fallujah is gone. it's lost.ujah is lost. >> reporter: fallujah has been destroyed by war before, and rebuilt. the repeated explosions of violence here are unlikely to end until its people feel like a real part of today's iraq. for the pbs newshour, i'm jane ferguson, in fallujah, iraq. >> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: how georgia's changing demographics are also changing elections, plus, mark shields and michael gerson analyze the week's news. but first, the twists and turns keep coming in the race for the white house-- just two days before donald trump and hillary clinton meet in their second presidential debate. john yang reports. >> reporter: late today, a new storm around trump. and when they let you do it, you can do anything. grab them by the (bleep). you can do anything. >> it comes as hillary clinton has been blasting trump for his treatment of women and trump has been threatening to make an issue out of bill clinton's infidelities in. a statement trump apologized and said the tape w

we travel to fallujah, 60 kilometers from the capital. after controlling the city for two years, the militants were driven out by the iraqi army at the end of june. captain jasem commands a special unit of the iraqi army that specializes in explosives. all the bombs were produced in residential buildings. the terrorists used these locations to avoid u.s. air strikes. the manufacture of mortars, grenades, car bombs, and rockets here in fallujah had an almost industrial character. the bomb-makers were highly specialized. one group focused on producing detonators, with hundreds assembled here, ready for use. such simple material, but hugely effective. the captain explains how the booby-trap works. jasem mohammed mater: there's a battery inside the fuse. just a bit of pressure brings the metal strip into contact with the screws. the electrical current runs through, and the bomb explodes. reporter: the remains of isis's weapons arsenals are found throughout fallujah. and they are not old munitions like kalashnikovs, but modern precision-weapon

now they being used in all of the operations against ramadi, fallujah and now mosul. they are being overextended. >>> new details are emerging about a gas explosion that rocked the city of portland, oregon. the mayor is being called a hero save lives. >> he went in on his own, pulled the fire alarm. which allowed those individuals to evacuate. had those steps not been taken, we would have been having a different conversation this afternoon. this man single handedly i believe saved the lives of a lot of sids today and a lot of firefighters. >> he is one of three firefighters, three citizens injured in the explosion. no one was killed. calling on residents to help those displaced. still to come here, an nbc news investigation into the role russian hacking, wikileaks is having on our election. it's a cynthia mcfadden exclusive. >> it was a record day, bill karins has the weather and more on that historic and blazing day across the country. >> all right, bill, thank you very much for that. >>> is america going to pot? believe it or not a new survey takes the question afte

then, returning home after isis- - iraqis take back fallujah only to find an abandoned city gutted by two years of war. >> in order to take back fallujah city, the iraqi military had to completely empty the city, and the fighting that happened afterwards destroyed everything that the eye can see. oo

>> well, we have a little bit of experience with the situation that happened in ramadi and fallujah.i think it's very difficult just to think that we can go quickly inside. because we do expect thereumight be heavy mines, contamination of mines or booby traps or maybe still some security concern for the humanitarian workers. so i think the the first thing preferably is to clear and that the people we can assist might not be in front of the front lines. >> sreenivasan: finally, what's the most immediate oppressing concern. as a city gets cut off like this, what happens to water or access to food or certainly medicine when there's not any goods or services coming comingr out. >> if it is a city in isolation over a long period, this might put lots of pressures on the civilians which we have seen also in fallujah. but i think that the major concern is to get access to the the people, to evacuate the wounded and get treatment and i think if nobody works any more in the hospitals or can go safely, it makes it a real concern and i think people will lose life just because they cannot access

now they are being used as the main point of the sphere against ramadi to fallujah and now in mosul. so they are being very over extended. >> they are there in northern iraq. >>> few details are emerging about a gas explosion that rocked portland, oregon, thursday. they have t to save lives. >> he went in on his own, pulled the fire alarm, which allowed those individuals to evacuate. had those steps not been taken, we would have been having a different conversation this afternoon. this man single handedly saved a lot of citizens today and firefighters. >> he is one of three firefighters, and three sids this morocco the mayor is asking sids to do nate after the explosion continues. >>> still to come here, an nbc news investigation with hacking and the use wikileaks is having on our election. it's must see tv. >> but, it was a record breaking day on wednesday with over 50,000 registered. we have the weather and more on that historic and brazing day across the country. >> it hit 90 this cold front sending the season. so this morning, it is in st. louis. we'll see showers and thunderstor

they encircle a city like this, which is how the with theles went in fallujah and ramadi last year. they closed off the area around the city and gradually penetrate into the center of the city. while this mansion so save the iraqi security forces, it can city like mosul. it extends the agony about to be in the city, frances. >> hitting ground, but tur u curious to see the impact that is to come. nbc's matt bradley there for us. thank you. >>> in the town of lexington, kentucky, thousands gathered for the slain daughter tyson gay, trinity and her father excle released a sea of pink and purple ploons in the air. trinity was killed outside a restaurant early friday morning. it is believed she was an innocent bystander caught in cross fire. three men were charged, they have pleaded not guilty. >>> they are saying sorry for the minority treatment in the united states t. president of formal apology at the organization's annual conference. >> there have been times when law enforcement officer because of the laws enacted by federal, state and local governments have been the face of oppressi

have a certain amount in have, whetherou it is the various districts in damascus, aleppo, ramadi, fallujah, mosul. government forces want to separate the fighters from the civilian population. they do that by bombarding these places. those defending the places, in this case, isis, don't want to lose the civilian population, so they prevent them leaving and they are described as human shields. basically, who is -- whoever is on the defending side has the interest to keep the civilian population there. amy: don't they have to be desperate to flee into syria? has been the way out. it may seem that way. out, itho have gotten seems to be easier before this happened, it is about $600 per person to get out. you would cross into the kurdish controlled area of northeast .yria they would move to camps they are and move on word from there. -- they would move to camps there and move onward from there. i talked to people who came from mosul, they paid money to guides. they were walking through field who they thought there were es there. it seems to be safer to go west rather than east. geographically,

people describe victories by the iraqi government forces taking solutia -- reate -- taking solutia fallujah. one town only has four buildings left. it is a us-led operation. it has not gotten into the city yet. we will see what happens when street fighting starts. you have ae of mosul level playing to the east. people have fled two years ago. the kurds said they will not empty -- will not enter the city. when it getsts engaged in street fighting, wewe will see whwhat happens.s. i it call in the shia paramilitaries, will it escalate the bombing? amy: you begin your piece by saying the government and its l from may capture mosu isis, but it could be a new chapter in the war. explain. -- mosul haseen been captured or recaptured five times since 2003. amost immedediately, there was babattle. .herere was mass looting andowd came out as a mosque identified kurds as enemies and looters and were threatening to lynch my drivever, somomeone persuaded them against doing this. i wewe to a local hospital.. this is a deeply divided place. the u.s. 101st division came in. you may remember the battle for l

tikrit, fallujah. now the tide has turned. the iraqi armed forces joined by kurdish fighters, supported by the u.s.-led coalition, have retaken all of those cities. the iraqi army is much better prepared, experienced, they're battle hardened. this is in a sense the final battle for isis in iraq. still holds towns south of -- you have also at the same time something else going on in syria. you have -- it was where a battle will occur at the ends of days. there, turkish backed free syrian fighters are about to take the city. isis is about to receive a body blow to its global jihadist ambitions. the iraqi army, kurdish fighters are a raid around the city. tens of thousands of fighters ready to go in. we understand there was intense bombardment not only by -- also by u.s. artillery of areas in and around mosul in preparation for this battle. the inhabitants of that city, which ones had a population of 2 million, now perhaps 700,000 to a million. they are preparing for this battle. some are digging bomb shelters in their basements.

these places, the people of fallujah in a very difficult situation. you would assume they would want to flee from isil, but if they flee into the path of an oncoming armed group representing one of the militia and are exposed to atrocities from that site as well, they are placed before an impossible situation. what we hope and we have called for the iraqi government to ting of is that any vet any fighters over 15 years old needs to be done by authorized military personnel, not by other armed groups. charlie: what they call instant adjudication. zeid ra'ad al hussein: and this is an important point, when they see a young fighter who they believe is from isil, to remember that person is a child first and possibly connected to isil second, not the other way around. charlie: you have a tough job. thank you for coming. we will be right back. ♪ charlie: "moonlight" is the new film from barry jenkins. play "inptation of the moonlight, black boys look blue." the film focuses on the three pivotal time periods of the young man as he comes to terms with his sexu

they left ramadi and then they left fallujah and i suspect the same thing here. >> general i want to talk to you more but we have to leave it there for now. >> arthel, donald trump is in stranger to big business. now he is vowing governor elected president he will block a multimulti-billion dollar potential merger between at&t and time warner. he said that voters would like that as his policy, coming up we will look at what it means for us if they make this merger, are we going to pay more to watch our favorite shows? before i had the shooting, burning, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet played shortstop in high school, learned the horn from my dad and played gigs from new york to miami. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain, from moderate to even severe diabetic nerve pain. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or w

we did that initially in fallujah. the previous fallujah when the u.s. was leading the operation.d the people to get out. very sim already -- >> also tells the enemy what you're doing. >> the other thing we do too much of, we talk to much after we conduct an operation and give far too many details, particularly what our special operation forces are doing. makes no sense. >> why? >> we never used to speak about this, this started after osama bin laden was killed and the administration began to talk. and secretary of defense gates was furious with people in the white house giving out details of that attack, given the fact we'll continue to do precisions -- >> but still in that neck of the woods. >> absolutely. the other thing in fairness, these operations that we are won ducting, other the terrain -- these are desset open areas -- desert limited road networks. there's no way that we could surprise that force. we're going to come up those roads and they're going to see us coming days in advance of anything we do. we have to get logistics in place and then conduct an assault. >> in th

it took a month for iraqi forces to take over fallujah in the center. these two guys drove from wisconsin from texas with plans to cross the border and travel to iraq or syria. the authorities began investigating them after one made contact with an undercover agent back in september. in kansas, arrest for plotting an attack on hundreds of somali immigrants. the small militia group call themselves a crusader and they wanted to detonate a truck with explosives afternoon a mosque area. >> a security checkpoint with a bomb happening 15 miles south of involved but not sure if it's linked to mosul. so far, no group claimed responsibility for the bomb. >> the house where adolf hitler was born will be torn down and the property has become a place of pilgrimage for neo-nazis and demolition is the best way to discourage the gatheringings and the austrian government has to approve the plan. the proposal is to find a solution for building has refused to sell the building or do renovations to reduce the impact. >> creepy clowns masks are no laughing matter for targe

and this places the people of fallujah in a very difficult situation. course, you would assume they would want to flee from i.s.i.l, but if they flee from i.s.i.l into the path of an oncoming armed group representing one of the shia militia and are exposed to atrocities from that side as well, then they're placed before an impossible situation. what we've hoped and called for the iraqi governmentyto observe is that any vetting of any fighters over 15 years old needs to be done by authorized military personnel, not by these other armed groups. >> rose: dispensing what they call instant adjudication. >> that's right. and also that this is an important point, that when they see a young fighter who they believe is from i.s.i.l, to remember that that person is a child first and then possibly connected to i.s.i.l second, and not to look at it the other way around. >> rose: you have a tough job. i do. >> rose: but thank you for coming. >> thank you so much. >> rose: we'll be right back. stay with us. >> rose: "moonlight" is the new film from writer/director ba

they encircle a city like this, which is how the with theles went in fallujah and ramadi last year. they closed off the area around the city and gradually penetrate into the center of the city. while this mansion so save the iraqi security forces, it can

now, this is how it's played out again in fallujah and in ramadi in past battles. this can spare some of the iraqi security forces who are trying to lay siege to mosul, but it can extend the battle for weeks or months, and it can extend the agony of the 1.2 million civilians currently in the city. now, i want to put some of the victories from yesterday in are both saying the villages seized by the peshmerga and iraqi troops were ahead of schedule, but let's make sure we're clear. they were largely uninhabited by civilians and that's not what we'll see when they start to move into mosul. the 1.2 million civilians are still there. >> we may not see the impact of the advances until well after. matt, thank you. >>> emotions were raw in the town of lexington, kentucky, as thousandshe tyson gay. both trinity and her father excelled in athletics. the crowd was dressed in trinity's favorite colors. you see them releasing a sea of pink and purple balloons in the air. she was shot outside a restaurant. it's believed she was an innocent bystander caught in the cross fire. thr

i mean, how long it took for fallujah, for example. what is ahead for these people? >> look, they have, first of all, a fairly -- potentially long way to get to the outskirts of the city in and of itself. some areas, yes, the front lines are closer than others, but they still have to clear a significant amount of territory. a number of villages from isis control before they actually reach the outskirts of the city. once they enter the city, no one really knows exactly what to expect. there are upwards of a million people there that isis could potentially be using as human shields. we've seen them do this in some of the other villages and towns they controlled, where they do not allow people to leave. in fact, they use homes that have civilians in them to set up some of their fighting positions. we also know that isis has released some of its own prisoners from jail. people that it had put behind bars for crimes such as not growing their beards or smoking out into the street. released them and are having them dig fairly complex underground tunnelling systems. there is

as a result, isis has been chased from several cities in northern syria and from ramadi and fallujah in iraq. >> the iraqi army said it was finally in full control of the last neighborhood in fallujah held by isis. >> smith: but administration ofs say that while the us has stepped it up, there is still a long way to go. >> look, if you go back to where we were when the day that mosul fell, and you look at to where we are now-- this organization can no longer communicate from its commanders to its people in the field. it can no longer project power outside of its strongholds. it has not taken any territory in iraq and syria. so it's a substantially degraded organization. but i would be the last one to say that we've turned a corner. this remains a lethal terrorist organization. it'll seek to attack us here. it'll seek to attack us in euro. and it is seeking to spread. >>allahu akbar! >> smith: the question is what happens next? >> in yemen's capital, devastating airstrikes from saudi arabia. >> smith: saudi arabia is still distracted by yemen and their rivalry with iran. >> the cold w

isis people in mosul to prepare their defenses and learn the methods that were used in ramadi and fallujah. the battle will be a tough one. katty: we heard the iraqi commander talking about sources inside the city. how good is the intelligence? >> i would say probably pretty good. this is a deliberate attack and the first thing you do from the attacker's standpoint is to prepare the battlefield with intelligence and information. my suspicion is we have done a very good job in understanding how the defense for the main battle area of mosul is laid out, and that we are getting information from sources that have been pre-planted or open inside the city. katty: i imagine watching the pictures brought back memories for you of the iraq war. how does the battle to retake mosul leave iraq, do you think, given your knowledge? >> this is a great question, because we have had a battle in ramadi, battle in falluja, this battle in mosul. i think the mosul battle will be successful. it will take will beyond the inauguration before it is over. but the real question is what happens afterwards? will the un

a bond that patrolled door-to-door in fallujah. an iou that braved ieds in kandahar. a promise was made. to america's veterans. a promise we all must keep. dav fights for all veterans and their families so they get the health care, financial benefits and support they earned. sit dav.org. >>> in california, thousands of national guardmen are being told they have to return bonuses that they received for reenlisting during the wars in iraq and afghanistan. jan crawford is covering the outrage over that. >> tie don't want to pay back something that i earned. >> robert d'andrea retired after 22 years in ca letter saying he need to repay this $20,000 reenlistment bonus. >> they were giving bonuses away in droves. i signed the contract. i got the bonus. i upheld my end of the bargain. >> reporter: he had served as an infantry commander in iraq when his term came up. the bonus helped him to decide to stay in. the bonuses were meant for soldiers with high-demand assignments in units about to given to more than 10,000 soldiers, many by mistake. >> it is appalling and disgracefu

commanders will move slowly and what we saw in fallujah and tikrit and ramadi.they want to protect the civilians >> a temporary cease four in aleppo and why russia agreed to stop bombing and washington said it is too it little, too late. and increasing workers wangs make profits rise? what law maker ares can learn from real american companies. ugh. heartburn. sorry ma'am. no burning here. try new alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. they don't taste chalky and work fast. mmmm. incredible. can i try? she doesn't have heartburn. new alka-seltzer heartburn relief gummies. enjoy the relief. a fox news alert. russia will announce it will temporarily stop air strikes to give civilians a chance to get out. greg is live in london to explain. >> reporter: yeah, russia call its a goodwill gesture and washington said it is too little too late. but keeping an eye on it. this after the russian defense minister announced a bombing halt by russia and syria of aleppo and leading up to what they call a humanitarian pause in the overall fighting on thursday. the aim of the eigh

. >> it reminds me of what our marines did in fallujah to take back control of that city.nario that these iraqi soldiers, the shia militia, the kurds now face, ultimately? >> yes. this is classic urban warfare. the isis will defend in those buildings, obviously. they also have tunnels. they have a maze of ieds and mines that are going to be obstacles to the assault, certainly. the attacking forces will go very slowly not only to protect their own lives, but they're very concerned about the civilian lives that likely isis will try to use as many civilians as possible to shield themselves from the assault. now, the lead unit making the assault is the iraqi counterterrorism force which led the assault in fallujah and also in ramadi. they are very experienced, they are trained by our special operations guys. they are the very best that the iraqi army has. there'll be other iraqi army units, and there'll also be some sunni tribal force units, but they will be the lead element, and they're very good at what they do. bill: we're going to talk about this a lot, general, as you kno

it is similar to the operations we saw in tikrit and fallujah. they are trying to limit civilian casualties but also try to protect the infrastructure of the cities. this issa an iraqi led situatio. they want to move in on something that can also be moved back into by these refugees. the u.s. has estimated there will be over a million refugees fleeing mosul in the next coming days. this is a large operation but in the next 38 hours or so it is going really well. >> they don't want to destroy their own city. president obama's favorite four star general admits to leaking top secret information to the peed yaw. former vice chair james cartwright pleading guilty. he lied to the fbi about top secret information about a cyber attack under nuclear facilities. he faces up to 8 months in prison when sentenced in january. >> the man convicted of shooting george zimmerman in a rage. some outraged the irony of the sentencing. zimmerman acquitted of all charges after shooting and killing trayvon martin back in 2012. >> new york jets fans may want to turn away

fallujah is a more recent example of that.ct a lot of that to happen when it comes to mosul, but they are dug in. they have tunnels. that indicates they are going to try to resist as much as they possibly can. the other fact is they also lodged with families and civilian families in the mosul area. that will make it very hard to dislodged them from that particular area. those particular areas they are living in. so they can mount a very tough battle, but they are relatively few in number. the population of mosul is gearing up to fight them. that is in and of itself, a very significant factor. that could change their calculus. that may make them move out of the city and try to move west toward syria and make a definitive last stand in raqqah. we have to be prepared for a decisive and tough battle in mosul. >> and ben wedeman was saying as he is monitoring from inside iraq, he said there is not a presence on the street. they melted away here nine hours into the offensive. colonel leighton, thank you. >>> 50 minutes past the hour

the previous battles to take back big cities fallujah and ramadi and tikrit those involve 15,000 troops this one is 80,000 to 100,000. this is the biggest operation in iraq since years before u.s. forces left a war in iraq. it's the last major stronghold that isis has in the whole nation of iraq. it's the largest city they hold anywhere by far. iraqi and u.s. leaders have been telling us for months that this attack on mosul has been coming. they've been fleeing this and other places that isis was holding and they've now lost, places like, for example, dabiq in syria. they've been losing territory in iraq and syria ahead of this massive operation against mosul and there are lots of reports that isis has been basically been fleeing, been sending its fighters and its fighters' families to their last stronghold, the city of raqqah. there are reports that after mosul is taken back, the next pras will likely be in the last major place isis is, raqqah because by that point they'll have nowhere else to go. there's nowhere left that they control that they can retreat to. there are about 5,000 am

over the past two years, iraqi forces often shiite militia have liberated some sunni towns like fallujah but embarked on a new round. from the perspective of the shiite they are engaging in extreme vetting to ensure isis sympathizers are weeded out but sunni residents feel they are being wounded up, presumed guilty and denied entry back into the homes and neighborhoods. the root cause for the rise of isis in iraq and syria is political. the discontent of sunnis in the region who see themselves as being ruled by two anti sunni regimes and baghdad and iraq and damascus and syria, now some of this is the resentment of a sunni population that believes it should be in power. some of it is a response to genuine persecution by shiite. in any event, without advising discontent, isis will never stay defeated. when mosul fell, experts including within the obama administration wanted washington to rush to the aid of the iraqi government but president obama resisted the calls because he understood that the underlying problem was sectarian. he insisted that the iraqi government fund mentally change i

course they would have to be checked thoroughly because when that occurred during the battle of fallujah04 a lot of the al-qaeda and iraq fighters escaped with the civilians, so this is something that is possible, could be done, but it would have to be carefully managed to make sure that the isis fighters don't slip through our grasps, when these civilians leave the battlefield. >> remind us why is not you'mos here? >> it is one of the remaining two urban areas in isis's control, the other being raqqa in syria. if they lose mosul, they really lose the claim to have established the caliphate, which is their propaganda, that insights the faithful around the world to join them. so, it would show that the iraqi army has recovered from the losses it sustained in 2014, and that isis' days be numbered so this is a pivotal moment in the battle to destroy isis as a functional organization. >> colonel peter pansour, thank you so much. we'll be watching mosul carefully. >>> meantime, hillary clinton staying out of the spotlight. she's been lightning her load as the final debate approaches sending e

now since isis made their first incursion into iraq in january 2014, when they rushed and seize fallujah. and this is the culmination of one campaign after another. it is the last major campaign to retake mosul which is the second largest city in iraq. and this will be the toughest fight they likely have been in, because of the sheer scale of that urban center itself, which isis has used ieds, improved explosives, and a lot of fortified tunnels. our troops will not be in direct combat roles where they are actually doing the fighting. they will be assisting others who are doing the fighting, in an advisory capacity. what does that really mean? that means that they will be on the ground in a combat zone, close to the fight, but not actually in the fight, but subject to mortar fire, subject to ieds. and all the dangers that go with being in a combat zone. and this is they could be caught in crossfire or fire fights, as we've seen in the past. general, the kurdish forces have been very strong allies of ours, and they've been able to do a lot to quell isis. will they be helping in this fight