>> your watching the "journal." -- you are watching the "journal." here are the headlines this hour. the speaker of the house, john boehner, says the house will pass a plan to save the u.s. from defaulting. the united nations extends airlift's to other regions in east africa as it fights the ban. and out of the water -- germany pulls out of the world swimming championships in shanghai.

well, the next few hours will be crucial to the solvency of the united states. >> the u.s. house of representatives is expected to vote on a debt reduction bill proposed by the leader of the republicans in the house, john boehner. >> if it passes the house, the bill will go to the senate where democratic leader harry reid has already promised that it will be defeated. >> time is running out for compromise. on august 2, the u.s. treasury says it will not be able to pay its bills anymore. >> ♪ raise the debt ceiling ♪ >> this route intends to inject humor into a grave situation gravethis r -- this rap intends to inject humor into a grave situation. people are free welfare programs for the elderly and poor will be hit hardest. the medicare, social security, medicaid is all the working people have going for them in

this country, and we just are not taking another step backward. >> republicans insist they will only agree to raising the debt ceiling if there are massive spending cuts. the house is set to vote on the latest bill on thursday evening. >> this is for the sake of jobs, for the sake of our country. i am asking the representatives in the house in a bipartisan way and asking my colleagues in the senate -- let's pass this bill and and this crisis -- end this crisis. >> but democrats have vowed to quickly kill the bill in the senate. americans are stepping up the pressure on washington to reach a compromise. >> ♪ raise the debt ceiling raised the debt ceiling ♪ >> for more on the story, we're joined by our washington correspondent, max hoffman. how likely is it we will see a breakthrough deal today? >> not likely at all. the u.s. congress is made up of

two chambers, the republican- dominated house and the democrat-dominated senate. we cannot say for sure yet that this bill will pass the republican house because many conservative republicans feel there is not enough debt cutting in that. even if it does pass the house, the senate has already announced they will block the bill. if it passes the republican- dominated house, it might serve as the much-search-4 base for a compromise -- much-searched-for base. >>, august 2, does washington have a plan b -- come august 2? >> the white house correspondent said they were working on a plan b, but he would not say what it was. people discussing the legal possibilities of president obama doing this on his own. the white house has said they will not do this, so they have

to figure out what they are going to pay first. they would not run out of money completely. they would still have money left to pay some bills, but not all. they are trying to figure out which bills those would be. >> thank you very much. i will be back with more news. >> thank you very much, monica. now, to the famine in africa. they call it the triangle of death, an area across most of the horn of africa were 12 million people are dying of starvation. the united nations world food program plans to extend emergency aid airlift to cover the border region in ethiopia. yesterday, the united nations managed to deliver several tons of food rations to the somali capital, mogadishu. that is not a task without major risks. >> african union peacekeepers face off against militants in mogadishu on thursday. the two sides exchanged heavy gunfire, leaving several insurgents dead.

the au says the offensive aimed at getting supplies to those in need. a militia had barred eight agent -- agencies from operating in regions of the country under their control. that means even more somalis are going hungry. tens of thousands have fled to the capital to escape the drought. many more continue to cross each kenya -- east kenya in hopes of reaching the camp complex. >> i spent 17 days on the road with my 12 children. thank god we made it. i have just been given a tent by an organization here. >> additional emergency shelters are being set up around the main facilities. the main camps are terribly overcrowded. the kenyan government finally yielded to international pressure and opened a third can

-- camp. kenyans have also fled to the camps. some city government in nairobi could do more. >> [inaudible] i would like the government at possible to bring in a relief group. [inaudible] >> complications at the customs office in kenya have also delayed the airlift to mogadishu. united nations officials say the bureaucratic issues have now been resolved. >> i spoke with our correspondent in nairobi. he has been covering the famine and the relief efforts. i asked him about the difficulty of distributing food to people on the ground in mogadishu. >> we talk to the people of the world food program today, and they told us it was actually no

problem for them to distribute the load that arrived last night in mogadishu today, and this was due to the fact that they basically were within the area controlled by the transitional government and the african union forces. we also talked to other ngo's who work in other parts of somalia. they told us that the fighting that took place in mogadishu today enhanced their fears that militant groups in the region might retaliate and could prevent them from distributing small-scale food packages to those in the region. >> talk about the reality of how the situation on the horn of africa was able to get this bad. >> i think if we're talking about countries like kenya and ethiopia, it is for government -- poor government.

the government here did not take the proper reactions. but the main reason, i think, is there are small ngo closing working in the country, but for large-scale distribution of aid to the country, it is the political situation in somalia -- there are small ngo's working in the country. >> suicide bombers armed with guns killed at least 19 people in southern afghanistan. six militants stormed the government buildings in the provincial capital. three of them detonated the explosives. police are believed to have killed the remaining three. the taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest to hit southern afghanistan in six months. nato has declared two crossings

on cozumel -- kosovo's border with syria restricted areas, and peacekeepers have been checking cars for weapons. the move comes after ethnic serbs on wednesday attacked and set fire to a border post and fired at nato troops. the european union urged both sides to restore calm. while western europe is still waiting for summer, russia is sweltering under heat wave. russians are battling to prevent a repeat of last year's wildfires in which dozens of people lost their lives. >> the view from a fire fighting plane is disturbing. in southern russia, but also in the northwest and far east, foreign buyers are waiting, and peat bogs are smoldering. -- foreign fires are waging.

they are ill-equipped to tackle the blazes. >> the heat and wind are a problem. we will keep at it as long as it takes. >> at least 7000 people -- experts and volunteers -- have been deployed to fight the blaze is, but the fires continue to spread. the heat wave has pushed temperatures past 40 degrees celsius in some areas. >> russia is even less prepared for fires this year than last year. there is even more bureaucracy. the rangers responsible for fire prevention have to spend 3/4 of their time doing aerial checks and paper work. >> but moscow is still in the clear. heavy rains in western russia earlier in the month have prevented smoke and smog from reaching the capital, but that could change if the heat wave continues. >> all right, monica is here now

to talk about corporate results. >> that is right. engineering giant siemens is reporting results that miss estimates. the result is much lower than what analysts had been expecting, due in part to what analysts call special charters. >> it shot a big hole into the company's results. it will years ago, the ceo and russian prime minister agreed to a partnership with the russian state energy concern. the partnership explicitly forbidden under an agreement with the former french joint venture partner. in may, an arbitration panel ordered siemens to pay damages. another big setback came from the company's health-care operations. the invested heavily in new particle beam therapy to treat cancer. now, it has taken a charge after

reevaluating the commercial feasibility of the new technology. the company's other main areas -- heavy machinery and rail transport -- remain strong, but russia says that risks in the global economic outlook are increasing. siemens is already feeling the pressure of increased competition in the wind turbine market. >> the u.s. debt crisis is still unresolved. greece is still struggling with its spiraling debt, and concerns about rome's ability to cut its sovereign debt. italy's borrowing costs soared to almost 6%. the auction was conducted in about how markets, and experts fear the debt crisis could spread further. let's look at the market's number -- the market numbers now appeared in germany, the benchmark dax ended almost 1% lower.

in new york, the dow jones industrials closed at the day's session down 5.5%. in currency markets, the euro is trading at $1.4314. shares in europe's largest car maker, volkswagen, declined on thursday despite some good results. second quarter profits came in at 4.8 billion euros, more than three times what it made in the same time last year. sales also continued to soar. china is the company's biggest market followed by germany and brazil. volkswagen increased its share of the worldwide market for new cars to 12.4%. >> there is a fly in the studio. it keeps flying around. thank you very much. european union terrorism experts have met in brussels to discuss ways to prevent attacks like the ones in norway last week. the talks touched on a number of measures, such as limiting

access to fertilizers and tougher gun controls. norwegians are still mourning those killed in last friday's attack. police continue to release the identities of the victims. 76 people died in the bomb attack in the capital, and the shooting massacre, on the island. the woman who claims former imf boss dominic strauss-kahn sexually assault her is not shunning the public eye anymore -- sexually assaulted her is not shutting the public eye anymore. she says a lot has been said about bird that is not true. >> it was an emotional public appeal at a highly unusual press conference. she said she wanted to tell her side of the story and restore her credibility. >> [inaudible]

>> she said her daughter had warned her about the risks of taking someone as influential as strauss-kahn to court. >> you have to remember, this man is a powerful man. everybody knows that. but you are our neighbors -- only our neighbors, or the people back home know you. >> her decision to speak publicly about the case has raised questions, but she insisted she is doing it for her daughter. >> i am going to be strong for you and for every other woman in the world. >> it is unclear how the case will proceed. strauss-kahn, for his part, has denied all charges. >> to the world swimming championships in shanghai peer disappointment for the german team -- to the world swimming

championships in shanghai. disappointment for the german team. >> it was a low moment for germany's brightest swimming star. he only just scraped into the semifinals of the hundred meter freestyle, and she is disappointed. >> she is only human. right now, it is a bit inexplicable. i will probably draw hasty conclusions, which i should not be doing. >> the double world and olympic championships it -- champion seemed at a loss to explain her performance. her boyfriend, a two-time bronze winner himself, tried to shield her from critical questions. then came the announcement. she's pulling out of the championships, a move that has raised plenty of questions. >> all right, stay with us.

i will be right back with our "in depth" reports. we go to the wagner festival. state-owned for an in-depth look at that. -- stay tuned for an in-depth look at that. >> don't go away. >> when i organize a party, it is a real party because there is no rubbish hanging about. everyone writes their name on their cut, and we party. the great thing is you already know their names.

>> welcome back, everyone. you loved him or, maybe, you hate him. few composers stir up as much emotion as richard wagner. for his admirers, he is the ultimate composer. his critics claim to much -- too much pathos, too bombastic. he is still hard to ignore, most of all in germany, where an annual festival prevents -- presents his work in one of the high society events of the year. it is the festival's 100th season. there is already controversy, and the israeli orchestra perform their for the first time earlier in the week, to the horror of many back home.

we sent a reporter down to the small town in bavaria to find out more. she came up with five reasons why everyone should pay a visit to the festival, whether you love richard wagner or not. >> the festival attracts thousands of opera fans every year. there are five good reasons for making the trip -- first and foremost, to experience the wagner's music performed by world-class august's -- artists. memo one reason is the high quality of the music -- >> one reason is the high quality of the music. >> this year, the festival opened with a new production. the performance transformed the original medieval setting into an industrial biofuel plant.

since its founding in 1876, the festival has been dedicated to celebrating the work of richard wagner. the productions last for hours. for fans, it is an experience that is both emotionally turbulent and uplifting. whoever comes here expect to see top performers -- expects to see top performers. [inaudible] >> bob mayor is very connected with germany, the people, its history, the landscape. it is also hugely significant for germans.

>> the second reason to visit is wagner himself. he lived here for years, and this village is here. -- he is buried here next to his dogs. his grandson died last year after devoting his life to keeping wagner's musical legacy alive. >> we no longer have a kaiser or any other glamour, so the legend is important. >> wagner inspired his own mythology. his music brought redemption and a sense of the eternal truth. the festival itself has achieved a measure of immortality. >> the festival survived two world wars. we have survived hitler, and we have survived a lot of other things. it is really amazing that it

continues to take place today and in the same framework as it did 135 years ago. >> the third reason to go is to see the rich and famous. rarely are so many prominent people gathered in one place in germany. >> german chancellor angela merkel has also come regularly since the start of her political career. >> i really enjoy coming here. >> the festival also attracts the best directors.

>> [inaudible] who died last year shocked by their fans with his interpretation of 'pacifa." for decades, the festival repeatedly invited a talent -- invited new talent to keep it fresh. katerina wagner continued her father's tradition to court outsiders because the legend must be kept alive. reason four is the city itself. if you want a break from the music and the jet set, you can wander down the hill to the new

palace and the gardens. despite its history and natural beauty, the question remains why wagner chose here. >> it was ideal for him. a royal city. it was in the heart of bavaria and above all it was a small town that was not pompous. >> and so, bayreuth decided to have his opera house here, linking his legacy forever to the city. >> he was a good citizen of bayreuth. he held regular social meetings and respected the city's athletes. he wrote a column for the police and treated them to a meal. he was a very popular citizen. -- he wrote a poem for the police. >> in many ways, bayreuth is bothered. he is mentioned almost everywhere here. local residents know just how indebted they are to him.

but one thing mike discourage possible visitors -- it is almost impossible to get tickets on short notice. the events are usually sold out, with a few rare exceptions. >> there were a few. i cannot remember them personally, but i know from the past that there were performance is up to about 1954 or 1955 that were not completely sold out. >> getting a ticket on the green hill is a real honor. >> the opera lovers who do manage to make it into the festival put loads of work into securing their tickets. >> you have to order on time. there is a deadline in autumn, and you should give as many alternative dates as possible when you are ordering tickets. that will reduce the waiting time of year on average, expect to wait seven or eight years. >> a public viewing facility has

been set up to cater to the public since 2009. wagner for free in the open air, accessible to everyone. the festival receives state yet, 60% of the tickets are not available on the open market. >> there will definitely be a response to this. things can be done to insure that the same people do not always get tickets. procedures can be introduced to make sure it goes more fairly. >> a more equitable system of ticket distribution could soon be one more reason to visit bayreuth that everyone would

appreciate. >> all right, where will you be in seven or eight years? that has been our "in depth" report. as always, thanks for watching and thanks for the company.