you are watching cnn special coverage. >> thanks for staying with us on cnn. here are our top stories. actor robin williams is dead at the aim of 63. he was found in his northern california home monday. the local sheriff's office says coroners believe his death was a suicide due to asphyxia. a spokesman for the actor said

he had recently battled severe depression. iraq's president has nominated hider al abaudi to be the country's new prime minister but the current prime minister nuri al maliki says the move is "null and void." he plans to run for a third term. the u.s. president and a top united nations official are backing the new nominee. >> we're also watching this developing story. russian media report a humanitarian convoy has left the moscow area for ukraine. but the red cross says it's unaware of any such admissii ai. the french foreign minister says the convoy could be a cover-up for russian intervention.

israel and gaza are halfway into a three-day assess fire. so far we haven't heard of any vices on either side of the border. >> palestinians are using this cease-fire to repair power lines and get water running again. cnn's john vause reports on efforts to rebuild gaza in the short and long-term. >> reporter: just 72 hours to try and fix the worst of gaza's devastation. like the sewage pipes which have been spewing raw effluent for more than two weeks. >> we need water! to drink! >> reporter: to try and get water running again to thousands of homes. to repair transmission lines from israel up to seven hours of power a day now after more than a week with almost no electricity at all. aid groups are distributing mattresses, water, and basic supplies to last for just a few

days. tens of thousands like this and his family have been left homeless. "i don't even know where my house is. where is the road? where is my neighbor's home?" he says repeated israeli air strikes flattened the entire neighborhood. rebuilding isn't a question of when but how. this was a combination of air strikes, ar killry? >> everything. tanks, air strikes. >> reporter: the factory made pavers for roads and concrete ready mix for buildings. just one of more 60 construction companies, according to palestinian officials, targeted by israel. >> you cannot rebuild gaza again until this kind of factories rebuild. look, this is what you produce. >> reporter: he doesn't know why his factory was a target. he sold only to the u.n. and aid groups.

all of it, he says, closely monitored by israel. >> we are not following hamas policies, we are following israel policies. even though they destroyed our business. they destroyed our factories. >> reporter: israel's prime minister wants reconstruction here linked to long-term demilitarization. some in israel describe it, for every truckload of cement that comes in, a truckload of rockets goes out. hamas though is insisting as long as israel has a military, they want one too. john vause, cnn, gaza. >> cnn contacted the israel defense forces to ask why the construction factory was hit. they're still looking into it. but in the past the israeli military has insisted it doesn't target civilian infrastructure. let's get the latest on all of this now with sarah sidner

live from jerusalem this morning. i think it's just approaching 10:00 a.m. there. the cease-fire is holding. but we only have through tomorrow for really something substantial to come of it. where do things stand right now and what are the expectations out of the talks in cairo? >> reporter: right now the talks continuing. the arab league involved. the palestinian factions involved. and israel speaking through the egyptian involved as well. the talks going on now into the second day and as you mentioned, tomorrow will be the third. at the end of tomorrow will be the third day of talks. the end of the spa-hour agreed-upon humanitarian cease-fire. you can see in that package from john vause the stories there of people and the reason why this humanitarian cease-fire is so desperately needed. we do know that there have been truckloads of food about 248-plus truckloads of food, medical supplies, and other general supplies being let in

from the israel side of the border on the ground into gaza. but of course much, much more being needed there. and at this point, while the talks continue, there is a great deal of concern as to whether or not there can be a lengthy cease-fire, if you will. something much longer than 72 hours. both sides digging in their heels. hamas and palestinians asking for the blockade to be lifted that has been there for eight years. they want to open up the seaport. they want to be able to resume that. that is very important to the economy and also opening up the airport. some of these things not likely to happen, israel saying they want the gaza strip demilitarize. they want the weapons stripped from the strip, if you will. and these are two very strong points and very opposing points. we are waiting to see what is going to happen with this cease-fire as we have done in the past. there have been about ten attempts at a cease-fire, the

longest lasting about 72 hours before rockets came over, breaking that cease-fire, this past weekend. now we are waiting to see if this one actually holds. the international community putting pressure on both sides to try and help the people who are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. >> we're all hoping fare good news out of these talks today in cairo. sarah sidner live for us in jerusalem this morning, thanks. the u.s. president and others in the international community are showing their support for hider al abaudi. he is the man hand picked by iraqi president maysume to become the nation's new prime minister. he's facing an uphill battle. let's bring in martin narvias, kings college in london, thank you for talking with us. the reason why he's facing an

uphill battle is prime minister nuri al maliki is digging his heels in and won't go. how long can maliki do that, given he has lost support from iran and elsewhere, and now his replacement has been named and is getting support from outside, at least, maybe not so much support in the country. >> well, mr. maliki has given no indication that he's ready or willing to go. nevertheless, as you indicated, he is hemorrhaging support. both domestically and regionally. everybody winter rauk, everybody within his party, went the broader shiite coalition, recognize that if they are going to garner some american support which is going to be so critical in stymieing the advance of isis, they are going to have to get rid of maliki. and key here is the -- is in the broader regional context, what is being decided in tehran.

the suggestions are that tehran has lost patience with maliki and they also recognize that he has to go. so i think he will try and cling to power for as long as possible. but ultimately, his position is unsustainable. >> so what do you make of the buildup of preseno-maliki troop the capital, how long are they likely to stay loyal to maliki as they see support for him continue to fall away? >> over the past few years, mr. maliki has built up or attempted to build up a support base in the security services and the army by putting in people that are loyal to him rather than competent. that is part of the problem. that is part of the reason why the iraqi army has so positively and obviously failed in stopping the isis advance. now these people, some of these people, may believe that their future is linked to maliki and

they will give him his support. but ultimately, everybody must recognize that if they are going to protect themselves, a matter of survival if nothing else, they have to get rid of mr. maliki. i think in the short or medium term, he will go. >> that's the political crisis playing out there in baghdad. we move north. i want to talk to you about the u.s. air strikes in the north of the country. what's your assessment of that bombing strategy and how do you think it's impacting isis militants on the ground? will it eventually stop them or will they have to get boots on the ground to forge those humanitarian paths out of there? >> well, i think the military strikes, the air strikes, have got a very limited function. and that is to break up the attacks of isis forces on the sinjar mountains and irbill.

to some extent they seem to be successful. using weaponry captured from the iraqi army to pound positions around irbill and to force the communities in northern iraq out to the mountains. they are very vulnerable to air strikes and americans have delivered some telling blows to them. and as a result, some have managed to skype the peshmerga, kurdish forces have recaptured lost territory. that is all well and good. but going beyond that, going towards rolling up the isis advance, i think that is not where we are heading. certainly not with the kind of forces that the americans have so far deployed. there are too few air assets, they are not backed up by ground forces that can garner intelligence and direct air strikes. and of course there is this ban on attacking isis targets in

syria. now, isis has proven to be an extremely capable and competent military force. i mean, there are only 10,000, 15,000 of them. they're fighting on four fronts. in the south against the iraqi army of over 250,000 men, in the north against the peshmerga, 80,000 pen who supposedly were supposed to be reasonably competent. to the east against the syrian army, against other residual revolutionary groups in syria. isis forces will adapt to the air strikes. they will disperse, they will go into the cities, they will move amongst civilians, they will limit the american strikes upon them. so in the short-term, i would think that the strikes have shown some success, certainly. but in the longer run, president obama has to decide how he's going to take it from here. he's got to double down, essentially, if he wants to have some option of reducing and

attriting the isis forces. >> martin navias joining us from hong kong, many thanks for your take on the situation in iraq, we do appreciate it. still to come on cnn, more unrest in missouri. racial tensions simmer after the police shooting of an unarmed plaque teenager over the weekend. and we'll bring you the latest on a deadly race car crash in the u.s. 9m [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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welcome back to cnn. tensions escalated for a second straight night in the u.s. state of missouri. police used tear gas to break up protests after shots were heard. the weekend shooting death of an unarmed african-american teenager by a police officer has sparked outrage in the state. michael brown's parents spoke out on monday.

>> here he is graduating, on his way to college. we can't even celebrate. we got to plan a funeral. >> he was a good boy, didn't deserve none of this. none of it. we need justice for our son. we need justice for our son. >> witnesses say brown was unarmed and holding his hands in the air when a police officer shot and killed him. the county police chief says he was assaulting the officer at the time. protesters grew rowdy and some of them started looting stores on sunday. police made several arrests. >> we did file several charges today on the mob action that went on last night which had nothing to do, truly, to expressing an opinion or a voice

for what occurred up there, an opinion upon what occurred on saturday afternoon. it was nothing more than mob action so we filed charges against about ten people right now. >> federal authorities say they are working with local officials to investigate the death. we also have this story out of the u.s. investigators are now examining a second video from a race car crash that killed driver kevin ward jr., struck by fellow driver tony stewart during a race saturday. stewart dropped out of the nascar race the day after and it's unclear if he'll participate in another one planned for the weekend. ward was 20 years old. medical examiners say he died of "massive blunt trauma." no criminal charges have yet been filed against stewart. we do want to check the weather now. monsoon floods in eastern india have taken dozens of lives over the past week alone. >> we're tracking all of that.

>> yeah, you know the monsoon started out very quietly across this portion of the world. you take a look at the perspective across the subcontinent. easy math here as far as the normal's of rainfall across india at this hour. indicated in green. the deficient areas scattered about. you see one area across areas to the east where excess rainfall has come down in recent weeks. the flooded areas showing you what has transpired. at least dozens of lives, maybe up to 50 people losing their lives. 300 villages in eastern india have been impacted. 310,000 have been evacuated across this region. of course we know the strength of this annual monsoon from june through september. very vital to the hundreds of millions of indian farmers in the economic growth here. asia's third largest economy is there across india, 80% of its annual rains come out in these few months during the monsoon season. this is the rainfall amounts and

the bars here indicating what is the actual amount of rainfall that has come down since the 1st of june throughout today's date. the red line indicates what's normal. notice well below normal, below that red line, and the past week and a half to two weeks we begin exceeding that. that's what led to some issues across eastern portions of india. right here this is a river, you see the perspective just about a month ago, the river very arid. take a look at the satellite perfespective from a few days a, you see how it's ballooned with flooding. that's caused all the problems across that region of india. some flooding to tell you about in the forecast for the eastern united states across the northeastern u.s. if you're getting up early, flying out to these areas, thunderstorms in baltimore, maryland, going to be flowing you sloun. the forecast could be upwards of an hour and a half delay. the u.s. capitol, washington, d.c., flights there could be impacted by an hour and a half. something to keep in mind. some unusual thunderstorms across the pacific northwest and

seattle as well. a record high of 96 fahrenheit in seattle on monday. >> in asset of all places. >> was it raining? >> the thunderstorms brought rain later on, absolutely. >> it always gets washed out. coming up next for you here on cnn, we'll have much more on the december of actor robin williams. >> his laughter, his life, and his legacy. we'll be right back.

idiosyncrasies only i know about. that's what made her my wife. she had the goods on me too. she knew all my little peccadillos. people call these things imperfections but they're not. that's the good stuff. we get to choose who we let into our weird little worlds. you're not perfect, sport.

let me save you the suspense. this girl you met? she isn't perfect either. but the question is whether or not you're perfect for each other. >> that is the serious side of robin williams. but it was his amazing comedic wit that so many people remember and that makes his death so difficult to comprehend. >> yeah, very true. holland reid is an entertainment journalist and frequent contributor to our sister network hln. she stayed up really late for us and join us via skype from atlanta. i really appreciate it, holland. let's talk about robin williams. his rep did say he suffered from severe depression that could have contributed to his suicide, we don't know for sure. avoiding rumors, what do we know about his emotional state recently? >> we do know as you said that his rep did confirm he had been suffering from severe depression as of late. he had recently checked into a rehab facility in the last month to maintain his sobriety is what reports are saying. we do know that in the last few

years, in 2009, he had heart surgery which may have contributed also to his severe depression at this time. we know that he was discovered from apparent asphyxiation. i guess reports will determine that at a later time as well. >> so sad. what do we know about the other projects he was working on? multiple projects. we've kind of been discussing here "night at the museum 3" which i think was already completed. a "mrs. doubtfire" sequel we've been waiting for, what do we know? >> we were definitely waiting. it was announced in april "mrs. doubtfire" was going to be brought back, he was going to bring that fantastic character that brought so much joy to so many people back. we weren't shown a release date. it definitely was in preproduction. we do know "night at the museum" will be released at a letter time. it is done, it's in post-production right now as well. redid have a couple of other projects. i was trying to pull it up on imdb --

>> that's fine. i want to branch out this topic. we're shocked by this but we've seen a number of high-profile deaths lately. philip seymour hoffman, he suffered heroin use. heath ledger. does it have anything to do with hollywood culture? or is fame just much harder to deal with than the rest of us realize? >> you know what, i don't think it's just hollywood culture. as we've seen in the news recently, oregon, the missing mother, she committed suicide by asphyxiation. people are wanting to escape. i think the pressures are hollywood are there and they're great. but i believe when imbalance occurs are any trigger, whether hollywood or your home life that takes over, that becomes depression, that becomes suicidal thought that then turns into unfortunate tragedies like this. i know in hollywood there is abuse, there is alcoholism, there is drug addiction. i don't think it's just unique to hollywood. unfortunately the hollywood actors that do suffer these

diseases and these fates obviously are on the world stage and they get a little bit more news because of it. >> we're just looking at some of the images of people reacting to the news on monday there in los angeles. we really appreciate you staying up late tonight here, approaching 4:00 a.m., holland reid. thanks very much for your time, holland reid, entertainment journalist connecting with us from here in atlanta. that concludes our special coverage here for these past four hours. rosemary, it's been a pleasure to be by your side. >> as always. four long hours. but we have covered many topics here. i'm rosemary church. do stay with us. much more reaction to the death of robin williams is coming up on "early start" with christine romans and john berman, that's next.

happening now, power struggle in baghdad, adding to the chaos in iraq. the new prime minister announced as the old one refuses to step down. this as u.s. air strikes take down terrorists. we are live with the latest on the ground and whether the new government is capable of stabilizing the country. remembering a legend. this morning, the world reeling, we all are after robin williams was found dead from apparent suicide. we look back on his long battle with