>> this is aljazeera america. live from new york city, i'm tony harris. beirut blasts,s toes killed and hundreds injured. who is claiming responsibility? fight for controlling, helping to take a strategic iraqi town from isil. good fella, not guilty. an alleged mobster is cleared of a multimillion-dollar heist and crop share. why farmers around the world are buying up acres of land here in the united states.

and we begin tonight with a deadly attack in the capital of lebanon. isil is claiming responsibility for the deadly twin suicide blast that ripped through a section of beirut, killing 40 and injuring 200. and aljazeera is there at the scene of the blast. >> reporter: a popular marketplace became a scene of carnage on wednesday. civilians were the ones killed and injured. and the ones targeted. this is a neighborhood in the bay lawsuit southern suburbs, where the shia movement has lived. suicide bombers on motorcycles detonated their explosives minutes apart. the second blast went off right off of a shia shrine. [ foreign dialogue ] >> a alarm number of those

injured were severely wounded and died in hospital. and the body parts of the two suspected suicide bombers have been found. we might have escaped another catastrophe because the explosive belt of the bomber didn't go off. >> people have seen scenes like this before. there were times when the scenes like this were frequent in the capital. people are angry, but there's also a sense of defiance. it's not the first time that the suburbs have been hit by an explosion. but the last time it happened was over a year ago. just like the attacks in the past, the people here believe that this was a message to hezbollah, which has sent troops to syria to help the government there in its fight against the opposition. hezbollah has earned itself enemies. one of those groups is isil, which claimed responsibility for the attack. >> they targeted this place

because they don't have any other way to fight us back. they have run out of options. and let me be clear. they targeted this area because we are shia. but we won't be phased. fazed. >> hezbollah has long said that it's decision to fight in syria was it's previous choice, and it's unlikely to change its position, and it's supporters say that they back that stance. >> today, before tomorrow, we'll keep following the same principle. we will not feel weak or something like that. >> no. we have always been like that, and we'll stay like that. >> >> reporter: but behind the anger and the defiance, there's fear that this could be the beginning of another cycle of violence. >> in iraq, kurdish forces are trying to push isil out of the northern city of sinjar. the u.s. is supporting them with airstrikes, and special forces on the ground.

peshmerga forces say that they have captured part of a key highway. it links mosul to the city of raqqah. and jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: phoney, the u.s. military is relying on what it says is the most effective anti-isil force in iraq, battle hardened peshmerga troops. the u.s. is backing them in the air, on the ground, but not on the front lines. the attack began at dawn, kicked off by some three dozen airstrikes. kicked off by attack planes, but also drones and a b1 bomber. the u.s. also has special operations commandos on the ground in sinjar mountain, which overlooks the isil-held city below. the u.s. and british troops are helping top direct the attacks,

which they claim killed more than 60 isil fighters in the opening hours of the offensive. years of isil rule and most importantly block a key supply line, highway 47, with isil in iraq and syria. isil's biggest stronghold. peshmerga seized parts of the road and blocking positions. >> the targeting of highway 47 over sinjar mountain funneled fighters into iraq, and cut off an important means of funding their terrorist activities. >> forces of 8,000 troops, led by the kurds, is going up against 40600 dug in and determined isil fighters. the battle plans taking two to four days to take the city. and then another week or so to

clear bombs and booby trapped houses. unlike the prison rescue last month, no troops are on the front lines, according to the u.s. military spokesman, reached by skype in baghdad. >> the number of u.s. forces in combat is close to zero. so we have forces specifically behind sinjar mountain, and this is behind friendly lines, and a few forces that are on the mountain, are far enough back from the actual fighting that there's no expectation whatsoever that they will encounter anybody. >> the u.s.-led force has a volunteer militia of 1,000. the minority were run out as they ensleeved some of the women. a report from the u.s. hall cosholocaust museum said that te deaths on sinjar moin as isil

took over amounts to genocide. they call it tactually signify, because it begins to lay the groundwork for future offensives to take mosul and raqqah. not only to get supplies in, but also to get oil out, which could significantly cut its cash flow. tony? >> all right, jamie mcintyre for us, and at the bottom of the hour, we'll tackle the other side. peter will join me. and secretary of state john kerry said that isil can be beaten. he returns to vienna for talks on syria that include russia and pakistan. at the u.s. institute for peace, john terrett is in washington where he has been following today's developments. john. >> reporter: good evening to you, tony, and secretary kerry

said that there's increasing evidence that the u.s.-led coalition in iraq and syria is making a huge difference in reversing the momentum of isil, or dark as he calls it. >> president obama has made his view clear, that the crisis in syria can not be resolved militarily. and that remains the case. but it's also clear that the chance for successful diplomacy depends in part on the ability to exert leverage on control of the territory. on perceptions about who is gaining or who has the upper hand. that's why it matters that there's increasing evidence in both iraq and syria. that dash can be defeated. even routed. >> well, the main message of today's speech by secretary kerry was to set out a policy toward syria and isil, but

also, the secretary made it clear that the policy is that there needs to be a new leader in damascus before things can seriously move forward, tony. >> so john, what can we expect this week in vienna? >> well, secretary kerry set out three goals to bring peace to syria, but he also acknowledged that he's still working with russia and iran over the thorny issue of the future role of president bashar al-assad. >> so even while divided on this critical issue, the united states and russia and other countries involved have decided, wisely, i think, to not let that disagreement to prevent us from building on the common ground that we have established. build a legitimate organic negotiating process. our timetable for interim steps. the participation of a broad range of syrian parties, including both hen and women,

and the kind of political transition that will empower the center against the extremes. >> well, secretary kerry said that the walls of mistrust within syria, within the region, and within the international community are thick and high, but i said he will go to vienna on friday. and he'll be talking to representatives of at least 20 countries, including the eu and the united nations, and the arab league. his message, let's not dig our heels in, but take the next step forward, so the bleeding can stop and the rebuilding begin. >> john, syria could sure use a break, that's for sure. undercover israeli soldiers raided a house in a search for a suspect in a stabbing. the video shows 20 soldiers entering the house in plain clothes, and we want to warn you that some of the images in the report are disturbing.

>> reporter: have a look at the second row to the left. what looks like a man, dressed in an abai actually. and in the next row, someone else disguised as a pregnant woman. that's the ploy that the elite israel unit used to get in >> what do you think when the under cover security ridded a hospital, came undercover, to arrest one the patients, lay injured in his bed. it became uglier when they surprised a patient and shot him with five bullets and executed him in the hospital. >> the companion, it turns out, was the patient's cousin. after he died of his wounds, the suspect is then wheeled out to the surgical unit. he's accused of stabbing an israeli man. his brother was in the room at the time. >> the first thing they did was

handcuff my hands to the bed. abdullah was walking out of the bathroom as he was preparing to pray. the under cover security man asked him to stand in his place, and as he was looking at them, they shot him. >> but that version differs from earlier reports, which say that abdullah was trying to stop the arrest at the time that he was shot. emotions in the city of hebron are already very strained. the last few weeks have been marked by protests, and reprisal attacks from both sides. separating facts from opinion, and emotions is not straightforward. there has been a somewhat muted response from the israeli side, though it has not confirmed that the arrests did take place. >> a new report released today found the shooting of 12-year-old tamir rice tragic

but reasonable. this is the 12th report from the ohio investigator in this case. and it was indidated by a certified law enforcement officer. he was shot and killed by a police officer on a playground in virginia a year ago. the hearing began in the wrongful death lawsuit. the video of the incident, which happened in 2013, was released this week. the officers were taking lindberg lander to the emergency room. and lambert was tased 20 times within a 30 minute span, while he was handcuffed and shackled. though he died of acute cocaine intoxication. now, the florida police officer who shot and killed musician corey jones has been fired. the city of palm gardens announced the decision today.

>> officer nouman raja has been officially terminated as of last night. the police officer fatally shot corey jones in october in palm beach gardens. the city put out a statement saying that an independent criminal investigation into the officer-involved shooting is still ongoing. on october 18th, jones was stopped on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck after performing at a show. and officer raja, not in uniform, stopped to investigate the stopped vehicle, and we still don't know all of the details of that encounter, but the lawyer for jones' family said that they were told by the state attorney that raja did not show his badge when he approached jones. jones was shot three times, and the gun that jones was carrying was never fired, according to the attorney. his death sparked protests from the family. and the area, and sparking questions as to why jones was

shot. they put out a statement saying that we are pleased that the city of palm beach gardens has terminated the employment of the officer who gunned down corey jones. the police union says that they're disappointed at the termination, and the head of the union saying that the city did not get all of the facts before firing the officer. >> thank you. and there's leadership at the university of missouri, as the administration tries to settle the racial turmoil that has rocked the campus. law professor, michael middleton, has been named as the new president. tim wolfe was replaced. and he said that racial problems will be dealt with

swiftly. >> so listen to this, an apple store in bell bourne, australia, has apologized to a group of teenagers who were asked to leave the building on tuesday. the students were told that employees were worried they might steal something. the interior encounter as you see here, was captured on video, and the store said that inclusion and diversity. the teenagers say that they accept the apology. up next on the program, student protests, demonstrators speak out about growing loan debt. and how it's putting a strain on the whole u.s. economy, and how a saudi company is using vital resources in arizona to feed livestock in the middle

east.

>> a stunning verdict today in a mob trial decades in the making. 80-year-old vincentasaro walked out of a brooklyn courtroom a free man. ha free man. >> it's the organized crime

keeper immortalized in "good guys." >> it turned out to be the biggest heist in american history. >> reporter: but on wednesday, nearly 40 years after that infamous job, the only person to ever stand trial for it was acquitted. agent wise guy, vincent lasaro. >> there was a holdup of historic proportions. >> the 1970s heist was no spectacular in the reality than on the screen. >> authorities are saying that they believe this to be the largest robbery in history. >> armed robbers made out with loot from the cargo build at kennedy's airport. they found an empty black van, but not the robbers or the goods. >> $5 million in undocumented cash, and $1 million in gems and jewelry, which today would be worth over $20 million. >> journalist robb spent his career covering the mob. >> the various mafia families

had big pieces of action at the jfk airport. everybody was involved. the cagey family, and the gambiany family. so when the masterminds of the lufthansa job planned t. he had to give cuts to everybody. >> that alleged master mind was jimmy burke, a.k.a. jimmy the jet. played in the movie by robert deniro. >> you don't rat on your friend, and always keep your mouth shut. >> burke died in 1976, serving time for unrelated charges. here's vincent vassaro. but the mob's one secret code of silence began to it crack, leading to lasaro's day in court. >> all of the people involved were bumped off or died a natural death. and he was one of the last

survivors. >> he was indicted last year. the jobs going back be decades. during a three week trial in court, the holdup, got a hefty cut. against the 80-year-old, several alleged mobsters, including his first cousin. as the verdict was read, he pumped his fist and kicked his attorney on the lips. >> i got two years here, and i'm dying to get home. >> students rallied today on college campuses across the country, demanding an end to student loan department. calling for tuition free universities, cancellation of all student loan debt and a raise around campus.

dozens of students blocked traffic in philadelphia, while a large group took over a building at amhurst. and bobcats for bernie, you know how they support bernie sanders, organized a demonstration. student loan debt and a $1.2 trillion problem, impacting more than 43 million americans. patricia is here with a look. and so patty, what's the impact of student loan debt on the broader economy? >> well, it's really important to remember that the student loan debt and not just a problem for the student loan holder or the parents or the families, but for all of us. and that's because when you look at consumer spending, it's the engine of u.s. spending. >> two-thirds of the growth in the country, right? >> exactly. so within that ecosystem of the spending, they're the plankton in the ecosystem. so if you crush them with debt,

it ripples through the whole system. and we're already seeing an impact on that. for example, household formation, which is the economist's way of saying moving out of your parents house, they're delaying that. and there's evidence that student loans are behind that. >> and home ownerships. a lot of college graduates are delaying buying that first home because of student loan debt. not only because of the amount that it takes out of their paycheck, but if you're holing student debt, you're not going to get a favorable mortgage rate. and especially with home ownership, tony, at the creates jobs in the economy. so just imagine that ripple effect. again, student loan debt is not just a problem for the debtors, but all of our problems. >> activists say that this is a civil rights issue, and make this connection for me. >> many do feel that it's a civil rights issue. because student loan debt is the only type of debt that's

virtually impossible to shake off in bankruptcy. and if you default on your student loans, your punishments are severe, and for one thing, your credit is destroyed. and this is a nation that works on credit. so everything is more expensive for you. from buying a car to a house, and what are the other things that be happen? they can garnish your wages, they can garnish your social security. there are a lot of student debtors over the age of 50. and they can garnish that, and not just the back pay, but the fees and the interests. >> so if there's all of this around student debt, is a college education even a good investment these days. >> a college education is definitely still a good investment. college graduates earn more than those without. but there's a worrying trend. tuitions are going up, but when you look at real wages, adjusted for inflation, a

four-year college graduate since the year 2,000, they have stagnated. so what's happening, they have more and more debt to get their degrees, student loan debt is going up, and their wages are either going down or falling flat. that's a very worrying trend, because tony, as of this year, 11 and a half percent of student loans were delinquent or overdue. >> next up on the program, fighting isil. kurdish forces, and how it plays into diplomatic efforts in the middle east. and protests turning violent.

>> kurdish forces regular getting help from american forces he can tell. the peshmerga fighters say that they have taken control of a key isil supply line, highway 47, which links mosul to raqqah. and more on it. >> reporter: thursday morning, the operations to take back sinjar begin to hit targets in and around the town. which isil has controlled since last year. it's on three fronts, the south and be west is&the east. and the iraqi kurds are confident that they will

prevail. >> they will deliberate sinjar from injustice, and we are fully prepared to help sinjar and help its people return back to their homes. >> reporter: while the morale might be high, they are monitoring progress. sinjar is considered kurdish territory. and success will be seen as victory against isil. but isil fighters have proven themselves as resilient. and they have car bombs to slow down the offensive. sinjar is port because it's home to th to the azizi communi. and when isil took control of on the surrounding area, they killed between 2 and 3,000 men. and that pushed them for airstrikes in iraq and a month later in syria, which led to

peshmerga forces retaking the north. if the operation is successful, it could cut off isil from syria and iraq, denying them of supply routes. right now, the peshmerga are in villages on the outskirts of the town, and they will use them as a staging place for the final push. but the isil fighters have dug themselves in, and they're prepared for a long fight. >> ambassador, peter galbraith, has advised the people in the iraq constitutional negotiations, and good to have you on the program again. let's start here. let's reinforce basics here from your perspective. what's the strategic importance of sinjar? >> sinjar is important strategically, because it lies on the road, highway 47, that connects the isil's capital in

syria raqqah, with mosul, by taking sinjar and the highway, the peshmerga, the kurdish military, are able to isolate mosul. and in fact, there are no major roads to mosul now that isil can use, and they have to go through the desert. and it's going to be very difficult to supply a city of 3 million going just through the desert. it's also symbolically very important. it's the last bit of kurdistan's territory that's not under the control of the kurdistan regional government. so this brings all of the control of kurdistan under the control of the regional government. and it's symbolically important because this is the place that, when isil took it over in august of 2014, and began the

mass exit of the asitis, to protect the capital. >> and now in the future, turning down how many peshmerga anand yaziti fighters are in this, do you know? >> i spoke with the chief of staff. and he told me that 20,000 peshmerga and yaziti fighters are in the offensive. so it would be the largest one in the war against isil. and he said that it had gone very well. and they had surrounded sinjar, and at least as of this morning, they had had just three peshmerga wounded. no peshmerga killed in action. >> so a pretty successful start. and to what extent have the

americans sort of coordinated with the kurds in all aspects of the operation? >> the reason it works, you have the american airstrikes, and the strikes on the ground. they're an effective fighting force and motived and disciplined. but the difficulty for president obama's strategy is going to be to move from this success to the next stage in iraq, because the kurds do not have any interest in taking territory that's not kurdish. so once they have taken sinjar, they basically have gone as far as they want to go. they are going into the population, but also, as president barsani has said, he can't talk to the mother of a

fallen peshmerga soldier and say, your son died for iraq, because the kurds don't feel that they are part of iraq. but the problem now, there are no arab boots on the ground in iraq. the arab army, it's a shiite army. and it's basic function has been to supply weapons to isil. it has not been able to fight. and it has turned over a huge part of its arsenal to the terrorists. >> okay, ambassador, one more for you here. what do you make of be russia's proposal for drafting a new syrian constitution and holding elections? is it simply to keep assad's government in power, and how far down the list of priorities to the kremlin is isil really? >> if wee look at the situation in syria, clearly, there has to be a political solution, and to

say that assad must go, it might be very desirable, but he isn't going. and the russians have come up with a plan that i think could be the basis of a political settle: their plan is to have a new constitution, in which power is transferred from the president, essentially a dictatorship, to a parliament that would have basically all responsibilities except for foreign affairs and the military. and where the parliament would be inclusive of all of the elements of the syrian population. so you have the aloites, and the sunnis, and the mott rats, the druss and kurds, and decisions and power sharing and probably autonomy in those parts of the country that want it, like in the kurdish and aloite regions. >> thank you.

authorities in europe say that they have broken up a norwegian based ring that allegedly used the internet to fight for isil in iraq and syria. in norway, britain, germany and switzerland. the kurdish group created a virtual online university to radicalize recruits, and they were planning attacks on norwegian diplomats, and protests in greece have turned violent. police confronted young people in strikes, the first came to power in january. and john soropolis has our report. >> reporter: it's a wake-up call for caesar, a sign of continuing anger. many people believe that the party ignored workers on the

left when it refused it's anti-austerity policy months ago. it stuck at just 25%. and many don't believe the country's promises to reduce poverty. caesar is cutting $25 billion from the budget next year, and no group of pensioners is more worried than the self-employed, because their fund is bankrupt. >> the problem is broader polls. when small businesses are he closing, the pension fund can't get enough contributions. >> the burden is already heavy. there are 1.4 workers to each pensioner, and almost 60% of their pay goes to taxes and social security, the highest margin in the developed world. like many self-employed people, sophia has fallen behind in payments, and is trying to catch up. >> i don't know if i will ever have a reward for the money i'm paying now. it's as though i'm throwing it

down the sewer, if there were a choice, i would opt for private insurance, without question. >> they're happy in work and retirement. >> reporter: a year ago, the labor unions were behind caesar, and breaking the vicious cycle of recession. caesar promised no new taxes and said today restore minimum wage to $800 a month. and now that it has be kicked in, the unions are turning against it. social security, pensions have already fallen by 45%, and he thinks that the government should crackdown on undeclared labor. > >> you can't cut pensions and lou $6 billion in contributions from last year. businesses are in arrears to the system. and if someone works 25 days a

month, and declare 15 days worth of contributions. >> but penal sizing employers could lead to injustice, pushing them further down the road to bankruptcies and unemployment. >> today, a hero from the war in afghanistan was awarded the world's highest military honor. today, president obama presented retired army captain, florent growberg, he was escorting his buddies when he spotted a suicide bomber. >> floorent did something extraordinary, he grabbed the bomber by his vest and pushed him away. in the classroom, in the field, all of it came together in a few seconds, he had the inning stinks and the courage to do what was needled. >> captain growberg spent three years recovering from his injuries.

three fellow soldiers and a u.s. diplomat were killed in the attack. up next on the program, making hay with american water. how a saudi company is effectively exporting the west's most valuable resources, and coming together to fight global warming. what to expect from leaders when they meet climate change summit this month.

>> so much of the west has been fighting record-breaking

drought conditions. you know that. but some of the hardest-hit states are selling non-water restricted farmland to other countries. crops being grown in california are being shipped back to china, japan, and the united arab emeritus, and the uea and saudi arabia are buying up thousands of acres in arizona. in la paz county with more. >> sunset in arizona's desert. survival here means adapting to a lack of water. amidst the desert land, there's an oasis. we're driving west of phoenix, and what we're coming on is thousands of acres of lush, green alfalfa crops. alfalfa loves sunny days and a

long growing season. but it needs a lot of water. something that the farmer ran out of in his home country of saudi arabia. it's the largest arab company in the middle east. and for years he fed his cows with hay from the farms, he bought this farmland to move toward his target of importing 100% of animal feed. >> we should be concerned about growing in the desert, no matter who, but the fact that it's being seen reasonable to come to arizona, acquire land, grow a very thirsty crop like alfalfa and then ship it long distances? that tells us that something is wrong with the system. >> reporter: the practice is known as virtual water transfer. using water in a place for a

product that will benefit people in another. >> physical water, the wet kind that you drink, in some cases, but not virtual water, it's part of doing business in the global economy. >> reporter: ben is a professor at arizona state university and studies virtual water. >> the question is whether we in the state of arizona like those uses that we're putting the water into it. is this sustainable? is it something that we're going to regret down the road? are we wishing that we would have saved it for something more critical and valuable in the future? >> the alfalfa farm was a good investment for its owner. 16 wells underneath it. and for other farmers, it's outside of an active management area, where regular similarities have strict controls over the amount of water pumped. the director of the water resources. >> those folks do have the requirement to use the water

recentliably, for beneficial use,. >> so at this time, you don't think that there's any reason to put further controls in place on the way that the water is being used? >> we don't see any crisis looming in that area. we don't see the aquifer drying up or anything like that. >> >> reporter: the department periodically monitors the levels outside of the area, and says that creating a new management area is an option, should the water use change. they did not comment, but the subsidiary that manage it's said that it uses drip irrigation that allows it to use less water than that of a typical alfalfa farm. the 65 acres represents a small amount of the arizona farm operations that produce crops. and that's exactly what arizonans and americans have to think about. >> if saudi arabia is

importing alfalfa and heavily dependent on the water supplies in the southwestern united states, this is a reverse of the energy dependence that wants caused so many political issues and geo political issues in the united states. >> it sets up a new kind of dependencies. and battles. >> john seigenthaler is here. >> coming up tonight at 8:00, clearing out. we know u.s. back forces are defeating isil soldiers in one key iraqi town, and why this would ultimately lead to the defeat of the group. and the help that the u.s. military is providing. i'll ask a former top army officer. student activism is not just racial awareness. students walking out of the classroom today. and why the strain it's putting

on administrators. unfit parents. a judge has determined that for a lesbian couple in utah. now the court is taking away their foster child. how likely the decision could be reversed. expanding recreational marijuana. americans are voting sales and it distribution, but does it outweigh concerns around the rural communities? how two places are moving forward with the plan. also tonight, my interview with biographer, john meechum. he just wrote a book about george h.w. bush, his successes and his failures. >> he said, i feel its annas risk, they talk about reagan and clinton and my sons. >> we'll have that coming up in 10 minutes. volkswagen is offering employees and the company's emissions scandal.

collective bargaining, but it's limited. it ends on november 30th. regulators found that vw added software that duped emissions tests. 11 million worldwide were affected by it. >> the ticking clock. why experts say that it's important for world leaders to agree on a climate change strategy.

>> some wild weather out west. a massive storm system is

bringing in strong winds, and whiteout conditions and hail in parts of colorado. look out. nebraska and kansas, small tornadoes touched down in iowa. the severe weather is expected to be a one-day event as it moves toward chicago. the highly anticipated global warming summit will take place in paris next month. they will hammer out a deal to cut greenhouse emissions. secretary of state john kerry added a wrinkle saying that no new deal would be legally binding >> reporter: the goal of the climate summit in paris is to fix a limit for glorious. no more than 2° celsius higher temperatures before the industrial revolution. currently, the planet is heading for a rise of about 5°, and that would have catastrophic consequences, particularly for the world's most vulnerable communities. >> an additional 100 million people risk falling into extreme poverty between now and

2030 if there are not immediate efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. >> and the u.s. secretary of state has spoken about the danger of climate change leading to conflict. >> we all need to ensure that we're taking steps to prevent competition, new competition from leading to conflict. the bottom line is, that the impacts of climate change can exacerbate resources competition. threaten livelihoods, and increase the risk of instability and conflict, especially in places already undergoing economic, political and social stress. >> reporter: given the urgency of the problem, french officials are saying that there's an absolute obligation to reach an agreement in paris next month. and as host of the summit, the french also have a lot of prestige at stake. in order to reach a deal,

individual countries have to commit to curb their emissions from burning fossil fuels. this is a big challenge since economies all over the world are still heavily relying on coal. switching from fossil fuels to new energy is the goal, but that costs money. poorer countries want the world's developers to give them financial help so they can invest in clean technology to put their greenhouse emissions. >> urgency means that we're come together last possibility to turn the emixes that continue and still continue today. to increase, we have to get them to the point where they turn the corner and begin to decrease. >> so the message is clear, if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, global warming will pass the point of no return. the clock is ticking for world leaders to reach an agreement

and implement it. aljazeera, paris. >> lindsay allen is the executive director of rainforest network, and she'll be attending in paris in just a couple of weeks, and she joins us from san francisco. let's start here, i'll give it to you straight. will the paris climate conversation meet its goal of fixing a limit on global warming? and again, remind us of what that goal is. >> yeah, so the goal that we are going to paris with, can we get all of our emission reductions to add up and keep us at below 2° warming? what we know that's different from previous conference party meetings is that this is for the first time an opportunity where many of the cles have already brought theirering target. now, those targets do not add up to 2°. it's much closer to 3°. >> they don't. >> they do not. and so ---.

>> so lindsay, if we have the pledges in advance, why is it then that the countries are not making significant enough commitments to meet the threshold? >> so it is hard for every country to change business as usual, and we have waited so long to make these real reductions, that it means that the reductions that we need to make are much greater. >> and maybe this is the question that gets us at the answer a little more fully. how is it even possible n. fairness, lindsay, to cap emissions when so many of them in the world fuel their economies by burning coal? >> yeah. yeah, i think what we have to remember, many climate change doesn't respect national borders, so all of us will have to make emission cuts that at this point are starting to get more painful, and the further we avoid the cuts, the more

painful it will be. and so we need the u.s. to not make an obstruction in the emissions. we need to make it nationally, and support the poorer countries to make the reductions themselves. >> okay, lindsay. i understand that you've been running campaigns against banks, and why banks? >> yes, because banks are actually underwriting the fossil fuel sector, and the writing is on the wall that coal is not a good investment for the climate. and not financially, so we have convinced bank of america and citigroup and we expect others to follow in advance of the paris talks, to phase out their support of the sector. >> will there be a commitment by the richer countries to actually help to invest in poorer countries that need the rain showers? that need the dollars to transition to more renewable power in other countries? >> . >> yeah, i mean the argument

and the rational is there, and i think it will be a question of how seriously some of the larger and wealthier countries are going to take it. the other thing that we have to remember, it's much easier to make a college than the reductions. so while paris is a milestone, it's good what the leaders take back, so even if we don't get what we need in paris, there's an opportunity to reduce emissions and support them after the talks are finished. >> what's realistic legal the most you can hope for out of paris? i think that the most we can hope for is there's a binding treatly that makes some emission reduction targets that are new and real. and we can watch what goods on outside of the climate talks where people will be organizing in the streets, and that's an indication of what we'll see in countries all armed the world following the talks, where people power what is convince

companies to make greater emission restructures. >> lindsay, good to see you. kurdish forces launched a major ground offensive to retake the city of sinjar. it's designed to cut off a highway that isil uses as a supply route between iraq and syria. jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: the u.s. military is relying on what it believes is the most effective fighting force in iraq. balcs heartened kurdish troops. the u.s. is supporting them in the air and on the ground, but not the pentagon insists on the front lines. the a