Economic policy. Why the worlds biggest emerging economies are going their way together is what it means for the rest of us, and americas highway trust fun is this close to running on empty. What happens when the roads you ride on get fixed because congress cant cut a deal. Why you, the american consumer, are keeping your wallet in your pocket instead of stimulating the economy. Im ali velshi and this is real money. This is real money, and you are the most important part of the show, so tell me whats on your mind by tweeting me at ali velshi or hit me up on facebook. Com. The bricks are trying to throw their weight around and challenge the dominance of the world bank and the International Monetary fund. Im talking about the biggest emerging markets in the world, brazil, russia, india, china and south africa. And their leaders are holding a summit in brazil this week. And today unveiled plans for a new bank to finance Infrastructure Projects in the developing world and a reserve fund for financial emergencies. Youre going to hear more about those in a moment. For now, these five countries that i just showed you are home to 3 billion people, 40 of the worlds population and has 20 of the worlds economic output. This is four times of what their contribution to the World Economy was in 2002. A recent United Nations report said by 2020, the combined output of china, brazil and india alone will top the total production of United States, germany, britain, france and canada. So you start to see why many investors searching for juicier returns have sent their money to emerging markets. But the abrupts nations are facing slowing or anemic growth. The ims forecast for russia will drop to just 2 10 of a percent this year partly because of sanctions following the crisis in ukraine, and brazils problems are exacerbating as well. 1. 6 . Because of high inflation, the central bank expects the growth to slip to lower than the United States, and thats a far cry from 2010. And south africas growth slipping to 2. 3 . And india is the one to look at. 5. 4 , not bad to the 2 that well see here in the United States, but its nowhere here the 10 that india grew in 2010. China is the best of all of these, 7. 5 this year, but its way down to the more than 10 perfect brose four years ago. So the slowdown is cause for widespread concern about the health of the Global Economy. Chinas out sized role on the economic stage is one reason why some analysts say that the brits will continue to struggle to present a united front though they hold their 6th summit. Five countries failed to agree on who should hold the world bank when the institutions chose leaders in the last several years, but the announcement about the creation of a Development Bank and a reserve fund marks Real Progress and pursuit of power and global respect. A bank to call their own. The brics bank is an alternative. Criticized, legislation in the u. S. Congress. This point is mainly a political statement by the rising powers, that theyre increasingly important in the Global Economy and they deserve a say, and that is why the west should take this seriously. Headquartered in china with India Holding the first presidency, the brics bank will launch with a 50 billion fund, and a 1 billion reserve fund to help with the shortterm crisis and shock. Such as capital from emerging markets, triggered by a change in u. S. Monetary policy. The bricss reserve fund, one. Brics will offer emergency cash unless restrictive terms have yet to be seen, but with china kicking in the lions share, some question whether it will alternative. I think the first time a crisis hits, i think the challenge of a country not wanting to be told by the chinese who you to adjust and what the challenge linebacker a challenge to the institution. While the jury is out on the possible economics of the brics bank, one thing is clear, the worlds strongest emerging economies are trying to claim finance. So to some extent, this is a power struggle between the brics and the westerners. And the question is will the brics really advance their status and pull in the world. And one answer, they will help the group of five nations to recharge their role in the Global Economy. So says kevin gal agar. He is the author of the dragon in the womb, china, and he joins me now from the Boston Community campus. Kevin, thank you saw gdp numbers. And sure, india and china doing better than the United States off of a smaller base, and all of those five countries much lower than before, with russia a particular thorn in their side. Its becoming a bit of a pariah in the international community. Are the brics part of the economy economy or are they doing something to boost their sagging reputation . It couldnt come at a better time. We have slow growth and fragile among the brics and other emerging markets, and they have created institutions that might be able to save them from the worst possible outcomes. What will they be able to do that the countries cant do within the existing structure of the imf . Well, they can have finance from the world bank, but it has steered away from the infrastructure, and we have a huge infrastructure, and we need new Transportation Systems that are clean and green, to keep us from climate change, and the world bank has pulled away from that. In europe alone, we need 60 billion a year in infrastructure, and the brics bank is not going to be able to it take a bite out of t its going to be there in case the countries have Exchange Rate problems. Like the world bank for development, the imf is there for finance, but they put on heavy strings attached. It has been controversial. And the heavy strings attached. Me probably wont be putting be heavy strings on it. Do they supplant the west . The world bank, and they have member countries from all over the world, they are largely thought to be instruments of western economies and western powers. Could these two structures in the bricks countries developing slowly supplant their influence in the world. The brics have tried for the past five, seven years, to be a bigger part of the imf and the world bank, and pushed for boata reform. And right now, the u. S. Has veto power, and brazil has little power compared to liechtenstein or belgium. It has been stalled in the u. S. Congress, and they tried to get rid of the old boys rule. The imf is always going to be somebody from europe. And they said hey, the west is the one that caused the financial crisis, and we have been able to be resilient and we should have our own people at the head of these things, but they were shunned by the imf and the brics created their own institutions, and they give more leverage in these institutions. Now they have a moral model that they can juxtapose in the world bank, and they can say, well, if youre not going to do it the way went, well do it the way for our own institutions. Is it good for the world to have competing organizations like this. Well, i think on the rhetorical end, they will compete, but when it comes to function, the more the better. We need a plurality of different institutions, and we have one. Theres the interamerican Development Bank, the cif. And the bricks bank comes in right away at that sort of midlevel type of bank. Its not as big as the world bank, and not as big as the imf or its reserve fund, but there are a number of these things, and the countries can shop to. If its different than decision making, meaning that each country has an equal say in how the programs are going to be structured, it offers a different model. Kevin, thank you for putting light on this for us. Thank you for having me. Kevin gallagher is a professor. Saturday prop 8, really made us think about this process of coming out. Meet the committed couples gay marriages, straight marriages. Have the same challenges. Its all about having the same options as everybody else. That fought for equality saying i do changed everything. Every saturday, join us for exclusive, revealing and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. On tech know, what if there was a miracle . Graces stem cells are in this box. That could save the live of your child. Were gonna do whatever we can would yo give it a try . Cell therapy is gonna be the next big advance in medicine tech know, every saturday go where science meets humanity. This is some of the best driving ive every done, even though i cant see. Tech know. Were here in the vortex. Only on Al Jazeera America. The embattled Highway Trust Fund that helps to pay for maintenance and construction of americas roadways got a reprieve from the house of representatives today. They passed a 1 billion extension that keeps transportation funding going through may of next year. And the bill goes to the senate for a vote before it can be law. The bill came just in the nick of time. Highway trust fund is expected to go bust next month without money from congress. Heres a look at what the Highway Trust Fund does, and where it gets its money from a. The trust fund was established by an act of congress in 1956. It was a key part of president eisenhowers plan to connect the country with an elaborate system of highways. It contains the four r program. Reconstruction, resurfacing, reconstruction the highways. Its funded by proceeds of the federal gasoline tax that all motorists say. And over the years, congress has raised the tax from 2 cents a gallon in 1956 to the current 18. 4 cents a gallon, set back in 1993. But 20 years later, the tax has stayed flat even as the gas prices have gone up. We have not made those hard decisions, and just raising the revenue. The cost of roadway construction and labor and materials went up a third over the past two decades, while the gas tax stayed the same. Currently, the Highway Trust Fund spends 35 billion on projects across the country and the states receive at least onethird of their transportation money from the fund. In 2008, congress started dipping into general funds, money that it gets from else where, because not enough gas tax was collected to pay for highway repairs and expansions. Money thats coming in to the federal government, it starts to go up and up every year, it has started to decline. They drive more fuel efficient around. But not everyone thinks that the Highway Trust Fund deserves more from congress. About 18 of it goes to innercity, big city pension funds, to pay off unionized workers in the subways. Why in the world are people who drive cars paying for the subway ridiculous contract . No reason to pay taxes to pay for waste. It helps to support projects. And if Congress Fails to fund t. It can run out of money. It can put jobs at risk, including 17,000 here in virginia. More than 100,000 in the country. John robert smith is a former mayor of meridian, miss smirks hes now chairman of transport for america, nonprofit groups advocating for better transportation. And john, if you forking with us, sir, and i want to ask you first about the criticism that we just heard from Grover Norquist in the story and its not universal that the trust fund, a should be funded and b, the taxes on gas should be increased to fund it. And whats your response to that . Thats a very shortsighted response and a lack of vision in an integrative Transportation System for this country. The trust fund funds not only bridges and cities, but transit and do we all want to live in towns . Bus systems, do we want to live in a city that we have no Public Transit to get us to jobs . I dont think thats the answer. If you defund transit, youre pushing more people onto the highways and roads. It would be a disservice to stop funding the transit, which hens to support our people as they move across the transportation infrastructure. As i mentioned there, we increased the gas tax until 1993. What is the logical answer . There are a lot of americans who say, my gas prices are too high already. I dont want to say the 18. 4 to what it should be, and whats the answer . Well, there are several answers. One, you can look at vehicle miles traveled so people can pay for the number of miles they drive, but the truth is, were not going to be able to figure that out and put it in place nationally in the next six or eight months, though it may be a future answer. The American Public is going to pay. And the gas tax ought to be raised. It has lost 14 of its buying power, and steel and crete have only gone up. We know we have a dangerously deficient infrastructure out there. We see bridges crumble, and the shortage of funds to repair them. And on top of that, we are not maintaining the infrastructure that was a division of eisenhower. We need a better city transportation infrastructure. I agree with you absolutely. We need a surface transportation authorization bill that treats roads equally and their different needs in mississippi and montana than there may be in new jersey or california. So we have the various transportation modes funded in a way that creates a seamless system of transportation that you move from walking and biking to trouble transit. And home to a longer distance train, and in your car to drive the interstates and the highways, and thats the vision we need in the future. The vision of 1950 was a new vision and supported us all this time. But its time for a new vision moving forward. You talked about a vehicle per mile tax, and obviously somebody who drives a prius is paying less per mile they travel than somebody driving a big suv. And now youre suggesting that its the miles that you travel that you pay for rather than the gas you consume. Yes, for the future, it should be the miles that you travel. Because who will be driving in automobiles that dont use fossil fuel at all so. Theyre not paying the gas tax, and for an elderly person who drives little, their cost would be low, and their those who drive long distances, the cost will be more, and thats because of the wear and tear on the system. Youre using the system more, and that requires an electronic way of measuring that, and is that how that would take place . Yes, oregon is doing this now, and its a Pilot Project there, and you can choose to use vehicle miles travel or choose to pay through a gas tax. And there has been legislation used this year to take that nationwide. And it could be a volunteer pilot program, and the states could set it up and implement it and collect those fees. The patch is not enough. Because state dots are having to kill projects, and they would go forward with in 2015 because the patch doesnt give them multiyear certainty. Well, from your lips to Al Jazeera America presents a global finacial powerhouse the Roman Catholic church, they have an enormous amount of power accusations of corruption. There is a portion of the budget that takes care of all the clerical abuse issues. Now we follow the money and take you inside the vaticans financial empire. When it comes to money, this is one of the sloppiest organizations on earth. Al Jazeera America presents. Holy money only on Al Jazeera America its a chilling and draconian sentence. It simply cannot stand. They are truth seekers. All they really wanna do is find out whats happening, so they can tell people. Governments around the world all united to condemn this. As you can see, its still a very much volatile situation. The government is prepared to carry out mass array. If you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. Federal reserve chair, janet yellen, said that the country has come a long way since the financial kries, but it still needs help. Yellen delivered the report to Congress Today and told lawmakers that the fed needs to continue providing support to boost economic growth. Since the february Monetary Policy report, forward progress has been made in restoring the economys health and strengthening the Financial System. Yet too Many Americans remain unemployed and inflation remains below our long run objective. And yet not all of the financial reform initiatives have completed. The fed will raise shortterm Interest Rates sooner if the jobs market picks up speed. And many economists, it will be at this time next year. And two of the biggest banks are doing better than expected, Jpmorgan Chase reported a profit of 6 billion this year, and its down half a billiondollar earlier. Goldman sachs earned 2 billion more. And both banks, along with other financial firms, are suffering from a slowdown in trading revenue, which is from the last decade. Its keeping stocks and bonds low. And there has been plenty of data showing that American Consumers are still cautious about the economy and spending their money. Im going to tell you about some of those later in the show. But i want to focus about why Bank Earnings are giving a more optimistic signal about the confidence of consumers. Closely following the mortgages in his career, both as an analyst to goldman sachs, and poulson and company. James, good to see you. Nice to see you too, ali. So so were trying to figure out the economy. If you look at it from 10,000 feet, it looks okay, and the indicators are pretty good. You see something going on with the consumer thats unclear. Theyre not buying at retail as much as they were. And we are worried about whether thats a install, because thats historically a install of trouble. But youre saying that when you look at the consumers behavior, banking, theres nothing to worry about. I think that the earnings season has caused the market to give a sigh of relief. We wanted low growth and were seeing loan growth in two areas. Utilization rates are increasing, and in other words, businesses are taking loans from the bank to hire people. And absolutely, and were it this season because were seeing corporate loan it been growth improving from the banks, and just as importantly, credit card loans, theyre picking up again. I asked you what we were getting too indebted and you said it doesnt worry you. I dont want to sound poly a aish, but these are from the consumers, flugging them in to the economy and its good for growth and hiring. This is not your expertise, but theyre buying cars, and taking loans, and some retailers are saying that theyre behaving strangely enough. Well explain that later in the show, but how do mortgages play into this. Yes, the Mortgage Loan growth is still disappointing. Nobody is expecting this to pick up any time soon. Today, jpmorgan had discouraging comments to mike, especially Government Programs, these are costing banks a lot. And he called those programs shareholder unfriendly, and he was thinking long and hard about the participation in the programs, so theres every reason sob relatively pessimistic about the prospect of loan growth. But it looks good. Credit cards are up after three years of no growth, and Corporate Credit cards are up as well, which is good news. I asked you last time we were here why were seeing this weakness, and the home prices have gone up, and that might be surprising, but the Mortgage Rates are surprisingly low. Not as low as a year ago in may, but not as high as people predicted they would be. And over time, theyre not going to go up, and why have people stopped taking the mortgages . Its not that they have stopped but there was a house recovery that stopped them from getting back. But there are a lot of reasons why. In some cases, banks are hesitant to participate in Government Programs because they will be eventually punished for them, and from a shareholders perspective, theyre very costly, and at the same time, the shareholder market is not what it used to be. This is the market where you lend money and bundle them together. This helps the banks to make morton loans and the news around the market that blew us up last time are yet to be set in stone, so the banks are hesitant to make morton loans. Is that what janet yellen was saying when she said that reforms of the Financial System have yet to be completed . Yes, and the Mortgage Loans within the u. S. Those are mortgaged backed securities. When the banks regulatory are set in stone and dependable, i think youll see banks lend more in this area, but where theres not the same concern, for corporate, were starting to see relief. Because those are not securitize. Sometimes they are. But not in the way that mortgages are. Because abs is not Mortgage Backed security aces. So they are focused on the ibs side of the funding world and the corporate. We had the popular notion that this was a dangerous thing, the ibs, the fact that the banks took the loans and caused the world to crash. What happens if the pend lum swings too far, and you dont encourage them to happen . The banks need them to keep making loans . You have the sluggish lending growth. Which is not a good thing for the u. S. Economy. Believe me, when the mortgage growth starts to slow, youre going to feel it. Its a great bolster of confidence for the nation, so one potential implication of the ibs market not coming back su wont see the growth that we so desperately need. And the other implication, you wont have a sustained market of 30 year fixed mortgages, which you dont have in any other country. Because of the deep securization market. You and i are both from canada and the rates can be lower, but you cant gete 30 year fixed. I would love to get one. Its a very very good system that we have here in the u. S. , and i hope it continues, but you need a healthy market to do that, and healthy means having all of the regulations and rules set in stone so the banks feel confident to engage in that side of the market. Families ripped apart. Racial profiling sometimes they ask questions. Sometimes they just handcuff people. Deporting dreams. Destroying lives. This state is literally redefining what it means to be a criminal alien fault lines Al Jazeera Americas hard hitting. Theyre locking the doors. Ground breaking. We have to get out of here. Truth seeking. Award winning investigative documentary series fault lines the deported only on Al Jazeera America weekday mornings on Al Jazeera America we do have breaking news this morning. Start your day with in depth coverage from around the world. First hand reporting from across the country and real news keeping you up to date. The big stories of the day, from around the world. These people need help, this is were the worst of the attack took place. And throughout the morning, get a global perspective on the news. The life of doha. This is the International News hour. An informed look on the nights events, a smarter start to your day. Mornings on Al Jazeera America im joie chen, im the host of america tonight, were revolutionary because were going back to doing best of storytelling. We have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we havent heard before. I think Al Jazeera America is a watershed moment for american journalism more now on the conversation that we were having earlier on the mood of American Consumers. Retail costs in june, despite steady job gains this year. Sales edged up 2 10 of a percent, and there was a dropin spending at building and Garden Supply stores, and restaurants and auto dealers, which doesnt jive with the strong auto numbers that we had seen earlier this month. Its a bit excusing, and on the plus side, Department Stores recorded sales gains, and online catalog retailers saw a healthy jump. Consumers account for about 2 3 of the u. S. Economy, and consumers are spending more on their homes and buying more cars, but ut bad news, theyre cutting back spend on a lot of other things. People might spend more if they earned more. The gap between what the companies earn and what they pay their people is the widest gap since world war ii. Is that the only reason consumers arent opening their wallets . Phil, a good friend of mine, good to see you on the show. And whats your cents of this . I dont want to draw a conclusion or present a thesis that i dont understand, but i dont understand whats going on with the consumer. Some parts of retail are very strong, and others, we heard from walmart ceo, bill simon, and something has plateaued at a low level. Youre not the only one that cant figure it out. The retailers cant. But what we saw for june was another example of fits and starts, some things look encouraging and car sales and hard good sales declined. So basically what the consumer has been in the pattern of doing for a year so far is basically buying things that they have cut back on, and once they caught up with the cars. They didnt replace cashing machines ser but soft goods suffered for a while. We saw a lot of caring sold. And then pulling back, and were picking and choosing, not running forward and spending all of our money. If you look at the overall picture of it, some reported their earnings last week, and you heard Victoria Secret saying that they built too much inventory, and a container store, and others are using an argument. Thats what im trying to get it. They said its a retail funk. Nothing wrong with the product, our stores or our staff, but people are not buying. And we never know, but when you hear after store after store that were not doing anything differently, the consumer is. Well, theres a question on a lard. What he said about the shopper, its going to take six months for it to trickle down, but you have the Family Dollar people who have now discovered that oh, maybe the shoppers dont want to spend more money on beauty products, and they have been cutting prices and theyre going to bring back a lot of one dollar items, living up to their own name. So the core is that the wages havent gong up. So the retailers have catered to the lower income shopper and having figured out that they dont want fancier things, but they want to bargain and they want a deal, and theyre the ones having trouble. And to continue that argument, were not seeing suffering at the higher end. Luxury and people catering to a more prosperous customer. But even then, you have Companies Like nordstrom and saks and its being federal by their out let channels. People the bargains and its not changed and in fact getting more pronounced. Historically, phil, when the consumer starts to feel rough, and the market says that they are, because the market has not punished any of the stocks, it usually means something. The market figures it out and the consumer figures is out and are you worried that it means something for the economy . What it means, were not getting liftoff in a convincing manner, and its now five years into the socalled recovery, and we keep hearing it quarter after quarter after quarter, oh, the consumer doesnt want to spend, or theyre pulling back again. So until you really have wage growth, were not going to see it from the dollar stores. Apple and ibm are burying it an old hatchet, teaching up to sell i phones and ipads to the corporate customers. Turning to ibm because apple doesnt understand the needs offer corporate customers as well as ibm does, and she said that it will help her economy by widening its audience for ibm products. What seemed unthinkable in the 1980s and 1990s when they were bitter rivals in the computer market. They secured them in a commercial with images of George Orwells big brother figure in 1984. Appointed to googles board of directors. They have drafting a seasoned man into their ranks, as they try to get their software into automobiles. Mullally served on the board for nine years. Americans quit smoking but American TobaccoCompanies Making money hand over fist. This, is what we do. Al Jazeera America. The big tobacco merger that we expected to ignite is the real deal. Pal mall and camel are buying new ports for 25 billion. And if approved, it will unite the seconder and Third Largest cigarette makers in the United States, and it will form a rival to the group. But the deal is not so straight forward. A deal this large will face major scrutiny to makers. And they will be forced to sell to one of the largest Cigarette Companies, Imperial Tobacco group. They will pay for cool, sail many and winston, and the e cigarette brand, blue. As they shell out bucks to cannibalize one another, the number of those shrink as the number of americans who smoke decline. You dont see many Wild Stallions anymore. And you dont see any iconic advertisements like this one anymore. Of the famous marlborough man of the 1950s. But the Tobacco Companies still spend 9 billion a year on advertising. Come to where the flavor is, come to marlborough country. While cigarette smokes has declined, 20 of americans report smoking daily. They are the bread and butter of the 100 billion industry. Cigarettes account for 96 of tobacco sold in the u. S. Across the country, a pack of cigarettes costs between 5. 1450. But it takes pennies to make a single cigarette. And a new player in town could prove lucrative. E cigarettes. They currently make up 2 of the market and come in a variety of sizes. They use a cartridge and arent regulated by the fda. The tobacco smoking outweighed any revenue that you can imagine. And though the World Health Organization regularly warns about the devastation of tobacco on the international economy, it isnt slowing down coemption around the world. China is by far the biggest, followed by russia, indonesia and japan. E cigarettes havent even reached most of the big Cigarette Markets, and that 2 oof the industry is focused solely in the u. S. And europe. And shaking it up for the way that e cigarettes evolve and the production of new products. For more on what we can expect from the most regulated industry going forward, a senior fellow, for the head of the National Policy and research, jeff, good to have you with us. Whats the story of this consolidation. Its a complicated story, but the big story in the Tobacco Industry these days has nothing to do with tobacco, but e cigarettes. Where is that evolving into . This thing has taken off and it has its own life to t very interesting, and the Cigarette Market is growing in other parts of the world, and not in america. Its shrinking. And now they have this Phoenix Rising from the ashes. Its amazing, and its a private sector innovation. Think about developing cigarettes, private sector separate from tobacco. And they want to put Tobacco Companies out of business. They are spinning off blue and imperial because Cigarette Companies realize that e cigarettes are now a threat to their business. Are they . Huge threat. I think thats good news for Public Health. And i think the Public Health community hasnt figured it out yet. They want to bash big tobacco. But i think that these are the biggest boom to Public Health. They are not without dangers. I wouldnt encourage anyone to start using them, but if a smoker and couldnt quit, theyre fantastic. We are uncertain, banks are uncertain about what the Regulatory Environment will look like for them, but the same for e cigarettes. There are so many question marks about the new jen of e cigarettes that do a better job of giving smokers a much less harmful alternative. What do you think that the landscape looks like for regulation of e cigarettes . Is it years away . Will the authorities move quickly on it . The fda is planning on regulating them, but it could take a couple of years, and i think they ought to be careful about how they regulate. They claim that they need more science, and need to see how theyre being used. I dont know what game theyre watching and almost everyone that is using them is using them to quit smoking and they need to be cautious in not overregulating them. Two things affect smoking in american. One is awareness, and restrictions on marketing of cigarettes, and the third is taxes. Some places like new york city, its more expensive to buy them. The only people who are more addicted to cigarettes than smokers are government officials who rely on them so are they going to move some of that taxation on to e cigarettes . Thats where the problem is now. The government relies on them. We just learned earlier that we relied on the gas taxes and as people drive more fuel efficient cars, the highways crumble. The same thing with e cigarettes. If the government makes a mistake like some local governments are trying to do now and treats them like e cigarettes, the whole purpose of the syntax is to discourage youth. But here across america, youll see that probably the huge growth in advertising around the city is e cigarettes. You see it on buses and taxis. And thats going to be regulated. We need to be careful of who the products are regulated too. All of the facts we see are adult smokers quitting and thats good news. Thank you, senior fellow for policy research. Your chocolate fix could cost you more. The cost of reeses and candies are going up 8 , and they blame the increased cost for cocoa, dairy and nuts. And packaging and fuel. The increase will take time to work into the market, and they dont expect that it will help the 2014 results too much. Desperate times call for desperate measures. California is running dry, and fines against water wasters. Al Jazeera America presents its a beginning of a new life for me. I cant keep running from everything. 15 stories one incredible journey edge of eighteen coming september only on Al Jazeera America the violence has continued just a couple of miles from here just a short while ago we heard a large air strike very close by. People here are worried that this already serious situation may escalate. For continuing coverage of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, stay with Al Jazeera America your global news leader. Start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. And a host willing to ask the tough questions and youll get. The inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et 2pm pt only on Al Jazeera America consider this the news of the day plus so much more. We begin with the growing controversy. Answers to the questions no one else will ask. Why did so many of these People Choose to risk their lives . Antonio mora, Award Winning and hard hitting. People are dying because of this policy. Theres no status quo, just the bottom line. But what is the administration doing behind the scenes . Real perspective, consider this on Al Jazeera America there are new allegations that bernie made offs sons knew what they were up to and tried to cover up his giant ponzi scheme. The 100 million lawsuit alleges that the sons obstructed an audit of the firms finances by the Securities Exchange commission. It claims that the brothers created accounts out of thin air and engineered sham loans to buy priceo manhattan real estate as they diverted tens of thousands of dollars from their fathers firm. Mark madoff commit today suicide in 2010. Well, the drought in california is leading to drastic measures. The state is considering fines for people who waste water on fountains and cars. They cant hose down sidewalks or driveways. Melissa, is the law necessary . Are people disregarding drought or wasting water . Just to give you an idea. Governor asked people to voluntarily cut backwater by 25 , and nothing happened. The survey said that people cut back by 5 overall. And its time for the state to step in to a certain extent. Over the past months, city and towns have decided to put out their own regulations for their areas, but then you create a patchwork in the state where some areas are conserving better than others and the state decided to step in. Californians who want to wash down their driveways and walkways or wash their cars have to keep why not eye on how much water they use. They may be find for wasting water. While its not an out right ban, they represent another step in statewide efforts to combat the drought. One of the interesting things about the droughts, you do not foe when its going to end. You know in a flood, its going to end in a few days or hours, and with an earthquake, its going to end in a few minutes. The governor asked them to cut water by 25 . And they have only see a 5 decrease so far, so the regulators decided to get tough. I think that a lot of people use water without thinking about it, and watering their lawns and cars and driveways. I mean, ive always been concerned about my water usage. I grew up in suburban settings, southern california, we went through a drought there. And its time to take shorter showers, and not run it while i do my dishes. Californians must get by with onethird less than normal. Farmers face 2. 2 billion this year, and half a million acres lie fallow. You in washington and elsewhere will all get your fruits and nuts and vegetables and wine, but there are pockets of extreme deprivation, where were out of water, and out of jobs. Forecasters say that the state will see rain next year, an el nino year, but experts say that any relief will fall short of the water needs. California will need many more rainy seasons before the worst drought in history is a memory. Seen by farmers in california and rural areas, we have seen that in the past months, where we have been around and finally feeling the impact of the drought, its a serious water crisis. We often interview people in agriculture in california, and theyre acutely which are of the drought. But the city dwellers are not. So melissa, thank you for joining us. As you know, i fly all the time. I fly for work, for pleasure, and in fact, ive just come back from a couple of big trips. But admittedly, some trips are not pleasurable at all. Im talking about the extraordinary lengths that airlines go to squeeze passengers onto flights. To turn a buck. More seats mean more passengers to pack onto a plane. Theres only a finite number of passengers that you can fit on an aircraft, right . Wrong. Airbus has a patent for a seating device comprising of a forward foldable backrest. You need to look at this. Basically, its a bicycle seat with a small backrest, meant to pack more passengers on to a plane, and presumably boost an airlines bottom line. Increase the number of cabin assets, according to the application, because the space allocated to each passenger must be reduced. Look at this thing, its ridiculous. And airbus said for now, its just a patent application, and nothing more. Design is only a concept and it has no plans to install them on airplanes any time soon. But i would argue that theyre tight as they are. No leg room, noel bow room, and things get worse, when the guy in front of you reclines his seat at the expense of your space. The only thing worse is getting stuck in one of the middle seats, lets pray that the airlines dont take tight to the next level. Im ali velshi, thank you for joining us. Cl cl announcer this is al jazeera. Good to have your company. Welcome to the newshour with me david foster, and these are some of the stories well cover in deail in the next 60 minutes. The death toll in gaza more than 200 as israel warped people to get out, as its bombardment intensified. Bashar alassad sworn in for a third 7year term as president of syri