this is all part of the razzmatazz that goes with the big race, but it is in the driving seat that these women earn respect. they want more women to do the same. plenty more stories for you at anytime on our website. the address is aljazeera.com, and you can watch us by clicking the watch now icon. ♪ finding a new leader. house republicans debate on who should be the new speaker. what he knew, and what hen knew it. the head of volkswagen america testifies on capitol hill. plus a town in michigan struggles to find a fast solution to lead in their water. ♪

this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm randall pinkston. house republicans taking up the fight today over who replaces john boehner as speaker of the house. kevin mccarthy was the hef va favorite, but he has surprisingly dropped out. a group of conservatives are now saying it will back florida congressman daniel webster instead. michael shure joins us from capitol hill. michael this announcement that mccarthy is pulling out, a big surprise. what happened? >> reporter: randall you have no idea, inasmuch as a habit here there's pandemonium. the republican from pennsylvania walked out of the room here on the capitol, and he said to the gathered press, here, he said, hey, it's over, mccarthy dropped

out. and that means that there is something of a delay, certainly in the way they are voting. other congressmen followed him out. mccarthy just stood up there, and said it very quietly. he said i'm out. i'm not going to stand for this anymore. >> so who is daniel webster? and who is backing him? >> reporter: to presume that daniel webster catapults to the front of the pack is probably premature. he has been backed by the freedom caucus. he got 12 votes himself when the vote were held in january. of course boehner won, but webster came in second. presumably they are going to find a candidate who unifies the party, that in my estimation will likely not be daniel webster. jason chapits also has his hat

in the ring. congressmen and representatives from every faction of that cause -- caucus are going to try to get together from here. the timetable that the house is working under right now is the resignation of john boehner. he is set to leave his post on october 30th. we have said it before, if they are unable to come up with a candidate and speaker that is viable before the whole house when the elections are to be held, speaker boehner is going to remain speaker. that's not something he wants or the caucus wants, so they'll try to find a consensus pick. >> the speaker does not have to be a member of the house to be the speaker. boehner could theoretically resign from his seat and still be speaker. >> reporter: that's exactly

right. randall pinkston could be the speaker of the house. there's nothing to say it has to be that way. but you can rest assured that the republican are going to find somebody who can speak to the right-wing of the party, can speak to the more moderate wing of the party, and the boehner wing of the party that just wants to get work done, and make deals with the democrats. so it's a lot to go over, and kevin mccarthy just doesn't there their guy. i was standing in front of two republican members last week speaking without knowing i was there, speaking to one another saying this just can't our guy. >> and there you go. michael shure we will be listening for whatever comes next on capitol hill in the race for a new speaker. thank you. one of the heros who stap -- stopped that gunman on a train in europe is recovering from stab wounds here in the u.s. he was stabbed in the chest four times early this morning on a

street in sacramento. police say stone was out with friends when a fight broke out. he is reported in stable condition and is expected to survive. nato says it is ready to step up its response in liekt of russia's latest military activities in syria. speaking a short time ago in brussels, nato's secretary general renewed a pledge to defend allies at all costs. >> nato is ready to defend and protect all allies against any threat, and that of course, also goes for -- or is valid for turkey. >> in an admission today from russia saying its recent violation of turkish air space was a mistake. but it has increased air strikes on syria, which today were followed by a major ground offensive by syrian forces. neave barker has more from

brussels. >> reporter: ever since the air bombardments in syria started it has posed security concerns for nato countries, including turkey. of course all of this has come very much to a head after incursions of russian jets into turkish air space a few days ago. the russians say that was an accident. with regard to the second incursion, nato has their suspicions. there are deep concerns also from the nato alliance that russia is targeting more than just isil and al-qaeda-linked groups, groups against assad, backed by the united states have also possibly found themselves on a list of legitimate targets for the russians to hit as well. so it's very important now for nato to show common r

res -- resolve, as the nato secretary general said, it's important to consider the security as these missions continue. when it comes to actual action on the ground, though, nato's hands are bound. it's very much about condemning russia from a distance. testimony today from the head of volkswagen america's operations on capitol hill. michael horn now admits he knew about potential emissions problems more than a year ago. lisa stark joins us now from washington. lisa that admission from horn, is it a surprise? >> reporter: well, you have to look at what he said, actually, randall. he said we knew a year ago, and that's because of the testing that uncovered this discrepancy. but what he went on to say was i didn't know at that time that there was a defeat device on the

vehicle. so he said yeah, we found out then, started investigating, but i didn't know there was really a problem until september of this year, but as you can expect, michael horn, apologized to the committee. let's listen. >> i would like to offer a sincere apology, sincere apology for volkswagen's use of software program that served to defeat the regular emissions testing regime. and let me be very clear we had volkswagen take full responsibility for our actions, and we are working with all authorities in a cooperative way. >> reporter: two points today, for consumers he said it is going to be at least a year or more before all of the cars, half a million, are fixed. and he insisted that he doesn't think this decision to put this device on the cars or put this software code in was made at the highest levels of the companies.

that it was somehow an engineering decision at lower levels. well, committee members just didn't buy that. >> can any of these cars pass an inspection station, because if your emissions are too high, you don't get an emissions sticker. but maybe that's a conversation for another day. at this point what can congress do? >> reporter: they do pass inspection, the problem is when they are out on the road they are polluting more than when you test them. congress was hopping mad. this is something we have not seen in a long time, it has united democrats and republicans, both equally appalled. listen in many to some of that testimony. >> vw has betrayed a inflation of regulators loyalists, suppliers and next customers. it's time to clean it up, or get off the road. >> the auto industry has deliberately chosen to perpetuate lies and mislead

consumers, but the american public are not crash test dummies and cannot be treat as such. >> reporter: they have advised vw to start buying back these cars. well, vw is not ready to do that, as you can imagine. >> how much longer is horn expected to be grilled? >> reporter: he is now done, but they'll be talking to the epa later today, and they are expected to ask the epa, why didn't you know about this? why couldn't you tell these cars were designed to defeat the system? >> thank you, lisa stark in washington. lead in the water supply, how one michigan town is dealing with the problem, as more as more people are getting sick. there is a homicide problem in san francisco, we just disagree that that is going to help curb it. >> why san francisco's last gun

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the current house majority leader, kevin mccarthy has taken his name out of the running for house speaker. that news came as a big surprise for house republicans. the current house speaker, john boehner has now postponed the election. eventtive jason chafeits of utah

and daniel webster are also running for the position. flint, michigan is looking for a new water source after they found high levels of lead in their water. bisi onile-ere joins us live. >> reporter: good afternoon. after months of complaints, the governor announced today he is in full support of flint switches back to the detroit water system. it's important to note the city of flint for a very, very long time, denied that anything was wrong with the water at all. at one point declaring that the water was safe to drink, but this is a city that has a lot of strong protesters and activists and they continued to shout and scream about issues with the

water and about it making people sick. it's also important to note that there are two independent studies, and they found the source of water has come from the flint river, and the water is corrosive, and allows the pipe to leach lead, and showing that there are high levels of lead in the blood of the children here in the city of flint. so a lot of issues here that the state and city have been dealing with for the past couple of months, more than a year, and the major says that changing and going back to the detroit water system is a huge step, but more still needs to be done. take a listen. >> additional infrastructure improvements in the distribution system need to be accelerated. our service lines need to be replaced and we also need to recognize that there are important lessons from flint's

experience. we need to take a look at federal and state policy reforms that include expanding water safety sampling, to include our most vulnerable families, look at factors of affordability, public health, and infrastructure all being assessed together. >> reporter: and it will cost $12 million to make this switch. the governor says that he is going to ask the michigan legislature for $6 million. local foundation here is pledging $4 million, and the city of flint says that it is going to cough up $2 million to get this done. back to you. >> bisi, tell us this, why did flint switch to the river water in the first place? >> reporter: can you repeat that question for me again. >> why was flint taking water out of the flint river instead of continuing to use the detroit water system? why did they switch in the first place? >> reporter: they switched because they were trying to save

money. there's a pipeline that is being built from here to port huron. that's not going to be ready and available for use for at least another year or so, so as a cost-saving move, the city of flint said, hey, let's look at our resources here in the city, and that's the flint river. so they cut from detroit's line, but since then as you have seen it has caused nothing but problems. >> thank you, bisi onile-ere in fli flint, michigan. south carolina is still being warned of flash flooding. the governor says it could last 12 days because the water is not expected to recede quickly. thousands of homes are threatened from last week's historic storm. the death toll is now up to 17. paul beban is live for us. paul, what is the biggest concern right now? >> reporter: well, i think you hit it on the head, randall. the biggest concern is the flood

waters that did this kind of damage up state here in columbia are now headed down treatment is to the coast. the governor took another helicopter tour of the state this morning, and she said you can actually see the surge moving downstream, moving towards the ocean, and the biggest concern in those areas, they call it the low country for a reason, everything is very low lying. so when the water gets there, it will be there for weeks to come. we got some numbers this morning from the governor, $300 million in crop damage, more than 200 rescues have been pulled off. let's listen to a little bit more about what the governor had to say about what is to come in the next few days. >> it's tragic to see all of the damage while the water has reseeded. you can see the damage undernea underneath, damage to roads, railroad tracks, farms. it's devastating to see the

damage to farmers. houses still underwater. things turned upside down. roads taken completely out. it really is harder to see what sunday beneath the water than the water itself. >> reporter: so randall the focus now of course on the low country. this part of the state just starting to see the true extent of the damage. you cannot understate the power of moving water, but the low country bracing now. >> paul describe where you are standing. >> reporter: yeah, this was a two-lane bridge over one of the many series of lakes and rivers and ponds and streams all around the columbia area here. there are hundreds of damages that hold this little network of water back. but here you can see it is completely over the top of the

water. this culvert washed only -- completely out. >> thank you. the current house majority leader kevin mccarthy has taken his name out of the running for house speaker. let's go to michael shure on capitol hill. michael standing by there with a guest who could perhaps fill us in on what happened. >> reporter: that's right, randall. it was an unexpected turn today when kevin mccarthy dropped out of the race. i'm joined by republican congressman of virginia morgan griffith, congressman you have to say when you went in there, you didn't expect it to end this way, did you? >> i certainly didn't. i really felt that we would have a vote and then move forward, and that there might be discussions on ways to reform things between now and the 29th

of october, but expected to have a candidate by this afternoon. but kevin felt he couldn't unite the conference, and felt it best we withdraw. and he did. and speaker boehner said, okay, in light of this surprise, i think we should move the elections and -- for the nomination, and he did, and then made a motion to adjourn, and everybody got up and left. >> reporter: do you think among the 247 of you that there is a consensus pick. >> well, i'm sure there is. who that is, it will take time to figure out. and kevin may get back into it, if refeels like the circumstances have changed a little bit and we can unify the conference. but as for today, there needs to be more discussion in his mind from what i can tell, and he withdrew. >> reporter: are you disappointed by this?

are you disappointed on how this shows the state of your caucus? >> i'm not. this is not made for tv. this is made for real life tough political and governance decisions. and our conference and group as republicans have to decide how we can best effectuate the policies our people sent us here to do. and we need to find a leader that can lead. >> reporter: and you don't think this has anything to do with a surge of support for chapits or webster? >> well, i'm sure it indicates to -- kevin that it was going to be hard to lead a fractured conference. that doesn't mean it can't come together, and kevin may not be the speaker in the end, but as

of today, he felt like there needed to be some time and take a step back. and obviously you would have to ask kevin for more detail, but that's my assessment. >> and do you see speaker boehner having to postpone his retirement? >> i don't know the answer to that. i would think we would go forward and do something by the end of the month or first of november, but we'll see. >> reporter: thanks so much. randall it's a day that is going to have a lot more questions than answers, but we'll try to get more. >> thank you, michael shure. you are watching al jazeera america. we'll be right back after this. ♪

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♪ the current house majority leader kevin mccarthy has taken his name out of the running for house speaker. that comes as a big surprise for house republicans. the current house speaker, john boehner has now postponed the election representative jason chaffetz of utah and daniel webster are also running for the position. nova firearms 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 hold out in a city with gun-control laws that are only growing more strict. but as melissa chan reports the owners say they have had enough. >> reporter: people have shopped here since 1952, but inventory is clearing quickly as they count down to its permanent closure at the ex-of the month. for the manager, the city's latest gun-control proposal was simply the last straw. >> this year is one, and next year it will be something else. we understand why they are doing it. there is a homicide problem in san francisco. we just disagree that that is going to help curve it. because i don't think it will. >> reporter: the bill would require a video record of every gun sale in the city and require the store to submit a weekly

report of ammunitions sales to police. because this is the only gun shop in the industry, the bill pretty much targets this store. >> they last their last gun range and now last gun shop. it's the result of many, many years of anti-gun pressure from city-elected officials. >> reporter: city supervisor says he just wants to do what he can to keep his people safe. >> congress has failed us, so it's up to us to do what we can locally. >> reporter: he says there is nothing revolutionary about what he proposed. san francisco is following other places such as chicago. >> the ammunition sales data transmission is in multiple other jurisdictions?

california. >> reporter: workers here say -- ♪ we're breaking now to hear kevin mccarthy, the house majority leader explain why he dropped out of the race for house speaker. >> -- we should put this conference first, and i think there's something for us to be said for us to unite. i'll stay on as majority leader, but the one thing i found in talking to everybody, if we're going to unite and be strong, we need a new face to help do that. so nothing more than that. i feel good about the decision. i feel great to have my family here, my colleagues. i think we're only going to be stronger. we fought hard to win this majority and turn this country around, and this will be the best footstep -- >> reporter: you said at 8:00 am that you were going to run for the speakership, what happened in four hours? >> you know, we had our

conference, and there's calls into the district -- i don't want making voting for speaker a tough one. i don't want to go to the floor and win with 220 votes. i think the best thing for our party right now is that you have 247 votes on the floor. if we are going to be strong, we have to be 100% united, and i think you know what, let's put the conference first. [ changing captioners ] trying to see if we can get there. i just think it's best if we have a new face. >> reporter: how much do your comments about benghazi last week play into your decision to step aside today? >> that wasn't helpful. yeah, i mean, i meant -- i could have said it much better. but this benghazi committee was only cre