a lose-lose if we can on strike. we are looking for them to come forward and honor some of the promises they have made to us. >> there are quite a few auto

workers we've talked to this morning who are relieved that a strike was averted, but as you know, they are still not out of the woods just yet. all members have to vote and agree on this new tentative agreement. i'm told that what's going on right now between the union and f.d.a. will impact general motors and ford. >> that is why you are watching it so closely. live for us in war ron, michigan, bashar al assad, thank you. >> in south carolina, thousands of residents return home, but the threat there is not yet over. >> overcoming overcrowding. a closer look at what is leading to the largest one time release of federal inmates by that the end of this month. we'll talk to the general counsel for families against mandatory minimums, mary price. >> hanging on for dear life, after a worker slips and is left dangling from a bridge, what happens next. >> go one on one with america's

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>> warnings are still up this morning in south carolina where floodwaters continue to threaten thousands of homes. the govern says it could be 24-48 hours before the state is in the clear and the death toll has risen to 17 after men crossed a barricaded street and drowned. we are live indoor chester, south carolina. what is the biggest danger now and how are residents coping? >> the biggest danger is how long will floodwaters stay here. i'm in a neighborhood completely surrounded by water. the only way you can get to the homes behind me is by boat or kayak. just yesterday, we spoke to one homeowner who was interesting his house for the very first time since the storm.

>> oh, that's bad. a little wet, but... oh, god, watch the step, the floor's gone. >> it only took calvin perry a few seconds to discover there was far less left to his home than he hoped. >> you've got the sunken floors here? >> everywhere. every square foot of this place has been affected by the water. if you don't watch, like i said, you will get hurt. whoa! >> there you go. >> that's it. yeah, please. >> he returned to salvage what he can from a home that's been in his family for generations. the vietnam veteran came back to south carolina from texas 11 years ago to care for his ailing aunt. he lives alone now, but the memories are still with him. >> this place has meaning for

you. >> absolutely. all of this property used to be my grandfather's and what not, and most of the people here are family. i'm at a loss for words. this is just... whoo. >> the last time he left his house in a boat, he took nothing, as rescue crews swept him to safety. now he's leaving with a handful of possessions, helped by a local animal rescuer who showed up with a group of firefighters to save animals from a neighboring property. >> my mission is to leave a heart print bigger than buy boot print. my boot print is 12 wide, so i'm thinking i've got a pretty good heart print i've got to lead. there's a lot of people who left a big heart print on this community. >> she certainly left her heart print on calvin perry. he salvaged a box of family

photos, including one of himself as a young boy and the two aunts he'll never forget. >> at this time, this is all i got to remember anybody, you know, so what can i tell you? it's rough all over, and but right now, i have to concentrate on myself and what i'm going to do. >> that homeowner says that he will be applying for fema for currently. as far as how much will all of this cost, officials say upwards of $1 billion. >> big heart prints. i like that. 400 roads and bridges are still closed. are people able to get back to school at this point? >> right now, school is closed this week, and those road closures are the major concern. in colombia, south carolina, there's a big football game that's supposed to happen this weekend against l.s.u.

that will now be taking place in louisiana. they're just worried about the roads, how will thousands and thousands of people get to that stadium. >> live indoor chester county, south carolina, still feel the impacts and the threats from those floods, thank you. >> nearly 6,000 federal inmates will be released at the end of the month. their release was set in motion a year ago when the u.s. sentencing commission altered guidelines for drug offenders. officials estimate 40,000 prisoners could be released. the wave at the end of the month is described as the large effort one time release in justice department history. mary price is the general counsel for families against mandatory minimums, joining us from washington this morning. thank you for being with us. tell us, why are they being released. >> good morning, stephanie, thank you. >> why is this large wave of inmates being released this month over a period of just a couple of days? >> that's a very good question.

since november 1 of last year, judges have been reviewing petitions from the prisoners who are seeking early release, and together with their probation officers, with prosecutors and federal public defenders determining who is eligible for early release and who upon release would not present a concern for public safety. judges have been signing those orders but because the actual release date was set off until november 1 of this year, all of those prisoners who would normally have gone home earlier have been waiting patiently or not for november 1 to come around. this is really as you pointed out earlier, one off. going forward, releases will be at a much mother i think moderate and steady pace. >> just to be clear, we are not talking about a mass amnesty or clemency here. each case has been individually reviewed by a federal judge, right? >> that's right. every single prisoner has to

petition the court, often with the assistance of the federal public defender in their district, and then the prosecutor looks at that and sometimes the prosecutors are in many times in fact the prosecutors are joining in consent motions. probation officers are looking at these petitions and asking the courts in examining every one and waiting out those that may not either be eligible for appropriate for early release. >> the motivating factor we understand is to reduce prison overcrowding, but it does go into the debate this country is having in which even the pope recently weighed in over punitive justice versus a more rehabilitative approach. is this part of that? >> absolutely. one of the things that motivated the sentencing commission says decision was a decision that these drug sentences are altogether too long. the j that they made was a modest j, but it means a great deal to all of the prisoners. every prisoner who will be released by a way of this

retroactive decision starting with this first 6,000 will see an average of reduction two years off the sentence they would have otherwise served. yes, we as a nation, i think this is a signal one of the signals we're getting now that we as a nation, as a criminal justice system are taking a new and hard look at how we treat crime and punishment. >> does the data back up this latter approach when it comes to recidivism rates? >> absolutely. there have been actually two, i don't know what you call them, dry runs of this sort of retroactivity release process. what we're finding and what the sentencing commission that demonstrate, is that people who receive shorter sentences, who are released early do not have great eerie as i had v.i.x. rates, do not offend at any greater rates than people who serve their full terms in prison. >> mary price with families against mandatory minimums, thank you this morning. >> a pioneering program in maine is offering young offenders an

alternative to prison, the program making a positive impact. al jazeera's lisa fletcher has more. >> go ahead and get ready, guys. >> for the first time in his life, 18-year-old date is on target. david was traveling a difficult path just months ago. >> i was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and underage drinking. >> pinch it. >> that same night, bad decisions nearly cost a friend his life. >> we were drinking in my gram at my house. i went upstairs for a few minutes and then when i came back down, my friend was on the ground, seizing and foaming at the mouth, and he was 15. >> an ambulance rescued his friend and police arrested david. the court ordered him into a unique program in maine, diversion to assets.

it's called a major turning point in how to deal with youth offenders. diversion to assets is a partnership between law enforcement, the department of corrections and the community to give kids who have been involved in everything from drugs and alcohol to assault an option to being locked up. since it began in 2008, nearly 400 kids have gone through the program. ryan is a program coordinator. >> d2a is designed to protect kids from the court system ultimately. we know once kids get into the court system, they are often more likely to end up back in the court system. >> now, about 80% of juvenile offenders in maine are diverted into the program. of them, the recidivism rate is a mere 8%, about 10 times lower than for kids in the traditional system. in fact, the state is actually closing a youth detention facility because of a drop in

inmates in part contributed to the success of this program. kneel has shepherded about 40 kids through the program. he figures out what sparks a kid and taps into it. for david, it's archery and music. nealon gave him a chance to teach kids both. kids in this program get a chance to keep their records clean, but there are rules and if you reoffend, you're out of diversion to assets and into the court system. >> for the kids who comply and statistically, that's most of them, the rewards are great. >> give me the two verses of david, david without this program, where does he end up, david with this program, where does he end up? >> if i didn't have this program, right now, i think i would have been in jail. me with this program now, it's just positive.

it's just uphill from here. >> lisa fletcher, al jazeera, waterville, maine. >> the leader of international soccer that been suspended from fifa. a short time ago, fifa's ethics committee handed seth blatter a 90 day suspension. the committee can extend the suspension by 45 days if necessary. blatter is at the center of a criminal investigation for allegedly misusing fifa money. >> a nobel prize in lit are aiture was for a work chronicling eyewitness accounts from world war ii, the soviet war in afghanistan and the chernobyl disaster. her first novel is based on previously untold stories of women who fought against nazi germans. it sold more than 2 million copies. >> violence in israel where an

israeli student was stabbed. leaders are trying to find a way to keep their people safe. >> there is a homicide problem in san francisco. we just disagree that that's going to help curb it, because i don't think it will. >> why san francisco's last gun store is closing up shop.

>> there is an emergency meeting happening right now in brussels. nato leaders are brainstorming their response to russia's latest strikes in syria. the syrian government says it's launched a major ground

offensive today designed to take back cities from rebel areas and the russians are helping with airstrikes. the u.s. and nato are skeptical of claims that the russian offensive is only targets isil fighters. they believe they are going after opposition groups, including those supported by the u.s. >> thousands of fiat-chrysler workers on the job this morning after reaching a new tentative union contract overnight. they had threatened to strike. workers are demanding equal pay and new benefits for employees. union leadership will vote on whether to accept the deal tomorrow. >> warnings are up in south carolina where dams continue to threaten thousands of homes. the death toll is up to 17 for the storms. it could be the weekend before the threat of flooding eases. one south carolina senator warns the cleanup could cost a billion dollars. >> israeli police say an ultra orthodox jewish man is in serious condition after a palestinian teenager stabbed him

today in jerusalem. the 19-year-old suspect is in custody. it is the fourth such stabbing in jerusalem in just over 24 hours. al jazeera's mike hanna is live for us there. mike, what more do you know about today's attack. >> there has been yet another attack. this one occurring in tel-aviv. two israelis have been stabbed by a palestinian attacker, say police. the attacker was shot and killed by the police. earlier on, the incident to which you were referring, a 19-year-old palestinian attacked a 25-year-old student of religious studies. the attacker was arrested by police. the student was taken to hospital in what police say is a serious condition. once again, this now a wave of knife attacks occurring across

the israeli and within occupied east jerusalem, as well. >> are we seeing a coordinated uprising there. >> the context in the region as always is the occupation, the system by which palestinians perceive as the israelis control every aspect of their every day life, but the conflict is always waxed and waned, increased in intensity at times, gone to a largely pauseful state of beings in other times. what has happened in recent weeks radiates out of that al aqsa mosque compound and the old city and access to it. israel has imposed very serious restriction on the movement of palestinians within the old city, at one stage during a recent jewish holiday, it completely locked down the city

to palestinians who wanted to go even to visit or even to pray. this provoked a massive palestinian reaction throughout the occupied territory, once again seeing israel attempting to change what they call the status quo of the al aqsa mosque compound, trying to exert greater control over it. this is the most sensitive issue for the majority of palestinians and this has been the spot point for the on going unrest we have seen. >> there has been another attack in tel-aviv, two israelis stabbed and the attacker shot and killed. thank you for that update. >> a key figure in the negotiation of the peace accord said a key to ending the violence is to begin talking again. >> the heart of the matter as concerns the halting right now is the ever expanding israel

settlements. however, i think both parties go ahead now because of the violence threatening right now, i think it's incumbent on both the israeli prime minister and the palestinian president to as quickly as possible to go back to the table. i do believe that the seven years since they met personally, which is shameful, and i think they should meet fort with now without any preconditions. >> palestinian authority president abbas last week said the palestinian authority would no longer abide by the oslo accords. israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu said he is ready to talk but expects the palestinians to abide by their agreements. >> more details on smuggling that could be bringing nuclear

materials to isil. a group was trying to sell those materials. we have this report. >> he was no ordinary targeted a police were taking no chances as they moved in to arrest a man alleged to have been involved in a smuggling network. they had been looking for a sample of radioactive material for use in a dirty bomb. the seller said one of the suspected middleman was connected to isil. iin the past five years, moldovn police have stopped four attempts by russian linked gangs to sell nuke material.

undercover police officers posing at gangsters with links to isil reached out to the network's middle man and when they raided the home of a former k.g.b. agent, they found blue paints on how to build a dirty bomb. >> they can make one of those dirty bombs, you know, one of those dirty bombs, the level of radiation would be high and these explosions would spread material over a district or territory. >> this was all part of a sting. he believed when he went to pick up hundreds of thousands of dollars, it had come from a genuine buyer, but the police were about to pounce. moldovan officials say some of those allegedly involved have faced justice, but the sentences have been short, and that the danger posed by many others in this murky and dangerous world still exists. emma hayward, al jazeera. >> with my toby is a senior

fellow who joins us now from harvard. you have been an insider on nuclear security. how many more of these smuggling rings do you suspect is out there and does the f.b.i. have a handle on this? >> it's difficult to say, as you've noted in your report. the rings actually exist abroad, so while the f.b.i. can assist other countries to enforce laws against nuclear smuggling, they don't have control over that territory and it's difficult to know the full extent of the problem. >> what about the international frame works to address this issue? >> as you may know, there is the united nations security council resolution that require states to secure dangerous material within their borders and to enact and enforce effective

export controls. >> is that happening? >> states are obligated to take action against this sort of crime. >> where are the weak insists, i guess? which countries do you suspect we need to be more careful about monitoring and working with? this is a tangible demonstration of a failure in new york clear security. it was seized outside authorized control and that's an undeniable failing. second, as your report noted. this may be a part of a wider scheme in which samples were for sale, but larger quantities remain unrecovered. then third, because we don't know exactly which facility this came from or how it got out of that facility, we can't be sure that the leak has been plugged,

and so it's of utmost importance that we get to the bottom of these case, and there have been similar cases in georgia and moldova in 2003, 2006, 2010 and 2011. >> which groups did those cases involve? obviously we weren't talking about isil then. >> correct. it wasn't always clear where the material was headed. that remains one of the unanswered questions that needs to be answered if we're to have a full counting of the issue. >> is isil more determined than al-qaeda to get their hands on a dirty bomb? how do they prioritize the acquisition of nuclear materials? >> as far as i know, we know less about isil's intentions in this reward. clearly they are maligned and they've conducted horrific acts, but al-qaeda had an organized program to obtain a nuclear

weapons capability that was disrupted. isil's intentions are less well understood, but it is also clear that isil because it controls territory and financial resources may have more capabilities than al-qaeda. >> put this into perspective for us from a national security perspective. since 9/11, 14 years ago, there has been talk of the possibility of a dirty bomb being smuggled into this country. this has not happened. how concerned should we really be about it? >> well, a dirty bomb would have major disruptive effects, but it would likely be less lethal than the explosives that were involved in it. it's really a mechanism for area denial and economic disruption. of more concern should be the nuclear material that was covered and while that was only a small fraction of what would be necessary for a nuclear

weapon, it's of concern for the reasons i stated earlier, that it's a sign of a greater problem. >> william toby, we certainly appreciate your expertise this morning, thank you. >> thank you. >> house republicans are gathering today to decide who will replace john boehner as house speaker. the current majority leader kevin mccarthys road to the nomination just got murky. conservatives will support florida congressman daniel webster and they have votes to block mccarthy on the first ballot. we have more from washington. >> house republicans will gather at mid-day to select their nominee for house speaker in what they are calling their own primary election. representative kevin mccarthy is considered the favorite, the florida representative jason chaffetz also wants the job. in a reportedly unanimous vote taken yesterday by the conservative house freedom

caucus, webster was the winner. roughly 40 members of that caucus say they will vote as a block. speaker john boehner has set elections for act 29 but fears have set in among republican that is at least on the first ballot, kevin mccarthy may not have the required 218 votes, which could force more ballots. today they will try to emerge united. >> if they are ultimately unable to elect a speaker, i don't know boehner would actually remain as speaker, which is not what the gop wants, not what boehner warrants and ultimately not what boehner thinks will happen. >> michael shure reporting from washington. >> hillary clinton is coming out against one of the obama administration's biggest trade deals, the t.p.p. clinton said she doesn't believe the 12 nation trade deal would create jobs and raise wages for americans. the democratic presidential front runner was in favor of it when she was secretary of state. >> the draft biden super pac launched its first television ad

to urge the vice president to get into the 2016 presidential race. >> six weeks after my first election, the whole world was altered forever. >> a speech joe biden gave this year, the draft is spending more than $100,000 on the campaign. >> fox says rupert murdoch tweeted ben and candy carson are terrific. what about a real black president who can properly address the racial divide and much else. critics say that implies that president obama is not really black. this morning, murdoch has apologized, tweeting apologies, no offense meant, personally find both men charming. >> the coast guard ended its search for 33 missing crew members from the u.s. cargo ship that sank last week. >> any decision to suspend the search is painful. in this particular case, we were searching for fellow

professional mariners. >> the ship disappeared when it suffer add mechanical failure and was sucked into the -- stuck in the path of the hurricane. president obama promised a full investigation, but many are questions practices that may have contributed to one of the deadliest shipping disasters in decades. >> would you increase the speed of the ship to full speed, please? >> and its a position no ship captain wants to be in, staring down a cat four hurricane with your ship taking water and having lost engine power. >> you are at the mercy of the sea. there isn't much you are going to do once you don't have propulsion. >> this is as close to that reality as some hope to be in the world's largest ship simulator in baltimore. the men at the controls can whip up winds of 54 miles an hour,

seas of 52 feet, frightening enough, but far less than those onboard the el faro were facing. >> we don't hear the screeching of the wind, the waves crashing into the side of the ship, everything in the wheelhouse sliding from one side to the other, including coffee pots and mugs and pencils and dividers and rulers and what not. it can be chaos up here if you don't have everything nailed down. >> the captain at helm was highly experienced. he would have planned his route with the most up to date weather information available. in this case, the hurricane forecasts were all over the map. >> all those models, there were eight different models all changed in the period of hours. >> as the ntsb continues to piece together what happened, there are few clues so far from the wore. the ship's life ring, an overturned life raft, a victim in a survival suit, a clear

indication of how dire the situation had become. >> putting on one of those heavy survival suits, deploying a raft and getting into a raft is difficult in calm conditions in a pool. imagine what it must have been like in a hurricane, with waves taller than this building, and 140-mile an hour winds. >> crews practice safety drills on every son-in-law and do training like this every five years, abandoning ship is a last resort. >> abandoning ship in something like this would be differ and even after you put the life boats in the water, how survivable would the life boats be in seas like this. the ntsb will look at everything from the condition of the ship and its engines to crew training, and pressure to get underway even with a storm brewing. >> how much pressure is there on captains to make a run no matter

what? >> there is always pressure, marketing, sales, promises to customers, they expect your christmas trees, ornaments, race cars, barbie dolls to be delivered cross across an ocean on time. the captain has overriding authority. it's his imperative to protect the cargo and the crew, so he has the overriding authority not to succumb to these pressures. >> it may well have been a safe trip despite the hurricane, but once the engines failed, el faro and its crew were helpless to steer away from danger. al jazeera, maryland. >> controversy day in a washington, d.c. suburb after a gun shop opened behind an elementary school. it is in virginia and a group of parents want the business shut down. they have more than 2,000 signatures on a petition asking the owner to move. gun enthusiasts say the owner has a right to keep his store

open. >> san francisco's last remaining gun store is closing, it was the final holdout in a city with gun control laws that are growing more strict. as al jazeera's melissa chan reports, the store says owners say they have finally had enough. >> these are the last days of the last gun shop in san francisco. people have shopped here since 1952, but inventory is clearing quickly, as high bridge arms counts down to its permanent closure at the end of the month. for the manager, the city's latest gun proposal was the last straw. >> next year, it will be something else. we understand why they're doing it. we understand that there is a homicide problem in san francisco. we just disagree that that's going to help curb it, because i don't think it will. >> the bill would require a video record of every gun sale in the city, also require the store to submit a weekly report of ammunition sails to police. because this is the only gun shop in the city, the bill

pretty much targets high bridge arms. >> looking in 2015, san francisco lost not only its last gun range, but now its last gun shop. from my perspective, it's the result of many many years of anti gun pressure from city-elected officials. >> city supervisor mark ferrell just wants to do what he can to keep people safe, he says. >> from my perspective, congress has failed us in terms of protecting us so it's left to the cities to our own devices to do what we can locally to protect our residents. >> he says there's nothing revolutionary about what he proposed. san francisco is actually following other places such as chicago, which already videotapes gun purchases. >> the ammunition sales data transmission to our police department is already in other multiple jurisdictions in california. >> this is after all, liberal san francisco and many people here don't like guns. workers say in many ways, all these regulations are very much

against the spirit of this usually tolerant city. >> the attitude i have in san francisco is that if you don't impose it on me and you are not bringing it to my doorstep, i don't care. if i don't like it, i simply ignore it. >> the bill still needs to be discussed in committee before the board of supervisors votes. if the mayor signs it into law, the new rules are likely to be in place before the end of the year, weeks after high bridge arms closes. al jazeera, san francisco. >> a new york city police review board recommends two officers be charged for tackling and arresting former tennis pro james blake. the board found the officer used excessive force when he threw blake to the ground outside a new york hotel last month. the board said the officer who authorized the arrest should face discipline. police mistakenly identified blake as a suspect in a cell phone fraud scheme. >> california is collapsing. we'll look at why the prolonged drought has literally left the state sinking.

al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america.

>> a scene played out in houston for a construction worker left dangling from a bridge for more than an hour like this. i had slipped and had to wait

for firefighters to lift him to safety. he was not injured. >> a full cleanup promised after the bacteria that causes legionnaire's disease was found. so far, no one has come down with the potentially but treatable deadly disease. an outbreak in new york city this summer killed 13 people. >> california's drought is forcing drastic measure to be get water for crops. the practice is having serious consequences. parts of the state are now literally sinking. >> we're in a very precarious situation, because the only water we have is ground water. >> when diane friend's well failed this year, she was just about a harvest a big, beautiful crop of tomatoes. in the end, she had a bury it. >> when did you know you had to just put it under?

>> well, it was about 75% made. >> california's in the fourth year of a terrible drought and the evidence is everywhere. california gets 60% of its water from underground aquifers, deep reservoirs beneath the earth. while rain and snow can replenish the above ground reservoirs, when an underground aquifer empties, it collapses forever. it's permanently if i say figuring this state. >> the ground keeps sinking and sinking. that's the point made in 1977. i'm now standing in the exact same spot that he did, except i'm not. i'm actually even further below him. that's because california is sinking away beneath our feet as

we continue to pull water out of the aquifers and they continue to collapse. >> for diane friend, digging a new well is a massive investment. without water here, she pointed out, the whole country would suffer. >> 75% of the nation fruits and vegetables from from here. it isn't just the valley impacted, it becomes a bigger picture for everybody when it comes to food. >> jacob ward, al jazeera, corkic al s ran, california. >> at jfk airport, the 24,000 square foot area is meant to educate travelers on where their food comes from. it will make jet blue's terminal look nicer. the air line hopes to use some of the produce for in-flight meals. >> a special homecoming for a soldier in colorado, a

procession held thirds for 300 soldiers returning home, but this little girl couldn't wait to hold her dad. she burst through the crowd and raced across the stage, hugging him to big applause. >> she was excited. she spotted me from a couple rows back and couldn't contain herself. i wasn't going to tell her no, so happy to see her. >> that soldier was deployed to kuwait. his young daughter turns three today. >> coming up, more on the syrian offensive to retake rebel held territory. the assad government is coordinating with russia, which says it has only been going after isil targets there. that's it for us here in new york. i'm stephanie sy, thanks for watching.

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>> welcome to the news hour live from doha. two israelis have been stabbed at tensions rise across israel and the occupied palestinian territories. >> syria's army said its launched a major offensive against the opposition with the help of russian airstrikes. >> meanwhile, nato denounces russia's actions as a troubling escalation a